"So what if I hit them a couple of tis?" An Zhiwei saw nothing wrong with her actions. She shoved the servant aside and said to An Zhiqian, "Brother, hurry and get soone to contact Jian and the others. What’s going on? It’s been days and we haven’t heard a thing. And that bitch Su Qing..."
Before An Zhiwei could finish, a voice ca from the doorway. "What is all this? What’s the commotion? Zhiwei, you’re a well-bred young lady, a socialite of our Xiangcheng. How can you just throw words like ’bitch’ around? What does that make you look like?"
"Grandma." An Zhiqian hurried forward. "You didn’t say you were coming. I would have co to pick you up."
The visitor was none other than Old Mrs. An, the current linchpin of the An Family. Years ago, after she and Mr. An arrived in Xiangcheng, she had used her sharp mind and keen business acun to help him build a vast family empire.
With Mr. An now ill and ntally unwell, Old Mrs. An had delegated most of the authority to her two sons, An Lizheng and An Likang. However, when it ca to any major decisions, she was still the one who made the final call. It was safe to say that Old Mrs. An was still the one truly at the helm of the An Family.
Though Mr. An was ill, Old Mrs. An preferred her peace and quiet, so she did not live with her two sons. The elderly couple lived separately, though not far away—only a few minutes’ drive from their sons’ hos.
"Don’t be silly, you’re not far." Though Old Mrs. An was nearly seventy, her hearing was sharp, her eyesight was clear, and she was exceptionally robust. She sat down on the sofa and fixed her gaze on An Zhiwei. "Zhiwei, what on earth is going on? Why are you so irritable?"
An Zhiwei was sowhat afraid of her grandmother. Upon hearing the question, she faltered, not daring to speak, and stole a glance at An Zhiqian, pleading for help with her eyes.
"What are you looking at your brother for?" Old Mrs. An truly disliked this granddaughter of hers. Seeing her like this only reinforced her opinion that the girl lacked grace, and her displeasure deepened. She snorted. "That’s enough. Stop with that pathetic act. I can’t even be bothered to ask you. In the future, when you have nothing to do, study so etiquette instead of running around shouting all day. It’s vexing."
"Yes, Grandma." An Zhiwei felt aggrieved. Her nose started to burn, and tears welled in her eyes, threatening to spill.
Old Mrs. An frowned. "That’s enough. You go on upstairs. Your brother and I have matters to discuss."
"Oh, alright, Grandma. I’ll go upstairs then." An Zhiwei pressed her lips together, a look of injustice on her face. She gave An Zhiqian one last look, then turned and ran sobbing up the stairs.
Old Mrs. An’s brow was knitted tightly, and she let out a deep sigh.
"Grandma, Xiao Wei is still young," An Zhiqian quickly said with a smile.
"She’s not that young. When I was her age, your father was already old enough to run around." Old Mrs. An waved her hand dismissively. "But enough. Let’s not talk about Xiao Wei. I ca today to ask you sothing."
"What is it, Grandma?"
"I hear the Cheng Family managed to get their hands on quite a bit of good material this ti," Old Mrs. An said. "You went to that raw stone market as well, didn’t you? How was it? Was there much good material?"
An Zhiqian pressed his lips together at her words. "Grandma, I wasn’t able to secure any good material this ti. I’m afraid we’ve been outdone by the Cheng Family."
"How so? Did they outbid you?" Old Mrs. An asked.
"No," An Zhiqian explained. "The raw stones at the market had a high probability of containing jade, but there wasn’t much high-quality material. Most of the rough we brought back turned out to be common varieties, like the ’bean’ and ’glutinous rice’ types. We didn’t get any top-tier material. As for the Cheng Family, they bought a ’window-cut’ stone from a young girl. That girl is on good terms with Cheng Beilin of the Cheng Family, so she sold it directly to them."
Old Mrs. An was about to point out that he had taken An Zhiwei with him, but the image of her granddaughter’s recent behavior made her hold her tongue. She didn’t even need to ask. With a temper like An Zhiwei’s, it was impossible for her to build a good rapport with anyone.
"You should tell your mother to spend so ti teaching Zhiwei proper etiquette instead of playing cards all day. Is she out playing again today? Not back yet?" Old Mrs. An asked.
An Zhiqian gave a sowhat embarrassed smile.
Old Mrs. An snorted. "I knew it."
After a pause, she added, "Forget it. I won’t say any more. Every generation has its own path to follow. I’m getting old. If I ddle too much, I’ll just make myself a nuisance."
"Grandma, don’t say that. How could that be true?" An Zhiqian said quickly with a smile.
"Don’t get too upset about this business with the raw jade." Old Mrs. An knew her eldest grandson was very ambitious. "You may not have beaten the Cheng Family this ti, but there will be a next ti. No general wins every battle. What’s important is to review what happened and learn from your mistakes. Don’t let yourself trip over the sa stone twice, understand?"
"Yes, Grandma, I understand," An Zhiqian said hurriedly.
Old Mrs. An nodded, changing the subject from the jade. "Your father isn’t back yet?"
"No. Dad’s been quite busy recently, he’s been coming ho very late," An Zhiqian replied.
"Busy with what?" Old Mrs. An asked.
"That, I... I don’t know."
Just as they were speaking, An Lizheng returned. Spotting Old Mrs. An, he smiled. "Mom, you’re here. How has Dad’s health been these past two days?"
"Hmph. How thoughtful of you to rember," Old Mrs. An said, her tone devoid of the warmth she’d shown An Zhiqian. Her expression instinctively hardened.
As if he didn’t notice, An Lizheng just smiled again. "As your son, how could I not be concerned? I’ve just been so busy lately that I haven’t been able to visit you and Dad."
"Busy? Busy doing what?" Old Mrs. An sneered. "Busy going after Zhi Han?"
"Mom!" An Lizheng froze for a second before hastily replying, "Who have you been listening to? That’s just baseless gossip."
Beside them, An Zhiqian pressed his lips together and remained silent, stealing a glance at his father. ’Even though Dad and Second Uncle haven’t involved in what they’re doing, I know a little about it. But it was all supposed to be a secret from Grandma. Why did she suddenly show up today to hold them accountable?’
’He had always known that the deaths of his third uncle and aunt were a painful, unresolved issue for the entire An Family. Furthermore, their deaths seed to be connected, in so way, to his own father and second uncle. It was the reason An Zhihan had left the family in the first place.’
’Because of this incident, his grandmother had never looked kindly on his father or second uncle. Her so-called preference for quiet, her refusal to live with either of their families—it was all because of what happened to his third uncle’s family.’
’Everyone knew this. But no one ever dared to say it out loud.’
SLAM! Old Mrs. An slamd her hand down on the table, her voice trembling with anger. "You dare tell it’s gossip?"
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