Cheng Lingsu had a bad feeling when she noticed Jiang Xiu's expression change. She rushed to say, "It was a black Benz. The license plate no. should be帝 A666…"
Jiang Xiu softly murmured the words 'Jiang family.' This number belonged to the car Jiang Yishan's secretary had arrived in when they came to meet him. He guessed that Ye Dami must have come to take his mother this time.
Cheng Lingsu said with worry, "Nothing will happen to Mother, right?"
Jiang Hang was taken into the police department for hiring a hitman. This incident had created huge waves that were hard for even the Jiang family to settle. Their prestige had taken an enormous hit, and this would inevitably lead to different thoughts in some people, the Nangong family being the topmost among them. Jiang Xiu guessed that the Jiang family had taken Lin Yueling to force her to abandon Jiang Xiu so that they could make him their marriage chess piece and unite with the Nangong family.
Jiang Xiu believed that the possibility of them injuring Lin Yueling were less, but they won't have any qualms about threatening her. The chillness in his eyes became denser by the second. He saw a cab come over and waved his hand then got onto it.
Cheng Lingsu said, "Can I come along with you? Maybe I can help with something."
Jiang Xiu ignored her and closed the door.
"Jiang Xiu…"
Cheng Lingsu felt frustrated as she looked at the car speed away, feeling utterly helpless. Lin Yueling didn't allow her to follow her and Jiang Xiu didn't let her accompany him too. She felt that though she had married Jiang Xiu, they weren't considering her as a part of the family.
But such was the reality of her current situation.
Lin Yueling remained silent inside the Benz with a cold expression on her face while Ye Dami sat beside wore a smile on his face, "Yueling, we haven't seen each other for over a decade, right?"
"It's almost nearing 13 years."
Before Jiang Yi had gone to prison, she had come to the Capital with her son to request the Jiang family to help them. She had met this Ye Dami back then. At that time, he wore a cold expression on his face like that of Buddha in the temple and no matter whether she knelt or kowtowed, he remained indifferent to it, yet he wore a seemingly friendly smile on his face right now. However, the plot they were scheming under this smile only made Lin Yueling more afraid.
Ye Dami sighed, "Yes. Time flies by so quickly. A decade has gone by in a blink. I've grown old, Sir has grown old…" He turned to give Lin Yueling a glance, "You've turned 40 too."
"Life is a fleeting thing. Perhaps, it'll be time to get buried by the next time you blink. There's no need for us to get tangled with the matters of the past…"
Lin Yueling replied in a flat tone, "Why did you come to look for me? Uncle Ye can say it straight out. We have nothing to talk about regarding the old times…"
He said, "I'm not the one looking for you, it's Sir…"
The car stopped at a manor.
All kinds of rare varieties of flowers were planted along the sides of the road, and a little deer ran along the park. This was a very private region, and many antiques were hoarded at this villa. Its nickname was the Little Old Summer Palace.
A girl donned in azure clothes was preparing Gong Fu Tea inside the pavilion. She appeared young, less than 15 years of age, yet looked very pretty. Her eyes gleamed with brilliance as she spoke in an exceptionally calm manner, "Sir, please have some tea and snacks."
Her voice was ethereal.
Elder Jiang took a sip, his thoughts wandering somewhere as he subconsciously stood up. All of a sudden, he heard a car come in. The black Benz had already detoured past the park and reached in front of the pavilion.
A woman got down from the car. If Elder Jiang hadn't known who this woman was, he would've bet that he could've never recognized her if he ever ran into her. She had changed entirely and wasn't that pretty and stubborn girl in his memory, but instead was now a 40-year old ordinary woman who had endured through the torment that fate had brought her in life.
He became slightly moved, a trace of remorse flashing through his heart for a moment, but he didn't believe he was wrong. They had suffered the consequences of their own actions. Moreover, he felt no one could endure the fatal effects of time.
"Y-You were looking for me?" Though she was determined, Lin Yueling didn't dare to act rampantly in front of him.
"Sit!"
Over a decade ago, when she wished to see him, he hadn't come out, and that door remained shut tightly. He had heartlessly made her, and the young Jiang Xiu suffer under the ravaging rain, yet he had taken the initiative to bring her to meet him this time.
"May I ask why Elder has called me over?"
Elder Jiang said, "I heard he was restored to his official post and was promoted as well just when Annan County ascended to a city. A double promotion is pretty rare in our country and can be considered pretty lucky."
"Thanks to you, Jiang Yi didn't fall in the end."
Her words were full of resentment.
It was clear from her words that Lin Yueling took the matter which had happened back then to her heart. That incident had thoroughly broken her heart.
Elder Jiang said, "Looks like you both, husband and wife, are enjoying the scenic rainbow after the storm has passed away."
Lin Yueling didn't reply.
If he had helped out when Jiang Xiu was about to go to prison a few months ago, she would've believed that Elder Jiang wanted to settle the grudges and let them return to the family, but his actions had already revealed his true appearance to the couple.
Elder Jiang continued, "I hear Little Xiu performed pretty well in the college entrance exam. It seems like he entered the Imperial University."
He had come to the main topic finally.
"Old Nangong was pretty happy when he heard this. Since Nangong Kou'er has reached the legal age already, we decided to let them get married as soon as possible."
Lin Yueling's heart pounded with fear as sweat formed on her back. Luckily, she had acted first and made Little Xiu marry Susu yesterday. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had time to even regret today. "Elder, that's not possible."
Elder Jiang remained calm and collected. He had already predicted that Lin Yueling would refuse him. Otherwise, Jiang Xiu would've stayed at the Jiang family residence and not with the couple.
"Don't be in a hurry to refuse…"
Elder Jiang placed the teacup back on the table. The tea-maker girl had already withdrawn silently. He took a seat in passing, "Jiang Xiu was too young back then, so it was fine for you to take him as a child needs his parent's company, but he's old enough now and has to return to the Jiang family. My Jiang family bloodline flows through his blood. He has to fulfill his duty as a member of the Jiang family."
Duty?
Lin Yueling wore a cold expression on her face, but she sneered at him inwardly. You still have the face to say such words. "Little Xiu is Jiang Yi and my son. We will decide the matter of his wedding."
Elder Jiang's gaze fell on Lin Yueling's face, his expression turning fiercer and colder, "You don't get to decide this."
Lin Yueling clenched her teeth and didn't say anything, but it was clear that she had no intention of backing down."
Elder Jiang continued, "It's difficult for a person to climb up in life again after falling down once, especially so for those in officialdom, but it's quite easy to make him fall again. After another 12 years, he would've already become 57 years old. Even the officials at the border region retire at this age."
Lin Yueling's face turned paler.
Jiang Yi's life had already become crippled once, and he had crawled back up with great difficulty. She didn't dare to imagine whether he could endure the pain if it happened again.
She looked the old man in front of her in fear. She wished to say that he is your son, but these words got stuck in her throat. If she said something like that, he would only think it was a naïve mindset. If this old man had considered Jiang Yi as his own son, he wouldn't have just looked on when Jiang Yi was sent to prison over a decade ago.
"Jiang Xiu as well. That brat is a topper with bright prospects. You don't want him to waste half of his life like Jiang Yi, right?"
Lin Yueling shivered all over.
"Listen to me. If Jiang Xiu marries Nangong Kou'er, he will have external support and achieve rapid success whether he chooses an official career or a business career."
Lin Yueling's head was buzzing at this moment. She was a loss about what to do.
An apathetic voice came through at this moment, "A good man who wishes to make his name in the world has to overcome several trials, forge ahead with utmost dedication and have a battle of wits by relying on his courage. Only cowards use tricks to achieve success."
A silhouette walked past the park along with his voice, taking each step with an imposing aura. It felt like the entire world was intimidated by his presence. It was as if a grand ruler had made his appearance.
"Audacious. Who dares to enter the Little Old Summer Palace without permission?"
The surrounding bodyguards rushed out as if they were facing a great enemy.
Lin Yueling was already shocked yet also happy, "Little Xiu, how did you come here?"
Elder Jiang was also stunned after hearing this. He sized Jiang Xiu up and down. He never expected that this youth with such an imposing aura was Jiang Yi's and Lin Yueling's son whom they had raised in the marketplace.
How is this possible?
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