389 Identity And Status
Lu Cheng was stunned.
He looked at Shen Ruojing in disbelief.
Lord Jing should be joking with him, right?
As Lu Cheng was thinking this, Chu Cichen seemed to have understood something and said to him, “Mmmm, our Chu Corporation can afford to take on what they give! We’ll just accept it.”
Lu Cheng was dumbfounded and wanted to ask something, but Chu Cichen had turned and looked at Shen Ruojing. “Continue?”
“Continue.”
Shen Ruojing gave him a calm look. The two of them then returned to the garden and continued their morning exercises.
After Shen Ruojing was done with one round of Taichi, Chu Cichen was done with his run as well. When the two of them went upstairs, Lu Cheng got close again and asked, “Lord Jing, you were joking just now, right?”
Shen Ruojing. “…What was it?”
Seeing that Shen Ruojing didn’t seem too concerned about things, Lu Cheng patted his chest. “I knew it. You were teasing me. You must have heard some rumors in the company, huh?”
Shen Ruojing. “?”
Just as she was contemplating, Lu Cheng said indignantly, “Don’t listen to their crap talk. They don’t know the situation. If they knew that you are Divine Doctor Jing, they wouldn’t dare to say such things!”
Shen Ruojing. “??”
She asked slowly, “What did they say about me?”
“They said that Second Madam, Bai Shanshan, is the Bai Family’s granddaughter and brought a lot of benefits to the Chu Family. So, the Bai Family only became close with the Chu Family on the Second Madam’s account. They know nothing. No matter how many Bai Families were given to us, we wouldn’t be able to come up with the formula for P+ medicine. How could the Chu Corporation reach our current stage if it wasn’t for you?”
Lu Cheng rambled on, “You like to keep a low profile and not stand out too much. If I were you, I’d have exposed my identity long ago. I’d let them know that after the Chu Corporation turned to focus on the pharmaceutical industry, the few high-level prescriptions and formulas were all given by you! We shall see what they have to say about that!”
Shen Ruojing. “…”
It wasn’t as if there was anything to lose if others were to say some things about her.
Shen Ruojing didn’t care about these things at all.
She then waved her hand and entered her room.
However, Lu Cheng wanted to follow her into her room, so Shen Ruojing stopped. “I’m going to take a shower. Are you coming too?”
Lu Cheng subconsciously replied, “Then I’ll rub your back for you?”
It was then that he realized he had misspoken!
These were things he’d say to curry up to Bro Chen when talking to him.
But the person he was talking to now was Lord Jing!
His body instantly stiffened and he sensed a chill seething toward him. He quietly turned his head and repeatedly thought, ‘Bro Chen didn’t hear that Bro Chen didn’t hear that…’
It was a pity that when he turned his head, he saw Chu Cichen standing there quietly, looking at him coldly. “You must be too free. There’s a business dealing in Southeast Asia. Why don’t you go take care of that?”
Lu Cheng. “…”
After Chu Cichen gave the word, Lu Cheng started to slowly get in touch with the Shen Family and took over a lot of their businesses. If it wasn’t because Chu Cichen had firmly said that it was fine, Lu Cheng would be shocked and speechless just by looking at the flow of money.
Was the Shen Family crazy?
Why was the Shen Family helping them like this?!
The entire Chu Corporation was a little stunned. All of them felt that things seemed to be progressing too smoothly, and it took them only one month to completely enter the capital’s pharmaceutical industry.
The Shen Family seemed to show signs of cowering when facing them.
Just like that, the Chu Corporation managed to stabilize its standing in the capital.
Everyone was guessing whether Matriarch Bai and the Shen Family had a deal. After all, it was well known by everyone that Matriarch Bai only had her second son in her heart.
Even if Matriarch Bai were to give the whole Bai Corporation to her second son, no one would be stunned or astonished.
So how great was the price that the Bai Family paid?
Matriarch Chu was very curious about this matter as well. She stared at the recovered Bai Shanshan and said, “Shanshan, how did your grandmother talk to the Shen Family?”
Bai Shanshan looked stumped. “I don’t know. I haven’t heard of this matter either.”
Although Matriarch Bai often visited Shanshan, she didn’t mention these things at all for fear of giving her a burden.
“It must be her, right? After all, only the Bai Family is able to help put in good words for the Chu Family in this case.” Madam Yun, who came along to the capital with Yun Wei, also sighed and said, “Shanshan, after Little Wei gets married into their family, you’ll have to put in more good words for her to Matriarch Bai…”
Yun Wei and Bai Xiaojiu’s wedding day was nearing, so Yun Zhengyang and Madam Yun brought Yun Wei to the capital for the marriage.
At this moment, Shen Ruojing sat at the side and listened to their conversation, her lips curling up slightly. She felt that this scene was very heart-warming.
Ever since Bai Shanshan’s identity was revealed, for a time, Matriarch Chu didn’t know how to face her. In the past, she didn’t think too much of her. She only felt that Bai Shanshan was the woman her son liked, so she didn’t mind Bai Shanshan’s family background and things like how she had gotten married before.
It was only now that she understood they had found a treasure.
Therefore, Matriarch Chu had gone a little overboard recently, and it made Bai Shanshan feel uneasy too.
However, their relationship had indeed improved quite a lot. Bai Shanshan was no longer as timid as she was in the past at home and had opened up a lot.
Madam Yun also started fawning at Bai Shanshan. After all, after Yun Wei married into the Bai family, although Bai Xiaojiu’s mother would be there for her, the matriarch of the family was still Matriarch Bai!
Hence, Bai Shanshan’s status in the family soared and even the servants paid more attention to her.
Because of this, Matriarch Chu even looked for Shen Ruojing to have a chat with her, fearing that Shen Ruojing might not feel comfortable about the situation. Matriarch Chu also assured Shen Ruojing that in the future, Shen Ruojing would be the only matriarch of the Chu Family.
However, Shen Ruojing didn’t mind these things at all.
Regardless if it was Matriarch Chu or Madam Yun, both of them still treated her closer than they treated Bai Shanshan. Moreover, Bai Shanshan’s sense of self-inferiority had improved for the better.
Shen Ruojing hoped that the people around her could all become better.
As the few of them were chatting, the butler came over. She then looked at Matriarch Chu with a hint of an uneasy expression. “Matriarch, there are a few uncertain aspects of the banquet that I’d like to ask you.”
Matriarch Chu started for a moment. “Go on.”
The Chu Corporation had stabilized its standing, and it was time to tell this to the merchants and influential people in the capital. Therefore, Chu Cichen had Matriarch Chu prepare a banquet and invited the businessmen in the capital.
So right now, everyone in the family was making preparations for the banquet.
The butler said hesitantly, “It’s like this. With regards to the seating arrangements, Matriarch Bai already replied that she’ll definitely be present. Therefore, she should be seated at the main table. Because of this, the second madam’s seat should also be arranged at the main table to accompany her. But with this…”
She looked at Shen Ruojing, seeming hesitant to speak.
Every big family was particular about seniority.
Since Chu Cichen was the head of the family, then Shen Ruojing should be the future matriarch.
However, Matriarch Chu was still holding the reins in the family and thus should be seated at the main seat. With that, Shen Ruojing should be placed in the second table. However, there was also competition between sisters-in-law.
If Bai Shanshan was to be seated at the main table while Shen Ruojing sat at the second table, then everyone would guess that the future matriarch would be Bai Shanshan…
However, the main table was full. If another chair was added, it’d appear strange and intentional. Therefore, this posed a difficult problem.
Matriarch Chu stared at the seating arrangements and also frowned.
Shen Ruojing was the eldest daughter-in-law of the family, so by right, she should be in front of Bai Shanshan in terms of the seniority order.
Matriarch Chu said, “I’ve counted. There should be eight people at the main table, right? Then let both Ruojing and Shanshan sit at the main table!”
If both of them were given the same treatment, there wouldn’t be unnecessary guesses!
But after Matriarch Chu said this, the butler said in a troubled tone, “Matriarch, I’ve sent over the invitation you had me send to Old Master Shen…”
After the butler said this, Matriarch Chu instantly sat upright. “How was it?”
Although the Shen Family had given up some of their businesses to the Chu Family, they remained the number one family in the capital!
If the Shen Family agreed to come via the invitation, the Chu Family would definitely bask in the glory of the honor.
However, Matriarch Chu heard that due to health reasons, Shen Yuansong hadn’t attended banquets in recent years. The Chu Family probably didn’t have such a great honor to be able to invite him either.
While she was thinking like this, she heard the butler say in a manner that was both excited and awkward, “Old Master Shen said that he’ll definitely arrive on time!”
The moment the butler said this, Matriarch Chu revealed a surprised look.
The butler said, “This time around, we didn’t separate tables by gender. Therefore, if the old master were to come, he’d have to sit at the main table too. Currently, nine people are arranged to sit at the main table. There’s just one seat left…”
She looked at Bai Shanshan.
If Matriarch Bai were to come, Bai Shanshan would definitely have to accompany her!
Moreover, the butler had secretly checked around. The arrangements in the capital were different from that in the countryside. Regardless of the type of banquet, all members of the capital’s four great families would be seated at the main table!
This was the rule in the capital!
If they let Bai Shanshan be seated at the second table, it’d be looking down on the Bai Family.
The butler felt that they could only go by the book now.
After all, they had come to the capital and thus should follow the rules here.
It was just that if they were to do this, Shen Ruojing would surely feel aggrieved.
The butler silently sighed.
Miss Shen was probably going to have a tough time in the future. There was no helping it since Bai Shanshan, her sister-in-law, was from the Bai Family. Their status wasn’t equal.