"Smack—!"
Jiang Lixuan's face was slapped to the side, and a series of booming sounds rang in his ears. His eyes widened slightly as he covered his stinging cheek, looking at Jiang Tianzong in disbelief: "Dad! Why did you hit me!"
Jiang Tianzong picked up a handkerchief from the table and slowly wiped his fingers. Hearing this, he chuckled and asked, "Why did I hit you?"
"Jiang Lixuan, have you forgotten why I asked you to bring Nan Yuanman back?"
Jiang Lixuan instinctively wanted to ask a question in return, but then the words Jiang Tianzong had said to him earlier flashed through his mind, and his face turned deathly pale.
He was completely weak, and mumbled, "I haven't forgotten..."
Jiang Tianzong brought Nan Yuanman home for Jiang Xinxin's sake.
Jiang Xinxin had been sick too many times before, so Jiang Tianzong consulted a famous monk at Tianshan Temple. The master said that her birth chart was weak and that she would suffer from many illnesses and disasters before the age of ten. He said that she needed to find a girl with a completely Yin birth chart to help her bear these illnesses and disasters.
so……
That's why he approached Nanmanyuan.
Too many things have happened recently, and although Nan Yuanman is eloquent, she is also well-behaved and cute, and has not caused him any trouble at all. Jiang Lixuan subconsciously hid this dirty thought in his heart...
"So what have you been doing these past two days? Hmm? Giving Yao Yao and Xin Xin attitude for Nan Yuanman, Jiang Lixuan, have you grown too big for your britches and want to leave the Jiang family?"
Jiang Tianzong's smile vanished, replaced by a cold, expressionless question.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was incredibly imposing. Jiang Lixuan lowered his head, his breathing becoming increasingly difficult. He opened his mouth and spoke in a hoarse voice, "But, Dad, Yuanman is your biological niece. Does it have to be her?"
He struggled to speak: "Can't we... can't we choose another girl? There are so many children in the orphanage, and she..."
“It has to be her!” Jiang Tianzong interrupted Jiang Lixuan. He stared at his youngest son, who used to be the most obedient to him, his eyes darkening slightly, and said, “You’ve been influenced by her too much, Jiang Lixuan.”
“Xinxin is the niece you spend every day with, and she can only be the Jiang family’s only niece.”
“She’s not!” Jiang Lixuan couldn’t help but retort, “Jiang Yueyao has no blood relation to us! How could her child be my niece! Besides, besides…”
Jiang Lixuan wanted to tell him the information he had investigated, but Jiang Tianzong's words kept flashing through his mind. He paused, slowly raised his head, and stared at Jiang Tianzong with wide eyes: "Dad, you...you knew all along, didn't you?"
His throat felt like it was blocked by a large stone, and it took him a long time to choke out a sentence: "Jiang Yueyao... she hired someone to sever my tendons in order to ostracize Bai Wenying."
Jiang Tianzong didn't answer him directly, but said, "People always do crazy things when they're young, it's pointless to talk about it now."
Jiang Lixuan, however, seemed to have been struck by lightning; his scalp tingled, and he could barely stand.
He knew; he had actually known all along!
Jiang Lixuan was breathing heavily, supporting himself with one hand on the table. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Jiang Tianzong with hatred: "So... you knew that Bai Wenying didn't abandon me? Why didn't you say so from the beginning! Isn't she your biological daughter?!"
"Why should I say that?" Jiang Tianzong retorted. "You easily believed what others said without investigating at the time. Wasn't that just stupid of you?"
Jiang Tianzong coldly replied, "So what if she's my biological daughter? It was her foolish decision to keep it from you. Why should I make decisions for her and clear up the misunderstanding between you? Do you think I'm that free?"
Jiang Lixuan choked up, unable to utter a single word. He felt dizzy and his heart was breaking.
Jiang Tianzong ignored his breakdown and said coldly, "Since Nan Yuanman has such a great influence on you, after the family reunion banquet, send her back to the old house."
He looked up at Jiang Lixuan's red eyes, sighed softly, and reached out to pat his shoulder: "Ah Xuan, you are my son, I will never harm you."
"It's just that the Jiang family has been peaceful for so many years, and I don't want an outsider to affect the family's relationship. You can understand me, right?"
Jiang Lixuan took a few deep breaths and slapped his hand away: "...I can't understand. Sometimes, I even feel that neither of us are your children, and Jiang Yueyao is your child!"
Jiang Tianzong said helplessly yet indulgently, "If that's how you think, there's nothing your father can do. It's just that you've grown up."
His words were gentle yet tinged with a hint of threat: "I know you're a good kid, and you should know what the right choice is, right?"
Jiang Lixuan's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked at him stubbornly with pursed lips. Jiang Tianzong met his gaze calmly.
After a moment, Jiang Lixuan turned his head and left the study without saying a word.
Jiang Tianzong sighed deeply and smiled helplessly: "He's really acting like a child."
He lowered his eyes, reached out and picked up the sandalwood beaded string on the table, gently twirling it back and forth. His eyes darkened slightly; he hadn't expected Nan Yuanman's return home to have such a significant impact on the Jiang family.
It seems... that matter can't be delayed any longer.
Once Nan Yuanman is added to the family genealogy and becomes a member of the Jiang family, then we will take action.
The Jiang family must not be disturbed by anyone.
-
On the other side.
After skillfully running out of the Jiang family villa, Nan Yuanman wandered around the Taikoo villa area.
She wasn't familiar with the area and didn't know where to go, but a sense of crisis in her mind made her afraid to stay at the Jiang family's house any longer and face that dangerous man.
Nan Yuanman found a flower bed to sit on, instinctively hugging the small cloth bag tightly in her arms. She reached her chubby little hands inside to touch the rough body of the small red coffin, muttering to herself to comfort herself, "Yuanman, don't be afraid, Yuanman, don't be afraid..."
Her round, chubby face looked a little confused. She didn't understand why she wasn't afraid when facing zombies and evil spirits, but felt a chilling fear when facing Jiang Tianzong.
The frightened little girl instinctively wanted to find a close adult for a sense of security, but her grandfather couldn't come out during the day, so she could only sit on the flower bed and keep comforting herself.
She was so small that even the occasional jogger passing by didn't notice her, especially with the dense plants in the flowerbed.
Just as Nan Yuanman managed to calm down a bit, a hoarse female voice suddenly came from behind her: "Hello, I've arrived at the Taikoo Villa District. Which building and house do you live in?"
The sudden female voice startled Nan Yuanman, who turned around and curiously looked behind her, prying at the green plants on the flower bed.
When they saw the girl in the yellow delivery uniform with the words "Ugly Group" written on the back, they were stunned. Wait, isn't that the older sister who bought rat poison outside the hospital?
Nan Yuanman frowned slightly; the ghostly aura emanating from this older sister had intensified.
Yao Xianglu was unaware that someone was watching her. She was currently apologizing to the customer on the other end of the phone: "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, it was a little late, but it was the restaurant that was serving the food too late..."
The man on the other end of the phone snapped, "I don't care whose fault it is! You're late! I don't want this meal! Return it! Damn it, I finally managed to order breakfast, and I got this idiot delivery guy..."
The customer hung up the phone, grumbling. Yao Xianglu stood blankly by the flower bed, looking at the takeout box in her hand with utter exhaustion. She was completely worn out, both physically and mentally.
Her fingertips twitched slightly as she gently touched the rat poison she had inexplicably slipped into her pocket that morning…
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