Chapter 171
"You are my son. It is only right for a son to inherit his father's business." Jiang Mingzhe waved his hand, not feeling the least bit embarrassed.
"Aren't you afraid I'll kill those people from the Jiang family?" Li Ping had no affection for the rest of the Jiang family.
"Do whatever you want," Jiang Mingzhe said carelessly.
"I am really going to make a move, then?"
"Just don't kill them before March of next year." Old Master Jiang and the Old Madam were, after all, Jiang Mingzhe's biological parents. If they died, he would have to observe a period of mourning and wouldn't be able to marry Ye Yunniang.
Seeing that the Jiang family couldn't be used to threaten Jiang Mingzhe, Li Ping changed the subject.
"Aren't you afraid I'll tell Mother about all the bad things you've done?"
"Your mother has always known exactly what kind of person I am." Jiang Mingzhe had never hidden anything from Ye Yunniang.
"Hypocrite." Li Ping didn't even need to think to know that Jiang Mingzhe only told Ye Yunniang what she asked about, and kept quiet about what she didn't. And even when she did ask, he only gave her surface-level answers.
"As long as your mother is happy, that is all that matters." Jiang Mingzhe would shield her from all the storms.
"You are harming her," Li Ping disagreed. "My mother isn't as weak as you think. You are older than her, so you will definitely pass away before she does. Once you are dead, you won't be able to protect her."
Jiang Mingzhe told himself: He is my biological son, my biological son...
"When I am gone, she will still have you."
"I will definitely take care of Mother. But as her son, there will always be areas where my care falls short. There are some things she just can't discuss with me."
Jiang Mingzhe relented. "I will consider it."
Ye Yunniang had no idea what Jiang Mingzhe and Li Ping were discussing. At this moment, she was standing at the entrance of the embroidery shop, watching the commotion over at the Zhou family's shop.
"Lingling, are we really not going over there?"
"No need. Grandma said that if we go, we will just be adding to the chaos. She can handle it alone." Zhou Lingling carefully wiped the newly received folding screen.
Since her own granddaughter said so, Ye Yunniang decided not to go over.
Standing at the door, she watched Cai Xiaomei trading insults with a plump woman.
Cai Xiaomei didn't utter a single dirty word the entire time, yet she scolded the other woman until she was tongue-tied, clutching her chest and gasping for air.
In the end, the plump woman had to be supported by others as she walked back.
Ye Yunniang returned to the counter and sat down.
"Your grandma is really amazing."
"Of course she is. When it comes to arguing in these nearby streets, if my grandma claims to be second, no one would dare claim to be first," Zhou Lingling said with great pride.
"I need to learn a thing or two from your grandma."
"Auntie, why do you want to learn that?"
"So I won't be at a disadvantage when arguing with people." After witnessing Cai Xiaomei's verbal skills, Ye Yunniang felt she had been far too weak in the past.
Zhou Lingling didn't quite understand, but she supported the idea.
"I will talk to Grandma tonight and ask her to teach you."
"No need, I will go talk to her myself." If she was going to learn a skill from someone, she needed to make some preparations first.
"Lingling, do you know who that woman is? Why did she come to cause trouble at the Zhou family's shop?"
"She is the mother of my future stepmother's ex-fiance."
Ye Yunniang turned this over in her mind. "Cousin is getting married? When is the date set for?"
"Auntie, there is no way they will get married before you have a baby."
Cough, cough, cough... Ye Yunniang choked on her own saliva.
After recovering, Ye Yunniang reached out and tapped Zhou Lingling on the head.
"What nonsense are you spouting, child? Your auntie isn't even married yet."
Though she said this, her heart was drumming a bit nervously.
With Jiang Mingzhe sharing a bed with her every night, getting pregnant was only a matter of time.
She would have to make it clear to Jiang Mingzhe tonight: no pregnancies before marriage.
"Oh, I am just saying. It is highly unlikely for my dad to get married."
"Why is it impossible?" If two people liked each other, hiring a matchmaker to arrange the marriage would be very quick.
"My father, that blockhead, is still thinking about that woman."
"She is your mother."
"Zhang Cai'er is not my mother." In Zhou Lingling's heart, a woman who abandoned her husband and daughter did not deserve to be her mother.
"No matter what, she carried you for ten months and raised you. She is your mother."
Although Ye Yunniang also looked down on Zhang Cai'er's actions, she didn't want Zhou Lingling to be consumed by hatred.
Zhou Lingling understood Ye Yunniang's intentions, but she couldn't repay malice with kindness.
Ye Yunniang could see this and changed the subject.
"Since it didn't work out, what was that woman making a fuss about?"
"My father can't let go of that woman, but he also has feelings for Huixiang." Zhou Lingling curled her lips as she said this. If Zhou Dong wasn't her own father, she would have cursed him as a scumbag.
"So he plans to just string the girl along?" Ye Yunniang frowned.
"I don't know. I only heard that much of what he said to Grandma, and I'm not sure about the rest."
"What are your thoughts on your father marrying a stepmother?"
"I don't have any thoughts. He can marry if he wants to, and not marry if he doesn't." Zhou Lingling was long past the age of needing her parents.
She worked at the embroidery shop and could earn money to support herself.
Regarding Zhou Dong taking a wife, Zhou Lingling held an attitude of complete indifference.
"If you need me to do anything, just say the word."
"Mm, I will. Aunt."
Returning home that evening, Ye Yunniang saw her long-absent son.
"Mother, I missed you so much," Li Ping threw himself into Ye Yunniang's arms, acting affectionately.
Ye Yunniang enjoyed her son's intimacy, completely forgetting to scold him for not coming home.
When it was time to rest, she finally remembered, but was stopped by Jiang Mingzhe.
"The child is growing up and has his own ideas. As parents, we should support him."
Ye Yunniang felt that what Jiang Mingzhe said was both right and wrong.
"What are you father and son scheming behind my back?"
"Nothing."
"Jiang Mingzhe, I may not be as smart as you, but I'm not a fool. Are you hiding something from me?" Ye Yunniang sat up straight and crossed her arms, demanding that Jiang Mingzhe explain clearly.
Jiang Mingzhe explained how he had plotted for Li Ping to take over the Yunhua Merchant Guild.
There were two reasons for this.
First, it was to avoid giving money to the Jiang family.
The Jiang family had not formally divided their household. As long as Old Master Jiang and his wife were alive, he had to provide for his biological parents.
Jiang Mingzhe had ways to keep them in line, but he also had many rivals. Dealing with it all was troublesome.
So he simply used his marriage to Ye Yunniang as a reason to hand the properties over to his son. By changing the properties from the Jiang surname to the Li surname, no matter how much the Jiang family fussed, it would be useless.
Second, ever since he met Ye Yunniang in the Yan State, Jiang Mingzhe had spent a lot of time with her. He noticed that Ye Yunniang was often reserved and tense around him.
Back in the Yan State, Ye Yunniang did not know how to address him. She always referred to him as "him," "Second Master," or simply used no title at all.
On the journey back, as they became more familiar, Ye Yunniang adjusted somewhat, but she still subconsciously placed herself in a lower, subservient position.
Jiang Mingzhe did not like this. He hoped that Ye Yunniang could be relaxed and at ease when facing him.
He wanted her to say whatever was on her mind.
He wanted her to be completely carefree around him, without worrying about whether she was saying the wrong thing.
Once a problem was discovered, it needed to be solved.
After some thought, Jiang Mingzhe let go of everything he held and told Ye Yunniang that he had no money.
The Jiang Mingzhe standing before Ye Yunniang was no longer the former richest man of Jiangcheng, nor the future Earl about to receive his title.
He was simply Jiang Mingzhe.
Ye Yunniang could feel exactly what Jiang Mingzhe had done. She was no longer walking on eggshells around him.
She would laugh and joke with him, get angry, and even playfully hit him a few times to vent her feelings.
"Do you have any regrets?" Handing over such a massive enterprise and even letting them change their surnames.
"You can't bring wealth into this world, and you can't take it with you when you die, so it doesn't matter. As for my son, he might go by the surname Li, but he is still my flesh and blood, Jiang Mingzhe's seed. As long as he acknowledges me as his father, that is enough."