Jiang Zhixia shuddered, her face instantly turning as white as paper. She hurriedly caught Song Yutang's sleeve. "Sister-in-law... forget it... let's go... don't make a scene..."
Chengyu?
Ji Chengyu?
Wasn't that Jiang Zhixia's husband?
Song Yutang felt increasingly certain something was wrong. She stared into her evasive eyes. "What exactly is going on?"
Jiang Zhixia's lips moved, but she only shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.
"Who dares bully a member of our Ji Family?" Just then, an angry shout suddenly rang out in the distance.
The crowd stirred, and bodyguards cleared a path.
A man in his thirties hurried over on long strides.
He immediately spotted Lin Lu, her tear-streaked face like pear blossoms in the rain, and rushed over to pull her into his arms. "Lulu, what happened? Who hit you?"
Guangguang also threw himself at the man, clinging to his leg and bawling. "Dad, they bullied Mom and even tried to take your card... Tuantuan also said you're only her dad, not mine..."
Ji Chengyu held Lin Lu and her son tightly, his gaze stabbing at Jiang Zhixia like a knife. "Jiang Zhixia, I never imagined you were this kind of person. Lulu and Guangguang have suffered enough. Why can't you make room for her? You already have everything. Why can't you be a little more magnanimous and leave them a way to survive?"
Jiang Zhixia's lips trembled, tears sliding down silently. "Chengyu, I didn't. It was Lin Lu who..."
Ji Chengyu cut her off impatiently. "You dare call her by her name to my face, without the slightest respect. Just how have you been bullying her behind my back? I'm warning you, Jiang Zhixia. If anything happens to Lulu, I won't let you off."
Lin Lu nestled in Ji Chengyu's arms, weeping like pear blossoms in the rain. "Chengyu, don't blame Zhixia... she has every right to resent me. I... I'm willing to give her back to you. I only ask that she... stop sending people to beat me and my son..."
Her tears nearly broke Ji Chengyu's heart. "Lulu, don't talk nonsense. How could I possibly abandon you?"
Lin Lu cried even harder, struggling fiercely in his arms. "Go live with Zhixia... don't worry about whether Guangguang and I live or die anymore... just pretend Guangguang has no father and I have no husband... boo-hoo... I really don't want to be beaten again..."
At that, Ji Chengyu jerked his head up, viciousness laid bare in his eyes. "Jiang Zhixia, how many times did you hit Lulu?"
Tuantuan's little face went deathly pale with fright. Crying, she flung herself in front of Jiang Zhixia to shield her mother. "Mom didn't hit Eldest Aunt. Eldest Aunt hit Mom first."
Guangguang hurried forward and dropped to his knees before Tuantuan, banging his forehead against the floor. "Little Sister Tuantuan, please don't hit my mom anymore... if you say he's your dad, then he is. I won't dare fight you for him again..."
Seeing his eldest sister-in-law and nephew being wronged, the fury in Ji Chengyu's eyes nearly erupted. "Fine. Just wonderful. Already hitting people at such a young age. You're exactly like your mother. Guards, break both her hands. Teach her a lesson she won't forget."
Several bodyguards in black stepped forward at his command, closing in menacingly.
Jiang Zhixia trembled in terror, shielding Tuantuan tightly in her arms as tears welled in her eyes. "Ji Chengyu, how could you do this... Tuantuan is your own daughter..."
Even the timid Li Xiulan could no longer bear to watch. She rushed forward, her eyes red. "Ji Chengyu, you can't be this heartless. Back when both your legs were crippled, you would have died long ago if Zhixia hadn't cared for you day and night. How can you treat your own wife and child this way for this woman?"
Ji Chengyu grew even more impatient. "It was just a minor matter. How much longer is your family going to hold it over me? What are you all standing around for? Take my wife and daughter home."
The bodyguards briskly pulled Li Xiulan away.
Just as they were about to reach Jiang Zhixia and her daughter, Song Yutang stepped forward and blocked their path. "As long as I'm here, let's see who dares touch them."
Her figure was slender, yet she stood tall as a pine in the bitter cold.
Wherever her gaze swept, even the air seemed to freeze.
Her innate majesty actually made the bodyguards shrink back in awe.
For a moment, none of them dared advance.
Ji Chengyu narrowed his eyes, sizing Song Yutang up. "And who are you?"
Song Yutang lifted her chin haughtily and met his gaze. "Jiang Muyan's wife, the Jiang Family's eldest daughter-in-law. If you had any manners at all, you would respectfully address me as Sister-in-law."
"Heh..." Ji Chengyu scoffed, his eyes full of disdain. "I wondered who you were. So you're the girl the Jiang Family married in from the countryside. A married daughter is water poured away. I'm disciplining my own wife and child, enforcing family rules. What business is it of your Jiang Family's?"
Rather than getting angry, Song Yutang smiled. She took out her phone right in front of him and called Old Master Jiang. "Grandpa, I wanted to ask: has our Jiang Family gone bankrupt?"
On the other end, Old Master Jiang was clearly baffled by her question. "The Jiang Family is perfectly fine. What nonsense are you talking about?"
Song Yutang smiled without warmth. "The Jiang Family's eldest daughter and two madams are being surrounded and attacked by Ji Chengyu's bodyguards at the mall. He even wants to take Zhixia and Tuantuan back to enforce his family rules. He says he's going to break their hands.
"If the Jiang Family hasn't gone bankrupt, what gives Ji Chengyu the nerve to trample on its face like this? If word of today's incident gets out, all of Cloud City will know tomorrow that anyone can humiliate the Jiang Family's daughter in the street. Where will you put that old face of yours then? How will you continue to preside over Cloud City as the sea-calming divine pillar everyone treats with respect?"
If the old man had cared even a little about Jiang Zhixia, she and her daughter would never have been bullied like this.
But Song Yutang was determined to make him understand: when one prospered, they all prospered; when one suffered, they all suffered.
When the Jiang Family's eldest daughter was humiliated outside, it was that old face he valued most that was being disgraced.
The other end of the line fell silent for two seconds.
The old master drew a deep breath and said only, "The address."
He was going to intervene.
The corners of Song Yutang's lips lifted slightly, and she quickly gave him the mall's address.
After hearing it, the old master's expression abruptly darkened, and he immediately called Butler Wang.
Butler Wang happened to be running an errand nearby. Upon receiving the order, he immediately headed for the mall with an imposing procession of more than a dozen bodyguards.
Before long, Jiang Muyan's phone rang.
On the other end, Zhao Chuan sounded slightly hurried. "President Jiang, the person we planted on the old master's side just sent word. There seems to be trouble involving the old madam, the eldest young lady, and your wife. Butler Wang has already taken men over. Would you like to send a few people to check as well?"
Jiang Muyan remained unhurried. "Since Butler Wang has already gone, let's wait. Send me the address. I'll see exactly what's happening."
After receiving the address, he closed the page on his computer, tapped a few keys, and silently accessed the mall's surveillance network, quickly pinpointing Song Yutang and the others' location.
Live video and audio came through together.
When he saw Ji Chengyu and Lin Lu locked in a tight embrace, Jiang Muyan's gaze abruptly turned cold. "So it's him. It seems that helping him take back his company back then raised a white-eyed wolf..."