BMECDAH 15

Chapter 15

Shen Peirong turned her head with joy. “Yun He, come to Mother.” Her son, her precious son.

“No!” Jiang Yun He seemed to reject her strongly. “You smell stinky, and she smells stinky too.” He held his nose tightly and hid behind Jiang Wei. The Second Sister still smelled fragrant, unlike those two women who smelled like death.

“Mother doesn’t smell stinky.” Shen Peirong really didn’t smell anything on herself. On the contrary, Jiang Yan’s perfume was too heavy, and she frowned. “Xiao Yan, don’t use so much powder; it doesn’t smell good.”

“Yes, Mother.” Jiang Yan, who had been snubbed, had no words to defend herself. She didn’t know what was happening; ever since last night, a foul odor had been lingering on her that she couldn’t get rid of, leaving her no choice but to cover it with heavy perfume.

After hearing what the eldest brother said, Jiang Wei smelled it too. No wonder that whenever Jiang Yan passed by her, the air was filled not only with thick perfume but also with the stench of rotting sweet potatoes.

The four of them arrived at the hall. The Second Concubine was in a heated war of words with the newly taken Fourth Concubine. Jiang Dahai was in a state of headache, mixed with a bit of post-coital self-reproach.

In contrast, the Third Concubine sat gracefully sipping tea. Seeing Jiang Wei and the others arrive, she hurriedly stood up. “Greetings, Eldest Madam, Eldest Young Master, Second Miss, and Eldest Miss.” She didn’t mention who was legitimate or illegitimate, but she arranged everyone’s identity and status perfectly.

It seemed that after yesterday’s commotion, the entire manor knew about the Second Concubine swapping the eldest brother and Jiang Yan years ago. Jiang Yan’s face stiffened, and Shen Peirong’s expression was also very ugly.

“Xiao Yan, your father has taken another concubine, wuwuwu…” The Second Concubine started crying the moment she saw Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan kept her distance from her. “Second Concubine, I don’t know why I was misidentified back then, but in my heart, the Eldest Madam is my only mother. Please do not sow discord between me and my mother.” She had spent the entire night absorbing Shen Peirong’s luck and using sweet words to get Shen Peirong to accept her again; she couldn’t let anyone ruin that.

Shen Peirong nodded with satisfaction. She was, after all, the daughter raised by her side, unlike Xiao Wei and Yun He, who couldn’t understand the hardships of being a mother. Chen Xiaolian felt wronged—her man and her daughter had both been snatched away by that b*tch.

Jiang Wei greeted them obediently: “Good day, Father, Mother. Good day, Second Concubine, Third Concubine, Fourth Concubine. Everyone is good, I am good, we are all good.”

Jiang Dahai frowned. “What kind of novel greeting is this?”

Jiang Wei giggled foolishly. “Father, I see your forehead is dark and your eyes are listless. Were you drained of your essence by the demoness from last night?”

“Rebel—” Recalling Shen Zhennan scolding him as a “rebellious beast” in his dream, he quickly changed his words. “Unfilial daughter! Why are you not staying properly in your room? What kind of trouble are you running here to stir up?”

“Father, Xiao Lv, who was guarding my door, has already been taken by you as the Fourth Concubine. The Fourth Concubine is not a dog; asking her to guard the door again probably isn’t appropriate, right?”

The “not-a-dog” Fourth Concubine thanked Jiang Wei’s ancestors for eight generations.

“You!” Jiang Dahai really wanted to kick this rebellious daughter to death, but he was afraid of Shen Zhennan visiting his dreams again. He could only suppress his anger and look at the annoying Jiang Wei. “Your room is closer to the Second Concubine’s. Did you hear anything last night?”

“I heard it.”

Jiang Dahai and Chen Xiaolian looked over sharply. “What sound?”

“The sound of the Second Concubine snoring, grinding her teeth, and talking in her sleep. I also heard her say she wants to take my mother’s place, drive away the Third Concubine, and beat the Fourth Concubine to death. Oh, and Father, she also called Steward Zhao’s name. She called it so tenderly.”

“Shut up!” Chen Xiaolian couldn’t listen anymore. “Master, the Second Miss is talking nonsense! Her room is several doors away from mine; how could she possibly hear anything?”

“If you haven’t done anything, why are you feeling guilty!” Jiang Dahai thought about her going to Steward Zhao’s house yesterday. It was possible she really did call Steward Zhao’s name in her sleep, which made him furious. Chen Xiaolian felt wronged, but her mind suddenly recalled how good Steward Zhao was to her.

Jiang Dahai continued, “Don’t give me that nonsense. Your Second Concubine’s things were stolen last night.”

“Oh.” She and the Third Concubine did it. The Third Concubine had gone in first and rolled away the Second Concubine’s two large iron boxes, while she had taken all the property deeds and land titles that the Second Concubine had just retrieved. After the capitalists were relegated, the houses they lived in would be confiscated, but as long as they were sold in advance, they could be exchanged for cash. Jiang Wei planned to…

“Oh?” Jiang Dahai was dissatisfied. “Such a big event, and you only say ‘oh’?”

“Oh oh~” Jiang Wei ran over and kneaded his neck. The familiarity of the throat-grabbing from her dream struck him suddenly. Jiang Dahai was so scared he rolled off his chair, tumbled twice on the floor, and scrambled up in a sorry state. “Rebellious daughter, what are you trying to do?”

“Relieving your muscles and blood circulation! Don’t worry, Father, I’m not my grandfather; I wouldn’t come back to take your life.”

“Nonsense! I’m talking about the theft in the house; why are you spouting such messy things?” Jiang Dahai felt very guilty.

“Father, just set your mind at ease. Even if that thief stole everything from everyone else in the house, they wouldn’t steal from me.”

“Why?” Jiang Dahai’s eyelids twitched.

“Because~ I don’t have anything! I only have a father and a mother. Surely you couldn’t be stolen and sent to the countryside to do hard labor, could you?”

Don’t say it—really don’t say it—Jiang Dahai suspected that there was a real possibility of that. His mouth twitched, and he pointed to an empty chair. “You go over there and squat properly. You are not allowed to speak without my permission.” The rebellious daughter’s mouth was just like her annoying grandfather’s: poisonous and foul.

“Okay, Father.” Jiang Wei skipped over to find a seat. Remembering that her current persona was a malnourished bumpkin who had just returned from the countryside, she forcefully coughed—”cough, cough, cough”—and then spat two large mouthfuls of saliva onto the floor.

Shen Peirong’s face turned deathly pale. Her younger daughter was so ill-mannered; she wasn’t as obedient as the one raised by her side at all. Jiang Yan, meanwhile, was full of mockery. Jiang Wei, you will never get the love of Father and Mother.

Jiang Wei ignored Jiang Yan’s provocation. She actually pulled two pitch-black, fist-sized fruits out of her bosom and started gnawing on them with Jiang Yun He. These were “Inflatable Fruits,” a gift flash-sent to her this morning by the young girl from [I Am Pregnant With Eight Treasures In The Beast World], who said they could help restore physical strength rapidly. Both of them had black stains all around their mouths.

Jiang Yun He had never eaten such delicious fruit; he stomped his feet with joy, accidentally stepping a huge hole into the floor.

Jiang Wei: Big Brother has great skills!

Jiang Dahai looked as if he saw two Shen Zhennans coming to claim his life, so he quickly looked away. “Cough, cough. Regarding the theft from the Second Concubine, what do you all think?”

Shen Peirong was gleeful but still spiritless. “It’s all her retribution.”

Jiang Dahai was unhappy; that was less helpful than saying nothing at all.

The Third Concubine wiped away two nonexistent tears. “Wealth is merely an external object. As long as Sister is fine, that is all that matters. Why doesn’t the Master help Sister add some new belongings?” Add more, and then I’ll steal more. Having gained silver for herself, the Third Concubine realized the meaning behind Jiang Wei’s words. She decided she would be a woman who wouldn’t let that scumbag old man take advantage of her for free, nor would she suffer any more grievances.

The Second Concubine’s eyes lit up. With her ugly face trembling, she said, “Master~ Third Sister is right. You should help me add some more things.” The Master had plenty of money; just the wealth left behind by that Shen Zhennan before he died was substantial. After a night of “resting,” her face looked even more hideous.

Jiang Dahai looked at her appetite-killing face and almost vomited. He finally understood that his so-called “true love” was merely a fondness for the Second Concubine’s face. Feeling guilty and afraid that the Third Concubine would say something erratic again, he quickly turned to the newly taken Fourth Concubine, Xiao Lv. “Fourth one, what do you think?”