“Auntie… Auntie, hold me…”
With everyone watching, Jiang Yuan played the picture of innocence perfectly, acting as though he knew nothing at all, being exceedingly friendly toward Ziqing!
Jiang Chen watched coldly, and Gu Meiting couldn’t help but curve her lips into a sinister smile, while both Madam Gu and Gu Meiting kept their eyes fixed on Ziqing without wavering.
Though Jiang Chen and Gu Meiting hadn’t said a word, given the kind of people they were, allowing Jiang Yuan to so openly curry favor with Ziqing in front of everyone was clearly a deliberate gesture of goodwill!
At the very least, in their eyes, a child truly was innocent—no matter how things stood between Han Ziqing and the Jiang couple, surely none of it could be blamed on the child.
Seeing Ziqing hesitate, Madam Gu was about to speak up, but Gu Suying stepped forward first, pushing Jiang Yuan right into Ziqing’s arms with a smile. “Go on, Auntie will hold you, look how adorable Yuan’er is—not everyone gets a hug like this!”
But Ziqing still didn’t move, and the atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.
Gu Suying glanced helplessly at her parents, inwardly scoffing, and was about to speak again, when suddenly, the long-still Ziqing broke into a smile and, to everyone’s surprise, happily accepted Jiang Yuan, holding him easily with one arm. “My, this child is six years old already and still this light? He needs better nourishment!”
The first to freeze was Jiang Yuan himself, both hands gripping Ziqing’s neck, terrified of being dropped, wanting to hold tighter but too unfamiliar with her to dare, afraid that gripping too tight might anger this aunt of his.
Gu Meiting and Madam Gu both tensed at once as well—they’d never expected that after just a few words of provocation, Han Ziqing would actually take the boy into her arms. Surely she wouldn’t do anything to him?
The patriarch, on the other hand, let out a quiet sigh, a flicker of relief crossing his eyes—at least she’d taken him. Children, after all, were the most innocent of all.
Gu Suying sneered inwardly but remained composed. “Let Auntie hold you properly, Yuan’er. You should come visit Liuxian Mountain more often—get Auntie to hurry up and give you a little brother!”
Jiang Yuan should have played along with Gu Suying’s remark, but being a pampered, sheltered child, it was already an achievement that he hadn’t burst into tears—he had no capacity left to respond to anything else.
“That’ll have to wait until your uncle wakes up, won’t it?” Ziqing said with a light smile. Anyone who didn’t know the truth of the situation might genuinely have mistaken this for a warm, harmonious family scene.
What a doting aunt, so fond of her nephew!
As she spoke, she sat down beside Madam Gu with Jiang Yuan still in her arms, turning proactively toward Gu Meiting with a smile. “Isn’t that right, Elder Sister?”
Faced with those smiling, warm eyes, Gu Meiting’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat, momentarily at a loss for how to respond, answering stiffly, “Mm… yes… yes, that’s right!”
Ziqing sneered inwardly. It wasn’t arrogance on her part, nor was she being unreasonably demanding—it was simply that Gu Meiting truly was someone she looked down on from the bottom of her heart.
If you’re going to put on an act, at least do it properly, don’t you think?
She wasn’t even qualified enough to pretend!
Gu Meiting, I, Han Ziqing, can smile at you, and smile brilliantly at that. Can you do the same? Can you manage even one bright, genuine smile? And your husband—aside from that corpse-like expression of his, can he even manage a polite, courteous nod?
Neither of you can do it!
And yet you still put on these airs!
Well, today, I’ll show you both what putting on a real act looks like!
Ziqing didn’t just smile at Gu Meiting—she turned to Jiang Chen as well, her expression brimming with joy, saying warmly, “Brother-in-law, however have you been taking care of our eldest sister and our little nephew here! Just look at this child—he’s only been away a few days and he’s lost so much weight!”
As she spoke, she took hold of Jiang Yuan’s arm, examining it, then turned to Madam Gu with an earnest expression. “Madam, look at this—such delicate, tender little skin, how did he end up with so many mosquito bites?”
Madam Gu’s heart ached at the sight, and she immediately scolded, “Meiting, how have you been taking care of him! Look at this! If Ziqing hadn’t pointed it out, I wouldn’t have even noticed!”
Gu Meiting, far from managing any grace, couldn’t even fake composure. She glared coldly at Jiang Chen, avoiding Ziqing’s gaze, and said, displeased, “It’s all his mother’s doing—she complained I couldn’t do this, couldn’t do that, insisted on raising Yuan’er herself, and look at the result now!”
“There’s mosquitoes everywhere, it’s just a few bites, no need to make such a fuss over it. My mother didn’t mean for this to happen either—you know how exhausting it is raising a child,” Jiang Chen said dismissively, though there was a faint note of reproach in his tone.
Gu Meiting choked with anger, about to speak, but Gu Suying quickly cut in. “Oh, it’s nothing, nothing at all, no harm done—let’s not worry Auntie over such a small thing!”
With that, the subject was smoothly redirected right back onto Ziqing!
Generous as ever, Ziqing could put on an act just as well, and laugh just as easily. Lifting Jiang Yuan up, she settled him onto her lap with a smile. “Yuan’er, do you miss Grandma?”
“Yes,” Jiang Yuan nodded timidly.
“How much do you miss her?” Ziqing asked again.
“So, so much,” Jiang Yuan replied, still timid, hardly daring to breathe.
“Was Grandma’s homemade bird’s nest porridge good?” Ziqing asked again.
Jiang Yuan nodded quickly. Where would he ever get to eat something like that at the Jiang household? For a boy used to a bowl of bird’s nest porridge every single day, returning to the Jiang household must have felt like falling straight from heaven into hell.
“If it’s good, eat plenty of it. Come, let’s finish this up,” Ziqing said with a smile, personally holding the nearly empty bowl of bird’s nest porridge and feeding Jiang Yuan herself.
Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but glance toward his Second Aunt. Gu Suying quickly sat down as well, smiling. “Yuan’er, you really are so fortunate—hurry up and eat, only you get to have your uncle’s wife feed you personally like this!”
Ziqing said nothing, merely smiling, one arm cradling Jiang Yuan, one hand holding the bowl, the other the spoon, feeding him mouthful after mouthful. Before long, the bowl of bird’s nest porridge was empty!
“Want more?” Ziqing asked again!
Jiang Yuan shook his head immediately, desperate to finish and get away. Ziqing lowered her head, her face coming so very close to his—though her smile was gentle and affectionate, he inexplicably found it terrifying, not daring to meet her eyes directly. Finally unable to bear it any longer, he suddenly pushed Ziqing away, choking out, “Grandma, Grandma! Hold me!”
Madam Gu could see the child’s fear as well and quickly stepped forward to take him into her arms, saying helplessly, “This child is just shy with strangers—he seems tough, but he’s actually quite timid.”
“Oh, what’s there to be afraid of? She’s not a bad person, she’s your aunt! Such a scaredy-cat!” Gu Suying said, none too pleased.
Ziqing let it roll right off her, rising to smooth out her clothes. Without so much as a glance at Gu Suying, she said flatly, “Patriarch, Madam, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go make preparations.”
“Yes, please see to Beiyue’s care. Madam and I will come by later to check on him—we’ve been so busy these past few days we haven’t been able to get away,” the patriarch said.
Madam Gu quickly agreed as well. “With you there, we can rest much easier.”
Ziqing nodded and turned to leave, walking right past Gu Suying without so much as sparing her a glance, eyes fixed straight ahead!
She’d held the child, hadn’t she? Was that enough? Would the Second Miss finally be satisfied?
As she stepped over the threshold of the main hall, the corner of her lips curled into a cold smile. She casually tossed away the small porcelain vial hidden in her sleeve, scoffing coldly, “How boring.”