Chapter 427: Who Will Be the Chess Piece

Chapter 427: Chapter 427: Who Will Be the Chess Piece

Zhao Jiefang neither confirmed nor denied anything, simply smiling as he looked at Zhao Xiao’an.

"What do you think your relationship would be like if you married him?"

"Grandpa, I never said I wanted to marry him!" Zhao Jiefang’s question made Zhao Xiao’an blush. "I’m not even thinking about marriage right now!"

But once the blush faded, she sensed something unusual in Zhao Jiefang’s words.

"Grandpa, are you worried that if I marry him, I’ll become completely subservient to him?"

Zhao Jiefang still didn’t answer directly. Instead, he turned to Zhao Xiao’an’s father, Zhao Nansheng, who was sitting beside them. "What do you think would happen if Wang Chenning became your son-in-law?"

"Xiao’an would completely lose herself. She’d find ways to give him everything the Zhao family owns," Zhao Nansheng said, his face devoid of expression. "She’d be the type to help him count the money after he’d sold her."

"Dad, how can you say that about me?" Zhao Xiao’an asked, a little angry. "Am I really that pathetic?"

"You’re already starting to lose yourself!" Zhao Nansheng said earnestly. "Didn’t I tell you last night? Even if you publicly declare you’re a couple with Wang Chenning, countless other women will still covet him. The reverse is also true; you still don’t want to give up on him, even after learning that Yang Xiaofei is his fiancée. Ah, women... you’re often defeated by your own unwillingness to concede. You lose yourselves because of that feeling, and this is especially true for exceptional women. You’re just like Yang Xiaofei, and maybe Luo Yuqing, too. Unless you all learn to take a step back, you’ll only sink deeper and deeper until you’ve lost yourselves completely!"

Zhao Nansheng motioned for Zhao Xiao’an not to interrupt and to let him continue.

"Wang Chenning, on the other hand, is an extremely capable man who knows how to exploit every opportunity. Just look at what happened in Qiantang, Gusu, and Jinling. He seized nearly every chance, effortlessly building his own momentum and making everyone follow his every move. What’s more, throughout his travels, he has easily utilized the resources of everyone around him, including you.

I won’t hide it from you. The incident in Gusu was arranged by your grandfather and me. We set it up on a whim, really, never expecting Wang Chenning to stir up such a storm. He’s an excellent judge of character and knows how to use people. I suspect he even guessed it was a deliberate setup, that someone wanted to use him to eliminate someone. And he succeeded, easily achieving his own goals. Without him, you and Luo Yuqing could never have accomplished what you did!"

"Grandpa... Dad..." Zhao Xiao’an sounded hurt. She lowered her head and asked softly, "Then what do you want me to do?"

"Don’t interact with him with the mindset that you must marry him. In this, you should learn from Luo Yuqing. For her, interests come first in everything," Zhao Nansheng said, his tone grave once more. "The more you care, the more you’ll lose yourself!"

"I understand," Zhao Xiao’an sighed.

Zhao Nansheng continued, "Wang Chenning is a rare talent. As long as he’s given an opportunity, he’s bound for great things. His ambition is considerable, and he’s adept at using momentum to his advantage. Your grandfather and I both believe that if we can pull him into the Zhao family’s camp, he would make our family unstoppable."

"I understand," Zhao Xiao’an replied softly, her head still bowed. "You want me to do everything I can to make him create value for the Zhao family. If, in the end, I still want to marry him and he wants to marry me, then we can become husband and wife. But if we decide we’re not suitable for each other, I still need to find a way for us to be confidants, or even lovers. He must be kept within the Zhao family’s sphere of influence."

"That’s more or less the gist of it," Zhao Jiefang nodded. "Talent like his is rare. Besides, in many people’s eyes, he’s already considered one of us—part of the Zhao family. We can’t push him away to someone else, and we can’t give anyone else an opportunity to poach him."

"I understand. I’ll adjust my mindset," Zhao Xiao’an said, lifting her head. "He told me he wants to restore the old domain of the Xiongjin Protectorate, which is why he plans to make a move against Shanxing Group. His ambitions are huge, but I don’t think it will be easy for him to succeed."

Zhao Nansheng asked, "He’s only been in Yandu for a few days, yet he’s already gotten Li Mingchao to willingly work for him, and the Li family hasn’t made any trouble for him either. Before all this happened, would you have believed it possible?"

Zhao Xiao’an glanced at her father and grandfather, then finally gave a slight nod. "Let’s hope he can create another miracle, then."

Zhao Nansheng added, "If I’m not mistaken, Wang Chenning recruited Yan Dongling to hone his own power. He won people over when he was in Tokyo, too; you just don’t know what kind of people he brought to his side. As for you, you need to find a way to build good relationships with these people he’s gathering. Become the most influential person to them, second only to him. Luo Yuqing will want to do the same thing, but you can’t let her succeed."

"Alright." After a moment of thought, Zhao Xiao’an didn’t refuse.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Jiefang added a grave warning. "Next, we will very likely have Wang Chenning handle many things for the Zhao family, and these matters must succeed. You might not know this, but the Zhao family is currently facing a joint siege from the Wu and Zhang families. We’ve been put on the back foot to some extent because of our own past strategic errors. Do you understand what I’m saying?"

A shiver went through Zhao Xiao’an, and her eyes widened.

"Grandpa, I understand!" In that instant, she felt the weight on her shoulders grow immensely heavier.

’Grandpa and Dad are playing a very big game of chess, and so is Wang Chenning.’

’They each want to make the other a piece on their own chessboard.’

’In the end, who will become whose piece? Who will have the last laugh?’