Huo Tingzhou was pretending to adjust Suisui and Zhaozhao’s collars when he caught Jiang Si’s gaze. Knowing he was in the wrong, he obediently admitted his mistake.
"Grandma, I was wrong. I’ll be more careful next time."
Grandma Huo nodded, then glanced at Jiang Si. "Make sure to dress warmly these days. Don’t catch a cold."
Jiang Si replied, "Mm, I will, Grandma."
Despite her words, Grandma Huo still wasn’t entirely at ease. That afternoon, she brewed a pot of banlangen (isatis root) tea and brought it to Jiang Si’s room.
Though Huo Tingzhou wasn’t "sick," Grandma Huo didn’t forget his share either.
"If you’re sick, it’ll cure you. If you’re not, it’ll strengthen you," Grandma Huo said. "There’s no harm in prevention."
Having dug his own grave, Huo Tingzhou didn’t argue. He downed his bowl in one go.
But the next second, Jiang Si handed him another bowl with a sweet, smiling expression.
"Grandma’s right—if you’re sick, it’ll cure you. If you’re not, it’ll strengthen you."
Since she wasn’t sick, she naturally didn’t have to drink it.
In the end, both bowls of banlangen tea ended up in Huo Tingzhou’s stomach.
Meanwhile, Jiang Si went to the study and focused on revising her design drafts.
Compared to the original design, the changes weren’t extensive. Aside from adjusting some data, the rest was manageable.
Moreover, after Shen Dong’s arrest, the preliminary drafts from the previous design case had been returned.
She only needed to refine and polish them, so the workload was significantly lighter than before.
Originally, she had expected to finish the drafts by Friday, but to her surprise, everything was completed by Wednesday.
The next morning, Uncle Chen—the security officer—had the car ready outside the old residence early.
By the time Jiang Si finished packing and came downstairs, the engine was already warmed up.
"Good morning, Uncle Chen." Having served Father Huo for many years, Jiang Si treated him with great respect.
Uncle Chen smiled and nodded.
Once Jiang Si settled in, he closed the door securely before starting the car and driving smoothly out of the compound.
The drive to the Construction Ministry took only about ten minutes.
Upon arrival, Jiang Si immediately got to work, coordinating with Director Yang and the project team.
In roughly two hours, everything was wrapped up.
Over the next few days, Jiang Si visited the construction site every other day.
Before long, people in the compound began noticing the pattern.
When they learned that Commissioner Huo’s official car was now mostly used to chauffeur his daughter-in-law, reactions ranged from envy to shock.
"We always knew the Huo family doted on their daughter-in-law, but this is next-level," someone remarked.
"Not just the car—even Commissioner Huo’s security officer has become Jiang Si’s personal bodyguard now," another added.
"Exactly," a neighbor chimed in. "No wonder Commissioner Huo’s been biking to work lately. Turns out it’s because of this."
"But let’s be honest, you can’t deny it—the third branch’s daughter-in-law is something else!"
Last year, she had already made waves in the residential compound with a mural.
This year, she outdid herself. The recent design case controversy had stirred up quite the storm.
With Beijing’s social circles being so tight-knit, who hadn’t heard about it?
"Honestly, it’s not just Beijing," another neighbor said. "Haven’t you seen how many newspapers are circulating nationwide?"
The others nodded in agreement.
Ah, it was truly envy-inducing.
For most people, getting featured in the papers even once was a stroke of luck.
But for the Huo family? Even if their ancestors’ graves exploded, they might not achieve this level of prominence.
Still, some couldn’t help but question it. "The Construction Ministry isn’t that far. There’s a direct bus right outside the compound. Why the need for daily chauffeur service?"
"And Uncle Chen—he’s someone who’s been through thick and thin with Commissioner Huo. Now he’s just escorting her around all day…"
That was true.
Just as the crowd buzzed with confusion, Sister-in-law Du spoke up knowingly.
"It’s obvious—the Huo family is worried."
"Worried about what?" The group’s curiosity was instantly piqued.
Sister-in-law Du lowered her voice. "Who else? The Ling family."
This only deepened the confusion. "What does the Ling family have to do with this?"
Without holding back, Sister-in-law Du shared what she knew.
As luck would have it, her nephew worked at the First Engineering Bureau of the Construction Commission.
He had mentioned it in passing while delivering holiday gifts recently.
Of course, she skipped over her nephew’s complaints and kept it brief.
"You all know that the Huo family’s daughter-in-law is the chief designer for the foreign affairs hotel project, right?"
The group nodded.
Sister-in-law Du continued, "Then do you know who’s leading the construction team this time?"
Someone caught on immediately. "Don’t tell me it’s Old Master Ling’s grandson?"
Unaware that her information was outdated, Sister-in-law Du gave a triumphant look.
"Bingo! It’s him!"
Hearing this, the group immediately exchanged knowing glances.
So it was him after all.
No wonder Commissioner Huo hadn’t been driving his car lately, and why Uncle Chen had been accompanying Jiang Si everywhere she went.
It was all to guard against that member of the Ling family.
"But hasn’t Old Master Ling been retired for a while now? Why hasn’t his family settled down yet?" someone asked, puzzled.
Another quickly chimed in, "Retired or not, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse."
"Besides, that Ling fellow has always been outrageous in his actions—utterly shameless."
As the old saying goes: it’s not the thief you fear, but the one who’s always eyeing your belongings.
The Huo family’s daughter-in-law was beautiful and young.
If she were taken advantage of, she’d have no choice but to swallow the injustice.
What else could she do? Even if the matter were blown up, the woman would still end up suffering the most.
"That’s true," the women present sighed in agreement, their voices tinged with resignation.
Of course, these were just private murmurs, but gossip has a way of spreading like wildfire.
Even though the Ling family’s compound was some distance away, it didn’t take long for rumors to reach their ears.
By dinnertime, when the entire Ling family gathered, Old Master Ling—who usually turned a blind eye to his son’s antics—wore an uncharacteristically stern expression.
"What have you been up to lately, coming and going at all hours? We barely see a shadow of you."
Ling Yunfei, picking at his food absentmindedly, replied dismissively, "Work, obviously. What else?"
"Work?" The old man slammed his chopsticks onto the table. "Your team was cut from the foreign hotel project—what work are you busy with?"
Ling Yunfei, already fuming over the matter, snapped back, "How is that my fault?"
"It was a done deal! The contracts were drafted! We froze our asses off working outside for over a month!"
"Evicting tenants, renovating buildings—killing ourselves day and night, and now they just swap us out like it’s nothing!"
