At this point, He Ping saw no reason to hide anything. He revealed the instructions Huo Tingzhou had given before leaving.
"Our regiment leader said that during his mission, aside from calls from a few elders of the Huo Family and Sister-in-law’s Third Granduncle, all other calls should be ignored."
At the time, He Ping didn’t fully understand why—until the next day, when he received a call from the Huo Family.
"The person claimed to be our regiment leader’s eldest brother. I told him our leader was away on a mission, and then he demanded that Sister-in-law come to the phone."
"I asked what the matter was, but he refused to say."
"I asked three times, and he still wouldn’t explain, so I hung up."
He Ping couldn’t care less if the man was angry. His leader had made it clear—no need to entertain other calls.
"Later, this person called two or three more times, each time with a worse attitude."
"He even started cursing, insisting that Sister-in-law had to call him back, saying it was something she owed him."
After that, He Ping stopped answering the calls altogether.
Unexpectedly, the man was relentless—he even called the communications unit.
Fortunately, the personnel there didn’t bypass He Ping and go straight to the family quarters to look for Sister-in-law. Otherwise, He Ping wouldn’t have known how to explain it to his leader.
By now, Jiang Si understood everything.
Over the years, she’d had almost no contact with the eldest branch of the Huo Family. If they were reaching out now, it could only be about the Su Family’s affairs.
But one thing puzzled Jiang Si.
If someone was asking for a favor, they should at least have the decency to ask properly.
Where did he get the audacity to claim she owed him?
Mother Huo was equally furious at the eldest son’s shameless words. She immediately took Jiang Si to the communications unit.
She wanted to hear what nonsense the eldest son would spew this time.
If he couldn’t give a proper explanation, she wouldn’t hesitate to cut ties today.
"Mom, are you sure about this?" Jiang Si asked.
Given her temperament, if this call went through, they would likely sever all ties with the eldest branch.
She didn’t mind—after all, she rarely returned to Capital City anyway.
If they got along, they could talk more; if not, they could talk less.
But if the rift between the two branches grew too wide, the elders caught in the middle would be put in an awkward position.
Seeing her concern, Mother Huo patted her hand reassuringly.
"Don’t worry about us. Your grandparents have their pensions, and your father and I earn decent salaries. We don’t need to live under their scrutiny."
"Besides, they’re the ones in the wrong here. You don’t owe them any courtesy."
With her mother-in-law’s reassurance, Jiang Si nodded. "Alright, I understand."
Soon, Mother Huo dialed Huo Tingtao’s office number. When the call connected, Jiang Si took the receiver.
"This is Jiang Si. What do you want?"
Huo Tingtao had been fuming these past few days—first over the loss of his child, and then over being unable to reach his younger brother. Hearing Jiang Si’s voice, he let out a cold laugh.
"Third Sister-in-law, you certainly put on airs—"
"Get to the point. Don’t waste my time, and spare me the theatrics."
Jiang Si cut straight to the chase. "If you’re calling to plead for the Su Family, save your breath."
"Third Sister-in-law, must you be so ruthless? That’s my wife’s family—what good does this do you?"
Huo Tingtao took a deep breath, forcing his tone to soften.
"Wanwan was wrong, but she’s already been punished. Can’t you let the Su Family go, for the sake of your eldest brother and sister-in-law?"
"Besides, it’s not like she actually harmed you, right?"
Jiang Si nearly laughed at the absurdity.
"Eldest Brother, you make it sound so simple. Just because she failed doesn’t mean she didn’t try to harm us."
"You should be grateful she didn’t succeed. If she had, Tingzhou’s temper would have left the Su Family in a far worse state than they are now."
"And as for your earlier question—you should go ask your dear father-in-law."
"When they were targeting me at every turn, did they ever consider that I’m a daughter-in-law of the Huo Family? Did they ever think about how I’m your sister-in-law? What good did that do them?"
"You—!"
"Enough with the stammering. I’m not finished."
Jiang Si sneered. "As the eldest son of the Huo Family, I don’t expect you to be perfectly fair or fraternal. But at the very least, you should have the ability to tell right from wrong."
"Instead, when your in-laws make mistakes, you don’t correct or restrain them—you help them shift the blame."
"You’re so shameless as the eldest son, it’s laughable!"
Jiang Si didn’t hold back, unloading every grievance without care for his reaction.
Huo Tingtao was left speechless, his face twisting in rage.
He’d never met a woman as difficult as her.
This was why women shouldn’t read too much—the more educated they were, the harder they were to control.
Seeing that Jiang Si wouldn’t yield to either soft or hard tactics, Huo Tingtao resorted to outright threats.
"Third Sister-in-law, I can’t match your eloquence, but mark my words."
"I don’t care what methods you and Third Brother use—within three days, my father-in-law must be released!"
"Because this is what you two owe us!"
"If you hadn’t been so relentless, if you hadn’t escalated things to this point, your sister-in-law wouldn’t be crying every day."
"She was six months pregnant! Did you ever consider how she could possibly rest with her family in turmoil?"
"Because of you, we lost our child. Are you happy now?"
They lost the child?
Jiang Si was taken aback for a moment.
Before she could respond, Huo Tingtao’s voice came through the receiver again.
"There’s already been one life lost in this family. Your sister-in-law is inconsolable. If you have even a shred of decency, you’ll stop this now."
"I’ve said all I need to say. Think it over."
"If you keep pushing, I’ll have no choice but to tell Mom, Dad, and the grandparents the whole truth. Don’t blame me then for disregarding brotherhood!"
"Go on, I’m listening. Say it."
Hearing Mother Huo’s voice, Huo Tingtao froze. It took him a moment to recover.
"Mom, you—how—?"
Mother Huo scoffed. "Don’t call me Mom. I don’t have a son as shameless as you!"
"Your child is gone, and instead of reflecting on your own failures, you blame Third Brother and his wife with a few careless words."
"Do you think your father and I are so senile we can’t tell right from wrong?"
"Disgusting!"
Others might not know, but she was his mother—she knew the truth.
From the start, the pregnancy had been unstable.
The mother was constantly unwell, complaining of one ailment after another.
And yet, the couple had been inseparable, always wrapped up in each other. Who knew how the child was really lost?
A perfectly fine child was suddenly gone, and to say Mother Huo wasn’t grieving would be a lie.
But what pained her the most was that after losing the child, her eldest son didn’t utter a single word of remorse or sorrow.
Instead, he acted as if nothing had happened, even using the tragedy to threaten others.
At this thought, Mother Huo heaved a heavy sigh.
Before, she had merely thought the eldest branch of the family had been led astray. Now, she realized it wasn’t just a matter of being crooked—the roots themselves were rotten!
Fortunately, the third son was blessed with good fortune.
As Mother Huo lamented, she quietly made a decision.
The family would still be divided, but not in the same way as before!
