Jiang Jinyu directly shifted the blame to the system. If the system heard this, it would surely rise up in resistance.
"Mother, what should we do? You're right. Third Brother doesn't love Xing Xiaoya deeply at all; he's like he's taken on a hot potato. But he's forced to keep Xing Xiaoya around. This can't go on!"
Jiang Jinyu agreed with Cen Ying's point of view and soon became even more worried.
If Jiang Chengli truly loved Xing Xiaoya and all these outrageous things were done out of love and madness, then she wouldn't be so upset, since it's something Jiang Chengli himself has to bear.
But now that she has analyzed it this way, she has discovered that there are many unspeakable reasons behind it, which makes her even more distressed and anxious. How can she pull her third brother out of this stalemate?
"Sigh, that's easier said than done." Hearing her say that, Cen Ying couldn't help but sigh deeply, feeling depressed as well.
From the moment she first saw Jiang Chengli on Wutong Street, she had imagined countless times how to rescue him from this predicament. However, both the prophecy of the artifact and Jiang Chengli's own attitude presented numerous difficulties that made her hesitate.
“But they’ve been pushed to the limit. If Third Brother can kill someone today, who knows what even worse things he might do tomorrow? Perhaps before Xing Xiaoya, this menace, even makes her move, Third Brother will have already driven himself to his death.” Jiang Jinyu sighed as well.
The mother and daughter sat facing each other, knowing that this matter was of great importance and could not be delayed.
After dinner the following day, seeing Xu Wanying leave, all the Jiang family members who remained at the Marquis's residence were summoned for a meeting, and even Jiang Chengzong rushed back from the military camp.
Men, women, young and old sat around the round table, and even Pan Ge'er was included and able to speak.
“This can’t go on like this. We need to brainstorm. Three heads are better than one. I don’t believe our whole family can’t handle a weak woman.” Marquis Zhongyi, as the head of the family, spoke first.
“Father, that’s not necessarily true. That Xing Xiaoya is very wicked; I definitely can’t handle her,” Jiang Chengxiao retorted on the spot.
No matter what woman stands in front of him, he can remain virtuous like Liu Xiahui. This is something he has personally experienced, reminding him day and night how terrifying Xing Xiaoya's existence is.
"What do you mean 'not necessarily'? It's because you're a piece of trash that you can't deal with her. Look at the artifact, it says I'm hopelessly infatuated with her, yet I'm still unharmed!" Marquis Zhongyi said irritably.
Upon hearing this, an eerie silence fell over the hall, mainly because the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness's words were rather crude.
Not only was Jiang Chengxiao embarrassed, but even Lu Ling couldn't help but lower her head, feeling utterly ashamed.
“Dad, what you’re saying is really funny. It’s because you didn’t have any contact with Xing Xiaoya afterward, otherwise you would have been in trouble too. If she wasn’t so wicked, why didn’t you dare go to Wutong Street again? I heard that there was some official business that happened on Wutong Street before, and as soon as you heard the name, you immediately pushed the matter away, afraid of running into her.”
"Tsk, when it comes to this, you're not even as good as me!" Jiang Chengxiao retorted without any politeness, and even brought up old stories.
"You bastard!"
"My lord, now is not the time to argue; important matters are at hand."
The Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness had just opened his mouth to rebuke when Cen Ying interrupted him.
"Madam, you don't need to worry about it. That brat of a second son has really grown too big for his britches and is becoming increasingly unruly." Marquis Zhongyi didn't want to stop, clearly wanting to continue to assert his authority.
The main reason was that Jiang Chengxiao hit a nerve, and they refused to give up easily.
"The second son only said a few wrong things, it shouldn't have made the Marquis so agitated, right? Or did the Marquis get caught out and become angry?" Cen Ying glanced at him lightly.
She spoke those two sentences calmly and deliberately, but the look in her eyes was absolutely devastating.
Marquis Zhongyi instinctively wanted to jump up and refute, but after meeting Cen Ying's gaze, he immediately sat back down.
"Madam is right, Second Brother. Considering the suffering you've endured these past few years, I'll let it slide. But if there's a next time, I won't let you off so easily."
He made a few perfunctory remarks to lightly change the subject, clearly afraid that Cen Ying would expose his past, since he was certainly not clean when it came to his romantic affairs.
"Tell me about it, about Lao San and Xing Xiaoya." He steered the conversation back to the main topic.
“Mother, are you sure Third Brother doesn’t like Xing Xiaoya? I think Shenqi is right. He’s so deeply in love with Xing Xiaoya that he has developed an extremely strong possessive desire for her. He can’t accept anyone getting close to Xing Xiaoya, regardless of gender, which is why he does all sorts of strange things.” Jiang Chengxiao put forward his thoughts again.
After all, his several encounters with Jiang Chengli and the memory of his third brother chasing him with a knife, intending to castrate him, were too profound, and the sense of horror was deeply buried in his heart.
"There's no need to mention that. I said it's not true, and that's final." Cen Ying's attitude was firm.
Jiang Chengxiao frowned, his tone full of disapproval, and said, "Mother, I saw it with my own eyes. Third Brother was very nervous towards Xing Xiaoya. He really—"
"The artifact says you follow Xing Xiaoya around all day like a shadow, but you're still staying in the manor properly. Even a womanizer like you can control yourself, so why can't the third brother?" Cen Ying turned her gaze to him, her tone tinged with coldness.
This time, Jiang Chengxiao was speechless. So this is what it feels like to be targeted by his mother. He suddenly understood why the Marquis of Zhongyi had changed his mind earlier; it was indeed very stressful.
"By the way, Chengxiao, tell me the truth, after you came back from Xing Xiaoya's place, did you really not even think about going to see her once?" Cen Ying seemed to remember something and immediately asked urgently.
"No!" Jiang Chengxiao replied almost instantly.
Cen Ying looked suspicious: "To refute so hastily without even thinking usually means you've been hit where it hurts and are trying to cover up your true feelings. Should we ask Lu Ling to leave first?"
"Mother, why don't you believe me! I didn't—"
Jiang Chengxiao was still struggling, but Lu Ling spoke up first: "Mother, he is lying. In the nights after he came back from Wutong Street, he tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. When he finally fell asleep, he even called out Xing Xiaoya's name in his dream."
Lu Ling bluntly exposed him, and Jiang Chengxiao was instantly embarrassed. He was usually thick-skinned, but now he had lost face in front of the whole family and couldn't lift his head up.
"And then what?"
"Things got much better later. He went from thinking about Xing Xiaoya day and night to gradually cooling down. Eventually, when Xing Xiaoya's name was mentioned again, his attitude became one of keeping his distance and even feeling somewhat timid," Lu Ling continued.
She was always observant, and the state of her bedmate could not escape her keen eyes. Although she had never said it before, she knew everything he said and did.
"Second son, your wife has already told you, so what else is there to hide? Why did this change happen?" Marquis Zhongyi seized the opportunity to press for answers.
He's currently in a spectator mode, since the main target isn't him.
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