It could be said that the entire family banquet had revolved around the eldest branch.
The servants who understood the situation exchanged glances with one another. They already knew which way the wind would blow in the household from now on, and each of them had taken note.
Before leaving, Qiuyun noticed that the second branch’s husband and wife were dawdling around. In the blink of an eye, they had disappeared.
“Sister Xiaoqiu?” Jiang Chuling rose onto her tiptoes and looked around. “What are you looking at?”
“I didn’t see your second uncle and aunt.”
“Huh?”
“My guess is that they went to beg Old Master Jiang for mercy.”
“Oh.” Jiang Chuling didn’t seem to care much. “Unless Grandpa has become senile, there’s no way he’d hand the huge family fortune over to Second Uncle and Aunt. Neither of them is dependable.”
That was true.
Qiuyun decided not to concern herself with it any further.
But in the distance, she caught sight of Jiang Yifeng’s lonely-looking back in his wheelchair and frowned slightly.
Today was the first day Old Master Jiang had reopened the family banquets, yet Jiang Yifeng had done absolutely nothing. He hadn’t even said a word.
This air of resignation… Tsk. It really wasn’t like him.
Main House, study.
Jiang Yijie went straight upstairs and knelt before Old Master Jiang, knocking his head against the floor several times.
“Dad, I truly didn’t think that much at the time! I just felt that Eldest Brother had locked you up for no reason, so there had to be something suspicious going on. H-how could I have known it was all part of a plan you had set up?”
Standing to one side, Qian Yuqiong hurriedly explained, her face full of anxiety. “That’s right, Dad. At the time, we were just listening to Yang Wei’s analysis. We thought Eldest Brother meant you harm and wanted to rescue you. We never imagined that—well, that it would all turn out to be such a huge misunderstanding! Later, you wouldn’t let us come home, so we didn’t even have a chance to explain…”
Old Master Jiang raised a hand, cutting off these far-fetched excuses. Everyone knew the truth in their hearts.
“Since you’re back, go to the branch company and perform well. Don’t do anything else that disappoints me.”
Jiang Yijie nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, of course! You can rest assured—I guarantee I’ll complete everything on time and to the proper standard!”
Old Master Jiang impatiently said, “Why are you still kneeling? Get up.”
“Yes, yes. Thank you, Dad.” Jiang Yijie rose nervously, but he showed no intention of leaving.
Old Master Jiang frowned. “Is there something else?”
“There is one more thing.” Jiang Yijie rubbed his hands awkwardly. “It’s about Third Brother. He…”
Old Master Jiang’s expression turned stern. “What? You want to plead for him?”
“No, no, absolutely not!” Jiang Yijie hurriedly shook his head and rushed to explain. “I know Third Brother was blinded by greed. He actually tried to harm his own brothers, forcing Eldest Brother to undergo a splenectomy and leaving Fourth Brother confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.”
Old Master Jiang’s expression darkened.
He was already advanced in years, yet the kind of fratricidal conflict one would expect only in the most absurd of stories had truly happened among his own sons. It was beyond absurd—and utterly heartbreaking.
Watching the old man’s expression, Jiang Yijie swallowed nervously. “I know Third Brother wronged Eldest Brother and Fourth Brother. And since Third Brother and I have the same mother, I also bear some responsibility as his elder brother for failing to keep him in check.”
Old Master Jiang’s anger eased slightly. “After going out to gain experience, you’ve certainly come to understand a few things.”
Jiang Yijie looked ashamed. “We’re all getting on in years. It’s time we learned to conduct ourselves properly. So, to atone for Third Brother’s sins—and to put my own conscience at ease—I asked some overseas contacts to search everywhere for doctors and treatments. As it happens, I found something that might help Fourth Brother recover.”
Old Master Jiang looked up in surprise. “What is it?”
Jiang Yijie nudged the person beside him. Qian Yuqiong took a document from her handbag and handed it over.
“It’s a genetic regenerative drug being developed by a biological research institute in Switzerland. It’s specifically designed to treat spinal cord nerve damage and could be effective for Fourth Brother’s condition.”
“Really?” Old Master Jiang took the document and began reading it carefully.
Jiang Yijie spoke with absolute certainty. “It’s true. The technology is already relatively mature, and there have been successful trials on laboratory mice. They’re currently conducting the third phase of human trials. The project is still confidential.”
After reading through the materials, Old Master Jiang’s attitude toward his second son finally softened somewhat.
“You’ve put some thought into this.”
Jiang Yijie sighed mournfully. “It’s only a little compensation for what happened to Fourth Brother. He never should have had to suffer like this in the first place. It’s all… sigh…”
Afterward, Old Master Jiang entrusted the matter entirely to Jiang Yijie. He was to follow up on the drug’s development, the results of the subsequent trials, the reservation queue, and everything else involved.
Once the second branch’s husband and wife left the study, they exchanged a glance and each let out a long breath of relief. They knew they had finally made it past the old master’s scrutiny.
The stars shifted and the moon waxed and waned. Before long, the lawn in front of the Brightmoon Tower had been renovated once again.
And then, in the blink of an eye, June 6 arrived.
It was the young lady’s birthday.
The Jiang family had fairly traditional customs and placed greater importance on milestone birthdays. Last year, when Jiang Chuling turned ten, she had received an extremely valuable, collector’s-edition crown.
This year, at eleven, the gifts from her parents, brothers, and sisters seemed much less impressive by comparison.
Her father had taken the most straightforward approach, giving her one million yuan in spending money and telling her to buy whatever she wanted.
Her mother had given her a kitten: a six-month-old, purebred Maine Coon from a championship bloodline, worth three hundred thousand yuan.
Maine Coons were gentle and doglike in temperament. Since this kitten had been raised by its mother and professionally socialized, it was affectionate, friendly, and trusting toward humans. Its hygiene habits, diet, and sleep schedule were all excellent as well.
Of course, because it was somewhat larger than other pet cats, it needed more space and a high-protein diet. But those requirements were nothing to the Jiang family.
Her eldest brother had given her a violin signed by an internationally renowned violinist. Jiang Linzhi, meanwhile, had presented her with the No. 002 space capsule chair she had been longing for.
“Happy birthday, Miss.” Qiuyun brought over her own gift.
Jiang Chuling ran over excitedly with the kitten in her arms. “Sister Xiaoqiu, you prepared a gift for me too?”
“Of course.”
Qiuyun opened the gift box. Inside was a beautiful outfit in the style of a noblewoman from the Great Qi dynasty.
Since there were no rules here restricting what she could wear, Qiuyun had embroidered phoenixes and azure luan birds wherever she pleased. She had even used designs that would have violated sumptuary laws in the original era. The result was an exquisitely elegant, luxurious, and dignified masterpiece.
“Wow!”
Jiang Chuling put down the kitten and carefully admired the beautiful garment. It was so stunning that it could have been displayed in a museum, and she was practically screaming with delight.
“It’s so beautiful! It’s gorgeous!”
She immediately asked Sister Xiaoqiu to do her hair and dress her, then called seven or eight photographers to the house to make absolutely certain that every picture would turn out perfectly.
So, Jiang Chuling spent the morning taking photographs. At noon, her family celebrated her birthday at home. In the afternoon, she arranged to go shopping at the mall with her classmates and friends, and that evening, she went out to dinner with them.
Since they were all children, Qiuyun, as the only adult, decided not to tag along and intrude. She had Yu Heng go with them instead, so there would at least be someone available to look after the young lady.
Qiuyun stayed home and began the first round of screening and selecting the young lady’s photographs.
The photographers who came to the estate to take pictures were required to sign confidentiality agreements. Before the shoot, the estate provided them with memory cards, and afterward, the cameras’ internal storage was checked as well.
In short, no one should even think about taking anything photographed here outside.
Qiuyun inserted the memory card and began examining and sorting through the photographs one by one.
