Chapter 699   - Trapped (1)

Li Meili had already expected that Zhang Jiren's position within his family wasn't a good one. Considering that he was an illegitimate child taken in by the old man Zhang Xianzhe, she wouldn't be surprised if Zhang Xianzhe's other children looked down on her husband.

But the surprising thing was that Zhang Jiren had come out victorious against them, snatching the title as the successor from right under their nose. Li Meili didn't miss Zhang Liang's animosity against Zhang Jiren the first time she met him back in Beijing a few weeks days ago.

"But don't worry, Madam." Elder Lan took Li Meili's hand and patted it gently. "I'm sure they wouldn't dare to bully you. Master Jiren wouldn't allow any of it." The old woman assured her.

Li Meili bit her inner cheek, stopping herself from retorting. She wanted to tell the old woman that it wasn't her who should be wary, but the Zhang family instead. She wouldn't be called the empress's wingwoman if she couldn't even protect herself. Most of the time she was being looked down on just because she was a woman and she didn't like it one bit.

"Thank you, Auntie but it's alright. I don't think they are strong enough to make an enemy out of my family." She said instead. Who wasn't aware that comparing Zhang and the Li families was like comparing heaven and dirt.

Unlike the Tang family who rely on their daughters to make social connections in order to strengthen their status and the Zhang family who used to take over other businesses to acquire their resources, the Li family's wealth had been passed down from several generations ago and their standing within the society wasn't easy to dismiss.

If the Zhang family think that they could devour the Li family, then they were gravely mistaken. It wouldn't be that easy, especially now that her brother would soon have absolute control of their businesses soon.

Elder Lan smiled and released LI Meili's hand. At least Zhang Jiren married a woman with a good head over her shoulder and not some bimbo who only cared about her looks and what she could gain with the status as his wife.

"Ah, I'll let you finish your snack. I forgot I still need to put the clothes back in Master Jiren's room." She said and slowly rose to her feet, the laundry baskets with the clean clothes that she was holding earlier were left forgotten in the living room.

The old woman wasn't sure what kind of relationship her boss shared with Li Meili and why the two of them weren't sharing the same room considering she was already pregnant. Now that she thought about it, Elder Lan hadn't seen Zhang Jiren bring a woman home with him and had never introduced anyone until Li Meili came.

It came as a shock for Elder Lan when Zhang Jiren had introduced Li Meili as his wife and told them that she was already expecting. She didn't think that Zhang Jiren was the kind of man that would i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e his lover without getting married first.

Anyway, since it wasn't her place to question her superior, Elder Lan could only do her job and look after Li Meili as per Zhang Jiren's request and help him.

He was already swamped with work back at the company. Now, he had to worry and take care of his expecting wife waiting for him at home. It wouldn't be easy for Zhang Jiren to balance his work and personal life now that he was married.

"Let me help you." Li Meili offered as she followed the older woman out of the study. She wanted to take the heavy laundry basket from Elder Lan but the latter opposed her idea and declined her help.

"Oh no, Madam. How can I let you lift such a heavy thing when you are pregnant? I can manage." She said before dragging the first basket with her and unlocked Zhang Jiren's bedroom.

Li Meili followed her, curious to see more of the kind of man she was married to. Looking around the huge bedroom, she wasn't surprised that Zhang Jiren had a minimalist taste when it came to furniture. Only the necessary things could be seen inside the room, including a huge bed situated near the sliding glass door leading to the balcony.

The walls were painted white with a huge painting hanging on one side of the room. The bedcover was dark grey, paired with white pillowcases situated neatly at the headboard. The floor was sparsely decorated with only a small carpet next to the bed, purposely placed there to avoid accidentally slipping whenever Zhang Jiren woke up.

A connecting bathroom and a wardrobe was on Li Meili's left, where she saw Elder Lan busily arranging the clothes in order. She was slightly surprised that Zhang Jiren's wardrobe wasn't filled with business suits and only held a few pairs of it in dark colors.

It was obvious that his suits were custom made due to his build, but they weren't designer clothes at all. Even his house clothes were lacking, though they wouldn't look shabby on Zhang Jiren.

For a CEO like him, Li Meili expected that he would be like other typical business men she had met in the past who like to flaunt their wealth and status through their clothes and accessories. Some even like to indulge themselves with luxurious and expensive watches, but she only saw her husband wearing one.

The more she thought about it, the more Li Meili tried to remember how Zhang Jiren was during their high school days. She then realized that there weren't many changes about him since then.

"I see that he is still the same Zhang Jiren I met in the past." Li Meili suddenly blurted out loud. It took her some time to realize her mistake.

"Ah, you knew each other for a long time?" Elder Lan turned to look at Li Meili with a suit in her hand.