Chapter 26: Each With Their Own Hidden Agenda

Our Guilan has always been provided with the finest food and drink…

Feng Shi was the shrewdest of the shrewd, but Jiang Jinyao had been spoiled by her since childhood and ultimately lacked patience. Seeing Jiang Qingshi’s sincere expression, he actually thought Jiang Qingshi was being genuine.

“Mother, I refuse to live in that broken-down house! I want to buy a new house in town. You promised me!”

Feng Shi inwardly panicked. Her son, whom she normally couldn’t bear to scold, now seemed like a fool ruining her plans in her eyes. Before she could say anything, she saw Jiang Qingshi put on a deeply wounded expression: “Younger Brother Yao has always had the best of everything since childhood, so naturally you’d look down on my drafty broken house… But this elder brother truly can only offer you this much. Your third brother is willing to sleep on the streets just to give you this house as your bridal chamber… Since you don’t want it, there’s nothing your third brother can do. This is all I can give you.”

“Indeed, Fourth Brother,” Lin Guilan chimed in from the side, “you can see our situation for yourself. We live in a dilapidated house that nobody else in the village wants, barely scraping by with backbreaking work from dawn till dusk. If we really had to squeeze out more for you from our meager earnings, your brother and sister-in-law would likely starve to death on the streets. Our Jiang Family is a literate family – we would never allow such a thing to happen, would we?”

This Jiang Laosan and Lin Guilan were truly silver-tongued! Feng Shi gritted her teeth in resentment, but as the matriarch of the household, certain words couldn’t be spoken directly due to her status and position. She glared at Yuan Yuexian who was watching the spectacle. Yuan Yuexian initially tried to pretend she didn’t notice, but under Feng Shi’s fierce gaze, she reluctantly spoke up.

“Anyone can make empty promises. Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law, if things are really as you say, why don’t we have Father and Mother accompany you to your home to see for themselves? Only then would it be believable.”

Yuan Yuexian didn’t want to help Feng Shi either – Feng Shi had now joined forces with Cao Cuiying, and that house had already been given to their eldest brother’s family! But Feng Shi had already warned both their families beforehand: if the third brother’s family didn’t provide the money, then the two of them would have to come up with it.

“Fine, let them see then,” Lin Guilan put on an indifferent expression, “I haven’t deceived Father and Mother anyway. With a clear conscience, I fear no knock at midnight. However… given Father and Mother’s status, would they really follow us to that broken house to rummage through our belongings? Though we live in a remote area, Fanjiazhuang is full of gossips, and we often have visitors. If such talk were to spread, it wouldn’t sound very good.”

“This third daughter-in-law certainly has a sharp tongue,” Feng Shi snorted coldly, slamming her chopsticks down heavily. “All this circling around just means you’re ignoring your brother’s situation. I think you’re doing this on purpose – you just don’t want your brother to have a good life!”

“Mother, how could I have such ill intentions?” Lin Guilan pouted. “Since you’ve laid things out so plainly, let’s all speak frankly. I know you called us back precisely to get us to contribute money for Fourth Brother’s wedding. You probably think that since I’ve started a small business, I must be making money, so you’re scheming for the few coins in my pocket… But when we moved out, we didn’t take a single cent from the Jiang Family. Even the house repairs were done with borrowed money, and we’re still in debt. Look at Eldest Brother and Second Brother – hasn’t the Jiang Family been supporting both their families? As for Fourth Brother, need I say more? Father, I just want to ask you one thing – isn’t my Nian Chen also your son? How can the Jiang Family be so biased?”

Old Master Jiang remained silent, sitting there as motionless as a wooden puppet.

“Third Daughter-in-law, stop making a scene here,” Feng Shi abandoned all pretense. “You keep accusing the Master of treating you unfairly. Let’s not mention other matters – just consider how much those vases and scrolls the Master sold for Third Son were worth. If those valuable items hadn’t been given to Third Son, would we need to scrape together money for Fourth Son’s wedding now?”

“Those things?” Jiang Qingshi chuckled. “Father didn’t actually give those to me – they were for another purpose. I was just saving Father’s face at the time, isn’t that right, Father?”

Old Master Jiang never expected Jiang Qingshi to turn his back so completely after moving out. Caught off guard by the question and under Feng Shi’s sharp gaze, he stammered, “I… I…”

“Mother, you shouldn’t question Father like this,” Jiang Qingshi said with a faint smile. “Didn’t Father teach you that women should be virtuous and refined, not talkative and inquisitive? Look at my Guilan – she always serves me good food and drink daily, never meddling in men’s affairs. How can you make Father lose face like this?”

Lin Guilan was momentarily startled, then immediately understood Jiang Qingshi’s intention and nodded with shy deference.

Jiang Zhimiao nearly burst out laughing. His father was truly a drama king – his ability to tell people what they wanted to hear was becoming increasingly masterful.

Old Master Jiang thought this made sense – he couldn’t be outdone by his own son. He immediately straightened his face and looked at Feng Shi: “Exactly! I had my own use for those scrolls. Don’t say anymore about it. You should maintain some feminine decorum and propriety, instead of being so aggressive all day.”

Though Old Master Jiang spoke this way, he secretly signaled to Feng Shi with his eyes, meaning she shouldn’t make a scene in front of so many people and that he would explain everything to her privately that evening.

Feng Shi was burning with anger, but upon second thought, she and Jin Yao would still need to rely on this old man for their future livelihood. Falling out with him now would indeed be unwise. Always quick-witted, Feng Shi knew she needed to use some tactics to keep Old Master Jiang hooked. After all, she was just a woman – if she wanted benefits from Old Master Jiang, she still needed to please the old man.

Feng Shi fell silent, but Yuan Yuexian immediately objected. She sprang to her feet with a “thump,” kicking her stool far away.

“What? That calligraphy and painting wasn’t given to Jiang Laosan? Then where did it end up? Father, aren’t we considered part of the Jiang Family anymore? Our family’s important property has just disappeared without any explanation, and you won’t even tell us?”

“What business is it of yours?”

Old Master Jiang had always been annoyed by Yuan Yuexian. This daughter-in-law had been too good at pretending back then. Had he known what kind of person she really was, he would never have let his second son marry her.

“Matters of the elders are none of you juniors’ concern to interrupt!”

Author’s note: