Soon, Jiang Yonghe abandoned her usual gentle tone, and a sharp voice came through the phone.
"Jiang Youli, why are you still so ungrateful? Mom and Dad only brought you back and acknowledged you so you could marry the Young Master Qi in my place. A country bumpkin like you should be thanking your lucky stars for the chance to rise above your station. How could you be so delusional as to boss me around? And then you had the nerve to ask Uncle and Aunt to be your parents—now you’ve made yourself an outcast. How embarrassing."
"Oh, and don’t tell me you actually believed Uncle and Aunt genuinely liked you and agreed to take you in as their daughter? It’s just because you have the Jiang Family’s blood. If Old Master Jiang ever takes pity on you, you might inherit a share of the family fortune."
"Sister Youli, do you know what this building is for?"
"It’s where the young masters and misses of the Jiang Family study. Since childhood, I’ve been learning all kinds of talents here from highly paid private tutors—music, chess, calligraphy, painting, foreign languages… I’ve mastered them all."
"I wonder how many of these skills Sister Youli knows?"
"Probably none, right? What a shame. At your age, it’s too late to learn now."
"But don’t worry, you know how to farm, cook, and do laundry—things I can’t do. I’ll have to ask you for advice, Sister Youli."
The more Old Master Jiang listened, the darker his expression grew.
Jiang Youli knew that Jiang Yonghe’s insults were secondary—the real issue was her mention of the Jiang Family’s fortune!
For the old master, who still held absolute authority in the Jiang Family, anyone coveting his wealth while he was alive was as taboo as princes scheming for the throne before the emperor’s death.
So, she deliberately raised her voice when Jiang Zhao made those remarks.
Jiang Yonghe froze in place.
What should she do?
Her mind raced, scrambling for a way to salvage her image.
Jiang Yangxu and Qin Yulian visibly panicked, cursing inwardly—how could their adopted daughter blurt out something about the family fortune?
And worse, Jiang Youli had recorded it and made sure Old Master Jiang heard!
Old Master Jiang’s face was stormy. "Jiang Yonghe, as an adopted daughter of the Jiang Family, how dare you scheme over my assets while I’m still alive!"
Tears immediately streamed down Jiang Yonghe’s face as she shook her head frantically. "Grandfather, it’s not like that—"
"Don’t call me Grandfather!" Old Master Jiang slammed his cane against the floor. "The recording is crystal clear. Am I deaf? Was that not your voice?"
Jiang Yonghe stammered, "It was my voice, but the context isn’t what it seems! Sister Youli kept insulting me, and I couldn’t take it anymore—that’s why I said those harsh things…"
Jiang Zhao was stunned. The voice in the recording was unmistakably his usually kind, gentle sister’s.
But quickly, he convinced himself—just as Xiaohe said, Jiang Youli must have provoked her beyond endurance, forcing her to retaliate!
Furious, he turned on Jiang Youli, his glare burning. "Xiaohe is right! Who knows what vile things you said to her first to make her snap like that?"
Jiang Youli flipped him off silently, mouthing, "Idiot."
Old Master Jiang scoffed. "Jiang Zhao, the evidence is right in front of you, yet you’re still blind. Youli is right—you need a good beating to knock some sense into you!"
Jiang Youli pocketed her phone and added, "Grandfather, her insults toward me are one thing, but she also claimed Mom and Dad only acknowledged me for the family fortune. I bet Jiang Yonghe only said that because Uncle and Aunt put the idea in her head."
Jiang Yangxu’s sharp gaze locked onto Jiang Youli.
"Uncle, don’t glare at me like that. I’m scared," Jiang Youli said, shrinking into Zhang Susu’s embrace.
Zhang Susu held her protectively, her voice stern. "The truth is obvious. Your adopted daughter provoked Youli first with those outrageous remarks."
Jiang Yehan coldly observed Jiang Yonghe. "Second Brother, Sister-in-law, Susu and I genuinely care for Youli—we’re not after any inheritance."
Zhang Susu pressed further, "And one more thing—Second Brother, Sister-in-law, is it true what your adopted daughter said? That you brought Youli back just to make her marry the Young Master Qi in her place?"
She hadn’t planned to expose this in front of Old Master Jiang, but now that things had escalated, even if Youli agreed to the marriage, she wouldn’t let her suffer in silence!
Old Master Jiang’s expression darkened dangerously. "Is this true?"
Qin Yulian stayed silent.
Jiang Yangxu denied it. "Of course not. We only just learned Youli is our biological daughter. How could we have planned for her to replace Yonghe in marrying the Young Master Qi?"
Zhang Susu countered, "Then why would Jiang Yonghe say that?"
Jiang Yonghe gritted her teeth and took the blame. "It was me. I wanted to stay, but Sister Youli kept rejecting me, trying to drive me away. In desperation, I made that up."
Hearing this, Old Master Jiang reprimanded Jiang Yangxu and Qin Yulian. "You two need to discipline your adopted daughter properly! Next time there’s petty drama, don’t drag me into it unless you’ve sorted out the facts!"
Jiang Yangxu nodded. "Understood. I’ll make sure to reprimand Yonghe and Zhao later."
Qin Yulian seethed with resentment.
How could she have known her biological daughter was so cunning—recording everything in that situation!
Jiang Youli finally stepped out of Zhang Susu’s arms and addressed Old Master Jiang. "Grandfather, this can’t just end here. Uncle and Aunt barged into my home, furious and accusing me—it terrified me."
Old Master Jiang declared, "All four of you—apologize to Youli now!"
Jiang Zhao protested, "Grandfather, even if we were wrong first, she still hit me! Why should we apologize? I won’t!"
Old Master Jiang raised his cane, ready to strike. "You dare talk back to me?!"
Qin Yulian quickly intervened. "Zhao, don’t upset your grandfather! Apologize to Youli now!"
Jiang Youli crossed her arms. "Hurry up. That goes for Uncle and Aunt too."
Jiang Yonghe spoke first. "Sister Youli, I’m sorry."
After stopping Old Master Jiang, Qin Yulian added hastily, "Youli, I misunderstood you. I apologize."
Jiang Yangxu swallowed his pride and muttered a stiff, "Sorry." Only Jiang Zhao remained defiant, turning his head away as he reluctantly grumbled, "Sorry."
Jiang Youli waved it off magnanimously. "Since you’ve apologized, I won’t hold it against you. But as we agreed earlier—now that this is settled, we’ll sign the severance agreement. From today, we cut ties completely!"
