Chapter 649 - 226: Frustrated Maternal Grandfather

Her grandfather had been strict when educating the legitimate heir, raising him to be a successor. But when it came to the illegitimate sons, he spoiled them rotten, aiming to render them useless. His logic was simple: an illegitimate son who was too outstanding could threaten the heir’s position. This was especially true for ambitious ones. A fight between two equally matched tigers would only lead to mutual destruction.

So, he raised the legitimate heir into a tiger and the illegitimate sons into cats—sickly cats, at that. A sickly cat would never have the guts to challenge a ferocious tiger.

The sickly cats would depend on the ferocious tiger, ensuring peace and harmony within the family.

But he had overlooked one thing: the sickly cats would raise their own children to be tigers, while the ferocious tiger had given birth to a cat. She was that cat—and a rebellious one at that.

"I heard my eldest brother is ill. How is he doing?" the Second Great-uncle asked, his voice laced with concern.

"It’s just his old ailment acting up. He faked being sick to trick me into bringing the children back. Second Uncle, don’t worry. My dad is in perfect health." Mrs. Xie took Jie Jingchen’s hand with one of her own and Qin Mei’s with the other, leading them to the sofa. She sat down and, with an elegant and doting smile, asked Qin Mei, "Xiao Mei, what would you like to eat? I’ll have the nanny make it for you."

"Mom, I’m not a picky eater," Qin Mei said, smiling at Mrs. Xie.

They had a good mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship, which no one from the second branch of the family was happy to see.

"Yan Qiu, didn’t you and your best friend arrange a childhood betrothal for the two kids?" the Second Great-aunt asked, steering the conversation back on track as it had started to drift.

This was the main branch’s business; whether a betrothal was arranged or not had nothing to do with her. But Qin Mei had talked back to her, showing no respect for her as an elder, so she wanted to sow discord between the young couple.

"What childhood betrothal? There’s no such thing." Mrs. Xie’s gaze, as she looked at the Second Great-aunt, was no longer gentle like it had been with Qin Mei, but cold and sharp.

’I’m not admitting to it. I had genuinely forgotten, but now that my Second Aunt-in-law reminded me, I remember. But there’s no proof. If I don’t admit it, who could force me to?’

’At the time, it was just me and Xuehua. We were just chatting, and one thing led to another, and it just slipped out. I hadn’t taken it seriously and had forgotten all about it after returning to Shijiu City.’

’If my Second Aunt-in-law hadn’t brought it up today, I wouldn’t even have remembered it ever happened.’

Mrs. Xie was no fool. Jie Jingchen and Qin Mei were married now. If she admitted to it, she would be guilty of ruining the young couple’s relationship.

’For Second Aunt-in-law to bring this up now is a clear attack on the young couple. I’m utterly satisfied with Qin Mei as a daughter-in-law; she’s practically a lucky star for our family. For my aunt to pull a stunt like this... it’s despicable.’

Jie Jingchen remained silent, somewhat regretting having sent Jing Wu away. He hadn’t expected his mother to flat-out deny it.

Having lived with Mrs. Xie for so long, Qin Mei knew her more or less. ’Judging by her reaction, it definitely happened,’ she thought. ’She’s just refusing to admit it.’

The Second Great-aunt was extremely frustrated. She wanted to curse out loud but didn’t dare yell at Mrs. Xie. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Mrs. Xie with a beaming smile. "Yan Qiu, just think about it a little more carefully."

Rarely one to refuse, Mrs. Xie did her the favor of pretending to think long and hard. Finally, she looked at the Second Great-aunt. "Second Aunt-in-law, there’s really no such thing. If there were, how could I possibly have no memory of it at all?"

"Yan Qiu, perhaps it’s been too long? Try to remember harder. The Li Family certainly took it seriously. They’ve been waiting for ages, hoping you’d bring Jing Chen back to formally propose marriage," the Second Great-aunt said.

Mrs. Xie’s expression changed instantly. Her beautiful eyes turned frosty, and her cold voice carried a dignified anger. "Second Aunt-in-law, watch what you say. My Jing Si and Xiao Mei have been married for a year, and they have a wonderful relationship. If what you’re saying causes my daughter-in-law to misunderstand and harms their marriage, don’t blame me for turning hostile."

"I wasn’t just..."

"That’s enough. Stop talking," the Second Great-uncle said with a stern expression, cutting his wife off.

The Second Great-aunt felt extremely wronged but didn’t dare say another word.

With Mrs. Xie present, even the Second Great-aunt’s three sons didn’t dare to stand up for her. Mrs. Xie was from the main family line, while they were from a side branch. Even though they were sons, they didn’t dare provoke the young lady of the main line.

"Yan Qiu, now that you’re back, when are you planning to leave?" the Second Great-uncle asked pleasantly.

Qin Mei inwardly scorned him. ’When he talks to me, he’s haughty and arrogant. When he talks to my mother-in-law, calling him polite would be an overstatement; "cowering" is more like it.’

"We’ll see," Mrs. Xie said ambiguously.

"We’ll see?" The Second Great-uncle raised his eyebrows, his face full of worry. "Could it be that my eldest brother’s health... Didn’t you just say he was faking it to trick you and the children into coming back?"

"He is faking it," Mrs. Xie nodded, knowing full well what her Second Uncle was scheming.

’Second Uncle doesn’t dare fight with Dad for the family inheritance, but the sons behind him do,’ Mrs. Xie lamented internally. ’Mom and Dad’s relationship was just too good. When Mom gave birth to me back then, it was a difficult delivery. She fought tooth and nail to bring me into the world, but it damaged her body, and she could never get pregnant again.’