"Get out! All of you, get out! Who told you to laugh at me? You're not allowed to laugh at me!" Jiang Chuling sobbed, clinging to Jiang Chuyun and wailing loudly.
" Oh dear..." The nanny hesitated, "but Seventh Miss, our young miss really needs to get to school."
Hearing this, Jiang Chuyun immediately kicked her schoolbag far away. "Seventh Sister is crying so hard—how can I possibly go to school like this! Call my teacher and ask for leave. I'm staying home today to keep Seventh Sister company."
"Miss, you can't do that!"
Jiang Chuyun lifted her chin haughtily. "Why not? Can't you see that my Seventh Sister isn't going to school either?"
The nanny glanced at the Seventh Miss and sighed. "Fine, I'll be down in the courtyard. If anything happens, just call me from the balcony, young miss."
"Okay, okay, and don't forget to call my teacher and ask for leave!"
The nanny left, and the room fell to just the two of them.
Jiang Chuling choked back tears as she poured out her grievances. "Do you know what 'finding a mistress' means?"
Jiang Chuyun, still basking in the joy of not having school today, thought to herself: Of course I know. Auntie Bing mentioned it this morning. Though she didn't fully understand what "finding a mistress" meant, she knew the eldest uncle's family was in an uproar over it, so it definitely wasn't a good thing!
"I don't know. Tell me about it—what kind of mistress did Uncle find?" She blinked her eyes, insisting that Jiang Chuling explain it herself.
Jiang Chuling: "..."
Don't think I can't see you're gloating!
"Forget it if you don't know." Jiang Chuling pushed her away. "Do you have a pen here? I need to write a letter and then run away from home!"
"Run away from home?!" Jiang Chuyun was shocked.
"That's right!"
"But you're just a kid?"
"Can't kids run away from home?"
Fine. Jiang Chuyun opened her schoolbag and handed over the stationery. "Here."
Jiang Chuling sneered. "I'm in fourth grade. I stopped using pencils ages ago. Do you have a fountain pen?"
Jiang Chuyun answered honestly, "No."
Jiang Chuling taunted, "What, your family doesn't even have a fountain pen? My dad's fountain pen is German-made—six million yuan a piece."
Jiang Chuyun, who was always terrified of being looked down on by her siblings, felt a needle stab right into her lungs. She shot back shrilly, "You said it yourself—it's YOUR dad's pen! My dad's pen is also six million—no, eight million a piece!"
"Really? I don't believe you."
"Come on, I'll take you to write with my dad's pen!"
Though the buildings differed in size, the layout of the villas within the estate was more or less the same. The two girls walked through the corridor and arrived at Jiang Yifeng's study. Jiang Chuyun stood on her tiptoes to push the door open.
"Write! Just pick any pen and write!"
Since Jiang Yifeng's business didn't compete with the family's, he rarely locked his study at home. Jiang Chuyun often came here to do her homework or draw.
And Qiuyun, based on the security camera layouts of the main branch's buildings, deduced that this spot had no cameras.
"So many pens?" Jiang Chuling climbed onto the chair. "Then I'll take my time picking the right one."
After picking and writing, she—knowing that Jiang Chuyun, a first-grader, was still limited in her vocabulary—simply recited three ancient poems from memory and scribbled them down to pass off as a letter.
"I'm off now. About the running-away thing, you have to keep it a secret from everyone! If anyone finds out and the plan fails, I'll tell all the brothers and sisters that you're a little tattletale!"
Jiang Chuyun immediately covered her mouth and nodded. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!"
"Goodbye."
Jiang Chuling scurried away, and Jiang Chuyun watched her retreating back with worry. "I wonder if Seventh Sister will make it. And if she does, I wonder if I can get the big uncle to give me that crown—after all, she won't be home anymore."
Breathless, Jiang Chuling sprinted back to Moonlight Pavilion.
She pushed the door open and returned to her room. "Sister Qiuyun, it worked!"
Qiuyun poured her a glass of water. "Miss Chuyun didn't suspect anything, did she?"
"No." She gulped down two mouthfuls. "She's dying for me to run away so she can claim all my things. She won't say a word."
Those little schemes—as if anyone couldn't see right through them.
"Good." Qiuyun reminded her, "To be safe, miss, you should go pick up the stuff in a couple of days, so Mr. Yifeng doesn't discover it."
Jiang Chuling nodded cautiously. "Understood."
Qiuyun opened her phone's monitoring app. "Good thing you're young, miss—that's the only way you could get close enough to the study to plant the recording pen. If it were me, I'd be spotted within seconds of approaching Xiling Tower."
Ever since she had recorded the assistant Sun with her phone last time, she'd developed a taste for leaving a digital trail. She bought a high-precision, long-lasting miniature recording pen online—it could be activated by a knock or via phone, and it supported real-time monitoring.
Jiang Chuling said excitedly, "Contributing to the family's efforts! It's my duty!"
She loved feeling involved, unlike her parents and the old teacher Lan, who always kept secrets from her just because she was a child.
Qiuyun adjusted the device and tested the audio. "Now, we just have to see if Mr. Yifeng will talk about the matter in his study."
"That's right." Jiang Chuling became a little disheartened. "If Fourth Uncle never comes back, wouldn't all my effort be wasted?"
"Some things won't yield results no matter how hard you work. We do what we can and let fate do the rest," Qiuyun comforted her.
After the fuss settled, the master and mistress of the house gradually got up and sat down in the dining room for breakfast.
With the master present, everyone tried hard to keep their expressions and pace as normal as possible, so that Mr. Yifeng wouldn't notice anything amiss.
Jiang Yihua finished his meal, tied his tie, and let out a deep sigh as he thought about the work ahead.
Today was day one.
"Assistant Qiu," he called out.
Qiuyun replied, "I'm here."
"Come with me to the office." He needed to keep a close eye on the progress of this matter and find someone to discuss countermeasures.
Qiuyun hesitated. "Sir, I'm the young miss's assistant."
Jiang Chuling beat her parents to it: "That's easy! I'll go with Sister Qiuyun! Dad, don't worry—I'll be very well-behaved, I promise not to cause any trouble!"
"Go ahead," Yu Xiang agreed. "I have classes at the school today and can't be free. With Qiuyun away from home, I'd be worried anyway."
Since both his wife and daughter had spoken, Jiang Yihua had no objections. "Fine, let's go together."
Half an hour later.
A Maybach 57S followed by a Toyota Alphard drove into the corporate campus, wound along the river, passed the fountain-sculpture plaza, and stopped in front of the main office building.
Qiuyun stepped out of the car and looked up at the thirty-story, loop-shaped glass-curtain building.
... So huge.
But Jiang Yihua gave her no time to admire it—the group hurried inside.
From the entrance, the twelve-meter-high lobby featured polished mirror-like black obsidian tiles, which reflected the massive crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Splinters of light fell like diamonds onto the marble columns' relief carvings, exuding understated luxury.
A receptionist in a silver-gray uniform escorted them to the executive elevator and pressed the button for the boss.
The elevator was laid with thick carpet, and the group arrived at the twenty-eighth floor.
"Mr. Jiang, the partners from Wanhua called today..."
"Mr. Jiang, the assistant of General Manager Liu from Hexin Technology is waiting in the meeting room..."
