Chapter 95

Chapter 95: Marrying Her Has Been My Wish for Years (New) The surrounding guests turned to look and whispered among themselves. Chu Tang took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her gaze was piercingly cold. "Xu Jingxuan, you did that on purpose, didn't you?" Xu Jingxuan was a master at playing the innocent white lotus. She pouted her lips and looked pitiful. "Sister Ruan, clearly you weren't watching where you were going and bumped into me. How can you say I did it on purpose? This is your Ruan family's territory—how would I dare to deliberately bump into you?" At that moment, Zhou Xueluo and Chen Yuanyuan also spotted Ruan Chutang and were walking over. "Xu Jingxuan, stop pretending." Chen Yuanyuan gave Xu Jingxuan a rough shove. "Everyone knows you're jealous of Tangtang. You spilled that red wine on her on purpose because you wanted to embarrass her in public." Xu Jingxuan's eyes instantly welled up with tears. "What right do you have to say that?" Chen Yuanyuan said indignantly, "What you did at the horse ranch and on Beiyu Shan already proved that. Do you really think everyone here is blind?" Xu Jingxuan looked as if she was about to cry. "What did I do?" Chen Yuanyuan glared at her coldly. "Do you want me to spell it out in front of all these people?" "What's going on, Xuanxuan?" Elder Mrs. Jiang walked over upon hearing the commotion. Xu Jingxuan hurried over to Elder Mrs. Jiang, grabbed her arm, and said with a face full of grievance, sobbing, "Grandma, they're ganging up on me." Chu Tang let out a cold laugh and decided she wasn't going to hold back anymore. She fired off directly in front of Elder Mrs. Jiang, "With Elder Mrs. Jiang protecting you, who could possibly bully you?" "Grandma, look at her." Xu Jingxuan sobbed and tugged at the old lady's sleeve. Elder Mrs. Jiang said angrily, "Ruan Chutang, don't go too far!" "Me, going too far? Elder Mrs. Jiang, is this how you discipline your granddaughter? You say I don't know manners and have no upbringing—then take a good look at what your precious granddaughter has done!" After speaking, Chu Tang calmly said to the nearby waiter, "Go pull up the surveillance footage." Xu Jingxuan's face instantly turned pale. She had just checked—there was no surveillance camera in this area. Chu Tang's sharp gaze swept toward her, as if reading her mind. She sneered, "Did you think there were no cameras here? Hah, with a banquet hall this big and this many people coming and going, even your pig brain should be able to figure out that there's no way there are no cameras." Chu Tang raised her hand and pointed around. "There, there, and over there—those are all cameras. They're just disguised as decorations for aesthetic purposes. The lenses are the most high-end ones on the market, with 360-degree coverage and no blind spots. Let's see how you try to talk your way out of this one." Elder Mrs. Jiang said angrily, "Fine, pull up the surveillance! My Xuanxuan would never lie. I'd like to see how you plan to clean up this mess after falsely accusing Xuanxuan!" Cold sweat broke out on Xu Jingxuan's back, and her heart was racing with anxiety. They absolutely could not pull up that footage. She had deliberately bumped into Ruan Chutang just now to ruin her dress. Why should Ruan Chutang get to dress so beautifully today, with Jiang Shixu's eyes glued to her the whole time? Why should Ruan Chutang be the center of everyone's attention the moment she walked in? She refused to accept it! If the surveillance showed that she had deliberately bumped into Ruan Chutang, then even Grandma would stop taking her side. No, they couldn't pull up the footage. Just then, Xu Jingxuan caught a glimpse of Jiang Shixu's figure out of the corner of her eye. She immediately bit her lip and apologized with a look of grievance. "Sister Ruan, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. Please don't be angry." "What's going on?" Jiang Shixu walked over and asked Chu Tang. Chu Tang saw Jiang Shixu and understood everything in an instant. A mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips. "I was wondering why you suddenly apologized—turns out Shixu is here." Xu Jingxuan cried pitifully, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, Sister Ruan. It was my fault for bumping into you. I'll pay for this dress. Please, just stop being angry, okay?" She lowered her posture as much as possible, looking utterly pathetic. Chu Tang saw right through her tricks, knowing she was putting on a show for Jiang Shixu and Elder Mrs. Jiang. "Ha, you really know how to brew a fine cup of tea. If I don't forgive you, I suppose that makes me the unreasonable, heartless one." The old lady was so furious she pointed her finger at Ruan Chutang and turned to Jiang Shixu. "Shixu, look at her! Bullying Xuanxuan right in front of us Jiang family members." Jiang Shixu frowned, gently lowered the old lady's pointing hand, and said, "Grandma, let's wait for the surveillance footage." Xu Jingxuan panicked. She acted even harder, crying even more dramatically, as if she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world. The surrounding guests buzzed with discussion. Though their voices were low, they were close enough that some words drifted into Chu Tang's ears. "Isn't Miss Ruan the future young mistress of the Jiang family? Why is she arguing with Elder Mrs. Jiang?" "It looks like Elder Mrs. Jiang doesn't like this future granddaughter-in-law very much." "Yeah, the old lady dotes on her granddaughter. Even though she's just an adopted daughter, she's been raised for over a decade, so of course she's closer than an outsider. Miss Ruan hasn't even married into the Jiang family yet—of course she can't compare to the Jiang family's adopted daughter." "Although Xu Jingxuan is only an adopted daughter, she is still a young lady of the Jiang family to the outside world. Once Ruan Chutang marries into the family, she will be her sister-in-law. Now that she has offended both her sister-in-law and the elder madam, does she still think she has a place as the young mistress of the Jiang family?" "Exactly, exactly. Ruan Chutang really needs to rein in her spoiled temper. Just because her family is rich, she thinks she can bully people like this. It's despicable. Does she look down on the Jiang family's adopted daughter because she used to be a nanny's daughter?" "Isn't this too much? The girl accidentally bumped into her, and she just won't let it go. It's just a dress! With her family's wealth, what's one dress to her?" "Offending Elder Mrs. Jiang over a dress is not worth it. This Ruan Chutang really doesn't know where her priorities lie." "What do you think the young master of the Jiang family will choose?" "That goes without saying—he'll side with Elder Mrs. Jiang and Xu Jingxuan, of course. The elder madam is his biological grandmother, and Xu Jingxuan is the sister he's grown up with for over a decade. Do you even need to ask? His marriage to Ruan Chutang is an arranged union, bound by interests, with no real feelings." "Right, in our circle, arranged marriages never have any love. Young Master Jiang will definitely take Xu Jingxuan's side." "Tsk tsk, I can see the elder madam is furious. Do you think this marriage can still go through?" "I'd say it's looking doubtful." Ruan Chutang heard all of this, and of course, so did Xu Jingxuan and Jiang Shixu. Xu Jingxuan lowered her head and wiped her tears, appearing to be crying. Only she herself knew that she lowered her head to hide the smile at the corner of her mouth. However, Jiang Shixu suddenly raised his voice, his eyes cold and piercing. "Who said I would take Xu Jingxuan's side? Who said this marriage cannot go through?" His voice was loud and resounding, filled with anger, and everyone present heard it. In an instant, the murmuring whispers came to an abrupt halt. Even the band dared not continue playing. The banquet hall fell into a terrifying silence. Under everyone's astonished gaze, Jiang Shixu took Ruan Chutang's hand and spoke each word with weight and conviction. "This is the woman I deeply love. Marrying her has been my heartfelt wish for years. The arranged marriage was something I begged Uncle Ruan for—not for the sake of interests."