Chapter 15: It's Nothing, Goodbye Uncle

That night, Old Master Jiang barely touched his dinner before retiring to his room to sleep.

Jiang Ming and Jiang Man were each led by the steward to their respective courtyards. Their courtyards were adjacent to each other, with Jiang Shi’s courtyard nearby, and just beyond that was Old Master Jiang’s courtyard. The distance between these courtyards was only a few minutes’ walk.

“Today really scared me to death,” Jiang Man said, not returning to her own courtyard but following Jiang Ming instead. She still had many details to inquire about. “How did you escape?”

She instinctively thought that Jiang Ming had fled from the room where Jiang Sheng and the others were, slipping quietly behind the crowd and only revealing himself when Jiang Cheng ran over.

“It wasn’t me who escaped. Li Qiyi was brought to Jiang Sheng’s room to wait. I didn’t expect Jiang Sheng to frame me by involving himself as well.”

According to Jiang Shi, the original plan was simply to lock Li Qiyi in the room and wait for the drug to take effect, leaving him to suffer. Unexpectedly, Jiang Sheng deliberately had his clothes soaked and accidentally walked into that room.

That was what Jiang Shi said, but Jiang Ming didn’t believe it. Such coincidences were impossible. He could have discarded the drugged wine but instead just changed its location and had someone serve it again.

However, Jiang Ming didn’t intend to tell Jiang Man this; it was just her speculation.

“It’s truly a case of reaping what you sow. Luckily, you’re unharmed. If something had happened to you, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

They sat in the living room talking quietly, the sounds of servants busily cleaning in the distance making Jiang Man speak softly.

“No worries. After what happened today, they’ll be too preoccupied to bother with us anymore.”

Only now did Jiang Ming feel a chill of fear. Had Jiang Shi not helped him today, and if Li Qiyi had waited in her room as planned, her reputation would have been utterly ruined.

“Yes, I really dislike Li Qiyi. He’s always indulging in smoking and drinking, reeks terribly, and has poor character. If I had to marry him, I’d rather be dead.”

She spoke the truth. After the college entrance exams, Jiang Man had already decided that if Li Baizhen insisted on forcing her to associate with Li Qiyi, she would rather die.

“Don’t say that anymore. There’s no predicament you can’t overcome.”

This was where their personalities diverged: Jiang Man lacked the courage to resist and only possessed a desperate resolve to burn everything down with herself, while Jiang Ming refused to accept fate and believed that with his intelligence and wit, he could break through any siege.

On their way back to the courtyard, Jiang Man unexpectedly bumped into Jiang Shi, who was just coming out of her courtyard.

“Uncle Shi,” she greeted him quietly.

It was already completely dark, and Jiang Shi was walking briskly, not noticing her and thus collided head-on.

“Ah!”

Jiang Man was caught off balance and fell backward. With the ornate rose hairpin securing her bun, if her head hit the ground first, the consequences would have been disastrous.

Fortunately, Jiang Shi was quick and grabbed her hand, pulling her forward.

To steady her, Jiang Shi’s other hand firmly grasped her waist, drawing her into his embrace.

Jiang Man closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself for injury.

But when she opened them, the imagined pain never came. Instead, she was met with the mature, masculine scent that was not her own.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you,” Jiang Shi said.

Once she regained her balance, Jiang Shi released her hand and stepped back.

She was only about 1.65 meters tall, barely reaching his shoulders. It was understandable he hadn’t seen her in the dim light.

“It’s alright. Goodbye, Uncle Shi.”

Jiang Man hurriedly bypassed Jiang Shi and headed back to her courtyard.

Only the evening breeze blowing against her face knew the warmth she was trying to suppress, and only she understood how wildly her heart was pounding.

“Are you upset?”

Jiang Shi, not understanding, thought he might have hurt her wrist and that she was sulking alone.

But he had no time to investigate further; Old Master Jiang was still waiting.

Though the old man had already gone to bed, as soon as Jiang Shi settled in the living room, the phone rang.

“Shi, come sit here.”

When Jiang Shi arrived, Old Master Jiang had been sitting in the living room for a while. Rarely did the ashtray contain cigarette ashes and an unfinished cigarette.

It was clear the old man was troubled by something deeply distressing.

Jiang Shi could guess why but kept his expression neutral, pretending ignorance.

“Aren’t you already in bed? Why did you get up again?”

As he sat down, Jiang Shi deliberately moved the ashtray a little further away to prevent Old Master Jiang from smoking more.

“Shi, I’m asking a favor. You know Jiang Cheng is useless; I can’t entrust the company to him. Please manage the company for a while. Once Ayun returns, I won’t insist anymore, okay?”

Old Master Jiang knew Jiang Shi was sensitive and didn’t want others to think he was hanging around for the family fortune. But he also understood Jiang Shi’s nature—he stayed out of gratitude for being taken in and was willing to guard this empty courtyard with him.

“You know I won’t and can’t handle the Jiang family’s business.”

As expected, Jiang Shi refused. He wasn’t here for the family’s money.

“I know, but right now Ayun still resents me and won’t come back. Only Ming and Man are with me, and they know nothing. I can’t entrust the company to them either. My eldest son also resents me and refuses to come home for holidays, let alone help manage the company.”

In the entire Jiang family, only Jiang Cheng valued the company and power, but he lacked virtue and couldn’t be trusted with the business.

Old Master Jiang had been too biased toward Jiang Cheng before. He drove away the elder brother and sister without uttering a word. It was only natural the children now resented him.

“You’re making things difficult for me.”

Jiang Shi couldn’t outright refuse, yet he didn’t want to agree either. He never desired the Jiang family’s company.

“If you really don’t want to, then keep Ming and Man close, let them learn the business. Once they’re familiar, you can step back, alright?”

After repeated requests, Jiang Shi reluctantly agreed.

Jiang Ming would likely be pleased to hear this. Ambitious as she was, it was better for her to take control than to watch the company fall into Jiang Sheng’s hands.

“Tell Old Ye to send Jiang Sheng abroad to study. We’ll see how he performs when he returns.”

This was Old Master Jiang’s way of quietly pushing Jiang Sheng away. He couldn’t bring himself to imprison such a malicious relative but couldn’t tolerate him remaining at home either.

“Also, Jiang Cheng can take over the company's subsidiary. It’s a small profit, but for him, losing power is like death.”

The subsidiary was insignificant, but to Jiang Cheng, losing authority was the ultimate blow.