Tear Off All Pretenses

Although An Ziran had only met An Changde once, he could still guess what An Changde was thinking.

It was nothing more than seeing that An Changfu was dead and that there was no adult left to head the An Family. Relying on his status as An Ziran's paternal uncle, he wanted to stick his hand into the An Family's affairs.

However, he had still underestimated the shamelessness of An Changde and his wife.

"Aunt, your nephew did not hear you clearly just now. Could you please say it again?" An Ziran calmly looked at An Changde's legal wife, Wu Zhi. Nothing could be read from his dark eyes.

Wu Zhi felt a chill run down her back under his gaze. She quickly dismissed it as an illusion. How could good-for-nothing, lazy An Ziran possibly possess such an imposing air? It must have been because the weather was too cold. She hurriedly put on what she believed was a kind and amiable smile.

"Ziran, what your aunt means is that you are still underage. You never learned to manage the accounts from your father before, and managing the An Family's vast estate as a minor

must be exhausting. Besides, there are many things you do not understand. To prevent outsiders from deceiving you, your uncle and I discussed it and decided that your uncle should spare some time to come help you at the An Family." Wu Zhi sighed. "Your father and your uncle were brothers bound by the closest blood ties. Now that he has passed away, we are your family. You need not stand on ceremony with your uncle."

An Ziran's lips curled slightly. "Aunt, you are absolutely right. However, Father and Uncle divided the household long ago. They each have their own family affairs to manage now. Asking Uncle to come help would instead make your nephew feel guilty. Moreover, your nephew has learned quite a lot from Steward Su lately. He understands the An Family better than anyone, and even he says your nephew has improved greatly. Before long, your nephew will be able to manage the An Family independently."

Their expressions stiffened. Those words were plainly a refusal.

Right from the start, he had drawn a clean line between the two households. Since they had divided the household, the elder brother naturally could no longer interfere in the younger brother's family affairs. If word got out, people would certainly say that An Changde coveted his younger brother's property. But if An Ziran agreed of his own accord, then they would have every right and reason to do so.

The two had thought An Ziran would nod. After all, who could expect a wastrel to suddenly become a genius? Yet they had not expected An Ziran to refuse so decisively, and even know how to use words to block them.

An Changde was a scholar. What family estate could he possibly have?

As the saying went, "Of all things, scholars are the most useless." This was displayed most vividly in An Changde. Otherwise, he would not have been so eager to set his sights on his younger brother's household.

An Changde was actually just an idle scholar with a minor academic title. His shoulders could not bear a load, his hands could not lift a thing. The only thing he could show off was that scrap of knowledge; apart from that, he was good for nothing.

Yet people like him cared greatly about their reputation. That was why the two had come to play the family card. Otherwise, with their temperaments, they would have long since marched openly into the An Family residence, used their status as elders to oppress An Ziran, and never even bothered to discuss it with him.

Wu Zhi took a deep breath, barely stopping herself from calling him a little bastard. Still, she persuaded him with a pleasant expression. "Ziran, Steward Su is an outsider after all..."

"Aunt, Steward Su was Father's most trusted person while he was alive." An Ziran cut her off, the implication being that he trusted Steward Su as well.

If Wu Zhi continued to argue, would she not be saying that An Changfu had poor judgment in choosing people?

The fact that An Changfu had built the An Family into Anyuan County's largest landowning family proved that his judgment was exceptionally sharp. Even An Changde and Wu Zhi could never refute that. The present An Family was the best proof.

The couple's faces alternated between green and white, neither of them knowing how to hide their emotions.

An Ziran pretended not to see. They wanted to lay hands on the An Family? Before he had taken over An Ziran's body, perhaps it might have been possible. But now that he had become An Ziran, forget about allowing them to enter the An Family openly and lay hands on its businesses—even a single coin was out of the question. He was no saint and had no obligation to "support" his idle uncle's entire family.

The couple's first attempt had ended in failure.

They had originally planned to raise another matter after he agreed.

After thinking it over, Wu Zhi was still unwilling to give up. She signaled An Changde with a glance. Receiving her cue, An Changde's expression eased somewhat, and he spoke to break the silence in the hall.

"Ziran, ever since your mother passed away, the An Family's inner courtyard has lacked a mistress to manage it. Though you are now the master of the An Family, you are a man after all. Why not let your aunt come help? Your aunt is highly skilled at running a household. She will certainly keep the inner courtyard in perfect order, so you can focus on other matters."

After he finished speaking, the couple both looked at him with benevolent, kindly expressions. In the end, they still wanted to lay hands on the An Family.

An Ziran smiled. They would not give up until they reached the Yellow River. "Uncle, Aunt, your nephew appreciates your kind intentions, but your nephew does not wish to trouble Aunt. In the end, these are the An Family's affairs. Since your nephew can manage the An Family's businesses well, he believes he can handle a mere inner courtyard too. And if all else fails, your nephew still has three concubines."

Their faces immediately turned livid, and their pleasant expressions vanished completely.

He had already put it so plainly, even using "the An Family's affairs" to block them. Clearly, he did not regard them as family. No matter how foolish they were, they could hear that this was merely An Ziran's excuse.

What angered Wu Zhi most was that An Ziran would rather let An Changfu's concubines manage the inner courtyard than allow her, his aunt, to do it. Was he trying to draw a clear line between them? Not a chance!

Wu Zhi was so angry that she nearly burst into curses, but she ultimately held herself back and only stared at him coldly. "It seems you truly have grown up. The moment your father died, you got too big for your boots. You do not put us in your eyes anymore, do you?"

"Aunt, those are serious words. It is not that your nephew does not put you in his eyes. You are my uncle and aunt, so naturally, your nephew should put you in his heart." An Ziran smiled.

Upon hearing the first half of his sentence, the couple nearly exploded. They wanted to angrily rebuke him as a junior who had no respect for his elders. They had even considered simply making a big scene of it and letting everyone in Anyuan County see what kind of ungrateful white-eyed wolf the An Family had raised—his parents had barely died, yet he no longer respected his elders. But the latter half of his sentence completely choked them.

"Your nephew still has to go to the study. If there is nothing else, please make yourselves at home!" An Ziran said.

An Changde suddenly let out a mocking cold laugh. "Your uncle advises you: do not be too ruthless in your dealings. Be careful not to capsize in a gutter one day."

If he was heartless, then An Changde could not be blamed for being unjust.

Since they were going to tear off all pretenses, An Changde was not afraid either. Though the An Family was Anyuan County's largest landowning family, that did not mean it could cover the sky with one hand in Anyuan County.

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle."

After saying this with a smile, An Ziran walked out of the hall, leaving An Changde and Wu Zhi with ugly expressions. Only after he was out of sight did they spit out several vicious curses before leaving in a huff.