Dangerous Liaisons: I’m So Poor, All I Have is Money! - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Wealthy Marriage (The Scumbags are NOT the Male Lead!)

I married into the Jiang family because of a business alliance.

My husband, Jiang Jun, is the only son of the Jiang family. However, Jiang Jun has a “White Moonlight”—a woman he has loved forever. Everyone in both families knows this, yet they treat it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Jiang Jun’s father—the head of the Jiang family, Jiang Shitian—told me, “Now that you’re married in, you need to be sensible.”

My own family said the same: “What man doesn’t have a few mistresses? Especially a capable man like Jiang Jun.”

And so, I became the sacrificial lamb for two great families.

My stepmother said, “Who told you to be a Zhou? Since you are a Zhou, you must sacrifice for the family.”

I glanced silently at her biological daughter—my half-sister, Zhou Qing. She was preparing to marry a student studying abroad whom she loved. I had met him once; his name was Fu Jin. His family wasn’t wealthy, but he was driven.

So, what was this talk about “a Zhou must sacrifice”? From beginning to end, the only person sacrificing was me.

The only reason I agreed to this marriage was that my biological mother was ill and desperately needed money. My stepmother, fearing I would back out, even threw in my old dog—the one I had raised since childhood—along with me.

I surveyed the cold, desolate Jiang manor and stroked my dog. I understood deeply that I was nothing more than a “flower vase” decoration here. Without a man’s favor or the Jiang family’s heart, I was nothing.

On the wedding day, the White Moonlight caused a scene. She used every trick in the book to lure Jiang Jun away from the banquet.

Watching Jiang Jun’s retreating back, I stroked my dog’s fur over and over, my face expressionless.

I didn’t notice Jiang Shitian appear behind me until he spoke. “Your man ran off. Why aren’t you chasing him?”

I looked down at my dog and said, “If they want to go, you can’t make them stay.”

The White Moonlight is a minor celebrity whom Jiang Jun has tried—and failed—to make famous. After her little victory, she clamored before the media: “The Jiang daughter-in-law isn’t as good as the mistress.”

She was trying to use the scandal to trend on social media. The heat from her wild claim actually surpassed the headline: “Jiang-Zhou Alliance: Joining Forces to Build the Dongcheng Business Empire.”

Holding my phone, I looked at the trending topics and smiled faintly. Her move didn’t just slap my face; it slapped the faces of both the Jiang and Zhou families.

As expected, after I stayed my hand and watched from the sidelines, Jiang Shitian took action. He used his influence to suppress the news and cancelled several advertising endorsements she had under the Jiang Corporation. Those endorsements had been given to her privately by Jiang Jun. Jiang Jun was powerless to change his father’s decision.

Consequently, Jiang Jun vented all his anger on me. He used this as an excuse to brazenly bring his White Moonlight into the Jiang manor to confront me.

Just then, Jiang Shitian walked out from the inner rooms, a cigar in his mouth. As he passed me, he said nonchalantly, “Your man… aren’t you going to handle him?”

With that, he took his seat at the head of the table. He lit his cigar and sat there, smoking in silence without saying a word.

I patted my dog, signaling it to move away.

Then, in a move no one expected, I suddenly snatched a fruit knife off the coffee table and thrust it ruthlessly toward the White Moonlight.

She turned pale with fright, and even Jiang Jun stumbled back several steps, losing his composure.

Jiang Shitian, cigar still in his mouth, looked up at me with a probing gaze. He let out a cold laugh and flicked the ash from his cigar.

Jiang Jun glanced warily at Jiang Shitian, then opened his arms, trembling as he shielded the White Moonlight. “You… what are you doing? You crazy woman! I… I won’t let you hurt Mianmian.”

Mianmian was her stage name. Hearing this, Mianmian began to cry right on cue.

Ignoring them, I turned the point of the knife toward my own throat.

“The Jiang-Zhou alliance is known throughout the city,” I said softly. “The honeymoon isn’t even over, yet you treat me like this. Where do you intend to put the dignity of our two families?”

When I mentioned the families’ dignity, I pointedly glanced at Jiang Shitian.

Jiang Shitian crushed out his cigarette. He stared at me with an unreadable smile. Then, he looked at Jiang Jun and asked, his words brief and sharp: “Are you leaving, or not?”

Fear flickered in Jiang Jun’s eyes. Knowing better than to push further, he scurried away with Mianmian in tow.

After they left, I still held the knife to my neck. However, tears had unknowingly filled my eyes. I kept them wide open, refusing to let the tears fall.

Jiang Shitian walked over and reached out with his long fingers. As his hand approached my face, he shifted and pressed down on the handle of my knife.

Taking the knife from me, he stood by my side as if he could see through everything. “This move of yours wasn’t very clever,” he said. “Relying on force is, ultimately, a low-tier tactic.”

I lowered my gaze, looking at my toes. I spoke with feigned weakness, “Father is right to lecture me.”

When no outsiders were present, I didn’t call him “Dad.” I maintained a sense of detachment from the Jiang family and everything in it. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to care.

Jiang Shitian let out a light laugh. “Learn as you go.”

“Yes,” I replied, appearing obedient.

After I spoke, I stole a glance at him. Jiang Shitian shook his head with a smile and walked out. Though he was in his forties, he walked with a vigorous, swift stride.

After this incident, I thought I might have some peace in the Jiang house for a while.

Instead, a few days later, news reached me that Jiang Jun had purchased a villa for Mianmian—right in the neighborhood of the Jiang manor.

(Important: None of the scumbags are the Male Lead! None of them!)