Ji Huanlan smiled gracefully. “Then I won’t see you off. Please take care, everyone.”
Watching those wealthy ladies leave Ji Zhai, Ji Huanlan’s gaze turned to the mother and daughter pair. “What, are you two still planning to stay here and watch me chat with my family?”
“Ji Huanlan, don’t disrespect Mother like this!” Ji Yaoqing was still desperately trying to leave a good impression on Shen Xi.
She was so sensible and filial, while Ji Huanlan was like an unfilial child—surely Shen Xi could tell at a glance who was good and who was bad?
Ji Huanlan sat in the main seat of the living room, her fingers lightly tapping on the armrest of the sofa. The rhythmic sound fell on Tang Lan’s ears like a threat.
Sure enough, the woman spoke slowly: “I said it a few days ago. Ms. Tang has already divorced my father and taken a sum of money. I’m still willing to acknowledge Ji Yaoqing as a member of the Ji family for now. So, Ms. Tang, you…”
“Will you leave on your own, or should I throw you out?”
“Ji Huanlan!” Tang Lan had long lost face from being talked back to like this.
“Sister-in-law, don’t get upset…” Third Aunt was about to console Tang Lan.
But a single cold glare from Ji Huanlan immediately shut her up.
The second branch of the family, on the other hand, sat quietly without saying a word, doing their best to minimize their presence.
“Third Aunt, if you feel closer to Ms. Tang, you’re welcome to leave with her. I won’t stop you.” Ji Huanlan said with a smile.
Third Aunt quickly shifted her seat, moving a little farther away from Tang Lan.
This made Tang Lan lose her composure. “Ji Huanlan, I am still your mother after all. I only took charge of things because I mistakenly believed you had died in that accident. I didn’t mean any harm. Why must you treat the mother who gave birth to you this way?”
Ji Huanlan’s gaze turned colder as she stared quietly at Tang Lan.
“Are you my mother?” she asked lightly in return.
“I was missing for so long—did you ever send anyone to look for me? You knew exactly where I had the accident, yet you didn’t even bother to check. Before you even confirmed whether I was dead or alive, you were already scheming behind my back with Ji Yaoqing about how to take control of the Ji family. Weren’t all of those things done by you?”
Hearing this, Tang Lan’s heart jolted violently.
She…
How did she know everything?!
At this moment, Tang Lan couldn’t help but wonder whether that accident had been arranged by Ji Yaoqing, or whether Ji Huanlan had designed the whole thing herself, just to lure them into a trap.
Shen Xi listened to the woman’s words, and an inexplicable feeling rose in his heart.
Even her own biological mother treated her like this… and she was only twenty-five…
Ji Huanlan pressed her temples. “I don’t feel like digging up old grudges today.”
This was already giving Tang Lan a way out.
Tang Lan wasn’t deaf to the implication. Her face ashen, she stood up, grabbed her handbag, and pulled Ji Yaoqing along as she strode out.
As she left, she slammed the door with a thunderous bang.
Ji Huanlan didn’t mind.
Now wasn’t the time to completely sever ties with Tang Lan. Besides, what she wanted wasn’t just to make Tang Lan angry.
What she darkly and bitterly wanted was Tang Lan’s life—and the lives of the entire Tang family.
Her father had been isolated and helpless in the country, dying of illness—there was no way Tang Lan had done that alone.
Thinking of how her father, on his last breath, had sent her messages, repeatedly urging her to stay calm and not return to the country…
At that image, Ji Huanlan’s teeth itched with hatred!
So there was no rush. She would take it slow.
The rest of the Ji family remained in the living room—the second and third branches, namely Ji Huanlan’s second uncle, third uncle, and youngest uncle.
That youngest uncle spent his days solely devoted to pleasure and never involved himself in family affairs.
When her father was gravely ill, he had privately done his best to help, but unfortunately, his words carried little weight, and he could not accomplish anything significant.
Still, Ji Huanlan would not forget that kindness.
And over the years, the family closest to Tang Lan and her daughter had been the third uncle’s household.
“I won’t be living in this estate from now on—I’ll only come back occasionally with my husband to check in. The household, inside and out, will need someone to look after it.”
The moment she finished speaking, the third aunt’s face lit up with a beaming smile. “Huanlan, your third aunt has nothing to do these days anyway—idle time is just idle time. If you don’t mind, you can leave the Ji family to me, and I’ll keep an eye on it for you. Rest assured, nothing will go wrong!”
The second uncle and second aunt glanced at her but said nothing.
Ji Huanlan returned the third aunt an equally gentle smile. “Third Aunt, are you unemployed? But you’ve been a pampered lady of leisure for so many years—can you really handle all the affairs of this household? I imagine you’d be run ragged.”
“That’s a result I really wouldn’t want to see. Let’s forget it—Second Aunt, on the other hand, has been working all these years. You’ve retired this year, haven’t you?”
Hearing her name called, the second aunt looked up. Facing this younger generation, she felt somewhat nervous. “Yes, Miss, I just retired this year.”
“Second Aunt worked as an accountant her whole life, didn’t she?” Ji Huanlan asked.
The second aunt nodded.
Ji Huanlan smiled. “That’s wonderful. Accountants have meticulous minds and handle things with great care. So may I trouble Second Aunt to help me look after the household?”
At those words, the third aunt’s eyes went wide.
Meanwhile, the second aunt sat there stunned, at a loss.
Between the second and third aunts, it had always been the third aunt who was domineering, while the second aunt never fought or competed.
Though the two sisters-in-law didn’t have a good relationship, they had somehow never come to blows over the years—a fact owed entirely to the second aunt’s remarkable forbearance.
Ji Huanlan liked people who could endure the most.
She had assumed her timid second sister-in-law would refuse on the spot, but to her surprise, she heard her say: “If Miss doesn’t mind my clumsiness, I will certainly manage this household well for you. Whenever you return, our family will be waiting for you.”
Ji Huanlan truly had little sentiment for family ties in her bones.
Having grown up abroad, with almost no relatives around except her father, she had been taught from a young age how to secure advantages for herself, how to use the smallest cost to reap the greatest benefit. So she had never liked people trying to play the family card with her.
By addressing her as “Miss,” the second aunt had made her position and attitude clear.
Ji Huanlan was very satisfied.
People, after all, needed to be kept under control to work honestly and diligently.
“Then I’ll leave it to you, Second Aunt. Thank you for your trouble,” Ji Huanlan said.
The third aunt was so furious she clenched her fists and breathed heavily.
“Is Third Aunt feeling unwell?” Ji Huanlan turned and asked.
The third aunt quickly shook her head. “No, no. Just an old ailment.”
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way. Second Aunt, feel free to call me anytime if anything comes up.”
“Yes.” The second branch personally saw the newlywed couple off.
In the car.
Shen Xi asked, “You’re just handing the Ji family over like that?”
He didn’t quite understand.
In Shen Xi’s eyes, only what was held firmly in one’s own hands could be truly reliable.
Ji Huanlan lowered her head with a light laugh. “I just need to let them know that even if I’m not around, they can’t throw their weight around. With that hint in place, it’s enough to unsettle them.”
Shen Xi: “That second aunt of yours—can you trust her?”
“I can’t.”