Old Madam Long's gaze was terrifyingly sinister.
This kind of look was not born from a moment's anger, but was formed through the accumulation of years.
An inexperienced young person simply couldn't withstand such a gaze for more than three seconds.
But Jiang Youli was not afraid; she even deliberately kept staring into Old Madam Long's eyes.
"As for the Long family, they rose from the underworld to legitimacy. Their earliest patriarch could be said to have touched most of the criminal code, amassing wealth through many dirty methods before finally quitting to engage in legitimate business, gradually growing and expanding in the capital."
"Currently, your Long family primarily operates in two major sectors domestically: high-end clubs and chain hotels. It's relatively clean now, but the overseas businesses... there still seem to be some gray areas."
So, the earliest Long family patriarch truly had blood on his hands. It was only starting from the previous head that they began gradually laundering the dark parts of the business.
The current head is also striving to sever all ties between the present Long family and those unsavory industries from its past, to become completely legitimate.
The more Jiang Youli spoke, the more sinister Old Madam Long's eyes became, as if she were looking at a dead woman walking.
Yet, Jiang Youli remained calm and smiled. "Second Master Long, your family has gone through great pains to become legitimate. If your elder brother were to find out you're using the Long family's past misdeeds to intimidate me, who do you think would be in trouble—me, or you?"
At these words, Long Junyu was stunned.
His elder brother never allowed anyone to discuss the Long family's past. If he found out, he might even break his legs!
Old Madam Long's gaze at Jiang Youli gradually shifted from sinister terror to scrutiny.
She, of course, also knew that the Long family was now committed to walking the straight and narrow path. Both her husband and her eldest son were most averse to bringing up those past matters and even more opposed to continuing the old ways of earning blood money.
She had tacitly allowed her second son to intimidate this Jiang girl and Mrs. Jiang, mainly just to scare them, to make them back down. She truly hadn't planned to use any underhanded methods against them.
But listening to Jiang Youli, it seemed she had a clear understanding of the Long family's situation.
This girl might truly be no simple matter!
Jiang Li listened, her heart pounding with fear. She truly hadn't known how the Long family first made their fortune, as the aristocratic image they projected now seemed perfectly normal.
Cornered by Jiang Youli's retort, Long Junyu was deeply afraid of angering his elder brother, but he didn't want to lose face in front of Jiang Youli either. Stiffening his neck, he retorted, "Ridiculous! Of course, it would be you in trouble! My elder brother would definitely make you disappear without a trace, your body never to be found!"
"Oh, is that so? In that case, I'll just post some of the Long family's little-known, unsavory information online. Let all the netizens know your family is truly not to be trifled with. How about that?"
Jiang Youli said it lightly, but Long Junyu heard the blatant threat.
Old Madam Long's face darkened. How could she possibly have such information about the Long family?
"You wouldn't dare!" Long Junyu gritted his teeth. "You wouldn't have enough lives for that! Not just you, but your useless mother here too, even the entire Jiang family would suffer because of you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Jiang Youli stand up from the sofa and stride quickly towards him.
Long Junyu warily pressed his back against the sofa. "What are you doing?"
As he spoke, his hand subtly reached for the communication intercom, intending to call in more bodyguards.
If four bodyguards couldn't handle her, surely ten, or twenty could!
Jiang Li, sitting to the side, also shrank back.
After all, the four bodyguards on the floor were still twitching uncontrollably.
In a few quick steps, Jiang Youli reached Long Junyu. She raised her hand and delivered a powerful slap across his face, which bore the marks of overindulgence.
The blow snapped his head to the side, and his hand reaching for the intercom went slack.
"Such a foul mouth needs discipline. I'll handle it."
As she spoke, without giving Long Junyu or Old Madam Long a chance to react, she slapped his other cheek.
Old Madam Long finally reacted, coldly shouting, "Stop! You wretched girl, how dare you hit my son right in front of me!"
"Tch, you're an old woman with one foot already in the grave. Why wouldn't I dare hit your son in front of you? The more you threaten me, the more I'll hit him. Stop me if you can." Jiang Youli didn't stop, rapidly delivering slaps as she warned, "Let's see if you still dare call my mother useless. I'll slap that foul mouth of yours to shreds!"
Jiang Li watched, stunned.
For some reason, she simultaneously felt a sense of vindication. Perhaps she truly minded that her husband showed no concern for her, caring only for his mother.
Having hit enough, Jiang Youli grew tired of dragging things out. She turned to Jiang Li, rubbing her palm, her gaze sharp. "Third Aunt, are you going to kneel or not?"
Jiang Li shuddered. She looked at the four twitching bodyguards on the floor, then slowly shifted her gaze to her husband Long Junyu's already swollen, red face nearby.
Compared to their ordeal, kneeling to apologize didn't seem so bad after all...
Finally, as if having made up her mind, she stood up. Then, her knees slowly bent, and she knelt down towards Jiang Youli. Swallowing her humiliation, she said, "I'm sorry, niece."
Jiang Youli was very satisfied. "See, that's all it took, Third Aunt. If you had just knelt and apologized to me earlier, things wouldn't have escalated to this point. Now, with this mess, the Longs can't do anything to me, so they'll likely take their anger out on you. Look at you, why bring this on yourself? In the end, you're only hurting yourself."
Jiang Li: "..."
Jiang Youli's words made perfect sense. She would definitely be implicated in Long Junyu's beating!
Thinking of this, Jiang Li was furious. If it weren't for Jiang Youli's aggressiveness, how could she have offended the Long family!
"What a useless thing my son married!" Seeing Jiang Li actually kneel to Jiang Youli, Old Madam Long was livid.
Jiang Li climbed up from the floor, wanting to retort but not daring to.
Jiang Youli, however, spoke directly. "My Third Aunt may be useless, but your son isn't much better. He can't even protect his own wife, a complete and utter good-for-nothing. Instead of thinking about how to properly raise your son, what's the use of taking your anger out on your daughter-in-law? Are you unwilling to admit you gave birth to a useless son?"
Jiang Li was stunned, looking at Jiang Youli in disbelief, seemingly not expecting her to speak up for her.
Seeing Jiang Li's expression, Jiang Youli guessed her thoughts. "Third Aunt, don't look at me like that. I'm not helping you. It's just that Old Madam Long looking down on you also means looking down on our Jiang family. I am, after all, a member of the Jiang family, and I need to vent this anger."
Old Madam Long could see that this Jiang Youli indeed had some capability. Since she hadn't yet fully ascertained the girl's background, and her eldest son wasn't home, dealing with Jiang Youli would have to wait. So, she said angrily, "Your Third Aunt has already knelt and apologized. You and your mother, get out of the Long house immediately!"
Long Junyu, however, covered his face and scrambled up from the couch, shouting, "She's not leaving! Mom, look what she did to me! I won't let her just walk away unharmed!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth—
Jiang Youli spun around and delivered another lightning-fast slap across his face, scoffing with disdain, "Looks like you still haven't had enough, huh? You don't get a say right now, so stop making such a racket."
