Hearing her sister-in-law’s question, Yu Xiang answered truthfully, “I don’t know.”
Qian Yuqiong had originally wanted to ask if Little Seven also knew Young Master Pei, but then Butler Lin came down and said, “Seventh Miss, the Old Master wants you to go upstairs.”
Jiang Chuling tilted her head and, under the worried gazes of her parents and brother, stepped onto the elevator.
Upon entering the study, the deep, rich scent of rosewood greeted her. Her grandfather, the Old Master Jiang, had changed into a casual silk robe and sat behind a large, wide huanghuali desk, his expression unreadable.
Sister Xiaoqiu sat across from him, perched on only half the chair, her back straight as a rod.
“Grandfather.” Jiang Chuling greeted him properly.
“Mm.” The Old Master Jiang fiddled with the walnut balls in his hand. He first asked a few routine questions about her studies and daily life before arriving at the heart of the conversation. “Little Seven, when did you get to know that young man, Brother Pei from the Pei family?”
Jiang Chuling’s mind went blank for a moment, and she instinctively glanced at Sister Xiaoqiu, who sat with her eyes downcast and expressionless.
No. That wasn’t right. Sister Xiaoqiu had only been with the Jiang family for two months; there was no way she could know about her brother’s relationship with Brother Pei, let alone hers.
“I don’t know him,” Jiang Chuling said, tilting her head. “Why does Grandfather ask that?”
The Old Master Jiang looked at the young girl. “On the banquet floor, I saw you invite him to sit down. Just thought I’d ask.”
“Oh.” Jiang Chuling nodded. “That Brother with the surname Pei is handsome, you know. Plus, I saw you looked a bit troubled, Grandfather, so I thought I’d help you out.”
At this, the Old Master Jiang sat up straighter and leaned forward slightly. “Oh? How did you know I was troubled?”
Jiang Chuling spoke with childish frankness. “That’s easy! Before, when Grandfather scolded Dad and my three uncles, you’d play the bad cop and Granny Ge would play the good cop. But today, in front of the guests, you were supposed to be the good cop, and Granny Ge didn’t step in to be the bad cop. So of course you were troubled!”
“Hahaha!” The Old Master Jiang burst into laughter at her “good cop, bad cop” theory. “Then tell your grandfather, what was I troubled about?”
Jiang Chuling grinned sheepishly, looking quite shy. “I’ll say it, but Grandfather can’t scold me.”
“I won’t scold you,” the Old Master Jiang replied with a smile.
She blinked. “Grandfather was troubled because he couldn’t be the good guy in front of VIP guests!”
The Old Master Jiang felt some of the frustration in his heart ease.
Look at that. Not everyone in the Jiang family was clueless. In a situation like that at the banquet, was it really appropriate for him, as the head of the family, to have to step in personally?
“You may go now,” the Old Master Jiang said kindly. “Pick whatever you want to buy and have Grandpa Lin settle it. Consider it a reward for making sure your grandfather wasn’t put on the spot today.” Although Grandfather was strict, he was truly generous when it came to buying things!
“Thank you, Grandfather!” Jiang Chuling said happily.
With that, the Old Master Jiang waved his hand, letting her leave.
“Xiaoqiu…”
“Qiuyun.” Her reply was prompt but subdued.
The Old Master Jiang looked at her and asked again, “You really don’t know him?”
Qiuyun shook her head, her tone sincere. “To answer the Old Master directly, I truly don’t know Young Master Pei. He was just acting on youthful impulse, teasing me for his own amusement at the banquet. Just as Seventh Miss said, in that situation, my only choice was to go along with what Young Master Pei said. How could I have contradicted a VIP guest and made him lose face? Besides, if I really had any connection with Young Master Pei, why would I still come to the Jiang family to apply for a nanny position?”
There was logic to her words.
“Alright, you may also leave.” Having gotten his answer, the Old Master Jiang didn’t press her. “From now on, attend the weekend family dinners together with Little Seven.”
“Understood.” Qiuyun bowed and withdrew.
The Old Master Jiang closed his eyes, rolling the walnut balls in his palm.
Earlier, his son Lin’an had chosen to break with the family over a woman. He had planned to announce a new will to pressure the eldest son’s household. But after this evening…
The second son was too impatient, the third too indifferent, and the fourth went without saying.
The performance of branches two, three, and four had all been unsatisfactory. Little Seven from the eldest branch, though, had shown rare quick-wittedness as a child…
As the Old Master Jiang fell into deep thought, Qiuyun tiptoed out of the study, making not a sound.
The door clicked shut behind her.
She leaned against it, letting out a long, relieved breath. No wonder he was the Old Master Jiang, a man who’d weathered a lifetime of business storms. His bearing was almost on par with an old duke’s, though it lacked the edge of battle-hardened ferocity. To her, it was merely a heavier pressure, nothing to be intimidated by.
“Sister Xiaoqiu!” Jiang Chuling called from the elevator at the end of the hallway.
Qiuyun hurried over in a few quick steps. “Miss.”
“Just now, my dad said you should go see him after you leave Grandfather’s study.”
Qiuyun had already anticipated this the moment she spoke in the banquet hall.
“Alright, I’ll go right away.”
Jiang Chuling reached out and took her hand. “No rush. My dad has to wait until Grandfather finishes announcing things in the main building. You can go rest for a bit before heading over.”
“It’s fine,” Qiuyun said with a smile, calculating that the Old Master’s announcement would likely be postponed.
And indeed it was.
In the end, the Old Master Jiang canceled the item on the agenda and told everyone to go rest early.
After the group dispersed, Qiuyun didn’t take the connecting bridge between the main and auxiliary buildings. Instead, she went around from the main building, entered through a side door on the first floor of the auxiliary building, and made her way to Master Jiang’s study.
Honestly, the Jiang family—old, middle-aged, and young—shared a remarkably consistent aesthetic taste: they all favored Chinese-style decor and loved wooden furniture.
“Master Jiang.” Qiuyun stood at the door and knocked politely.
Jiang Yihua had faint dark circles under his eyes, but his gaze remained sharp. He was standing by the window, phone in hand, in the middle of a call. When he saw Qiuyun enter, he pointed to the sofa. “Have a seat.”
“Yes.” Qiuyun sat down as instructed, keeping her back straight once more.
A brief silence settled between them, broken only by the ticking of an antique clock on the wall.
After a long wait with no answer on the other end, Jiang Yihua had no choice but to hang up. He came over and sat across from Qiuyun, crossing his legs and letting his scrutinizing gaze rest plainly on her face.
“Tonight, you did very well.”
Qiuyun humbly replied, “The Eldest Young Master and Seventh Miss played their parts even better.”
Jiang Yihua took a sip of tea. “But even without them, you could have soothed Director Wang’s anger and my misdirected frustration, am I right?”
Qiuyun didn’t know how to respond to that, so she simply lowered her eyes in silence.
“Do you know Pei Cizhou?” The topic shifted, returning to the question that had been on everyone’s mind at the banquet tonight.
“No,” Qiuyun answered succinctly. “Young Master Pei was simply acting on impulse, a momentary whim at the banquet.”
Jiang Yihua gave a thin smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes. “A momentary whim, if you say so.” He set down his teacup, the porcelain clicking crisply against the marble tabletop. “Qiuyun, I didn’t call you here about the Pei family.”
Now getting to the heart of the matter, Qiuyun immediately straightened her posture, her gaze steady and calm as she looked at him. Before he could speak, she anticipated him. “Master Jiang is worried about Madam Jiang and the Eldest Young Master, isn’t he?”
Jiang Yihua squinted at her, leaning back into the sofa. He gestured for her to continue.
“As it stands, the Jiang family faces a power struggle among the conglomerates externally, and internal strife between the four branches.” Her voice was clear and measured. “Outwardly, everything looks splendid; within, it’s turbulent. Meanwhile, Madam Jiang is too soft-hearted and ineffective in managing the household. And you, Master Jiang, are too busy with company affairs to look after what’s at home. This has led to discord between husband and wife, estrangement between father and son, and a breakdown of trust both inside and out.”
With each word Qiuyun spoke, Jiang Yihua’s expression darkened further.
By the time she had finished, especially at the phrase “discord between husband and wife,” he had abandoned all pretense of calm composure. He was practically brimming with rage, like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.
Qiuyun acted as if she hadn't noticed, instead putting on a smile. "Master Jiang, were you just on the phone with Madam Jiang? The conflict between you and Madam Jiang is neither too big nor too small, but it's not good to keep it at a standstill. It needs to be resolved sooner or later."
In an instant, Jiang Yihua forced himself to suppress his anger and asked stiffly, "How should it be resolved?"
