"Well, what are you waiting for?" Song Qiao asked again.
Cui Haoze's face was even sweatier, trickling from his forehead down his cheeks and onto the carpet.
More tea sloshed from the cup in his hand, splashing onto his hands, clothes, leather shoes, and the carpet.
Now, only a small half-cup of tea remained.
"Shall I help you!" Song Qiao said with a teasing smile.
Madame Shen's face was frigid.
Chen Chen and Wei Feng looked wary, their eyes also filled with gossip.
Suddenly, Cui Haoze's hand loosened.
"Clatter!"
The cup fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.
"Ah, I'm really so sorry..." Cui Haoze said, looking relieved but also regretful.
"Heh heh..." Song Qiao chuckled. "You didn't actually think we wouldn't be able to test the components on the carpet, did you?"
At that moment, a scent of bitter almonds wafted into everyone's nostrils.
Potassium cyanide!
Madame Shen was truly stunned. Soon, her face turned furious, her eyes flashing with murderous intent.
She pointed at Cui Haoze and berated him, "You! You deserve to die! I treated you well, and you tried to harm me?"
Seeing that his assassination attempt had failed and his scheme exposed, Cui Haoze stopped pretending.
He pointed at Madame Shen and shouted,
"Bitch, you treated me well? How dare you say that! I'm a grown man, and you treat me like a dog, bossing me around all day!"
"You just married a good man, what right do you have to treat me like this?"
Madame Shen grew angrier with every word.
However, the anger on her face began to fade, replaced by a growing calmness.
Song Qiao watched the scene unfold from the side, observing it closely.
He hadn't expected Cui Haoze to be so bold as to poison Madame Shen right in front of him.
And Madame Shen truly lived up to her reputation as a strong woman, displaying remarkable emotional control.
His expression was calm as he silently watched the internal strife of the Koreans, finding it rather amusing.
Chen Chen and Wei Feng, who were eavesdropping, were thoroughly engrossed in the drama.
Only after he had finished speaking did she speak leisurely.
"What right do I have? I have money and status! If you're unhappy, you can leave! Plenty of people want me to boss them around!"
"But what you should never have done, what you should never have done, was poison me! Have you lost your conscience?"
As she spoke, Madame Shen's face slowly turned pale.
It was only then that she realized she had narrowly escaped death once again.
If Song Qiao hadn't been there, she would have undoubtedly drunk the poisoned tea brought by Cui Haoze and met a tragic end.
Thinking of this, Madame Shen felt immensely grateful to Song Qiao, truly her savior!
Perhaps, she really should thank this guy properly.
However, this Song Qiao could sometimes be incredibly exasperating.
Not to mention that she herself was also using him, wanting him to help her obtain the plaque.
Thinking about it, she felt a pang of shame.
So, she wanted to turn to Song Qiao and say something, but felt it wasn't the right time.
She needed to handle the current situation first.
Composing herself, she looked back at Cui Haoze.
To her dismay, Cui Haoze's expression was utterly infuriating.
His face was full of smugness, as if to say, "I did it, what can you do about it?"
A surge of anger ignited within her.
Her delicate eyebrows furrowed, "Are you trying to justify yourself?"
"Heh heh." Cui Haoze raised an eyebrow. "At least I have a strong argument on my side."
Madame Shen was speechless with anger.
Seeing this, Song Qiao, who was standing nearby, listening to the gossip with Chen Chen and Wei Feng, let out a muffled laugh.
In his past and present lives, he had encountered many shameless people, but never anyone as shameless as this.
Madame Shen looked over at him, her expression displeased and tinged with a hint of reproach, "What? Do you have a problem with that?"
Song Qiao's expression immediately turned serious, and he quickly suppressed his smile. He said to Madame Shen, "No, I don't have any issues. Please, continue."
He even spread his hands as if to convey his innocence.
Seeing this, Madame Shen shot him a look before turning her attention back to Cui Haoze.
Cui Haoze's intention was clear: he had done it, and he assumed Madame Shen could do nothing to him.
His confidence in this assumption stemmed from the fact that although Madame Shen appeared to have a stable position, her foundation was actually weak, and she walked on thin ice.
Her support base was not large, and she had always been barely holding on.
As time went by, her few supporters were either withdrawing, defecting, or being eliminated by rivals.
Originally, he had followed Madame Shen for great rewards, akin to what Lü Buwei did in the Warring States period of China.
Of course, this was his own perception.
In reality, it was more like warming a cold stove, trying to gain benefits as she grew stronger by staying close to her.
However, in his view, Madame Shen's power had not grown; instead, it was gradually weakening.
Yet, she remained oblivious to this, indulging in nonsensical actions.
It was precisely because he saw Madame Shen acting recklessly that he felt following her devotedly might not yield the expected returns and could even lead to a bad end.
Especially seeing her flitting about in China recently, putting herself in danger multiple times.
What was even more incomprehensible was that her sole focus was on reclaiming the plaque her father had lost to Zhang Longsheng.
Frankly, what was the use of a plaque?
If Madame Shen were powerful, she wouldn't need to resort to such schemes. A single word from her would suffice for Zhang Longsheng to willingly return the plaque.
Witnessing all this, he finally decided to seek an alternative, even if it meant burning all his bridges.
Unexpectedly, this opportunity arrived quickly.
Not long ago, a mysterious entity had contacted him, wanting to control Madame Shen through him.
In other words, they wanted him to seize control.
Thinking of the mysterious entity's request, Cui Haoze's heart stirred. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity?
As long as he could subdue Madame Shen and make her obey him, his future actions would be much smoother, and he would gain more favor from the mysterious entity, paving a new path for himself.
Therefore, he gazed at Madame Shen for a long moment before speaking, "You don't know how weak your foundation is, nor do you understand how powerful the opposition you face is. To put it bluntly, a single misstep could lead to your utter destruction."
"Now, I offer you a path: follow me from now on. I will provide you with protection."
Madame Shen looked at Cui Haoze with a cold expression, wanting to laugh aloud, "You? What leverage do you have to make such grand claims?"
Cui Haoze's face was filled with fervent conviction, "Of course, it's the Zhang family. As long as you listen to me, the Zhang family can provide you with support!"
Madame Shen was enraged, and at the same time, a little self-reproachful. Had she been foolish to listen to this man's nonsense?
She called out to the bodyguards outside, "Someone, drag him out and break his legs first!"
Cui Haoze was shocked, "No, you dare to touch me?"
Madame Shen sneered, "Who do you think you are! Do you think I sought out Deng Yihan for nothing? The Zhang family isn't even comparable to a single strand of hair from the Deng family!"
Cui Haoze shouted, "No, the Deng family isn't that kind! You'll regret this! Take him away, deal with him quickly! And yes, question him thoroughly about how much intelligence he's leaked and how much he's harmed me and the company."
Two bodyguards, one on each side, grabbed Cui Haoze's arms and dragged him out.
Soon, piercing screams echoed into the room.