Qiuyun began working with whatever memory card she happened to pick up.
After scrolling through the photos, she was certain of one thing: these had absolutely been taken by a male photographer.
His technique alone made it obvious that he was drooling over and yearning for the luxurious estate. In several shots, he had already pressed the shutter before the young miss had even fully opened her eyes.
That said, the composition, lighting, and colors of the settings behind her were all exceptional.
Qiuyun was rendered speechless. She deleted the photos one by one.
Since each photographer had taken nearly a thousand pictures, she was able to delete the repetitive ones quickly, her finger tapping the Delete key in rapid succession.
Then—
Her finger suddenly spasmed, and she hurriedly undid the deletion.
It was a full-body long shot, but the focus had shifted to the opposite side of the pavilion in the middle of the lake. The two people there looked oddly familiar.
Ge Furen and Jiang Yijie.
A question mark slowly rose above Qiuyun’s head. She narrowed her eyes slightly.
She immediately flipped through the photos that followed.
The focus was no longer off in the subsequent shots, so she could only make out two blurry black silhouettes. However, there was no physical contact between them. As the photographer gradually moved from long shots to medium shots—in other words, as he slowly approached the lakeshore—the two people seemed to notice someone on the opposite bank and immediately split up and left.
Qiuyun switched to another memory card and began searching through the photos taken by the other photographers in that area.
Before long, she found two more photos with shifted focus. Although the subjects were so far away that an entire artificial lake lay between them, the weather was good, the light was clear, and the camera equipment was powerful enough that anyone familiar with them could recognize them at a glance.
There was absolutely no chance of mistaking them.
Qiuyun copied the entire series of photos again and saved them separately.
Then she went to inspect the place where they had been plotting in person.
It was a walking path along the lakeshore. Most of the areas facing the lake consisted of open stone landscaping, with only a few shrub-filled sections that had been built for the black and white swans to rest in.
Ge Furen and Jiang Yijie had been standing behind one of those shrubs.
This was a leisure and walking area. In the mornings, the household staff were all busy with their own work and rarely came here. Even when they happened to pass by, they would not choose this winding lakeside path because it was such a detour.
Tsk.
Qiuyun swept her gaze over the surveillance cameras nearby, then quickly left without lingering.
Afterward, she went to the security department and claimed that the young miss had lost a piece of jewelry while taking pictures that morning. She requested access to the surveillance footage.
Unfortunately, the cameras along the lakeside path had been damaged and were undergoing repairs, so there were no relevant recordings.
Well, that was only to be expected.
If Ge Furen had been in charge of the estate for decades yet still allowed someone to catch her conspiring with another person in private, she would have wasted all those years of experience.
Since they had not been photographed, naturally, there was no footage of Qiuyun having come there either.
Qiuyun smiled and told the security department it was fine, then reported everything to Mr. and Mrs. Jiang.
“Tsk.” Jiang Yihua studied the developed photographs carefully. “It really is those two.”
Yu Xiang looked as well and confirmed, “Yes. I’ve seen Ge Furen wear that outfit before.”
Jiang Yihua slapped the photos down on the table, his face full of impatience. “Seriously. Who knows what kind of nonsense those two are scheming together now?”
In his view, whether judged by ethics, ability, propriety, or any other standard, he was the eldest son of the first wife and naturally had the right to inherit.
If they refused to accept their fate, they should work hard, defy the odds, and make the Old Master Jiang acknowledge their abilities and reevaluate who should inherit.
But instead, they hid behind the scenes and devoted themselves to all kinds of petty schemes. It was truly infuriating.
Qiuyun cleared her throat. “Um, could I ask something? This Mr. Jiang is actually…”
Because it was simply too strange.
A stepmother and her second son secretly plotting together in an unoccupied place—this was genuinely suspicious. With her mind full of household intrigue, Qiuyun could hardly stop herself from imagining all sorts of possibilities.
“No.” Jiang Yihua denied it without hesitation. “Although no one has ever said anything about it openly, all of the old man’s sons and grandchildren have undergone paternity tests.”
Even Jiang Chuyun, who had joined the family from outside, had been tested three times by different institutions.
In a wealthy and powerful family, with a massive inheritance at stake, how could they possibly allow any uncertainty about their bloodline?
For some reason, Qiuyun couldn’t help looking disappointed.
She had thought they might have found a trump card that could completely eliminate the fourth branch from the competition.
Who could have expected modern society to have scientific technology to back everything up? It was nothing like their time, when blood tests could be faked or used to prove practically anything.
What a pity. What a pity.
“Even so, we can still use this matter to make a big fuss,” Qiuyun said thoughtfully. “But something based on mere suspicion can only be used to fan the flames. It can’t serve as the main course. I just don’t know what those two are actually plotting.”
The couple from the first branch exchanged a glance as well.
As the Old Master Jiang grew older, the various branches were beginning to stir. The second branch was foolish, the third was vicious, and the fourth was quietly malicious. With those two foolish and malicious branches joining forces, it was truly difficult to guess what they intended to do.
Jiang Yihua sighed. “Let’s stay put for now. The old man’s health won’t hold out for more than a few years. The more we do, the more likely we are to make mistakes. We’ll respond to change by remaining unchanged.”
Qiuyun really couldn’t see through the other side’s intentions. “I suppose that’s all we can do. Still, we have to prepare for anything that needs preparing for.”
People said that when soldiers came, one should meet them with generals, and when floodwaters came, one should block them with earth. But to deal with a crisis when it arrived, one had to actually have soldiers and earth on hand.
“Exactly.” Jiang Yihua agreed, then reminded Yu Xiang, “Tell the children to be extra careful lately. They’re not to go anywhere unfamiliar or get acquainted with strangers. Tsk. Ideally, they shouldn’t trust even their own brothers and sisters. They mustn’t linger in places without surveillance, and they should carry a voice recorder with them at all times, in case someone tries to frame them.”
Yu Xiang nodded solemnly. “Understood.”
Qiuyun added, “Oh, and there’s Cao Xiuxiu as well. We can’t rule out the possibility that she might secretly bring something in—some filthy curse or witchcraft meant to harm someone. In any case, we need to keep an eye on her. Ideally, we should have someone monitor her in secret at all times. That way, if she makes any unusual move, we can analyze it immediately.”
Yu Xiang answered seriously, “I’ll find someone to watch her.”
One could steal for a thousand days, but one could not guard against thieves for a thousand days.
This time, it had been pure chance that a photographer captured such crucial images. Even if the other side made a move in the future, they would always have a trump card to play.
The next day.
The gaokao.
Pei Cizhou called Qiuyun first thing in the morning to ask for her blessing.
Mrs. Jiang was also on full alert. Just as she had done for her eldest son before, she had someone drive a motor home to a location near the examination site. Lunch was prepared and delivered there as well, so the Fourth Young Master could eat properly, shower, and take a nap before the afternoon session.
After three days of exams, Jiang Linzhi immediately set off on his graduation trip, having made up his mind not to return home for the entire summer.
Given the family’s current situation, Jiang Yihua was thinking along the lines of “fewer people meant fewer risks.” Not only did he readily agree to let him leave, he even gave him some money and told him to get as far away as possible.
Jiang Linzhi was obedient enough. He took the money and vanished at once—of course, he only vanished into the vast sea of people in the capital.
After all, in less than two months, the company’s game would officially be released!
