Following behind, Qin Yulian saw that Jiang Youli and Zhang Susu were unable to enter the Long family's gate for a long time and guessed they had been snubbed.
What was laughable was that this wretched girl even had people come over, beating gongs and drums, planning to force Jiang Li out with this commotion!
Truly overestimating herself!
Really, she shouldn't have worried and insisted on coming to check the situation, wasting so much time for nothing!
Thinking of this, Qin Yulian told the driver to turn around and leave, no longer paying attention to Jiang Youli's situation. Let the Long family handle that wretched girl Jiang Youli; she still had her own important matters to attend to!
After Jiang Youli's shouting, combined with the gong and drum beating from the team found by Ye Ying, the Long family's butler finally came out again.
Covering his ears, he shouted, "Miss Jiang, what are you doing?"
Jiang Youli answered with a megaphone, "Isn't that a silly question? Of course, I'm looking for my third aunt. Who told you not to open the door or let her out?"
The butler was speechless. Frowning, he continued loudly, "Alright, Miss Jiang, tell those people behind you to stop. I'll take you in to see the Second Madam!"
"Great!" Jiang Youli turned back, raised her hand, and shouted, "Stop!"
Soon, the deafening sounds of gongs and drums all ceased, and the surroundings finally returned to quiet.
The butler breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his hands from his ears, and opened the main gate. "Miss Jiang, please come in."
Jiang Youli addressed the team in front of her, "Alright, you can all go collect your pay."
The professional lion and dragon dance troupe then left.
Seeing this, Zhang Susu, who had been waiting in the car, got out and walked to Jiang Youli's side.
Noticing Zhang Susu was also here, the butler was surprised and couldn't help saying, "Miss Jiang grew up in the village and just returned to the Jiang family, so it's understandable if she doesn't know better. But Madam Jiang, you come from a prestigious family of socialites. How could you join Miss Jiang in making such a scene here?"
Zhang Susu retorted with dignified composure, "The Long family is also a top-tier, prominent family in the capital. They should understand the proper way to receive guests. How could they keep visiting guests waiting outside the door for over half an hour without any reason?"
The butler was tongue-tied.
Madam Jiang was famously known in social circles for her gentle and unassuming demeanor, like a chrysanthemum. Why did she seem different now? Her words were quite pointed.
Zhang Susu ignored the Long family butler. She looked at Jiang Youli, her voice immediately turning gentle, "Youli, let's go find your third aunt."
Jiang Youli grinned and nodded, "Alright, Mom!"
After Zhang Susu and Jiang Youli entered, the butler closed the gate and then hurried ahead to lead them to the main hall of the mansion.
Three people were sitting on the sofa in the main hall.
A white-haired elderly lady, who should be the Old Madame Long, along with Jiang Li and her husband, Second Master Long, Long Junyu.
"Jiang Youli, aren't you just a nuisance!" Long Junyu spoke impatiently. He was still wearing pajamas, apparently just woken up. "I was catching up on sleep just fine, only to be rudely awakened by that chaotic gong and drum noise outside the door. That was your doing, right?"
As he spoke, a ball of anger churned in his stomach.
After leaving the Qi family's engagement banquet last night, unable to bear Jiang Li's various complaints, he didn't return to the Long residence but went to a nightclub, only being driven back to the Long family after it closed at 3 a.m.
Returning to the Long family, he couldn't be bothered to go back to his room and simply slept on the sofa in the main hall. When Jiang Li came downstairs later, because her niece had called her, she launched into another round of complaints at him, making it impossible for him to continue sleeping.
Seeing the butler had no intention of inviting them to sit, Jiang Youli refused to endure this cold treatment. She directly walked over and sat on an empty sofa, patting the spot beside her, saying, "Mom, come sit here. Who knows how long this might take to settle."
If it were before, Zhang Susu would never have done something like sitting down without being invited by the host. But after spending so much time with Youli, she was increasingly unwilling to let herself suffer any meaningless grievances.
Zhang Susu walked over and sat down.
Old Madame Long frowned slightly, giving Zhang Susu a thoughtful glance.
The Jiang family's newly retrieved girl was one thing, but had Zhang Susu's temperament also become so sharp? Sitting down directly without being invited.
Once seated, Jiang Youli finally answered Long Junyu's earlier remark, "The people beating gongs and drums outside were indeed found by me. But you can't blame me for that. Blame my third aunt. Who told her to leave me waiting outside your Long family gate for over half an hour? I had no other choice."
Old Madame Long sneered, "What a fine 'no other choice.' It was only half an hour, and you had to raise a ruckus outside my Long family home. If it had been any longer, were you planning to put my Long family in the news?"
Jiang Youli gave a thumbs-up, praising, "Old Madame Long is indeed wise! You guessed correctly. That's exactly what I thought. If you hadn't opened the door to let me see my third aunt, I was prepared to call the reporters."
Old Madame Long: "..."
Jiang Li glanced at the Old Madame's expression, suppressing the urge to gloat.
She had seen plenty of the Old Madame's displeasure in the Long family; it was rare for someone to make the Old Madame eat humble pie.
After steadying her emotions, Old Madame Long said, "I heard the whole story from your third aunt. She made a bet with you the day before yesterday. If my son could arrange a meeting with Chairman Zhou for her second brother, you would kneel and apologize to her. If he couldn't, then she would kneel and apologize to you."
Jiang Youli said, "Yes. Who knew Third Aunt would renege and sneak back to the Long family?"
"Who knew you would chase her all the way to the Long family," Old Madame Long said with sarcasm. "What? Are you dead set on making your third aunt actually kneel and apologize to you?"
Jiang Youli nodded, "That's right. Third Aunt must, absolutely must, kneel and apologize to me."
She wore a smile on her face, but her tone was heavy.
Old Madame Long had lived a long life but had never seen anyone act so arrogantly in front of her.
She looked at Zhang Susu, "Madam Jiang, although you are not her biological mother, now that you have acknowledged her as your daughter, you are her elder. Do you also permit her to be so aggressive towards her own aunt?"
"A bet is a bet; paying one's dues is only right and proper. Shouldn't it be? Moreover, in this matter, it was Jiang Li herself who came provoking my daughter Youli. If we don't stand up for ourselves this time, people will always think our family is easy to bully," Zhang Susu firmly defended.
Jiang Li finally couldn't hold back her exasperation, "It's one thing for Jiang Youli to be childish and stubborn, but Sister-in-law, she's not even your biological daughter. Why must you be so stubborn! You even followed her here to the Long family to make a scene!"
Zhang Susu was most annoyed by this talk of Youli not being her biological daughter. She said, "Don't give me that useless talk. Hurry up and kneel to apologize to Youli."
Jiang Li leaned back on the sofa, crossed her arms, and snorted coldly, "Don't even think about it! I just won't kneel and apologize to her. What can you possibly do about it!"
Old Madam Long once again reminded Zhang Susu, "Jiang Li is the second wife of our Long family. To have her kneel and apologize to her own niece is to trample the dignity of the Long family underfoot. Your young Miss Jiang may be excused for her ignorance, having just arrived in the capital, but you, as the principal wife of the Jiang family, should know better. Take her and leave at once. Our Long family is willing to overlook this disturbance you've caused today."
