Chapter 647 - 225: You Arranged a Child Betrothal for Me (Part 2)

"In my book, I’d rather destroy a marriage than save a temple," Grandfather said peevishly.

"Fine. Destroy it, then. Meimei, let’s go. I’ll take you for a walk." Jie Jingchen stopped trying to persuade him and led Qin Mei away.

Once out of the room, Qin Mei tugged on Jie Jingchen’s sleeve and asked worriedly, "Was I too harsh?"

"Not at all." Jie Jingchen raised his other hand to ruffle her hair. ’If it were anyone else, I would have taken that as a curse.’

Qin Mei brushed away the hand ruffling her hair. ’Whatever. If I’ve offended him, so be it. It’s not my job to make everyone like me.’

Mrs. Xie stood up, poured her grandfather a glass of water, and offered it to him solicitously. "Dad, have some water."

Grandfather didn’t take it. He glared at his only daughter, his deep, old eyes filled with heavy disappointment. "What kind of potion did that twice-married man, Jie Jianguo, give you to make you so utterly devoted to him?"

"Dad, you’re prejudiced against him." Mrs. Xie felt a wave of helplessness. Her parents disliked her husband, and there was nothing she could do about it. She had truly tried her best. After more than twenty years, she had grown numb and was no longer so obsessed with whether her parents would ever accept Jie Jianguo.

"Divorce him. Come home. Inherit the family business." When it came to persuading his daughter to divorce, the more setbacks Grandfather faced, the more determined he became.

"I don’t want a divorce, and I don’t want to inherit the family business." Mrs. Xie had no interest whatsoever in the Qiao Family’s enterprise.

"Have Jing Shan change her surname to Qiao, and I’ll hand the Qiao Family’s business over to her," Grandfather said domineeringly.

"Dad, Jing Shan is still young." Mrs. Xie didn’t think Jing Shan was capable of shouldering the heavy burden of the Qiao Family.

"And you think the Jie Family would agree to let Jing Chen change his surname to Qiao?" Grandfather retorted sarcastically.

Mrs. Xie fell silent. Jie Jianguo wouldn’t have minded, but his parents would never have allowed it. When she was pregnant with Jing Chen, she and Jie Jianguo had agreed that the child, boy or girl, would take her surname, Qiao. His parents hadn’t said anything, so she assumed they had tacitly agreed. Who knew they were just waiting to spring a trap.

"My dear, Jianguo didn’t marry into our family," Grandmother said, her heart softening. She couldn’t bear to see her daughter in such a difficult position. She had already given up on persuading their daughter to divorce, but her husband was still stubbornly insisting.

"Hmph!" Grandfather snorted coldly and said with disdain, "Don’t think I don’t know what the Jie Family is thinking. They’re just trying to take advantage of the fact that we have no male heir."

Mrs. Xie was well aware of her in-laws’ intentions, but she still tried to persuade her father. "Dad, you’re being too harsh. If it really comes to it, you could have Second Uncle’s family..."

"Shut up," Grandfather snapped, cutting her off.

Mrs. Xie wisely held her tongue. The atmosphere in the room instantly became oppressive.

Qin Mei and Jie Jingchen went down to the first-floor living room, where a few guests were seated. A wealthy-looking woman was holding onto Jie Jingshan, chatting away. In reality, the woman was rambling on while Jing Qi listened in silence.

"Who are they?" Qin Mei asked in a low voice.

"My second grand-uncle’s family," Jie Jingchen replied quietly.

"Second Grand-uncle?" Qin Mei was having a little trouble keeping the relationships straight.

"Grandfather’s younger brother," Jie Jingchen explained.

Qin Mei was stunned. ’His Granny wants to take advantage of the Qiao Family having no male heir, but his grandfather has a brother. How could that be possible?’

Her grandfather only had one daughter, Mrs. Xie, but his younger brother’s family was thriving with many members. Look at them—accompanied by three sons. Qin Mei had no doubt that if their grandfather’s father were still alive, he would have definitely handed the position of Qiao Family Head to the second son.

"My second grand-uncle was born of a concubine. Grandfather is the legitimate heir," Jie Jingchen said, noticing Qin Mei’s confusion.

Qin Mei clicked her tongue. ’The distinction between the main and branch lines... If the main line has no heir, it’s normal for the branch line to take over. At least they’re still family. It’s better than letting the inheritance go to a more distant, collateral branch.’

"Jing Chen," a middle-aged man in a sharp suit called out. Everyone sitting on the sofa turned to look at them.

Jie Jingchen held Qin Mei’s hand and only introduced the two elders. "Meimei, this is my second grand-uncle and my second grand-aunt. And this is my wife, Qin Mei."

"Second Grand-uncle, Second Grand-aunt," Qin Mei greeted obediently.

The second grand-uncle leaned on his cane, his arrogant eyes scanning Qin Mei with disdain. His aged voice carried an air of unapproachable superiority. "So you’re Jing Chen’s wife?"

The second grand-uncle gave Qin Mei the impression of someone who idolized everything foreign and looked down on his own roots. If he were a native of Xiangjiang, Qin Mei wouldn’t have said anything, but the problem was that the Qiao Family had moved to Xiangjiang from Huaxia.

"That term isn’t very common in Huaxia right now. We use a more traditional one," Qin Mei said, neither servile nor overbearing. ’I’m not living off his charity, so why should I have to bow and scrape before him?’

’Besides, from what Jie Jingchen said, Grandfather is the legitimate heir, while this second grand-uncle was born of a concubine. There’s a generation between them, which means people of Jie Jingchen’s generation in this line are already considered a collateral branch.’

"This is Xiangjiang," the second grand-uncle said, his gaze sharp.