“You… try to think carefully.”
Jiang Jinxiu was growing impatient. Jiang Li had seen the treasure, yet still claimed she couldn’t remember anything. It almost felt as though she were being toyed with.
Seeing the irritation and barely concealed hostility in her aunt’s eyes, Jiang Li deliberately made herself appear even more timid.
“A-Auntie, I really can’t remember. Please don’t pressure me.”
In truth, she had always appeared frail in their eyes—so delicate that she could barely take care of herself.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
Jiang Jinxiu had betrayed her parents, was putting on this caring act in front of her, and had even seduced officials from the Revolutionary Committee—all for personal gain. As long as Jiang Li refused to reveal the location of the so-called second treasure, Jiang Jinxiu would have no choice but to keep indulging her.
Sure enough, the anger on Jiang Jinxiu’s face lasted only a moment before she forced it down.
“L-Lili, don’t be afraid. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just worried because you still can’t remember. The longer this drags on, the greater the chance someone else might find the treasure first. If that happens, it’ll belong to someone else.”
“I’ll do my best to remember, Auntie.”
Jiang Jinxiu led her out of the cellar, and the two of them immediately left the old courtyard in the suburbs.
As they walked along the road, Jiang Jinxiu turned the conversation back to the baby in Jiang Li’s womb.
Wu Jianchuan had instructed her to obtain Jiang Li’s unborn child, and she had already arranged for someone to perform the abortion.
“Lili, besides the treasure, there’s also the matter of your pregnancy. The sooner we deal with it, the sooner it’ll all be over. I’ve already found someone who’s very experienced. Come with me, and we’ll have the baby removed.”
Jiang Li wanted nothing more than to spit in her face.
This was her precious child.
There was no way she would ever agree to abort it.
“Auntie, I’m still sick. I can’t have an abortion right now. What if something goes wrong during the procedure? Or if I don’t recover properly afterward? I could end up with lifelong health problems.”
“You…”
Jiang Jinxiu was just about to lose her temper and complain about how delicate Jiang Li was, but then she remembered the treasure.
She swallowed her anger.
Patiently, she said,
“Lili, it’s only a minor cold. It won’t affect your health.”
“My body isn’t yours, Auntie. Of course it doesn’t matter to you.”
“I…”
Being talked back to by her niece infuriated Jiang Jinxiu.
She wanted to scold her.
But…
There was still the treasure.
So she forced herself to endure it.
Just wait.
Once we get to Hong Kong, you’ll see how I’ll deal with you.
“Lili, we don’t have much time.”
“I’ll give you one more day at most.”
“You must remember where that treasure is. Once we leave here, we won’t have another chance to come back and move it.”
“I know, Auntie. I’ll try my best.”
By the time all of this was over, it was nearly noon.
Since Jiang Jinxiu was desperate to learn the location of the treasure Jiang Li had mentioned, she didn’t want to leave Jiang Li’s side for even a moment.
There was also the matter of arranging work for Wu Jianchuan’s daughter.
After lunch, she planned to take Jiang Li to the factory.
“Lili, it’s almost lunchtime. Come eat at my house.”
Jiang Li hadn’t wanted to go.
But since her aunt had invited her, refusing too often might make Jiang Jinxiu suspicious.
“All right, Auntie. That saves me the trouble of cooking. Besides, I’m not very good at it anyway.”
The Zhao family’s home was a small detached courtyard with a single-story house.
It couldn’t even compare to the Jiang family residence.
Jiang Jinxiu had envied that house for years.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Jiang Li heard someone retching inside.
She recognized that sound immediately.
It wasn’t ordinary vomiting from an upset stomach.
It sounded exactly like morning sickness.
Don’t ask how she knew.
Vomiting from pregnancy was different from vomiting caused by food poisoning.
Besides Jiang Jinxiu, Zhao Zhizhi was the only other woman in the Zhao household.
Could Zhao Zhizhi be pregnant?
At this point, Zhao Zhizhi was still publicly considered unmarried.
In her previous life, after arriving in Hong Kong and after Zhao Zhizhi stole her mother’s jade pendant, Jiang Li had been so occupied building her own business that she hadn’t seen Zhao Zhizhi for nearly a year.
She never found out whether Zhao Zhizhi had eventually given birth.
So… she had already gotten pregnant by another man…
And she still ended up with the male lead.
Interesting.
Whose child was she carrying?
Her mother was shameless, and she’s even worse.
Neither of them is decent.
Fine.
No matter who the father is, if they want to kill my baby…
Then don’t blame me for showing them no mercy.
Zhao Zhizhi can be the one to have the abortion instead.
Jiang Jinxiu had also heard the vomiting.
Her expression shifted slightly.
“That child must’ve eaten something bad. I’ll take her to get some medicine later.”
“Mhm.”
Their footsteps were quiet.
As they stepped inside, they heard Zhao Zhizhi saying,
“That bitch Jiang Li—what does she have that’s better than me? She even dared hit me. Once we get to Hong Kong, she’ll regret it.”
The moment Jiang Li heard that, she strode over.
Smack!
She slapped Zhao Zhizhi hard across the face.
“Has your mouth been eating filth? How dare you insult your own cousin?”
Zhao Zhizhi never expected Jiang Li to appear so suddenly.
The slap left her stunned and humiliated.
“Jiang Li! You’ve got some nerve! You actually hit me again!”
She raised her hand to strike back.
Jiang Li caught her wrist.
Smack!
Another slap landed across Zhao Zhizhi’s face.
“If I’m going to hit you, do I need to pick an auspicious day first?”
Jiang Li wasn’t afraid of her at all.
If Zhao Baolin and Jiang Jinxiu wanted to join in…
She’d deal with them together.
While holding Zhao Zhizhi’s wrist, Jiang Li quietly placed two fingers on her pulse.
Before, she had only suspected Zhao Zhizhi was pregnant.
Now…
She was certain.
Unable to defeat Jiang Li, Zhao Zhizhi immediately cried out,
“Dad! Mom! Jiang Li hit me again! Hurry and teach her a lesson!”
Both Zhao Baolin and Jiang Jinxiu naturally wanted to stand up for their daughter.
But Jiang Jinxiu immediately thought of the treasure.
Then she remembered what Zhao Zhizhi had just blurted out.
If Jiang Li became suspicious of their plans, everything would fall apart.
For the sake of the treasure—
For the Jiang family’s remaining wealth—
They couldn’t afford to offend Jiang Li yet.
Zhao Baolin wanted to yell at Jiang Li.
He even wanted to hit her.
But Jiang Jinxiu stopped him.
“Oh, Baolin, forget it. This time it’s Zhizhi’s fault.”
“Zhizhi, why were you insulting your cousin? And what nonsense were you saying about Hong Kong?”
“We’re family.”
“Your uncle and aunt have treated us very well.”
“When we get to Hong Kong, we should be taking good care of your cousin.”
“Don’t say such foolish things again.”
Receiving the meaningful look from her mother, Zhao Zhizhi immediately came to her senses.
She had always been jealous of Jiang Li.
Thinking about how their family would torment Jiang Li after arriving in Hong Kong had made her unable to resist boasting about it to Zhao Baolin.
Who could have guessed Jiang Li would suddenly appear?
Forget it.
I won’t fight her now.
Once we reach Hong Kong…
I’ll make her repay today’s humiliation tenfold.
“C-Cousin… I didn’t mean what I said.”
“Please don’t take it to heart.”
Jiang Li let out a cold snort.
“How could I not take it to heart when you were insulting me?”
“But since you’ve calmed down now, and we’re relatives—and you’re younger than me—I’ll be the bigger person and let it go.”
See?
How magnanimous I am.
“Exactly, exactly. Lili has always been so generous,” Jiang Jinxiu quickly agreed.