35 Storm
◎No one can find fault with her◎
There were dozens of banquet tables in the hall, filled with delicacies from land and sea that ordinary people would never be able to eat in their lifetime. The business owners who came to celebrate the birthday sat in groups of three or four, and some even started drinking without caring whether the old lady was there or not.
The opera troupe invited nearby was singing "The Filial Daughter Celebrates the Birthday", and everyone was listening with great interest.
Ji Dayong walked among the crowd with a wine glass in hand, a smile on his face, but the business owners just glanced at him lightly, clinked glasses with him indifferently, and said perfunctory words.
He was completely unaware and kept moving closer.
Before today's protagonist appeared, most of the dishes on the table had been eaten, and some people were even picking their teeth.
Finally, the old lady arrived late in a sedan chair.
The sedan stopped at the door. She squinted her eyes and glanced at the situation inside. When she saw the mess in the room, she couldn't help but pause, but quickly adjusted her mood, tiptoed, straightened her back, and walked in as gracefully as possible.
Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to her. After all, the old lady's outfit was really eye-catching. She wore a bright green dress with vermilion floral decorations. The gold around her neck shone brightly. The slightest movement of her would dazzle people's eyes, making it difficult for people not to notice her.
Everyone had different expressions, some even spat out a mouthful of rice, wondering where this peacock came from.
A child hid his head in his mother's arms and muttered softly, "Mom, there is an old monster here."
Of course, the old lady certainly didn't hear this. She accepted everyone's shocked gazes, thinking that everyone was amazed by her. She touched the gems inlaid on her clothes with satisfaction and raised her head proudly.
It was not until she sat in the main seat that everyone began to congratulate her on her 70th birthday, with their voices scattered across the room.
The old lady said three good words in succession: "Today is my seventieth birthday, everyone, eat and drink well." But when her eyes fell on the three tables in the center, her originally smiling face immediately looked ugly.
These three tables were specially reserved for officials, but none of them came today, and the old lady almost couldn't maintain the smile on her face.
No dignitaries showed up for the appointment, only businessmen came.
She withdrew her gaze, forced a smile, and looked around again. She saw that Ji Tianbao's cheeks were flushed, and he had obviously drunk a lot of wine. There were four or five young men around him, and some of them were playing drinking games. The noise was so loud that it attracted the attention of others.
Ji Lai sat obediently in her seat, next to her was Guo Cuiping, who was dressed in jewels.
The old lady called Guo Cuiping over and asked, "Where's that little girl Ji Zhao?"
Guo Cuiping whispered in her ear: "Zhao'er is not feeling well, come over later."
The old lady frowned, obviously unhappy, but said nothing.
The birthday banquet continued, and Nanny Wang led Shu Yao and Ji Shijing in and arranged them in the most inconspicuous corner.
When Shu Yao saw so many people, she was slightly stunned. She looked down and saw the steaming food on the table. She rubbed her hands, excitedly pulled Ji Shijing to sit down, picked up a piece of braised fish and put it in his bowl.
There were only the two of them at the table, so it was quite quiet.
Perhaps the old lady wanted to show off in front of outsiders, so the food on this table was no different from the other tables, and Shu Yao ate with gusto.
Ji Shijing ate very quietly, and most of the food in his bowl was vegetarian. In comparison, Shu Yao felt that she was a bit rude and couldn't help but slow down.
The old lady naturally saw the two of them, rolled her eyes unconsciously, and a sinister smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. Eat, you will cry later.
Seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, the old lady coughed lightly, and Nanny Wang next to her immediately understood. She pinched her throat and spoke loudly enough for the whole hall to hear: "Old lady, you are tired. I will help you go back and rest right away." After saying that, she glanced at the people below.
The old lady rubbed her forehead, looking tired, but she had no intention of getting up.
All those present were experienced businessmen, and they immediately understood what was going on and hurriedly asked the servants to present their gifts.
Seeing all kinds of exquisite gift boxes placed in front of her, the old lady nodded with satisfaction, her eyes showing uncontrollable pride. Although the second son had passed away, the Ji family had countless industries under their control, and these businessmen in the capital still came to curry favor with her, which greatly satisfied her vanity.
The housekeeper of the Ji Mansion took the gift book and began to record the items one by one.
Shout out after you finish writing one down.
"A pair of jade bracelets from the owner of Li Ji Rice, Grain and Oil."
"The owner of Wangji Cloth has a night-shining pearl."
"A painting and calligraphy by a famous artist, the owner of Chen's Restaurant."
The old lady was obviously unhappy when she heard about the worthless calligraphy and paintings. But when she heard about the pearls and gems sent by the people behind her, she couldn't suppress the smile on her face, and the wrinkles on her face trembled.
Ji Lai also gave her grandmother a valuable agate hairpin. She knew that her grandmother loved money, so she saved money for a month to buy this hairpin, hoping that her grandmother would not embarrass her in public.
The old lady closed her eyes and looked at the hairpin, reluctantly satisfied.
Guo Cuiping also gave a silk dress, but Ji Dayong and Ji Tianbao gave nothing and continued to eat and drink with their subordinates.
Despite this, the old lady still looked at the two of them with a smile, without any intention of blaming them.
The housekeeper had almost memorized all the gifts. The old lady finally turned her attention to Shu Yao and Ji Shijing and asked sharply, "Where are your gifts?"
Everyone looked at them.
Shu Yao put down her chopsticks calmly: "For the old lady's birthday, the second young master and I should prepare gifts, but..." She hesitated to speak, with a look of grievance on her face.
Everyone was confused.
The old lady couldn't figure out what she was planning.
Shu Yao stood up, and everyone could see clearly what she was wearing. Her clothes had been starched and turned white, and there were two patches on the sleeves. Combined with her slender figure, her shaky appearance was really pitiful.
"Madam, since I came into the mansion, I have been living in the remote north courtyard with the second young master. We don't have enough food to eat, warm clothes to wear, and our livelihood has become a problem. Naturally, I can't present you with expensive gifts like others do." As soon as she finished speaking, Shu Yao's eyes turned red and she stood there cautiously.
Hearing her say this, everyone found it unbelievable that the old lady actually abused the new bride and Mr. Ji's second son. They looked at the old lady with inquiring expressions.
The old lady didn't expect Shu Yao to say all this in public, and she couldn't help but panic. She forced a smile and said, "Shu girl is talking nonsense. A few days ago, she asked for a tassel headdress and I didn't agree to her, so she's throwing a tantrum here." After saying that, she threatened Shu Yao with her eyes, reminding her not to talk nonsense.
Shu Yao ignored her warning and continued, "A while ago, the Second Young Master and I escaped death from bandits and traveled across mountains and rivers to return to the Ji Mansion, but the old lady stopped us at the door. Why? Today I want an explanation."
She spoke sincerely, and at this point, there was nothing that the people present could not understand. Having been in the business world for many years, they had already heard the hidden meaning in her words.
I didn't expect that the old lady was so cruel. Not long after Mr. Ji and the eldest son left, she quickly took the eldest son and his family over, and then drove the second son out, letting the eldest son inherit the Ji Mansion naturally.
How biased.
The way they looked at the old lady had changed. When Master Ji was still alive, they would definitely be willing to interact more with the Ji Mansion, but now that Master Ji was gone, there was no one in the entire mansion who had any ideas. Presumably, they would never have any contact with the Ji Mansion again in the future.
Thinking of this, some people stood up and said goodbye.
The old lady didn't expect this situation and glared at Shu Yao fiercely.
Seeing that the situation was favorable to her, Shu Yao quickly took out the "gold bracelets" she had made today and said sincerely, "Madam, this pair of bracelets was made for you by my second son and I after spending all our savings."
She deliberately emphasized the words "spend all the savings".
Some kind-hearted people present sighed that Shu Yao and Ji Shijing were filial. Even though they were not living a happy life, they were still thinking about the old lady all the time. They were really filial.
The old lady stared at the pair of gold bracelets, her cloudy eyes rolling around twice, and she complained in her heart, where did they get the money to buy the bracelets? But now was not the time to think about this matter, she had to think of a way to explain it to the people below.
When Ji Dayong saw the gold bracelet in Shu Yao's hand, he thought he was hallucinating. He rubbed his eyes and looked incredulous.
Shu Yao noticed everyone's expressions and moved her hand holding the bracelet forward.
Ji Shijing also stood up. His clothes were thinner, his body looked weaker, and he looked sick.
The two of them were dressed in rags, no different from the refugees outside the city. In contrast, the old lady and Ji Dayong's family were dressed in gorgeous clothes, looking very noble.
Everyone was whispering to each other, and someone said directly: "Old lady, what you did is not authentic."
"After all, the Second Young Master is also your grandson. How can you favor one over the other?"
More and more people are speaking out.
"The Ji family business was built by Master Ji. Are we really going to hand it over to someone else?"
"The Second Young Master is the only bloodline left in the world by Master Ji. Please treat him well, Madam."
Some people here have received favors from Master Ji, so they are willing to attend this birthday party. Naturally, they cannot bear to see Master Ji's son being treated like this.
Listening to these discussions, Ji Dayong was the first to get restless. He slammed his wine glass to the ground and said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Ji Tianbao was next. He wiped the grease from his mouth and spoke vaguely, "What's wrong with giving Second Uncle's property to us? You outsiders, don't talk nonsense."
Everyone shook their heads, and became more resolute in their decision not to have any contact with the Ji family in the future.
The old lady's face became worse and worse: "Shu girl, don't talk nonsense. Take back the gold bracelet. Tomorrow I will allocate Chunhua Pavilion to you and Jing'er to live in." She said this with gritted teeth, staring straight at Shu Yao's pair of gold bracelets.
Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Shu Yao decided to withdraw while she was ahead. She put the bracelet back into her pocket and thanked the old lady: "Thank you very much, old lady."
The old lady's mouth twitched, and she suddenly remembered something. She regained her composure and gave a wink to Nanny Wang.
Nanny Wang took the order and left.
Shu Yao saw the little movements of the two of them and felt that they were a little suspicious.
Just as Nanny Wang left, Ji Zhao came with Ge Yong.
When Guo Cuiping saw her daughter openly bringing that man out, she was so angry that her eyes rolled back and she almost fell off the stool.
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