My Father's Shocking Secrets: Swapping a Dragon for a Phoenix and Plotting Against the Whole Family

Jiang Shuyue was laughing wildly with the system, utterly oblivious to the fact that Jiang Mother's face had turned livid.

Even back then, her mother had found it strange that a mere three or five cups of wine had left her unconscious. So this was the reason!

Jiang Mother took a deep breath and suppressed her thoughts.

Forget it. After marrying Jiang An, she had lived a reasonably good life. Things had turned out well enough.

The system twisted the knife: [There are two more juicy scandals, enough to shock your mother for three hundred years! I'll tell you once we start eating.]

What? There was more about her? And it insisted on waiting until the meal to speak? The suspense was killing her.

Jiang Mother forgot everything else and immediately took Jiang Shuyue's hand, pulling her inside.

"Come along with Mother. Your younger sister specially prepared your favorite dishes. Don't just stand there either, my lord. Come, come."

Jiang Liuli awkwardly bowed to Zhou Yunshen.

"Please forgive her, my lord. Mother must have forgotten her manners in her eagerness to see my sister. Allow me to apologize on her behalf."

"On her behalf? What gives you that right?"

Zhou Yunshen's gaze remained fixed on Jiang Shuyue. Leaving Jiang Liuli behind, he quickly followed.

Jiang Liuli's hands curled into fists inside her sleeves.

Her family had originally arranged for her to marry into the Marquis’s Residence, but she had not wanted to become a stepmother, much less face a man with such unpredictable moods. So she had tearfully begged her parents to send Jiang Shuyue instead.

She had gotten what she wanted, so why did she now feel so miserable and frustrated?

Jiang Mother led her to the table. "Yue'er, don't hold back. All of this was prepared for you. Eat."

Jiang Shuyue glanced at the dishes and sighed. [Cold shredded cucumber, spinach stir-fried with sliced garlic, bamboo shoots stir-fried with mushrooms... Are they feeding a rabbit?]

Jiang Mother froze. She had thought the dishes looked perfectly acceptable, but hearing that, she realized they were far too plain.

Even the household servants received two vegetable dishes and one meat dish. How could this meal...

At last, she spotted a meat dish and picked up a piece for Jiang Shuyue. "This is your favorite lamb. Try some!"

Jiang Shuyue felt like throwing up. [Is she serious? I inherited my lamb allergy from my maternal grandmother. Doesn't she know? Last time, one bite left me bedridden for three days. Looks like she's forgotten everything.]

What? Those three days had not been a tantrum, refusing to see anyone, but an allergic reaction?

Jiang Mother's chopstick hand trembled, and a piece of lamb fell onto the table.

She smiled awkwardly. "Seeing lamb reminds me of when I was little. My mother had an allergic reaction to it and nearly lost her life. Someone, take the lamb away."

"Is that the only dish you're removing?"

Zhou Yunshen sat down and surveyed the dishes with open disgust.

He had people carefully prepare all three meals each day, making sure Jiang Shuyue was well cared for.

He had never imagined that her own family would feed her like a rabbit when she came home.

Jiang Mother immediately called to the servants. "You have the nerve to serve this sort of food? Take all of it away and bring out the best!"

The servants bustled about, clearing everything away.

Jiang Liuli stood beside them, her face deathly pale.

She had just said that she had painstakingly prepared this feast. Now her mother was scolding them for it. Wasn't that a slap to her face in front of everyone?

Jiang Liuli sank into her seat as though she had no strength in her bones and spoke softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you would be coming, my lord. Please forgive our inadequate hospitality."

"The servants at the Marquis’s Residence eat better than the masters of the Jiang Family. It seems the Jiang Family is all strength on the outside and hollow within. No wonder Yue'er's dowry was so meager. We had to rummage through every chest to find a few presentable things."

Jiang Mother frowned.

That was not right. Though she did not like this daughter, marriage was a major affair. She had made careful arrangements and even added an extra portion to her dowry.

Even by the standards of the Marquis’s Residence, that dowry should have been perfectly respectable!

Jiang Shuyue thought, [My dear mother still thinks everyone around her is a pure, innocent little bunny. Little does she know they're all white-eyed wolves whose hunger can never be satisfied!]

[I've never been favored here. The servants worship the high and trample the low, and Jiang Liuli helps them deceive their superiors and conceal the truth. Ever since I arrived, I haven't received a single monthly allowance. It was only to be expected that they would pocket most of my dowry too.]

Jiang Mother clenched her skirt in fury.

Those wretches! How dare they!

Jiang Shuyue thought, [I have no attachment to this family anyway. Once I've heard the gossip, I won't come back. From now on, the bridge goes its way and the road goes its own. We'll leave each other alone.]

Jiang Mother had never imagined that her daughter would want to draw a line between them.

She had merely listened to other people's advice, hoping to teach Jiang Shuyue proper manners and turn her into a true lady of a great household. How had things suddenly become like this?

The system said, [You have my sympathy for three seconds. Can we get to the gossip now?]

Yes, yes, yes! Anyone who passes up juicy gossip is a damned fool!

The system said, [Your mother's old sweetheart was a fair-skinned, handsome scholar. After your father got what he wanted, he happened to catch them meeting. Afraid their old feelings would rekindle and obstruct his official career, he had the man killed.]

Crack!

The chopsticks in Jiang Mother's hand snapped.

After marrying Jiang An and giving birth to three children, she had happened to run into Wang Ling. They had only exchanged a few pleasantries, yet that had cost him his life.

His child had only just been born then, and he had an entire family, old and young, to support.

Jiang An, how could he have done such a thing?

The husband who always seemed so gentle and kind was actually this sort of man!

Jiang Mother nearly lost control of herself.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

Jiang Liuli came over to take her arm, but Jiang Mother quietly avoided her.

Born into a wealthy family, Jiang Mother had learned from a young age never to let joy or anger show on her face.

She smiled without betraying anything. "These chopsticks are poorly made. Bring another pair."

"Yes."

Jiang Liuli studied Jiang Mother curiously. The chopsticks were made of blackwood and were very sturdy. How could they be poorly made?

Her mother was hiding something from her, but if she would not say it, Jiang Liuli could hardly ask.

The system continued gossiping: [When you were three, someone took you to see the lantern festival, and you went missing. Do you remember that?]

Jiang Shuyue replied, [I don't remember it, but I know about it.]

The memories she had inherited covered only the three years before she transmigrated. How could she remember something from when she was so little?

But it was a major plot point in the novel. Without it, none of the later events would have happened.

The system said mysteriously, [Let me tell you something. Your own father actually planned that whole thing!]

Pfft!

Jiang Mother had been drinking, and she sprayed a mouthful of tea across the table.

Jiang Liuli hurriedly took out a silk handkerchief to wipe her off. "Mother, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I..."

Before Jiang Mother could finish, she heard the system's voice again.

[Jiang An deliberately had someone lose you. Less than two months later, he brought Jiang Liuli home. Seeing that the two children were about the same age and looked alike, your mother transferred all the affection she had for you to Jiang Liuli.]

[From then on, she became the Jiang Family's most cherished legitimate daughter.]

[Haven't you ever wondered why it was such a coincidence? Plenty of people in the world look alike, and plenty are similar in age, but the odds of both happening together are very small.]

[Yet Jiang An found her within just two months. How did he manage it so quickly?]

Yes, how?

Jiang Mother had never considered it before, but now she had no choice.

The system solemnly declared at the top of its voice, [Because Jiang Liuli is your father's own flesh and blood!]