When Su Cuirong met Jiang Gan's cold gaze, she panicked, stumbled, and almost fell to the ground.
She forced out a few words through gritted teeth: "No, no, dried ginger, it's not what you think."
She slumped onto the stone bench, stammering incoherently, "That mad dog, Physician Su, is making baseless accusations. You...you actually suspect your grandmother?"
Jiang Gan's eyes narrowed slightly, and a half-smile appeared on his gentle and refined face. "If Grandmother says it's not, then it must be not."
After saying this, he slowly straightened his robe, casually sat down at the stone table, and said in a gentle but unquestionable tone, "Grandmother has always been kind-hearted. In order to pray to Buddha to cleanse my aunt of her sins, she will start eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures from today onwards, and will not concern herself with worldly affairs."
As for the ten shops you manage, they will be taken over by Lolo.
Upon hearing this, Su Cuirong nearly fainted from anger, and suddenly shouted, "Jiang Gan, you!"
Jiang Gan, however, remained calm and smiled, saying, "Grandmother used to always have her Buddhist prayer beads with her, but in the end, she couldn't bring peace to my aunt."
Perhaps my grandmother's devotion to Buddhism was not sincere, and her hands were tainted with the stench of money. Perhaps this is a better opportunity to relinquish gold and silver, and attain enlightenment on the spot—that would be true spiritual practice.
Su Cuirong's chest heaved violently. She raised her trembling finger and pointed at the dried ginger, but she was so angry that she couldn't speak for a long time.
Jiang Luoluo, standing to the side, lowered her head and chuckled softly. Her older brother was still the same older brother, well-versed in literature since childhood, yet possessing a mouth that could infuriate anyone.
Even a woman like Su Cuirong, who was so unreasonable and argumentative, couldn't gain the slightest advantage in front of him.
Jiang Gan closed his folding fan, casually pointed to the slender figure opposite him, and said in a gentle but sharp tone, "Cousin Yao, come here."
Yao Shiyu wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, slowly stepped forward, and gave Jiang Gan a slight bow: "Greetings, Cousin."
Jiang Gan looked at her with a half-smile, tapping his palm lightly with his folding fan, and said in a relaxed tone, "Cousin Yao, everyone in the capital knows how much Gu Boyuan cares for you."
This betrothal gift is truly exceptional, one in a million, and as your cousin, I am very happy for you.
Yao Shiyu was slightly taken aback. She looked up at him, still not fully understanding his intention, and could only reply in accordance with his words, "Brother Boyuan is indeed a very good person, and he is very fond of me."
This betrothal gift is merely a small portion of the Gu family's numerous businesses.
Jiang Gan's smile deepened, and with a light wave of his fan, he said casually, "That's good, that's good. The Gu family is large and powerful, they surely don't need a penny from our General's Mansion."
"In that case, please return the ten shops, one hundred acres of fertile land, and two estates in the capital that I previously entrusted to your care by my aunt and me."
Yao Shiyu was surprised that Jiang Gan was waiting for her there. She was speechless for a moment, her face turned red, and she stood there helplessly, not knowing how to respond.
Seeing this, Su Cuirong immediately jumped in to support her, saying loudly, "No! Jiang Gan, those properties are Shiyu's dowry. If you take them all back, won't she have no dowry at all?"
Jiang Gan raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping coldly over the two of them, and said in a flat tone, "The dowry is a matter for my aunt and cousin Yao. They can decide how to arrange it. It has nothing to do with me."
Su Cuirong trembled with anger upon hearing this and retorted angrily, "How could you say such a thing?"
Jiang Gan, as the eldest brother, you are like a father to Shi Yu. Now that Shi Yu's father is gone and her mother has gone to Yuanhua Temple, you, as the eldest brother, should shoulder this responsibility!
Even if your father were alive, he would agree to these shops and estates as Shiyu's dowry.
"You've just returned, and you're already bullying Shiyu like this? That's incredibly rude and disgraceful to the reputation of our General Weiyuan's Mansion!"
"Family tradition?" Jiang Gan sneered, his gaze suddenly darkening, his voice tinged with sarcasm, "Grandmother might as well ask Luo Luo about that night of torrential rain."
When she first arrived in Yunchuan, and my parents were seriously ill, what did your dear granddaughter do?
Su Cuirong never expected that Jiang Gan, who was far away from home, would know so much about what was happening in the mansion.
Her arrogance immediately subsided, and her tone softened. "What's done is done. There's no point in pursuing this matter further. People have to move on. Besides, Luo Luo hasn't suffered any loss."
Jiang Gan looked coldly at Yao Shiyu, his voice clear and ruthless, "Cousin Shiyu, I've already shown mercy by not kicking you out of the manor."
I've given you the opportunity; the choice is yours.
Yao Shiyu felt a tightness in her heart upon hearing this. She still had to leave the General Weiyuan's mansion to get married, and today, Madam Gu had already shown great impatience with her regarding her mother's matter.
If she were to be driven out of the manor now, she would truly have nowhere to go and would have completely lost her support.
After much deliberation, she finally gritted her teeth and gave in, shaking her head slightly at Su Cuirong, giving her a subtle signal.
Then, biting her lip, she said reluctantly in a low voice, "Please wait a moment, cousin, I'll go get the account book and seal right away."
As she turned around, she lowered her head slightly, her gaze sweeping venomously over Jiang Luoluo's embroidered shoe tips, her hatred surging like molten lava.
Yao Shiyu walked to the wooden box, took out the thick ledger and Jiang Gan's seal. Her fingers trembled slightly, but she could not hide the coldness and anger in her eyes.
She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, bit her lip, and made a vow in her heart: one day, she would stand on that position admired by thousands and trample everything related to Jiang Luoluo under her feet!
Jiang Gan neatly placed the account book on the stone table, his gaze cold and his tone exuding the authority of a family head, "Grandmother, Cousin Yao, if you dare to make a move on Luo Luo again, I, Jiang Gan, will not let you off easily."
Su Cuirong's face was gloomy, and she was unwilling. She seemed to want to curse a few more times, but Yao Shiyu held her tightly and forcibly persuaded her to return to the courtyard.
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