Aunt Liu crawled on the ground with both hands, struggling to reach Jiang Zaishui. She grabbed Jiang Zaishui's legs with her dirty hands and pleaded, "Master, please beg the eldest young lady to let me out!"
I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have sent my husband to the estate. Now that he's back, I've received my due punishment. Please, for the sake of the children I bore for you, plead with the young lady on my behalf!
"You mustn't prevent Yang'er from studying, young lady! What future will a boy have if he doesn't study?"
Every word Aunt Liu uttered seemed to be begging Jiang Wei to let her and her daughter go, but in reality, every word she said was a complaint to Jiang Zaishui, hoping to use Jiang Zaishui to deal with her.
However, after so long, Jiang Zaishui had not only failed to rescue her, but had not even visited her once. She had already given up hope on Jiang Zaishui and could only subtly accuse Jiang Wei in front of him, without openly offending Jiang Wei.
As expected, Jiang Zaishui did not react when she heard Aunt Liu ask her to rescue her, but she did react when she heard Jiang Wei forbid Jiang Yang from studying.
She stared intently at Jiang Wei, "Is everything she said true? You're not letting Jiang Yang go to school? Do you think this family is all yours now? You can even decide your own brother's schooling?"
At this moment, Aunt Liu's heart was once again doused with cold water by Jiang Zai Shui, who hadn't even heard a single word of her name.
So many years of marriage, so many years of pampering, and yet, in his heart, it was all just this.
She hadn't noticed his coldness before.
Aunt Liu no longer dares to throw a tantrum at Jiang Zai Shui. She tries to please him, hoping that he will let her get rid of that slut Jiang Wei.
For the rest of the day, Aunt Liu leaned against Jiang Zaishui's legs, her hands wrapped around him so he couldn't move.
Jiang Zai Shui was feeling somewhat annoyed when another foul stench emanated from Aunt Liu, causing him to frown involuntarily.
Jiang Zai Shui found it hard to accept that Aunt Liu was in this state, but since she had borne him children, he managed to suppress his disgust and not kick her away. "She is, after all, a concubine of the Jiang family, who has helped the Jiang family to prosper. She has already been punished, so let her continue to live in the mansion on the monthly allowance for a concubine!"
He spoke to Jiang Wei with an air of authority, brooking no argument, for this was his dignity as the head of the family: "This family cannot tolerate you. Come with me." With that, he turned and left.
A cold glint slowly spread from Jiang Wei's lips to her face, and a chilling light fell on Jiang Zai Shui's back. "Carry Aunt Liu back and take good care of her. Do not neglect her."
Jiang Zai Shui listened to Jiang Wei's disrespectful words with his back to her; she completely disregarded him, her father.
He paused for a moment, then walked away without looking back.
"Jiang Wei, you wretched woman, didn't you hear what Father said? Go and fetch a doctor to treat my mother, and send back the maid who served her before." Although Jiang Rou was angry that Aunt Liu hadn't sided with her, she didn't want to be without her mother.
Jiang Wei, who had already moved, stopped in her tracks. "Since my sister is so filial, from today onwards, I will personally take care of her for you. I will certainly grant your mother-daughter bond."
Jiang Wei glanced at the servants around her, "Did you all hear that?"
The servants were already intimidated by Jiang Wei's imposing presence, and their heads, which had been bowed, were now bobbing up and down like they were pounding garlic.
Jiang Wen tugged at Jiang Wei's sleeve, looking at her worriedly, "Sister, don't go, I'm scared..."
Mingzhao looked at Jiang Wei and said, "Sister, I'll go with you." He hadn't expected that his return would cause his sister so much trouble.
Although he couldn't do anything by going along, at least he could stand in his father's way if his father wanted to beat his older sister.
Seeing how much they cared for her, Jiang Wei comforted them, "It's alright, you two go back to the courtyard and wait for me to come back."
The servants carried Aunt Liu back, and also invited Jiang Rou over.
Mingzhao and Jiang Wen couldn't persuade Jiang Wei otherwise, so they had to nod in agreement. After watching their elder sister leave, they went back.
The two returned to Breeze Courtyard together, where they would wait for their elder sister to return before they could feel at ease.
Aunt Xu came in with a smile on her face. "You're all here. Where's the eldest daughter? I've made you some red date, pigeon, and goji berry soup to nourish her and her husband."
In the past, Jiang Wen would have definitely said a few words to her aunt, feeling that she was being snubbed. Now, she could only worry about Jiang Wei. "I'm afraid my sister can't drink now. Father called her away."
Aunt Xu was a little anxious. She put the soup in her hand on the table and didn't even have time to open it. She walked up to Jiang Wen and asked, "Why did your father call the eldest daughter over?"
In the Jiang family mansion, Concubine Xu was like an isolated anomaly. Whether it was Concubine Liu who was in charge of the household before or Jiang Wei who was in charge now, she was rarely informed of the affairs of the mansion. She was like an outsider, living in the mansion without competing or fighting, and was therefore ignored by everyone.
Jiang Wen recounted the events of the day to Aunt Xu.
Aunt Xu gave Mingzhao a reassuring look, "My lord, don't worry, I'll go and check on him right away."
After Mingzhao returned to the Jiang family, she always called her "Auntie" along with Jiang Wei and Jiang Wen, just like Jiang Wei had treated Aunt Liu as her mother. She treated Aunt Xu as her mother, but the difference was that Aunt Xu was genuinely good to Mingzhao, while Aunt Liu was just using Jiang Wei.
Jiang Wen was anxious, "Auntie, what's the use of you going? What if Father..." She still remembered that every time her father came to her aunt's place when she was little, he would leave cursing and swearing. Several times he even punished her aunt, and afterwards her aunt would always cry.
Although Aunt Xu was already middle-aged, she had stayed out of everything for years, truly living a life of quiet contemplation, like a frog in a well, and her face showed no signs of hardship.
After leaving Breeze Courtyard, she didn't go directly to find Jiang Zaishui. Instead, she returned to her own Qingying Cinema and asked her maid to prepare something simple for her to take to see Jiang Zaishui later.
She changed out of the old clothes she had worn today to make cooking easier, and put on the new clothes Jiang Wei had bought for her. She sat in front of the dressing table and opened the rouge that she hadn't used in a long time.
Aunt Xu paused for a moment, a single tear sliding down her cheek. Without time to think, she felt a sense of resolute determination, raising her hand to wipe away the tear. She lightly brushed her eyebrows, applied a touch of powder, and a hint of rose-red rouge added a unique charm to her.
After everything was packed, Aunt Xu stood up and took a deep breath. "Yue'er, are the things ready?"
Yue Shui was already waiting outside with a food box in hand. When she heard Aunt Xu asking, she quickly replied, "It's all ready. There's still some chicken and millet porridge left over from the one you cooked for my husband for lunch today."
"Yes, let's go!" Not knowing how the eldest daughter was doing, Aunt Xu hurried towards Jiang Zai Shui's residence.
Main courtyard.
Jiang Zai Shui sat at the desk, took out a few sheets of paper with writing on them, and pushed them from the table toward the direction where Jiang Wei was standing. "Since the Jiang family is too small to accommodate you, see which family you like. You can be the head of the household there."
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