Some people said Cat Claw Tea was a scammer who had come solely to extort money.
Others argued back, “Then why didn’t she extort them before? Why wait until three months ago?”
…
The internet was abuzz with arguments. Until the truth was established once and for all, the debate continued to rage.
That evening, Jiang Yihua sobered up. After dinner, Qiuyun and Jiang Chuling each had one earbud in as they sat on the sofa, listening intently.
“Why are you still at the office? What about Secretary Wang and the others…”
“Shh!”
Jiang Chuling cut him off with a hiss. “Dad, don’t talk.”
??
Jiang Yihua stared at her in confusion. Taking advantage of a pause in the conversation on the other end, Qiuyun disconnected the Bluetooth and invited President Jiang to listen with them.
Jiang Yifeng’s voice came through the phone. “How should I know?”
Ge Furen (Mrs. Ge) said sternly, “Can’t you do anything useful for once? Which of those women outside is harmless? Don’t get them pregnant again, only to have them dump the babies at the estate gates!”
Jiang Yifeng replied lazily, “Don’t worry. I had myself sterilized when Jiang Chuyun returned home two years ago. Even if they get pregnant, the children won’t be mine.”
“What?!”
Ge Furen’s scream startled all three people in the office, making them flinch in unison. Qiuyun quietly lowered the volume.
Jiang Chuling asked in a small voice, “Sister Qiuyun, what does ‘sterilized’ mean?”
On the other end, Ge Furen roared, “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?! Why would you get yourself sterilized for no reason?”
Jiang Yifeng’s voice came through again. “It’s only sterilization. It’s not like the procedure can’t be reversed. Relax. I even had several batches frozen. I guarantee you’ll get to hold a big, chubby grandson.”
At the office, Jiang Yihua asked, “What is this?”
Qiuyun replied, “A recording device I found in Mr. Yifeng’s study.”
?
Jiang Yihua was astonished. “How did you manage that?”
Jiang Chuling glanced cautiously at her father, then at Sister Qiuyun, unsure whether she should admit it.
“The young miss helped me put it there.”
Jiang Yihua drew a deep breath. But when he saw the child’s anxious expression as she waited for praise, his heart softened. In the end, he said nothing in front of her.
“Xiao Qi is very thoughtful. You know how to help the family.”
The two people on the phone exchanged a few more barbs before Ge Furen slammed the door and left.
Jiang Yihua asked, “Did you hear anything before that?”
Qiuyun answered, “We can confirm that Ge Furen wasn’t behind it.”
In fact, Ge Furen had even assumed her own son was responsible. After all, when it came to stirring up scandals, her son appeared in the gossip magazines almost every month. He was practically a regular.
“What about Jiang Yifeng?”
“We still don’t know.” The fact that he hadn’t admitted anything in front of Ge Furen didn’t mean he was innocent.
But moments later, Jiang Yifeng made a call.
“Hello? Find out who around my eldest brother had the nerve to come up with all those ideas for him. He practically had no chance of survival, yet somehow they forced the board of directors to leave him a way to catch his breath.”
“Of course it’s because his style of retaliation has changed. If it isn’t a new recruit, what else could it be?”
“Mm. Once you find the person, be polite. If there’s an opportunity later, see if you can poach them.”
Qiuyun: “…”
That would be me, at your service.
“It seems Mr. Yifeng isn’t the one behind this either,” she said.
If he had been the mastermind, he would have been watching the situation closely from the beginning. He couldn’t possibly be sending someone to investigate the person behind it only now.
“Correct.” Jiang Yihua closed his eyes.
That left only the second and third branches of the family.
“Xiao Qi, go outside and find Uncle Qian. Have him order some dinner for me.” Jiang Yihua sent the child away.
Jiang Chuling understood perfectly well what he meant. She pouted and hopped off the sofa.
“Oh.”
The door closed. Jiang Yihua asked, “Who do you think it is?”
Qiuyun pondered for a moment before voicing her guess.
“Mr. Yicheng.”
“The third branch?” Jiang Yihua frowned. “Why do you think so?”
Qiuyun shrugged. “It’s just a feeling.”
Based on Qian Yuqiong’s personality—ambitious, proud, hot-tempered, and unable to keep her emotions in check—if she had truly been behind such a plan, she wouldn’t have lost her temper and said whatever came to mind after the eldest young master returned, violating Old Master Jiang’s taboo.
As the saying went, people who shared a bed rarely had completely different hearts.
If Qian Yuqiong were like this, and Jiang Yijie were truly as calculating and deep-minded as that, he would probably have found an opportunity to divorce her long ago and marry a clever woman who knew how to keep her mouth shut.
By contrast, the third branch’s husband and wife, who had always remained silent and inconspicuous, seemed far more like venomous snakes lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.
“I understand.”
Jiang Yihua called Secretary Zhu and instructed him to investigate the third branch carefully based on this theory, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
“There’s one more matter.”
Qiuyun said, “You mean the young miss?”
“Exactly.” Since she had just rendered meritorious service, Jiang Yihua was unusually tolerant of her. “Let it go for today, but from now on, don’t let Xiao Qi know about the messes in this family. And don’t let her risk herself by getting involved!”
Qiuyun sighed. “Have you ever heard this saying?”
Jiang Yihua frowned. “What saying?”
“If people say you can do it, then you can—even if you couldn’t before. If people say you can’t, then you can’t—even if you could.”
“Stop speaking in riddles. Explain.”
Qiuyun clarified, “It means that if you treat the young miss like a child, she’ll remain a child under your protection for the rest of her life. But if you respect her as an independent individual, she’ll truly grow into a healthy, well-rounded person capable of facing life’s storms on her own.”
Jiang Yihua narrowed his eyes. “Are you talking about the Pygmalion effect?”
??
Western philosophy had clearly entered the blind spot of her knowledge.
“What, there’s actually something you don’t know?” Jiang Yihua asked in surprised amusement. Somehow, the exchange made him vividly aware that this girl was only twenty years old.
Qiuyun admitted frankly, “I’m not Wikipedia. How could I know everything?”
Jiang Yihua explained, “It’s a Greek myth. The sculptor Pygmalion fell in love with the statue of a young woman he had carved. He treated her like a real person every day, and eventually moved the goddess of love so deeply that she brought the statue to life.”
“I see.” She had learned something new again.
Jiang Yihua said, “That’s very similar to what you were saying. The way you treat someone determines what kind of person she becomes.”
“Exactly.” That was precisely what she meant.
Jiang Yihua said gravely, “But she’s only ten years old. She’s too young.”
“But when you were ten, weren’t you already facing Old Master Jiang’s second wife, who had just married into the family?”
“…”
All right.
Jiang Yihua had been persuaded.
“Fine. From now on, I won’t interfere. You decide where to draw the line. Just don’t expose her to anything that could seriously damage her physical or mental health—violence, bloodshed, gambling, drugs, and the like.”
“Rest assured, sir. I understand.”
Jiang Yihua called Assistant Qian to ask whether the food had been ordered. Outside, they understood that the conversation inside was over.
Jiang Chuling boldly bounced back into the room. When she saw that her father wasn’t sending her away, she immediately moved closer to Sister Qiuyun.
It was eight-thirty in the evening in Jing City. Twenty-four hours had passed since the incident.
The stalemate in Korea continued, with no one managing to persuade them yet. All sorts of conspiracy theories were proliferating online, and one-third of the three-day deadline given by Old Master Jiang had already passed.
