Jiang Si nodded, and the two of them went downstairs together.
Earlier, when the members of the Second and Fourth Branches of the Huo family saw Jiang Si’s photo, they had already been struck by her stunning beauty.
Unexpectedly, she was even more breathtaking in person.
For a moment, everyone was momentarily stunned.
Finally, Grandma Huo’s introductions snapped everyone out of their daze.
"Si Si, this is your Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law, and these two boys are their sons."
"The elder one is Jing Qian, eight years old, and the younger one is Jing Yu, six years old."
"And this is your Fourth Younger Brother and Fourth Younger Sister-in-law."
Upon hearing this, Jing Qian and Jing Yu immediately straightened up and greeted her respectfully.
"Auntie, hello."
Jiang Si smiled and greeted each of them in turn. Once they had warmed up to each other, she brought out the gifts she had prepared.
Though this was their first meeting, Jiang Si had already heard about the different branches of the Huo family from Huo Tingzhou.
For Second Brother Huo, she had chosen a Shanghai-brand briefcase, and for Second Sister-in-law, a pair of Double Happiness-brand ping pong paddles.
The couple worked in procurement and the Beijing Sports Bureau, respectively, and were both skilled ping pong players.
The gifts couldn’t have been more fitting.
As for Old Fourth and his wife, who were both engaged in scientific research, Jiang Si selected a pair of Hero-brand fountain pens.
For Second Brother’s two children, Jiang Si had struggled to find suitable gifts and eventually settled on two red envelopes, each containing 6 yuan, 6 mao, and 6 fen.
Gift-giving often risks awkward refusals, but fortunately, the Second and Fourth Branches weren’t the type to stand on ceremony and accepted the presents graciously.
Yang Meina immediately tested the ping pong paddles. "Sister-in-law, these paddles feel amazing!"
"How about this briefcase?" Second Brother Huo asked with a smile.
"Very professional!"
The Fourth Branch couple also admired their fountain pens, unable to put them down.
It had to be said—Jiang Si’s gifts had hit the mark perfectly.
Just as everyone was expressing their thanks, an unwelcome voice suddenly cut in.
"Mom, Auntie gave gifts to Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Fourth Uncle, and Fourth Aunt, and even red envelopes to the two younger brothers."
"Why didn’t she give anything to me and my brothers?"
The speaker was the eldest son of the First Branch, Huo Jingxuan. At over ten years old, he was old enough to understand everything.
Su Wanwan sneered in agreement. "Yes, I’d also like to know what Third Sister-in-law means by this. We haven’t even divided the family yet. We’re still your eldest brother and sister-in-law—you didn’t even greet us when you arrived."
"And now you’ve only given gifts to the Second and Fourth Branches. What, do you look down on our First Branch?"
"Exactly."
Jiang Si nodded honestly, then shot back, "Is there anything about you worth looking up to?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Su Shanshan, unable to contain her anger, immediately sought backup. "Grandpa, Grandma, did you hear that? Third Brother’s wife is already trampling on our First Branch’s dignity the moment she steps through the door. Are you just going to let this slide?"
"This is between our two branches. Why drag Grandpa and Grandma into it? Or are you too ashamed of what you’ve done to face criticism?"
"I—what have I done?"
"Nothing? Then let me ask you—when you two got married, didn’t our family contribute 100 yuan as a gift and even gave you a woolen blanket separately?"
"That’s right, it’s all recorded in the ledger," the Old Master said gravely.
The whole Huo family knew about this—the First Branch couldn’t deny it.
Jiang Si nodded and continued, "But when it came time for you to return the courtesy, you only gave back 100 yuan. In all my life, I’ve never seen anyone take back part of a gift like that."
"Did the two of you eat that woolen blanket or something?"
Jiang Si’s tone and expression made her words far more infuriating than a slap in the face.
Huo Tingtao’s face darkened instantly, and he backhanded Su Shanshan.
"Didn’t I tell you to give Mom the money for the blanket? You didn’t do it?"
"..."
The slap left Su Shanshan stunned. When had he ever said that?
But faced with her husband’s unpredictable temper, she didn’t dare argue and could only stammer out an excuse.
"I—I was busy and forgot."
"Forgot? Fine. Then remember to pay me back later."
"I hate it when people owe me things."
"Forgot?" Jiang Si laughed mockingly. "You ‘forgot’ something that happened half a month ago? Then what about just a couple of days ago?"
"I heard you two were there when the furniture was being moved. So tell me—did you help us move anything? Clean up? Even just carry a chair—did you do anything at all?"
Help?
As if.
At the time, they had been fuming over the matter, convinced that Grandpa and Grandma were already favoring the Third Branch.
The couple had nothing to say, but Jiang Si had plenty.
"I gave gifts to the Second and Fourth Branches out of genuine gratitude—mine and Tingzhou’s."
"If Mom hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known that Second Brother and Fourth Brother were the ones who helped move our furniture, and Second Sister-in-law and Fourth Younger Sister-in-law were the ones who cleaned our rooms."
"Do you two even deserve gifts?"
Then, with undisguised disdain, she added, "I hate it when people owe me things. Don’t forget to return that woolen blanket!"
The matter could have ended there, but Su Wanwan just had to try her luck.
Perhaps thinking she’d found the perfect counterattack, she didn’t even bother consulting Huo Tingtao first.
The moment Jiang Si finished speaking, Su Wanwan lashed out.
"The reason we didn’t help is all because of you!"
"If you hadn’t caused trouble for my family, I wouldn’t have had a miscarriage!"
Huo Tingtao froze for a moment before catching on, though he pretended to scold her.
"That’s in the past now, no need to bring it up—"
"Why shouldn’t I? My health still hasn’t recovered from the miscarriage, and instead of apologizing, Third Brother and his wife are blaming us for not helping them move!"
"Who in the world bullies people like this?"
Dong Lihua’s face instantly darkened. "Are you saying you lost the baby because of Third Brother and his wife?"
"That’s right, it’s all their fault!"
By now, Su Wanwan seemed almost deranged—perhaps her lies had started to feel real even to her.
"I didn’t want to mention it, but they’ve gone too far."
Then, as if remembering something, she added, "Grandpa, Grandma, you mustn’t let Third Brother’s wife into the family. Someone like her, cursed with misfortune—she brings ruin to her parents at home and her husband after marriage."
"The Jiang family and our Su family are proof enough."
"If she enters the Huo family, she’ll bring nothing but chaos!"
"It’s already started—you have to believe me..."
Su Wanwan wanted to say something more, but Jiang Si had already slapped her across the face.
She had known for a while that the eldest brother and his wife were no good, but she never imagined their moral standards could sink this low.
Before she could speak, Guan Xue, the wife of Old Fourth, stepped forward.
"Eldest Sister-in-law, that child of yours was lost because of your own recklessness with Eldest Brother. How can you blame Third Sister-in-law for it?"
The moment these words were spoken, the living room fell into silence.
Su Wanwan was both furious and flustered. She hadn’t expected Guan Xue, who usually stayed out of family affairs, to intervene at this moment.
Forced to maintain her composure, she retorted, "Fourth Younger Sister-in-Law, what nonsense are you spouting?"
"I’m not spouting nonsense."
Guan Xue adjusted her glasses, her tone as calm as ever.
"The day you lost the child, I happened to be home with a high fever. I heard you calling for help."
"By the time I came out, Eldest Brother had already taken you to the hospital."
"So what? I fell, and my husband took me to the hospital—that’s perfectly normal! If it weren’t for them, why would I have fallen in my own room?"
"Eldest Sister-in-law, even now, you still insist on shifting the blame?"
Guan Xue shook her head helplessly.
Had she not accidentally seen the bloodstains on the floor that day, or been so worried that she pushed open their bedroom door, she might have been fooled by Su Wanwan’s lies too.
"Whether the child was lost from a fall or from your own recklessness—that’s something a hospital checkup can easily confirm."
"Eldest Sister-in-law, do you dare?"
At this, Su Wanwan clammed up like a strangled chicken.
But Huo Tingtao spoke up, "Why wouldn’t we dare? Once the family division is settled, we’ll go straight to the hospital."
"However, when the truth comes out, I expect an apology from all of you—especially you, Third Sister-in-law!"
"That slap of yours was no light matter!"
Hearing this, Su Wanwan inexplicably felt reassured. If Tingtao was speaking so confidently, he must have already arranged things at the hospital.
Yet her relief lasted less than three seconds before Mother Huo’s voice rang out from the doorway.
"No need to wait for the family division. We can verify it now!"
As her words fell, Father Huo and Mother Huo entered the living room with grim expressions.
Following them were Huo Fourth Uncle in his police uniform, a doctor in a white coat, two bruised men, and a timid middle-aged woman—
