Just then, Long Yuan walked in from outside. Seeing how furious Old Madam Long was, he came over and sat down beside her.
“Grandma, what’s wrong? Why are you so angry?”
Old Madam Long rubbed her temples, trying to ease the frustration weighing on her. “Whenever I think about your second uncle still being in prison, it feels as though a huge stone is pressing down on my heart. I can’t relax at all.”
Long Yuan comforted her. “Grandma, don’t worry too much. I’ve already spoken with people at the prison. They’ll take good care of Second Uncle, so nothing will happen to him. Besides, we’re already looking for a suitable stand-in. Once we find one, we can get Second Uncle out and send him abroad.”
Old Madam Long’s expression softened slightly at his words. She nodded. “Good. You must get your second uncle out as soon as possible. No matter how much trouble he’s caused, he’s still my own son. I can’t let him suffer in there.”
“All right.” Long Yuan glanced at the emaciated Jiang Li. “Your younger brother is coming back from studying abroad soon. It’s best not to let him see his mother in this state.”
At those words, Jiang Li finally saw a glimmer of hope.
That was right—her son would soon be back from abroad!
Although her younger son was nowhere near as capable as her nephew Long Yuan, he was still a member of the Long family.
For his sake, Old Madam Long would never truly torture her to death.
Old Madam Long gave a quiet “hmm,” then looked at Jiang Li and said expressionlessly, “Did you hear that? Yuan pleaded for you. For his sake, you no longer have to kneel in the ancestral hall.”
A faint light finally returned to Jiang Li’s eyes.
Old Madam Long continued, “However, you’d better take good care of yourself during this period. If my youngest grandson finds out that I punished you, you should know what the consequences will be!”
Jiang Li trembled violently at her words and hurriedly said, “I know, Mom. I absolutely won’t tell my son. Please rest assured!”
Seeing this, Old Madam Long’s face filled with impatience. She waved her hand as though shooing away an annoying fly.
“All right, stop hovering in front of me. Go back to your room at once. I’ll have the kitchen prepare some food and send it to you. Stay in your room and don’t go anywhere!”
As though she had just been granted a reprieve, Jiang Li scrambled up from the floor. Because she rose too quickly, she stumbled and nearly fell.
Once she had regained her balance, she didn’t dare linger. She hurriedly turned around and made her unsteady way upstairs toward her room.
Not long after Jiang Li left, Long Yuan’s phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was his assistant.
He answered the call, and the assistant’s voice came through. “Young Master Long, I just received word that Zhou Zerui has been settled in one of the safest residential compounds in the capital, arranged by Qi Huan.”
Long Yuan understood immediately.
Just as he had thought.
There was no doubt about it. Qi Huan cared so much about Zhou Zerui that Zhou Zerui had to be Qi Huan’s biological younger brother.
“I understand.”
“Young Master Long, should we find a way to abduct Zhou Zerui?”
Qi Huan had already found the man first. Trying to abduct him right under Qi Huan’s nose would be nothing but wishful thinking.
But then…
Long Yuan thought of how Qi Shaoxiong had previously tried to use him as a weapon to kill someone else. He said, “Secretly inform Qi Feifan and Qi Shaoxiong that Zhou Zerui is Qi Huan’s biological younger brother. They’ll take action themselves.”
There wasn’t much time left before Old Master Qi officially announced the next heir of the Qi family. The last time, Qi Shaoxiong had tried to use Qi Yue to threaten Qi Huan into going to Africa and killing him, but unfortunately, he had failed.
Thinking about it now, Qi Huan had probably already suspected that Qi Yue wasn’t his biological younger brother back then. How could Qi Shaoxiong’s scheme possibly have succeeded?
If Qi Feifan and Qi Shaoxiong didn’t make a move soon, they could only wait to be eliminated.
Although the two families still held some of the Qi family’s businesses in their hands, they didn’t own many shares. They merely controlled the company’s management. Once Qi Huan gained power, and after Old Master Qi passed away, Qi Huan would certainly take back their management rights completely.
“Understood.”
Just after Long Yuan hung up, the butler walked in.
“Old Madam, Young Master, Jiang Yangxu is at the door. He says he wants to see Second Madam.”
“See Jiang Li?” Old Madam Long’s brows drew together slightly. She gave a cold snort. “Jiang Li has been married into our Long family for so many years, and Jiang Yangxu never once came to see his third sister. And now he suddenly wants to see her?”
A cold smile curved Long Yuan’s lips. “He claims he wants to see Jiang Li, but that’s just an excuse. He really wants to see us. He’s probably been driven into a corner by Jiang Youli and wants to seek refuge with us.”
Old Madam Long’s expression darkened further. She said coldly, “If he wants to use the Long family to deal with Jiang Youli, he’d better consider what he can offer in return. Let Jiang Yangxu in. I’d like to hear what he wants.”
A short while later, the butler led Jiang Yangxu into the main hall.
Jiang Yangxu swept his gaze around the room. Seeing only Long Yuan and Old Madam Long, and not Jiang Li, he greeted them before deliberately asking, “Old Madam Long, Young Master Long, where is my third sister?”
Old Madam Long narrowed her eyes slightly. “Enough with your ‘third sister.’ Do you really still have the mood to care about Jiang Li? Get to the point. What do you want with us?”
Jiang Yangxu stopped pretending. “Since you’ve put it that way, I’ll be frank. I want to ask you to help me assassinate my wife.”
Even Old Madam Long, who had weathered countless storms and whose hands were far from clean, couldn’t help but change expression at his words.
Her hand, which had been rolling her Buddhist prayer beads, came to a stop. Her voice was filled with disbelief. “Jiang Yangxu, do you know what you’re saying?”
Jiang Yangxu replied calmly, “I do. But if I want my son to harden his heart and deal with Jiang Youli, then the only way is to make him hate Jiang Youli. I came here today to ask you to send someone after my wife, then pin the blame on Jiang Youli.”
“Why don’t you find someone to do it yourself?” Old Madam Long asked.
Jiang Yangxu answered honestly, “With the connections I have, if I hire someone myself, my elder brother and the others will probably trace it back to me very quickly. But the Long family is different. You have extensive connections, including many overseas. Finding a channel to eliminate someone quietly without being discovered should be easy for you.”
Old Madam Long stared intently at him. “Jiang Yangxu, you really are ruthless enough to sacrifice your own wife?”
Jiang Yangxu fell silent for a moment before saying, “I have nothing left now. What else can’t I give up? If our family truly can’t return to the Jiang family and loses everything, then for my wife, there would be no point in staying alive anyway. If her sacrifice can help my two sons return to the Jiang family, she’ll surely be happy about it even in the afterlife.”
Long Yuan, who had remained silent while listening to the exchange between Jiang Yangxu and Old Madam Long, couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
“What a noble-sounding excuse—she’ll be happy about it in the afterlife? If that’s really the case, why don’t you use your own life to make your son come to his senses? Why sacrifice your wife instead?”
Jiang Yangxu explained reasonably, “It’s not that I’m afraid of dying. It’s just that my wife has always been pampered, with everything brought to her hand and every meal served to her. With a mind like hers, she’d never be able to outmaneuver Jiang Youli.”
“Everything I’ve done is to help the two of us return to the Jiang family and reclaim what belongs to us.” Jiang Yangxu didn’t feel that he had been heartless.
Long Yuan sneered.
When Jiang Yangxu hardened his heart, he was no less ruthless than Long Yuan—in fact, he might be even worse.
“So what can you offer the Long family in return? Why should we help you?” Long Yuan asked coldly.
