Zhao Hewen was one of the few college graduates in Rongfu Alley, and he had always considered himself superior to everyone else. When had he ever been this humiliated?
All the anger boiling inside him was directed at Jiang Xingyao. He stuck out his neck and shouted hoarsely, “You’re just going to stand there and watch your brothers beat me?”
“Of course not.”
Jiang Xingyao stood up, still holding the bowl she had just finished her porridge from, and walked toward Zhao Hewen step by step.
Zhao Hewen’s expression became smug.
He knew it! This shameless girl loved him so much that she couldn’t bear to see him get beaten.
But in the very next second, Jiang Xingyao raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face.
“Dare to insult me again, and I’ll knock your teeth out!”
Everyone present was stunned. Zhao Hewen was even more incredulous.
“Jiang Xingyao, you hit me again? Playing hard to get once is enough, but if you keep doing it, you’re just asking for trouble!
“You can’t afford the consequences!”
“Slap!”
Jiang Xingyao slapped him again.
“You people really think too highly of yourselves. The Shen family says I’m asking for trouble, and now you’re saying the same thing.
“Have you ever considered that staying away from trash like you is actually how I’m saving myself from misery?
“As for the consequences? The consequence is that after beating you, I feel fantastic. I’m in an absolutely wonderful mood.”
“Heh…” Zhao Hewen gave a mocking laugh. “I understand. You hate me because you love me too deeply. You saw me proposing to Lili and became jealous, so you turned that love into hatred.
“Not only did you slander Lili, you even joined forces with your three brothers to beat me. A vicious and ruthless woman like you will never be allowed through the doors of the Zhao family.
“If you want me to forgive you, Jiang Xingyao, kneel down right now and apologize to Lili and me!”
Before Jiang Xingyao could respond, Jiang Qingjun raised his leg and kicked the back of Zhao Hewen’s knee.
Zhao Hewen immediately dropped to his knees with a thud.
“You people really think you’re the emperor or something, ordering others to kneel whenever you feel like it. If you love kneeling so much, kneel by yourself.
“Take a good look at what you are. You’re not even worthy of carrying my sister’s shoes.
“You’d better never forgive her for the rest of your life. Stay as far away from her as possible, because she wants to throw up whenever she sees you.”
In the past, his sister had been foolish enough to think Zhao Hewen was some kind of treasure, protecting him everywhere she could. So no matter how much Jiang Qingjun hated Zhao Hewen, he had never laid a hand on him.
But now that his sister had finally seen the light, he could completely vent all the resentment he’d been holding against Zhao Hewen.
Zhao Hewen raised his head and glared at Jiang Xingyao, his teeth nearly grinding to pieces.
“Jiang Xingyao, I’ll never love you in this life or any other. You deserve to die alone for the rest of your life!”
The moment his curse left his mouth, an unfamiliar voice came from outside the door.
“Excuse me, does the Shen family live here?”
Everyone turned around and saw a middle-aged man in a tuxedo standing at the entrance with four bodyguards.
Shen Jiaoli hurriedly gestured for Zhao Hewen to get up, then smiled and said, “Yes, I’m the Shen family’s daughter. May I ask what brings you here?”
The man walked inside and bowed respectfully.
“Greetings, Fourth Young Madam. I’m Gao An, the Xie family’s butler. I’ve come specifically to deliver your betrothal gifts.”
Everyone froze.
Liu Zhilan hurriedly asked, “Which Xie family? You must have the wrong person. My daughter isn’t married yet. She’s not any Fourth Young Madam.”
Butler Gao looked puzzled.
“Aren’t you the family of Shen Yunfeng, the deputy factory director?”
“Yes, yes, we are.”
Butler Gao smiled. “Then there’s no mistake. Our Fourth Young Madam and our Fourth Young Master just registered their marriage a few days ago.”
A bad feeling suddenly rose in Liu Zhilan’s heart.
“What is your Fourth Young Master’s name?”
“Xie Jingsi.”
“Xie Jingsi?”
Liu Zhilan sneered disdainfully.
“Some poor country boy like him, pretending to be some kind of young master?”
Shen Jiaoli also scoffed.
“Oh, Mom. Men are all about saving face. The less they have, the more they want to show off.
“He’s just some farmer who spends his days bent over the fields, and now he’s marrying a wife from the big city. Of course he’d have to hire a few people to put on a show and satisfy that tiny bit of vanity and pride he has!”
Butler Gao’s expression darkened.
It seemed the Shen family had no idea about the Xie family’s true identity.
But even if they didn’t know, a wife had no right to humiliate her own husband like this.
Shen Chaolei was even more blunt.
“They probably brought some potatoes and sweet potatoes as the betrothal gifts. Stop embarrassing yourselves and get lost, all of you!”
“This…”
Butler Gao found himself caught in an awkward position, unsure whether to stay or leave.
At that moment, Jiang Xingyao spoke up.
“Butler Gao, may I ask whether your family head said these betrothal gifts were for the Shen family or for your Fourth Young Madam?”
Butler Gao looked at Jiang Xingyao, and his eyes immediately lit up.
Although he didn’t know who she was, he remained very polite.
“When I left, our Fourth Young Master gave me specific instructions. The betrothal gifts are for the Fourth Young Madam. She has complete authority over everything—the gifts, the money, all of it. Whether she takes them to her husband’s family or leaves them with her own family is entirely up to her.”
“Then bring the betrothal gifts inside. I’m the one who registered the marriage with your Fourth Young Master.”
“You?”
“Yes!”
Jiang Xingyao returned her bowl to the house, then brought out her marriage certificate and handed it to Butler Gao.
“Take a good look. My name is Jiang Xingyao. I’m the daughter of the Jiang family, and I have absolutely nothing to do with the Shen family.”
Butler Gao carefully examined the marriage certificate and confirmed that the woman standing before him was indeed their Fourth Young Madam.
“But… wasn’t it the daughter of the Shen family who was engaged to our Young Master?”
Jiang Xingyao curled her lips into a smile.
“The Shen family thought the Xie family was poor, so they made me marry him in Shen Jiaoli’s place.”
Butler Gao had worked for the Xie family for twenty years. Long ago, he had come to regard the family’s honor and disgrace as his own.
Hearing Jiang Xingyao’s explanation, then remembering how the Shen family had just insulted their Young Master, a surge of anger rose in his heart.
“It doesn’t matter how the marriage came about. As long as you’ve registered your marriage with our Fourth Young Master, you’re the legitimate Fourth Young Madam of our family.
“I was blind just now and failed to recognize you. Please forgive me, Fourth Young Madam.”
Jiang Xingyao smiled.
“This is our first time meeting, Butler Gao. It’s perfectly normal that you didn’t recognize me.”
Butler Gao turned toward the bodyguards outside and called loudly, “Bring all the betrothal gifts inside!”
The Xie family had made such a grand display of delivering the betrothal gifts that it wasn’t only the people from the courtyard who were curious. Quite a crowd had gathered outside to watch the spectacle.
The only ones who looked disdainful were the members of the Shen family.
Shen Jiaoli sneered.
“Jiang Xingyao, you’d better not have them bring everything inside and embarrass themselves. It’s probably just a pile of chili peppers, garlic, scallions, corn, and the like… Hahaha…”