“Y-you—you’re shameless! How can you say such things so openly?!”
“Oh my!”
Zhou Changxun prided himself on being refined—always speaking and acting with propriety.
Back then, it was precisely this hypocritical façade that allowed him to gain Jiang Ting’s trust and marry into the Jiang family.
“He Linzhou is my legally wedded husband. Isn’t it normal for me to like him?”
Jiang Ning smiled innocently.
“On the other hand, Dad, you keep urging me to divorce him. Interfering with a military marriage—how many ‘peanuts’ would that earn you?”
Zhou Changxun’s lips twitched in anger.
“You unfilial daughter! You actually wish your own father dead?! How could I have raised someone like you!”
The tension in the room became palpable.
Seeing him lose control, Wei Yurou quickly pulled him back and shot him a look.
The bigger plan matters—calm down and coax her first.
Zhou Changxun understood immediately. After a moment, he regained his usual gentle demeanor.
“Ahem… well, that’s good then. Since you two are getting along well, that’s for the best.”
“I’m getting old. I just hope you can live happily.”
“So, I’ve decided to transfer my position in the railway transport department to you. Once you take over, you won’t need to follow him to the border.”
Jiang Ning raised a brow, feigning surprise.
“Really? You’re willing to give me such a good job?”
A calculating glint flashed through Zhou Changxun’s eyes.
“Of course! You’re my most precious daughter, after all.”
“Oh, really?”
Jiang Ning sneered inwardly.
Your most precious daughter? More like you want to dump the blame on me along with the job.
“Ningning, your father’s job pays well, has great benefits, is easy, and highly respected. It suits you perfectly,” Wei Yurou added with a smile that hid a blade.
“If it’s such a good job, why give it to me?”
“I’m naturally beautiful—I’m not suited for working. I prefer staying home, eating, sleeping, and having fun. Why not give it to Sister Zhou Xue instead?”
Jiang Ning turned to Zhou Xue with a sweet smile.
Caught off guard, Zhou Xue stiffened.
“This… this is Dad’s job meant for you. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to take it. Besides, I still want to study a few more years.”
“Oh? I thought it was because you were planning to go abroad.”
Jiang Ning’s expression turned thoughtful.
“N-no! Of course not. In this situation, who could even leave the country?”
Zhou Xue quickly glanced at her parents.
“Right, Dad? Mom?”
“Yes, yes. Xue’er still needs to study,” Wei Yurou forced a smile, though inwardly she cursed.
When did this foolish girl become so sharp?
“Let’s talk about the job another time. I’m hungry.”
“Dad, go buy me beggar’s chicken from Nanwan Lotus House.”
“Stepmom, get me fermented bean drink from Wangpo Stall in Xijing.”
“Zhou Xue, go buy steamed pork ribs from Dongdaqiao.”
“And Zhou Yaozu, go to the seafood market and buy mantis shrimp. I want it steamed for dinner.”
Jiang Ning adopted the air of a noble young lady, issuing orders one by one.
Zhou Yaozu immediately flared up, clenching his fist—
But Wei Yurou grabbed his wrist.
“We’ll go buy it right away!”
She hurried back to get money and dragged the unwilling siblings out.
Zhou Changxun suppressed his anger and followed.
Outside the Jiang residence—
Zhou Yaozu shook off Wei Yurou’s hand angrily.
“Mom! Endure, endure, endure! We’ve endured long enough—I don’t want to anymore!”
Hatred surged in Wei Yurou’s eyes.
“You think I want to endure? If not for fearing that fool Jiang Ning might alert Ninth Master Xue, I would’ve killed her already!”
Ninth Master Xue was a powerful figure in the capital—respected by everyone from military officials to underworld figures.
And he happened to be Jiang Ting’s godfather.
Back then, he had warned them more than once—
Cause trouble, and you’ll die.
So all these years, Wei Yurou never dared openly clash with Jiang Ning.
But now, with Ninth Master Xue away recovering from old injuries, Zhou Changxun finally found his opportunity.
“Just endure a little longer,” Zhou Changxun said through gritted teeth.
“As soon as Jiang Ning takes over my job, I’ll report her to the authorities!”
“When that time comes, our whole family will leave for Britain and live in comfort!”
Zhou Xue stomped her foot in frustration.
“That lazy good-for-nothing just orders us around! How is she so demanding?!”
Dongdaqiao was at least five li away—it would take hours to go back and forth.
“She’s doing it on purpose!” Zhou Yaozu growled.
Zhou Changxun said coldly,
“She just loves to eat. Once she’s satisfied, she might agree to the divorce and take over the job.”
“We’ll coax her again tonight. If that doesn’t work…”
He made a throat-slitting gesture.
“…then we deal with her before Ninth Master Xue returns.”
“Why wait? Let’s do it tonight!”
The siblings could no longer tolerate it.
Wei Yurou’s heart pounded with excitement.
“A disobedient puppet deserves to have its neck snapped.”
“Dad,” Zhou Xue said, “didn’t she ask us to buy food? We can poison it. By the time Ninth Master Xue returns, her ashes will already be scattered into the moat. No one will find anything.”
“Good! We’ll act tonight.”
Zhou Changxun glanced at the blazing sun and made up his mind.
“That pot of datura flowers will finally be useful.”
After the four left, Jiang Ning, alone in the house, began rummaging through everything.
Sending them out was all part of her plan—to collect the family assets.
Who cared about food? She was more worried about being poisoned.
The Jiang residence had a hidden secret chamber, filled with gold, silver, antiques, and paintings.
Before her death, Jiang Ting had revealed its location to the original host.
But before the original Jiang Ning married He Linzhou, Zhou Changxun and Wei Yurou had gotten her drunk and extracted the exact location from her.
Thinking of the original host’s tragic fate, Jiang Ning felt grateful.
She had arrived at just the right time.
Otherwise, the Jiang family’s billions would have been lost overseas.
Opening the secret chamber—
Even Jiang Ning, a former elite young lady, was stunned.
Calling it a “secret room” was an understatement.
It was a chamber of gold.
Gold ingots piled like mountains, dazzling and radiant, forming a sea of shimmering light that almost blinded her.
“Wow… no wonder Zhou Changxun shamelessly married into the family. With this kind of wealth, who wouldn’t be tempted?”
Admiration aside—time was tight.
Without hesitation, Jiang Ning swept the entire room of gold into her spatial storage.