Chapter 10, Losing Oneself
As she spoke, Madam Jiang covered her face and wiped away her tears.
These words caused Jiang Hou's face to turn pale and then red. Having been robbed of his entire fortune, he glanced at Lu Ziyuan and suddenly felt a sense of unease.
The words "no one to carry on the family line" really struck a nerve with him.
"How can Father have no successor? There's still my brother!" Jiang Ruanruan said. Jiang Hou turned to look at his adopted son, whom he had previously dared not acknowledge because of Xia Yurou's vow to be with him for life and her accidental drunken mistake.
Yes, he has a son.
“Brother is Father’s own son, how can there be no successor!” Jiang Ruanruan sneered, looking at the mother and her two children.
“Father, those two said Ruan Ruan was uncouth and illiterate, and called Ruan Ruan and my brother little bastards. Look, just because you don’t like my brother and me, we are always bullied. They even want to drive my brother and me away!”
“If you don’t want me and my brother anymore, why don’t you send us to the Xia family? My maternal grandfather doesn’t mind that I eat a lot. I’ll eat at my maternal grandfather’s house and save my father money.”
"If you don't even want your brother anymore, then I'll bring him along to freeload off you. Grandfather and Uncle won't just watch us starve to death!"
"What nonsense are you spouting, child? The manor will never shortchange you on food!" Marquis Jiang was furious and glared at Madam Zhang.
"No, husband, these are just children joking around. I didn't mean it that way," Zhang quickly denied.
Zhang looked at Jiang Ruanruan with eyes that seemed to be filled with poison. She thought to herself, "This little bitch, I'll kill her sooner or later."
[Ding dong, congratulations host, you have gained 100 debt collection points, with a balance of 1300.]
Jiang Ruanruan... Hey, if I don't annoy you, I'll add tar to the fire and roast you to death. Yay!
"Then they said that Ruan Ruan and her brother are not worthy of eating with them, and are not worthy of studying at the Imperial Academy. Ruan Ruan must have been adopted, and they are Father's biological children, otherwise why wouldn't they be worthy!"
"Ruan Ruan, don't talk nonsense. There's no such thing. You are naturally your father's biological daughter. Zhang Shi, how did you raise Ziyuan and Zirou!" Jiang Hou said helplessly. Why does this child always talk about whether they are biological or not?
"Husband, are you looking down on me? My children are your children too! Before we got married, you said you would treat them as your own!" Zhang's eyes widened, and she immediately started distinguishing between "yours" and "mine."
He's not my biological child, so all the love he shows is fake. He's a heartless jerk.
"If Father doesn't want Ruanruan and her brother to study at the Imperial Academy, Ruanruan won't make things difficult for Father. Ruanruan will go and beg her maternal grandfather!"
As Jiang Ruanruan spoke a few words, Jiang Hou's face darkened even more.
"When did I ever stop you and Huai'an from studying at the Imperial Academy!"
If these words were spoken to that old scoundrel Prime Minister Xia, who knows what kind of trouble he would cause tomorrow.
"We won't let our own children study at the Imperial Academy, but we'll let other people's children go. What will people think of the Jiang family then? They'll say we don't know the rules!"
"Your son knows he was wrong, Mother. In your opinion, how should this matter be resolved?" At this moment, the scales in Jiang Hou's heart tipped.
No matter how good someone else's child is, they are still someone else's child.
"It was agreed before that Huai'an would be registered under Yu Rou's name and raised as the legitimate son of the Marquis's family. This matter cannot be delayed any longer, lest outsiders spread gossip."
Madam Jiang's words angered Zhang to the point of being stunned, but she quickly came to her senses and spoke up.
"Madam, why bring this up again? The Marquis and I are still young and can have our own legitimate son, so why...!" Madam Zhang was completely distraught.
"Auntie, are you sure you can have a little brother soon and then it won't be a little sister anymore? Besides, even if you have a little brother, other people's children are already studying and taking exams, while the little brother is still drinking milk. What can we expect from him?"
Jiang Ruanruan clicked her tongue in disapproval.
Marquis Jiang...
That makes a lot of sense.
"Besides, they are all Father's children. Why must your child be the legitimate heir? Why can't your brother be the legitimate heir? You can't just think about your Zhang family. You also have to think about the honor and disgrace of the next generation of the Marquis's mansion!" Jiang Ruanruan earnestly advised, like a little adult.
"Besides, my brother is a grateful person. As long as you treat him well, how could he not respect you as his legal mother? There's a perfect example right here: Father is the most filial to Grandmother!"
Marquis Jiang...
Zhang's family...
That was truly irrefutable, especially as Old Madam Jiang looked at the two of them with a half-smile.
Looking at the little girl's bright and cheerful smile, Li Yunzhi couldn't help but feel a sparkle of joy on his face.
His Ruan Ruan should be such a bright and cheerful young girl.
“Ruan Ruan is right. Zhang Shi, you will give birth to the second son of the legitimate wife, and he will still be the legitimate son. It is a blessing for a noble family to have many children. What are you fighting for here? Marquis Jiang is just lame, not about to die. Why are you fighting over the inheritance here!”
Old Madam Jiang frowned and scolded, her words sharp and cutting.
Jiang Hou... He made sarcastic remarks about Jiang Hou's lameness right in front of him, and even made it clear that Jiang Hou's new wife was trying to steal his family's property. Jiang Hou felt terrible.
[Ding dong, congratulations host, you have gained 100 debt collection points, with a balance of 1400.]
Jiang Ruanruan forced herself to keep her lips from turning up in a smile.
Zhang remained silent, but the problem was that Jiang Huai'an was registered under Xia Yurou's name, not hers.
Lord Jiang stared at Madam Zhang: "It's settled then. Huai'an will be the eldest son of the Marquis's family from now on, and the three of them will go to the Imperial Academy to study together."
The old lady didn't say much to him about the child who was staying with them, but based on his understanding of Old Madam Jiang, he knew that this person was definitely not simple, so he naturally couldn't afford to offend him.
After weighing the pros and cons, Jiang Hou made a decision.
Zhang... that scoundrel actually listened to that! If you can rely on a scoundrel, pigs can fly!
[Ding dong, congratulations host, you have gained 100 debt collection points, with a balance of 1500.]
"Yay, that's great!" Jiang Ruanruan pulled Jiang Huai'an and Li Yunzhi, jumping up and down happily.
Now, I don't need to hide my happiness.
"No, how could this be... It was clearly my brother, my cousin, and I who went to the Imperial Academy, how could it have changed!"
Lu Zirou stared wide-eyed in disbelief; how could this be different from her memories of her past life?
Jiang Ruanruan was taken aback and exchanged a glance with Jiang Huai'an. Could it be that this guy was also reborn?
"Mother, sob sob, what are we going to do!" Jiang Zirou cried.
"My lord, Zirou and Ziyuan also want to go to the Imperial Academy!" Madam Zhang lowered her head to comfort the two crying children.
[Ding dong, congratulations host, you have gained 300 debt collection points, with a balance of 1800.]
The three Zhangs... are so heartbroken.
"Knowing full well that Father is in a difficult position, you still insist on putting him on the spot. Ziyuan and Zirou are both geniuses; they can succeed anywhere they study!"
“Unlike my brother and me, who are naturally slow-witted, how will we be able to support this vast Marquis’s mansion if we don’t find a good teacher to teach us? Are we supposed to let someone surnamed Lu run the mansion? We might as well change the family name to Lu!”
"I've never heard of anyone marrying a daughter of the Zhang family and then having their household name taken by the child..."
Marquis Jiang...
"My son isn't feeling well, so he's going home to rest!" He couldn't eat a single bite of the meal.
That's right. If you don't raise your children to be successful, are you just waiting for the Jiang family to become like the Lu family in the future?
[Ding dong, congratulations host, you have gained 100 debt collection points, with a balance of 1900.]
"Husband, what's wrong? Where do you feel unwell? I'll call a doctor for you!"
Zhang's eyes widened. She was fine just a moment ago, so why did she suddenly get angry?
“Zhang, since you don’t want to eat, you should kneel in the ancestral hall. You don’t need to serve us for the next two days. Go to the ancestral hall and reflect on your actions. Since you came, you’ve made this house a mess. It’s impossible to eat when I see you. From now on, you can eat in your own courtyard with your children!”
Old Madam Jiang spoke coldly.
Before Zhang could reply, Granny Yun, who was standing nearby, grabbed Zhang and carried her to the ancestral hall.
Lu Ziyuan and Lu Zirou exchanged a glance, sensing Old Madam Jiang's displeasure, and followed Zhang Shi with long faces.
"Alright, Ruanruan, those irrelevant people are gone, let's have breakfast!" Old Madam Jiang lovingly served Jiang Ruanruan a bowl of rice porridge.
"Thank you, Grandma!"
Madam Jiang was very busy, serving Jiang Ruanruan, serving Jianghuai'an, serving Liyun, and so on.
"Thank you, Grandma!"
"Thank you, Grandma Jiang!"
She gradually lost herself amidst the calls of "Grandma" and "Grandma Jiang".
"Alright, alright, there's everything, eat slowly, don't fight, don't rush..." Old Madam Jiang laughed happily.
"The old lady hasn't laughed like that in a long time..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com