Chapter 543
Chapter 543
"Mother!" Jiang Yuanrang's eyes were full of displeasure when he heard Madame Jiang speak harshly to Wen Xiu.
Wen Xiu was the girl he wanted to marry. Whether or not her status was noble, Jiang Yuanrang hoped she would be respected.
"Hmph, Rang'er, have you forgotten all the disgusting things that Second Branch has done over the years?" Madame Jiang glared at Jiang Yuanrang angrily, demanding an answer.
Back then, Second Branch had wanted nothing more than to see Jiang Yuanrang dead.
After all, as long as Jiang Yuanrang lived, he stood in the way of Second Branch's plans to seize the family estate.
"Mother, this matter has nothing to do with Wen Xiu. If you continue to speak recklessly, I will no longer consider the kindness you have shown me over the years." Jiang Yuanrang's face darkened.
He hadn't wanted to fall out with Madame Jiang at this moment, but she was insistently trying to drive Wen Xiu away, and he could not tolerate that.
"Madam, please do not harm your relationship with the eldest young master." Nanny Tang warned nervously from the side.
Madame Jiang took a deep breath.
"Sister-in-law, look at how you've angered Rang'er. For him to have a girl he likes is a happy occasion. Besides, this is a marriage bestowed by the Empress herself. By opposing it so strongly, are you saying the Empress did wrong?" Madam Feng suddenly changed her stance upon seeing Madame Jiang's fury.
If Madame Jiang didn't want Jiang Yuanrang to marry this woman, then she, Madam Feng, would approve of it.
After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Wen Xiu's lips curled slightly.
This Madam Feng was trying to use her to suppress Jiang Yuanrang's foster mother.
Wen Xiu was no fool; she wouldn't help an outsider cause trouble for another woman.
"Tingzhou, Madam Jiang has not had an easy life all these years. Do not ruin your bond with her because of me." Wen Xiu, despite her own dislike for Madame Jiang, would not clash with her at this moment and give outsiders a show to laugh at.
Madame Jiang was taken aback, surprised that this woman actually stood on her side.
Madam Feng, on the other hand, turned grim. She had just been helping her.
And yet, this ungrateful woman was siding with that wretch Madame Jiang?
As far as she knew, Madame Jiang's niece lived in the mansion precisely because Madame Jiang wanted Jiang Yuanrang to marry her.
She had been helping Madame Jiang, and look at how that woman treated her.
Did she really think that with the Empress's decree, everything was settled?
In this remote corner far from the capital, whether she would even live long enough to marry Jiang Yuanrang remained an open question.
At the thought, Madam Feng grew indignant. Why was Jiang Yuanrang so hard to kill?
And this time, her husband and both her sons had been severely injured, and not one of them could get up.
She had thought Jiang Yuanrang must have been wounded as well, yet not only had he returned unscathed, he had even secured a marriage decree from the Empress.
Still, at least Jiang Yuanrang was not truly a child of the Jiang family. That at least was good news.
"Sister-in-law, why is this young lady calling Rang'er 'Tingzhou'? Could it be that Rang'er truly isn't a child of the Jiang family?" Madam Feng seized on Wen Xiu's earlier words and looked at Madame Jiang with a mocking smile.
She had always suspected it. How could that sickly little brat born to Madame Jiang have suddenly recovered?
Turned out, the little brat had died, and Madame Jiang had gone and found some child from who knows where.
"Nonsense! Rang'er is a child of the Jiang family!" Madame Jiang's face turned black.
She would never admit to that.
Jiang Yuanrang was a child of the Jiang family.
Second Branch was not going to get their hands on anything belonging to First Branch.
She wouldn't give them a single coin.
"Sister-in-law, we are all one family." Madam Feng said with a smug smile.
At that, Madame Jiang looked desperately toward Jiang Yuanrang.
This was something she absolutely refused to acknowledge.
But she knew it was the truth, and she didn't know how Jiang Yuanrang felt about it.
"Changfeng, see Aunt out." Jiang Yuanrang had no intention of discussing this matter with Madam Feng.
Second Branch was nothing more than aunts residing with them in the Jiang estate.
"Rang'er, what is the meaning of this?" Madam Feng was greatly displeased.
She had come here today to demand that Jiang Yuanrang hand over the family property.
Now, with nothing accomplished, she was being escorted out. Madam Feng was not willing to concede.
"Aunt, you have been staying in our home long enough. One of these days, I will buy you a modest residence, and you can move out." Jiang Yuanrang waved his hand and said without the slightest courtesy.
"What? You're driving us away?" Madam Feng shrieked in disbelief.
It wasn't a mere residence she wanted.
What she wanted was the entire Jiang family estate!
"Hah, it's about time you moved out!" Madame Jiang found this quite satisfying.
The people of Second Branch had always been a thorn in her side.
Back then, being a widow with a young son, she had no choice but to let them stay.
Who would have thought that nineteen years later, they would treat the Jiang household as if it were their own?
"Don't forget, it was my husband who held this family together back then. Now my husband lies gravely ill, and you would throw our family out? Where is the justice in that?" Madam Feng declared as she sat down on the ground, refusing to leave.
Madam Luo frowned at this. If Second Branch were to move out, she would have to seriously consider whether it was worth staying in the Jiang household at all.
After all, Jiang Yuanli was currently laid up in bed.
Their Luo family, while less affluent than the Jiangs, was still a notable name in Lucheng.
She had married Jiang Yuanli largely because Feng Shan had sworn that the Jiang estates would one day all belong to Second Branch.
But if Second Branch was being kicked out, she had no intention of going along and roughing it.
"Madam Feng, you dare claim your husband held this family together? The Jiang family has nothing to do with Second Branch. This family was built by Rang'er with his own two hands!" Madame Jiang sneered at Madam Feng, who was making a scene on the floor.
Madam Jiang thought to herself, Madam Feng had an awfully big cheek.
"Zhou Xu! See her out." Jiang Yuanrang had had enough of Madam Feng's clamor and gave the order.
"Jiang Yuanrang, I am your aunt!" Madam Feng was livid, never expecting that little wretch to pull such a move.
"Just an aunt by marriage." Madame Jiang added from the side.
"Madam Jiang, what are you so smug about? He's not even your son." Madam Feng looked at Madame Jiang with fury. She didn't understand why, at this moment, Madame Jiang wouldn't have wanted to cling to Second Branch.
After all, only Second Branch carried the Jiang bloodline.
"He is!" Madame Jiang shot back without hesitation.
"He is not of the Jiang bloodline at all. He's just some stray child you picked up from who knows where! Why should he be master of the Jiang family?" Madam Feng cried out in fury.
"I say he is my son, and so he is. And because this family was built by me and my husband, and it has nothing to do with your Second Branch." Madame Jiang's gaze at Madam Feng was cold.
All these years, she had known that Second Branch wanted their estate.
But this had never been said openly before.
Today, was Madam Feng finally unable to wait any longer?