“Madam Jiang.” Sister Zhou had been with Yu Xiang since she married into the family and was considered her most trusted person.
Yu Xiang said, “Xiu Xiu’s mother is seriously ill. I hear it’s quite severe. Go with Xiu Xiu to the hospital and check on the situation. If they’re short on money, transfer two hundred thousand from my private account to help as much as we can.”
Two hundred thousand of her own funds plus the medical insurance’s two hundred thousand—four hundred thousand in total should cover most serious illnesses.
Sister Zhou knew Madam Jiang had always been kind-hearted and quickly nodded. “Don’t worry, Madam Jiang. I know what to do.”
In the past, whenever Madam Jiang heard that a staff member’s parents were critically ill, she would give money directly to help. After being deceived a few times, she finally became more cautious and simply arranged for the money to be paid to the hospital directly, to prevent anyone from having crooked ideas.
“Madam Jiang, Assistant Manager Chen from Bright Moon Tower is here,” a maid came to report.
Yu Xiang glanced at the time. It was nearly eight o’clock. She feared something might have happened at Bright Moon Tower.
“Let her come up.”
“Yes.”
Assistant Manager Chen had also been one of the nannies who served Yu Xiang from the very beginning. Yu Xiang found her diligent and reliable; since she had a daughter and experience raising girls, she was assigned to look after the Seventh Miss.
Soon, Assistant Manager Chen entered, slightly bowed. “Greetings, Madam Jiang.”
“Mm.” Yu Xiang asked anxiously, “Is there something wrong with Ling’er?”
Assistant Manager Chen lowered her head, organizing her words, and recounted what had happened at the horse stable that afternoon and the remarks made by Qiuyun.
After hearing everything, Yu Xiang was stunned and remained speechless for a long time.
“Madam Jiang…” Assistant Manager Chen hesitated. “I truly found what that young lady said reasonable. Back then, when Miss Chuyun first returned and had a quarrel with the Seventh Miss, Master Jiang ordered the Seventh Miss to apologize to Miss Chuyun. The Seventh Miss came back, locked herself in her room crying, and threw herself into my arms asking if her parents didn’t love her anymore.”
“What!?” Yu Xiang’s eyes instantly reddened.
Assistant Manager Chen said uneasily, “At the time, I was afraid you’d worry, and also afraid Master Jiang would blame the Seventh Miss for not understanding her mistake, so I kept it to myself. Later, every time Master Jiang sided with her other siblings, the Seventh Miss gradually got used to it and didn’t cry much anymore.”
Not crying meant she had been hurt enough.
“I understand,” Yu Xiang said, closing her eyes to suppress the sting. “That new young lady is quite perceptive. In a few days, when there’s time, bring her to chat with me.”
“Yes.”
Assistant Manager Chen glanced at the trembling Madam Jiang, sighed deeply, and left.
After the broken porcelain was cleaned up, the room fell quiet again.
Yu Xiang stood by the window, looking out at the lush, endless Jiang family manor, her heart churning.
When she first came here, she was young, timid, and from an ordinary family. Above her was a stepmother, hardly older than herself, who was shrewd and domineering, leaving Yu Xiang with little say. Moreover, she felt she lacked insight, and her husband, born into a wealthy family, naturally knew better how to raise children in such a privileged household. Even when the children were wronged, her husband would stop her, saying they couldn’t endure such small setbacks or they’d have no one to cry to when they grew up to take over the conglomerate.
When he put it that way, what more could she say?
Tears streamed down Yu Xiang’s face.
She thought of her eldest son, who wanted to cut ties with his parents over a romance; her second son, who would rather sleep outside than come home; and her little daughter, who sobbed in her nanny’s arms, asking if her parents didn’t love her.
…She really wasn’t a brave or good mother.
Headlights flickered along the main road as a car slowly approached. Yu Xiang took a deep breath, turned off the lights, locked the door, and called Sister Zhou.
“Tell Master Jiang I’m not feeling well today and want to sleep alone. Let him sleep in the guest room tonight.”
The guest room?
Sister Zhou was taken aback. In all their years of marriage, except for the rare occasions when Master Jiang came home at two or three in the morning and slept in the guest room to avoid disturbing Madam Jiang, the couple had never slept apart.
But seeing that the bedroom door was already locked, Sister Zhou could only agree.
At Bright Moon Tower.
Qiuyun had read enough law-related books and only needed to review them to keep her knowledge fresh. On days when she had no work, she found herself bored, so she picked up her embroidery and needlework again. After all, it was her livelihood; she couldn’t let it get rusty just because she’d changed environments. In her spare time, she would occasionally take a few stitches to pass the time.
‘Ding-dong~’
Qiuyun opened her phone and saw a second-hand marketplace notification—another item listed had been sold.
Ever since she followed that stranger’s advice, her little second-hand shop had finally started generating income.
Over the past month, the best-selling items had been fake luxury bags, all sold within two weeks, giving her a small cash boost. The hardest to sell were clothes and shoes; so far, only one order had gone through—an inner layer, and the buyer bought it purely because they liked the style, plus the A-grade replica was of better quality than the real thing and could be tossed into the washing machine without worry.
Qiuyun did a rough calculation, and a smile appeared in her eyes.
She was another step closer to paying off her loan.
The next day.
Jiang Lin’an, the eldest son of the Jiang family, had been confined to the house for five days.
Lying aimlessly on his bed, he thought, at least the university had started summer break early; otherwise, he’d have missed classes and exams.
As evening approached, Jiang Yihua came to his son’s Mingsi Tower, unlocked the locked bedroom door, and looked at the disheveled eldest son sprawled on the bed, saying in a deep voice, “Take a shower, change your clothes, and come with me to the main house for dinner.”
Oh, it was Sunday—time for that weekly family dinner.
Jiang Lin’an almost laughed.
Even after all this, his father still wanted to drag him to his grandfather’s place to keep up appearances and follow the rules.
He wondered what exactly he meant to his father.
“Hurry up!” Jiang Yihua glanced at his watch impatiently.
“Dad, you lock me up and won’t let me go out—I have no problem with that,” Jiang Lin’an said without moving. “But why should I have to obey you just because you tell me to go out? You can’t have it both ways.”
“You!!”
“After I go to the main house and pretend we’re a happy family, you’ll lock me up again? What makes you think I’d be that obedient? Have the last twenty years given you that illusion?!”
His eldest son’s rebellion had come late but fierce. Jiang Yihua’s eyes blazed with fury as he reached to unbuckle his belt, as if ready to beat his son.
“Jiang Yihua!” Yu Xiang rushed in and stopped her husband. Turning to her son, she said gently, “If you don’t want to go, then don’t. I’ll tell your grandfather you’re sick. Stay home and rest. Tomorrow, Mom will take you hiking to get some fresh air.”
“!?”
Jiang Yihua was stunned.
Last night, when he came home and learned that Madam had gone to bed early and didn’t want to be disturbed, he slept alone in the guest room. He ate breakfast alone and went to the group’s meeting without seeing her awake. Now, back from work, he came to fetch their eldest son for dinner at the main house, and his wife had called him by his full name and stopped him from disciplining their son!
In their twenty-plus years of marriage, he had never imagined that his gentle, proper wife would defy him in front of their children!
