Chapter 749 - 259: So You’re Jing Chen’s Wife

’So he wants me to stay.’ Qiao Wei felt a secret thrill of delight. She had eloped with Jiang Yuan, after all. How long had it been? For her to come home alone in disgrace so soon would be a huge blow to her pride.

"What is it?" Qiao Wei asked, her face falling.

"I suggest you look in a mirror before you leave," Jie Jingchen advised kindly. The way Qiao Wei looked right now, she would scare people on the street.

"How boring." Qiao Wei rolled her eyes, picked up her luggage, and strode away with an air of proud confidence.

Jie Jingchen frowned slightly. If Qiao Wei wouldn’t take his advice and was determined to go out and embarrass herself, there was nothing he could do. Besides, she was the one who would be humiliated, not him.

Jie Jingchen sat in the living room for a while. When Qin Mei still hadn’t come downstairs, he put down his newspaper and strode upstairs.

Back in the room, Jie Jingchen saw Qin Mei sleeping soundly on the bed, and his gaze softened.

The Gao family was completely bankrupt. Their house had been mortgaged, and Gao Qiang had become the family’s scapegoat. But with Grandma Gao protecting him, the other branches of the family didn’t dare take their anger out on him.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. The other family branches went their separate ways to find places to live. Mrs. Gao brought Mr. Gao, Grandma Gao, and Gao Qiang to a dilapidated courtyard house.

Because no one had lived there for years, the courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and the house was full of cobwebs and dust.

"This is your family’s home?" Grandma Gao asked with disgust, covering her nose with a handkerchief.

Mrs. Gao didn’t answer. She carried their luggage inside, knowing the place had to be cleaned before they could live in it.

"Xiao Qiang, you sweep the floor. Honey, you go fetch water," Mrs. Gao assigned their tasks.

Gao Qiang didn’t want to do it but knew he had to. He put down his luggage and went to find a broom.

Mr. Gao also put down his luggage and was about to help when Grandma Gao stopped him. Mr. Gao looked at his mother and said helplessly, "Mom, please don’t be so picky. We’re lucky to have a roof over our heads at all."

Given their current situation, if the Qiao Family or the Governor Mansion had decided to completely annihilate them, they wouldn’t have survived.

"Eldest, just look at this place. Is it fit for humans?" From a young age, Grandma Gao had been pampered and lived a life of luxury where she never had to lift a finger. She never imagined such a disaster would strike in her old age.

To fall from heaven to hell... the fact that she hadn’t completely collapsed from the blow was a testament to her inner strength.

"It will be once it’s cleaned up," Mr. Gao said.

Grandma Gao sized up her son. He was her firstborn and legitimate heir, pampered since birth, and had no idea how to do manual labor. "Do you even know how?"

"No, but I can learn," Mr. Gao answered honestly.

Grandma Gao shot him a glare. "Learn to do *this*? How pathetic."

Mr. Gao asked helplessly, "Mom, do you have a better place for us to go?"

Grandma Gao fell silent. ’If I had a better place to go, would I have come here with them?’

At that moment, Grandma Gao was filled with regret. She hadn’t left herself a way out. Those old bitches had gone behind her and the old master’s backs to buy properties for their own children. Now that the Gao family was bankrupt, the other branches all had places to live, but she had nothing.

’It wasn’t her fault, though,’ she thought. ’Who could have possibly guessed the Gao family would go bankrupt and even lose their house?’

"Mom, I’ll go get a chair for you. You can rest here in the courtyard. Once we’ve finished cleaning, you can come inside to rest," Mr. Gao said.

Grandma Gao nodded silently. Mrs. Gao brought out a freshly wiped chair. Mr. Gao took it, placed it in the middle of the courtyard, and helped his mother sit down.

Grandma Gao couldn’t bear to watch her son and grandson toiling away, so she simply closed her eyes and began chanting scriptures.

If this courtyard house were in Huaxia, it would be considered a decent property. It had a main hall, a master room, three secondary rooms, a toilet next to the kitchen, and a storage room.

Gao Qiang was exhausted after sweeping the floor and sat down under the eaves to rest. Mrs. Gao had just finished wiping down the main hall and master room. She wanted to ask Gao Qiang to help her wipe, but her heart ached for her son, so she didn’t. Instead, she urged Mr. Gao to hurry up.

When Grandma Gao finished her chanting, she saw that her daughter-in-law and son still hadn’t finished tidying up and raised a displeased eyebrow. Then she saw her grandson sitting dejectedly under the eaves.

It would be difficult for them to make a comeback on their own; they needed outside help. Gao Qiang’s marriage was her hope for that comeback.

"Qiang’er," Grandma Gao called out, waving him over. "Qiang’er, come here."

"What is it?" Gao Qiang was full of resentment and his tone was not as respectful toward his grandmother as it used to be.

"Come over here, I have something to tell you." Grandma Gao said patiently, well aware that her grandson resented her. She regretted it now, too. She shouldn’t have sought out Xu Jiali just for a moment of satisfaction, mocking her terminal illness as karma.

Before she had provoked Xu Jiali, the Qiao Family had still given them some breathing room. After, the Qiao Family had all but annihilated them.