Rebirth of the Film Empress' Beloved Wife [JenLisa Adaptation]

Chapter 51: Choices

Since the “secret” was already out, trying to stop it from spreading would only prove futile. The culprit was either the Lee family or the Manoban family, though it didn’t matter which. If the Kim family tried to block the news, the culprit would undoubtedly use it to threaten Lisa, or even Jennie. Therefore, it would be wiser for the Kim family to help spread the news instead. That way, they would gain the advantage of controlling what the public would see and whose side they would feel more inclined to take.

Jennie couldn’t fall back asleep, so she tidied up her bed and went to Lisa's bedroom. However, her bed was empty. Looking at the time, it was only five in the morning. Don’t tell her she was awake already?

She went downstairs to look for her, but she wasn’t in the living room or the kitchen. That was when she remembered that the System had a tracking function.

After a few seconds, the System responded.

Miss Lisa is doing morning exercises in the yard.

When she arrived, she saw Lisa shadowboxing. Although she couldn’t tell what style of boxing she was practicing, it was obvious that her powerful moves weren’t just for show.

Jennie's eyes shone, and she suddenly felt an itch to join her. As the sole daughter of the Kim family, she had grown up taking classes on fighting and outdoor survival. She was strong. Although those skills rarely came in handy, seeing the woman in front of her train kindled her fighting spirit. She wanted to spar.

So she did.

Without so much as a warning, she shot forward, clenching her delicate hand into a fist and sent a hard punch in her direction. By the time Lisa heard her, it was already too late. She tried to dodge, but the blow still managed to land, clipping her shoulder. She had been by no means gentle, causing her to stagger from the impact.

She recovered quickly and backed away just in time to avoid Jennie's ensuing attack, but she didn’t fight back and ended up irritating Jennie.

“Fight back, or I’ll beat you up!” she shouted at her, disgruntled as her fists lashed out faster than before. She was using her actions to show Lisa that she was being serious.

As Lisa took in this new and unexpected side of her, a wry smile appeared on her face. Although she wouldn’t mind getting beat up by her, she knew that what she wanted was a spar. Therefore, she could only brace herself and return her blows.

While Lisa's attacks were strong and simple, Jennie's were swift, sharp, and merciless. They were both well-trained, but their techniques differed. Unlike the frank and forthright nature of Lisa's attacks, Jennie's style was more lethal.

Practicality was the core of her fighting style. As a matter of fact, some of her moves were taught to her by famous hitmen from the underworld. The Kim family’s conditions were as such. In contrast, Lisa suffered quite a bit, especially since her fighting style relied on physical strength, and she couldn’t bear to actually attack her. Naturally, she fell to a disadvantageous position.

After a few more punches, Jennie's hands began to throb with pain. It had been too long since her last spar, and she’d put too much force into her punches, so the rebound was catching up to her. As a result, she had to lessen the strength behind her punches.

Immediately, Lisa noticed, and she felt her heart ache a little when she saw the light sheen of sweat on her forehead. She twisted her body to block Jennie's next punch and at the same time, stopped her assault.

“Jennie, let’s rest for a bit. We should go in and have breakfast now.” Of course, she didn’t tell her that she should rest because she was obviously tired. That would only result in her receiving a few more punches.

Jennie yielded, and that was when she suddenly remembered her purpose for coming to find Lisa.

“I came here to ask you something,” she said, her face gleaming with light sweat.

“What is it?” The expression on her face caused Lisa to feel a bit apprehensive.

“Do you know of the Manoban family? Along with our Kim family, the Lee family, and the Wang family, the Manoban family is one of the four great families in Korea.”

The title “four great families” was not to be taken lightly. It could be said that the four great families made up the sky of Korea. There was virtually no one who didn’t know of them.

Instantly, silence fell, and Lisa's expression changed. Jennie didn’t try to urge her, but her reaction alone told her that she did indeed know something.

“I would’ve forgotten if you hadn’t mentioned them. You know about… that matter?”

Obviously, she knew about the Manoban family. How could she not? She just didn’t want anything to do with them and thus placed them at the very back of her mind. However, since Jennie had brought it up, she couldn’t continue to feign obliviousness.

“So you know about it too. Now, I wonder if the Manoban family also knows.” She was not surprised by her response, which more or less served as an acknowledgment. Her surname was “Manoban,” after all.

“They do. They were the ones who put me in the orphanage. I’m sorry for not telling you about this sooner, Jennie. I just didn’t think it was necessary, and I really don’t want to have anything to do with that family,” she explained, somewhat worried. She didn’t know why Jennie suddenly brought them up or how she figured out her relationship with them, but it didn’t change the fact that she had kept her birth from Jennie. Now, she wasn’t sure if she would be mad or not.

Jennie glanced at her and didn’t say anything in response to her apology. Their distance relationship in the past had made it unnecessary for her to tell about her connection to the Manoban family. Even now, although their relationship had improved, it wasn’t something she needed to tell her. Therefore, she wasn’t angry at all.

“I don’t know if it’s the Lee family or the Manoban family that wants to expose your relationship with the latter, but it has reached some headlines. My plan is to help the news spread rather than block it, but if you don’t want it to spread, then I will try my best to block it.” Jennie understood her position and intentions very clearly and waited for Lisa's response.

Lisa's expression became cold, very cold, and there was even a hint of pressure being exerted from her body.

“The Manoban family wouldn’t. Zhenyi Manoban attaches the most importance to his reputation, and my existence is his greatest bane. He would never try to publicize my relationship with the Manoban family.  In other words, this was most likely the doing of the Lee family. I’m just not sure what they’re hoping to get out of this.”

Lisa understood her identity better than anyone else. As a child born out of wedlock, she was a stain on Zhenyi’s conservative reputation. The man wouldn’t want the public to know of his past infidelity.

“Zhenyi isn’t the only member of the Manoban family, otherwise the Lee family wouldn’t have learned about this. But right now, the most important thing is your opinion. Do you want to block the news from spreading, or do you want to use our own channels to spread the news first? You should understand the pros and cons of both,” Jennie said, her reasonable considerations serving to gradually calm Lisa down.