Jiang Youli set down the bank card and narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized her. "Auntie, you really are both pathetic and shameless."
Qin Yulian froze, then exclaimed in disbelief, "What did you just say? That we're pathetic? This is ten million yuan—money you could never earn from selling herbs in your lifetime! And now that we're offering it to you, you dare to look down on it?!"
Jiang Youli scoffed and flung the bank card directly at her face. "You think ten million is enough to buy my forgiveness? Are you out of your mind?"
Qin Yulian stumbled back, nearly falling from the sudden aggression. Regaining her balance, she snapped, "Jiang Youli, how dare you treat your own mother like this!"
Jiang Youli rolled off the hammock, landing lightly on her feet. She snatched up a banana leaf and began fanning it aggressively in Qin Yulian’s face.
"Ah—stop that!" Qin Yulian shrieked, dodging frantically.
With a final flick, Jiang Youli tossed the leaf at her. "If you keep coming here spouting nonsense I don’t want to hear, next time I’ll feed you bird droppings. Believe me."
Qin Yulian, still shaken, stomped on the discarded leaf, forcing herself to stay composed. "Jiang Youli, there’s a limit to throwing tantrums! Turning down ten million—are you that greedy?"
"I couldn’t care less about your money."
"Then what do you want? Ten million is more than you’d ever make selling medicine! How are you still not satisfied?"
"Even if you handed me the entire Jiang family fortune, I’d never forgive you!" Jiang Youli smirked coldly. "Don’t think I don’t know—you’ve always known I was your real daughter, haven’t you?"
Qin Yulian stiffened. How did she find out?
Jiang Youli’s gaze turned icy. "Too bad you were too ashamed of me to acknowledge me. Since you chose to abandon me first, don’t blame me for returning the favor."
"You—you’d really turn against us? What, are you trying to be some righteous avenger like Nezha? Well, I won’t wait for you to strike first—I’ll beat you senseless right now!" Trembling with rage, Qin Yulian spotted a wooden stick by the flowerbed, snatched it up, and charged at Jiang Youli.
The moment the stick swung down, Jiang Youli caught it mid-air, yanked it free, and snapped it in two before tossing the pieces aside.
"Let me make this clear—I came back not to reconcile, but to make your lives miserable. At first, I planned to take everything from the Jiang family. But now I see that apart from you, the rest are decent people. So I’ve decided—ruining just your household is enough."
Qin Yulian sputtered, "You—you—"
"Your eldest son, Jiang Xing, manages Starlight Entertainment. He’s finally signed a few promising talents, bringing in some profits, but it’s still nothing compared to Jing City’s established entertainment giants."
"As for Jiang Zhao, he composes music at home. His recent hit song swept the nation. But if a scandal broke out now, who knows if he’d recover?"
"Auntie, what do you think would happen if I destroyed their careers?"
Qin Yulian pointed a shaking finger at her. "What exactly are you plotting?!"
Jiang Youli tilted her head. "Why so upset? I’m just planning to ruin your sons’ futures. Is that so hard to accept? Then why was it fine for Jiang Yonghe to steal twenty years of the life that should’ve been mine?"
The question gave Qin Yulian pause.
"Why? Isn’t it obvious? Youli, I raised Yonghe for twenty years. So what if she’s not my blood? Even a dog would’ve earned my affection by now, let alone a living, breathing girl."
Especially one she’d polished into such an elegant, thoughtful, and accomplished young woman—how could she not adore her?
Qin Yulian pressed on, "I know it’s unfair to you as my real daughter. But life isn’t fair. Blame your bad luck, I suppose."
Jiang Youli nodded mockingly. "True. My luck is terrible—to end up with a mother like you."
Qin Yulian bristled but softened her tone. "Youli, I’m your mother. I never gave up on you. If you come home, I’ll give you the best I can."
That almost made Jiang Youli laugh. "You won’t even discard your adopted daughter, yet you claim you’d give me the best?"
"Youli—"
"Get lost. Listening to you is polluting my ears." Jiang Youli cut her off.
Seeing her stubbornness, Qin Yulian exploded again. "How did I give birth to such an ungrateful child?!"
"Still not leaving?"
Jiang Youli grabbed a broom from the corner and swung it at her. "Going or not?"
Qin Yulian covered her nose, dodging. "Youli, you’re delusional if you think your aunt actually cares about you!"
Done with the charade, Jiang Youli flung a handful of powder at her.
"Cough—cough—!"
Qin Yulian hacked violently as her throat erupted in unbearable itchiness.
"What did you throw at me?!"
"Does it matter? Insult my mother again, and I’ll poison you mute!" Jiang Youli threatened.
In truth, it was just harmless itching powder—it’d wear off in a day.
But a day of suffering was more than enough.
"You—" Qin Yulian tried to speak, but the itch worsened. Fearing further retaliation, she snatched up the bank card, spat, "Heartless brat!" and scurried away.
The moment she left, the head butler arrived. "Miss, the disownment agreement has been drafted per the master’s orders. If you’ve made your decision, meet at the Jiang ancestral hall at 8 PM to sign it. The master will witness it personally."
Jiang Youli grinned. "Got it. Thanks for the trouble."
---
"She actually refused ten million?" Jiang Yangxu paused mid-pour, stunned.
A country bumpkin like her—had she ever seen that kind of money?
And she still turned it down?
Qin Yulian rubbed her throat. "Not only that—she threatened to ruin us and destroy our sons’ careers!"
Jiang Yangxu slammed the teapot onto the table. "She really said that?"
Qin Yulian nodded. "Yes. That wretched girl seems to know we’ve always known she was our daughter but ignored her. Now she’s out for revenge."
