Chapter 271 - Conflicts Escalating (1)
Xia Zhetao handed over various sources of doc.u.ments and photographic evidence which contained detailed records of Zhao Youxi being a kept woman of wealthy men, and a mistress to other men. She even took drugs and slept with several men at the same time.
The tabloid press especially liked this type of topic, which was related to the sordid things committed by the ladies from wealthy families from the shadows. These topics were sensational and grabbed many people"s attention.
On top of that, spreading news like this normally offended others, especially since the person involved was a member of the Zhao family.
Under normal circ.u.mstances, even if the tabloid press wanted to increase their sales volume, they would act with extreme caution.
However, this time, the person who gave them the information was a member of the Mu family. Although the Zhao family had a high status in Shalnork, they paled in comparison to the Mu family.
When they compared the two, the magazine publishers naturally knew how to weigh the pros and cons. This was especially so that when Xia Zhetao handed over the information to them, he had clearly told them that the lady of the Zhao family was only an illegitimate daughter of the family and did not have any position in the Zhao family. No matter how they threw mud at her, the Zhao family would not hold them accountable for it.
However, they had to remember one thing. They could only throw the mud at the lady alone instead of the entire Zhao family.
The people working at the magazine publishers were highly experienced, how could they not have understood the hint from Xia Zhetao"s words?
After being given the a.s.surance, they immediately worked on the information right after receiving it from him. Each of them worked more efficiently than the other as they were afraid of being robbed of being the first to publish the news.
As such, in the following days, all kinds of unfavorable news about Zhao Youxi sprung up like mushrooms, and she quickly became the front page news of various magazines.
The world never lacked the type of people who liked to watch a show and make sarcastic remarks about it. In just a moment, various negative public opinions attacked Zhao Youxi like a fierce storm coming from everywhere.
To put it bluntly, it was not uncommon for the people in upper-cla.s.s society to offer themselves in exchange for something they desired. However, the smart ones would never let their dark past be exposed before the public.
As long as it was not reported in the news, they pretended as if none of this had ever happened to them, and they remained looking glamorous on the surface. Everyone agreed to this rule by default.
However, Zhao Youxi was not within the rank of these so-called smart people. She was promiscuous, and she did it openly. As long as one conducted an investigation on her, they could find out all the dirty things she did without fail.
The onlookers liked to make the matter worse. Everyone liked to kick the dog when it was down whenever immoral news was reported.
Within a couple of days, the spoiled and pampered rich man"s daughter, Zhao Youxi became an abhorrent, s.l.u.tty wench.
However, the worst had yet to come. When the report came to light, the rich men"s wives and daughters, who were previously unaware that their husbands and fathers had been seduced by Zhao Youxi and also kept other women as their mistresses, learned the truth, they could no longer hold back their anger and went to confront Zhao Youxi.
Regardless of how gentle, thoughtful, kind and dignified the women were, the moment they learned someone else attempted to destroy their family and their own happiness, they bared their fangs like never before.
On the sixth time when she went out, her face was scratched by a woman in beautiful clothes. She was pressed to the floor, slapped and cussed for being a shameless mistress. Only then did Zhao Youxi realize the seriousness of the matter. She covered her injured face, cried, and went home to seek help from Li Hongyu. Unfortunately… It was too late.
"Mother! Mother! You have to help me! You"ve got to help me! If this continues, I-I… I..." The scratch marks gathered over the past few days were left behind on her face, and with her tear marks, she looked like a real mess.
However, at that moment, Li Hongyu no longer felt heartache for her daughter. Holding the newspaper she just received for that day, Li Hongyu felt her vision blacken and nearly fainted, just like the day when she learned that Mu Tingfeng had found out Zhao Youxi tried to kill Zhao Youlin by tampering with the elevator.
"Y-You… You…" Li Hongyu was so angry that her entire body boiled with rage. She felt as if the sky was about to fall on her.
She knew Zhao Youxi was promiscuous. Therefore, she did not pay much attention to it. She thought girls should be pampered. Moreover, before she was married into the Zhao family, her children had to be kept in the dark along with her. They were illegitimate children, so they did not have any sort of identification and had endured a lot of suffering.
After Li Hongyu was married into the Zhao family, she naturally wanted to find ways make ground. She made up for all the sufferings her children had endured by pampering them with all her heart.
Never had she thought her repeated tolerance for Zhao Youxi had gotten her to grow increasingly spoiled. By the time Li Hongyu realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
"Mother, you have to help me. I can"t even get out of the house now. When I"m out on the street, many people look at me with disgust. Some even lunge at me and beat me up! If this continues, my reputation will be ruined!"
"Your reputation is already ruined!" Li Hongyu"s face turned ghastly pale. She clutched the newspaper tightly in her hand and had a myriad of emotions in her heart.
Just then, the sound of a car stopping came from outside. The mother-daughter pair froze at the same time. They followed the sound and looked at the door.
Soon, a familiar figure dashed in aggressively through the door.
Li Hongyu knew something was wrong the moment she saw his demeanor. She hurriedly hid the newspaper and tried hard to maintain the smile on her face. She said gently, "Shuncheng, why did you come back at this hour? Are you hungry? I"ll ask the kitchen lady to stew your favorite… Ahhh…!"
Before Li Hongyu finished speaking, she was slapped by Zhao Shuncheng, and fell on the floor. Before Li Hongyu recovered from her shock, a stack of stuff was thrown at her.
Li Hongyu"s heart clenched. She picked up the things tossed at her and saw it was the same newspaper which she had tried very hard to hide from him.
"Father…" Looking at Zhao Shuncheng"s furious and frightening look, Zhao Youxi called him timidly.
"Stop calling me that! I don"t have such a disgraceful daughter like you!" Zhao Shuncheng shouted at them mercilessly. His words had once again stabbed Zhao Youxi and Li Hongyu where it hurt.
Disgraceful? So, this was how he had perceived his daughter, right? Zhao Youxi"s expression instantly darkened. She looked up at Zhao Shuncheng and screamed loudly, "Who are you to say this to me? You often flirt with women outside, what right do you have to say that to me?! Haven"t you heard of the old saying, like father, like daughter?! Everything that I did was because I learned from you! You"re the last person on Earth who has the right to say that to me!"