Chapter 465 - Destined to Overpower Those Close to Her and Born to Be Ill-Fated with Her Family(1/2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ruan Danchen felt a lingering fear at that point. Although she did suffer injustice before, she was fortunate enough that her character did not undergo drastic change. It would truly be saddening if she turned into someone whom everybody hated, like Chang Jingqiu.
“Old Madam, let me be honest. If the Qi family and the Chang family are put side-by-side, you can’t deny the fact that everyone will look at the Qi family first, can you?” Ruan Danchen asked calmly.
The old lady’s line of thought was too out-of-the-ordinary, so Ruan Danchen felt that she needed to be more patient instead of being rushed with Grandmother Chang. The more Ruan Danchen tried to rush things, the less Grandmother Chang would understand, which would then prompt the old lady to believe firmly in her reasoning.
At last, Grandmother Chang kept quiet. She was obviously in agreement with it, though she was unwilling to say it out loud.
Ruan Danchen did not mind it, but she smiled haughtily and said, “Well, if I really did embarrass myself, the first thing that springs to everyone’s mind is the Qi family. Women marry into their husband’s families, and even until today, families like these will have this exact same line of thought. The only thing people would see is the Qi family’s daughter-in-law making a fool of herself. Whether they’d even think of the Chang family is a different matter altogether.
“As I am now, the Qi family doesn’t mind at all, so don’t trouble yourself. The Qi family will be taking the blow for you, am I right?”
“You... You...” Grandmother Chang was trembling in anger. “Are you saying that I can’t control you?”
“I wouldn’t dare to say such a thing, but since I’m married, only my husband and his family are allowed to point out my mistakes. The married woman’s family will protect her, while her husband’s family will be stricter. Isn’t that the norm? Since my husband’s family didn’t chastise me and are quite happy with me, I don’t think I’ve made any mistakes,” Ruan Danchen said calmly. She was as composed as conceivably possible, which contrasted greatly with Grandmother Chang’s horrendous expression, rendering the old lady’s unreasonableness and flustered demeanor even more obvious.
“Mom’s never wrong! Normal people don’t like Aunt Chang! If you don’t believe it, you can ask!” the little boy looked up and said.
Ruan Danchen shifted her gaze downward and patted the boy’s head gently.
“Ruan Danchen! I’m your grandmother! Is this how you treat me? Is this how you were taught?” Grandmother Ruan stared angrily at her, believing that Ruan Danchen was not filial at all!
“If your mother found out that the daughter she gave birth to was like this, how angry would she be?” Grandmother Chang pointed at the sky. “She’s looking from above! Are you going to anger her so much that she won’t have a peaceful afterlife?”
Ruan Danchen felt that those words were best used on Grandmother Chang.
historical
“My mother never went back to the Chang family before she died. Maybe you should think carefully about who really made her angry. I remember you speaking negatively about my mother, but at that time I never knew that my mother was your daughter. Back then, I told you that it was okay to criticize me, but when it comes to someone you’ve never met—someone who’s already passed on—it’s best for you to show some respect. At that time, I asked that you not judge and criticize someone that you did not know. Now, you and I both know that the person you criticized was your own daughter. Perhaps you feel that you can say whatever you like about your daughter because she’s your daughter, but I’ll tell you the same thing I told you then: those who have passed away are no longer with us, so please don’t bring up anything in her name anymore. It’s not just because my mom is your daughter, but because it’s still not good practice to bring things up in the name of another person’s parent. It’s nothing but an insult to the other person’s family. In terms of upbringing and manners, that—in my opinion—is a true sign of improper upbringing and bad manners.
“Youxuan’s right, if you place so much importance in upbringing, then why not go around and ask the public who they think is the better person between myself and Chang Jingqiu,” Ruan Danchen remarked curtly. “If there’s nothing else, you should go up and tend to Miss Chang. I won’t hold you up.”
“Danchen?” a vaguely familiar voice called out from some distance away.
Ruan Danchen turned and saw someone that looked quite familiar. On closer inspection, the woman seemed to be one Aunt Wu, whom she met at a banquet some time ago. During the event, Grandmother Qi dragged Ruan Danchen around and introduced her to everyone. Ruan Danchen spoke with those whom Grandmother Qi was closer to, and as for those that the old lady was not too close with, Grandmother Qi made a simple introduction before moving on.
Since Ruan Danchen did not have that much of an impression on the lady in front of her, she figured that the lady was not exceptionally close to Grandmother Qi.
The lady looked like someone from the Eight Great Families, and Ruan Danchen recognized most of them well enough that she could greet them by name.
“Aunt Wu,” Ruan Danchen smiled and greeted.
Qi Youxuan greeted sweetly from beside her, “Granny Wu!”
“Ah, what a coincidence!” Aunt Wu was shocked that Ruan Danchen remembered her. “This child, you’re becoming more and more polite. At this age, not many kids are like Youxuan.”
Immediately after hearing that sentence, Grandmother Chang’s expression turned incredibly unhappy. She had just criticized Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan for being rude earlier.
Aunt Wu’s attention was wholly directed on Ruan Danchen and Qi Youxuan. She did not even notice Grandmother Chang’s presence. The urge to put on a good impression in front of Ruan Danchen meant that Grandmother Chang was completely ignored.
During the banquet, Aunt Wu was very casually introduced to Ruan Danchen and nodded at her since they were not at all close.
Since Aunt Wu had chanced upon Ruan Danchen at the hospital, Aunt Wu greeted Ruan Danchen boldly. She was already prepared for the possibility that Ruan Danchen would not remember her.
If that was the case, she could then make another proper introduction and reinforce Ruan Danchen’s impression of her.
The opportunity was a good one, as she never had the chance to talk to Ruan Danchen during most of the banquets. She did not even have the opportunity to sneak in a couple of sentences because the banquets were usually packed with people. Everyone wanted to talk with members of the Eight Great Families and it would be impossible for her to squeeze into the conversation since those were all popular people.
“I saw you from afar and I thought it was you. I’m old and my eyesight isn’t that great, so I wasn’t too sure. When I came nearer, I realized that it’s really you,” Aunt Wu smiled and said. She looked at Ruan Danchen with a deeply concerned expression and asked, “Why are you at the hospital? Are you unwell? Or is it Youxuan who’s not feeling well?”
“No, I’m visiting someone,” Ruan Danchen answered with a smile but did not elaborate.
It was not because she did not acknowledge Chang Zhiyuan, but because saying too much might allow for news to spread quickly. People who caught wind of it would come over in crowds to visit, albeit with ulterior motives. Chang Zhiyuan’s rest and recuperation would be disturbed for absolutely no good reason.
“Your family member is sick?” Aunt Wu responded quickly. With Ruan Danchen’s unwillingness to say anything, Aunt Wu asked another question immediately.
Ruan Danchen smiled and asked a question of her own, “Why are you here?”
“Oh, my grandson, he’s got acute appendicitis and is hospitalized here. I came to visit him,” Aunt Wu replied with a smile. Seeing Ruan Danchen’s demeanor, Miss Wu stopped asking questions for fear of being a nuisance.
“AHEM!” Grandmother Chang was fuming after being ignored so thoroughly. She was left with no choice but to utter a sound as a reminder.
Startled, Aunt Wu then looked over and smiled awkwardly, “Oh, Madam Chang’s here too?”
Aunt Wu was not unpretentious in front of Grandmother Chang since the latter was not a very nice person to interact with anyway. Most of their exchanges saw Aunt Wu simply putting on a fa?ade of politeness without truly taking Grandmother Chang seriously.
Realizing that Grandmother Chang was speaking with Ruan Danchen, Aunt Wu became spirited and asked, “You know Danchen? Are you close with her?”
Aunt Wu’s gaze turned rather friendly.
Grandmother Chang’s expression turned ugly at once. From Aunt Wu’s earlier obliviousness to her, she did not believe that the Wu-surnamed lady really did fail to notice her.
Once Aunt Wu realized that Grandmother Chang was speaking with Ruan Danchen, Aunt Wu’s attitude turned cordial in an instant.
Did Grandmother Chang really have to leach on to Ruan Danchen’s prestige?
Grandmother Chang’s face tensed up, and the anger within her could not be contained anymore. Aunt Wu’s snickering mien made her utterly exasperated.
At what point did others need to defer to Ruan Danchen before showing respect to her?
She was just about to speak up and begrudgingly acknowledge her relationship with Ruan Danchen, but Ruan Danchen said, “We bumped into each other and spoke a couple of times before this.”
She did not directly state that she and Grandmother Chang were not close, but Aunt Wu caught on to her insinuation. Not a single word that came out from Ruan Danchen’s mouth was a lie, though.
Grandmother Chang wanted to retort but could only open her mouth without saying anything.
“Madam.” Xiao Yang came in through the hospital entrance just as Grandmother Chang was about to say something. His voice made her freeze immediately, and she had no choice but to close her mouth reluctantly. Her lips were tightly pursed, and her face tensed up into an ugly expression.
“When you called just now and said that you and Youxuan were coming, I waited for quite some time but didn’t see anyone yet. I came to look for you in case something happened,” Xiao Yang said. His eyes shot Grandmother Chang a cold look.
Grandmother Chang was turning flustered. Each one of them was treating her discourteously—Ruan Danchen was disrespectful toward her, and even the driver had the guts to give her that kind of look!
“Old Madam, I’m sorry, we really need to go,” Ruan Danchen said coldly. Aunt Wu interpreted it to mean that Grandmother Chang pestered Ruan Danchen repeatedly and did not let her off.
Evidently, their relationship was nowhere as good as expected.
Grandmother Chang was so angry that she could not say a single word. Ruan Danchen seized the moment and ushered Qi Youxuan away. Xiao Yang could be heard telling Ruan Danchen, “Sir phoned earlier and said that he’s already done with work.”
“Then let’s go and pick him up,” Ruan Danchen said.
With the three of them walking out and leaving behind only silence, Aunt Wu shot Grandmother Chang a cold look and said, “Well then, I’ll be going now. Take it easy, alright.”
After saying that, she left without turning back.
Grandmother Chang’s anger was unparalleled. She pointed at Aunt Wu’s disappearing silhouette and cursed, “The hell is this! Coming up to fawn over someone younger than you. Do you have any dignity? I can’t believe you look down on me! I’m so mad right now! I’m so angry right now! Who the hell are you! Next time... I’ll show you next time! You think your Wu family is so great? I’ll crush your Wu family!”
Grandmother Chang’s outburst attracted the attention of many people.
The hospital catered to plenty of outpatients, and everyone looked at Grandmother Chang like a madwoman. They were all wondering where the old lady came from and why she was so damn unreasonable.
A couple came from up ahead. It was Huang Pinggui and Wang Lixia, who just visited Chang Jingqiu but was chased out by Chang Jingqiu when she threw her cup at them.
Her attitude prompted them to firmly decide against helping Chang Jingqiu, leaving her to get her own just desserts.
At that moment, they chanced upon Grandmother Chang going nuts and did not know who she was as of then. Wang Lixia thought that the old city lady scolded just like one of their village’s farmgirls.
Grandmother Chang saw those two people and sulked as she left. She felt that she was humiliating herself just by looking at them.
...
Grandmother Chang went to Chang Jingqiu’s sickroom. The young lady was lying on the bed with reddened eyes.
“What is it? Is the wound hurting again?” Grandmother Chang rushed up and asked.
“Grandma...” Chang Jingqiu called out pitifully.
“Mom, Jingqiu’s birth parents came just now,” Liu Xiangwen sighed and said before continuing, “You have no idea how unbearable those two are. Jingqiu was raised by you since she was young. Jingqiu’s such a good-natured person. Neither her upbringing nor her manners are flawed. But her parents... They’re disgusting extortionists and are very uncivilized. They were willing to throw away their dignity and suck up to her just for money. Jingqiu is too mild-mannered, and if we let her stay with them, they’ll definitely bully her a lot! We’ve raised Jingqiu since young and she has never seen the ugly side of the world before, much less come in contact with these kinds of people. She doesn’t know the evil in a person’s heart. It’s unthinkable for such a pure child to be associated with those kinds of people.”
Grandmother Chang listened to everything and said, “No matter how you put it, I was the one who raised Jingqiu since she was little. After many years of feelings between us, I’m certainly not going to let her be bullied by anyone. Jingqiu, tell me, do you feel anything for your parents? Do you want to acknowledge them? If you don’t, I’ll make sure you’ll get justice.”
Chang Jingqiu held Grandmother Chang’s hand. Her eyes teared up as she answered, “I don’t want to. Grandma, I’m scared of them. I don’t feel close to them at all.”
“I understand. Don’t worry, you won’t have anything to do with them in the future. Grandma won’t let them bother you anymore.”
“Mom,” came Liu Xiangwen’s reluctant voice all of a sudden.
“What is it?” Grandmother Chang was getting irritated at Liu Xiangwen’s hem-haw manner.
“Things in our family got heated up after Jingqiu’s mishap with Big Brother and Ruan Danchen’s status was revealed, so when our housekeeper took over my duties of keeping watch here yesterday, I went to visit the temple. I made some money offerings1 to pray for blessings on Big Brother and Jingqiu. Coincidentally, there was also a master there who knew how to decipher her Ba-Zi2. He’s a disciple of the abbot, although he doesn’t show up that often. He only comes out once a month at an undetermined time. It’s all down to luck. Those who wanted him to decipher their Ba-Zi and ask about their fate or future would have to wait there every day. It was a coincidence that I met him, so I gave the monk Ruan Danchen’s birth date to let him decipher. In my mind, she’s still our family’s granddaughter, but...”
“But what?” Grandmother Chang asked anxiously. Liu Xiangwen’s hemming and hawing made Grandmother Chang incredibly anxious.
Grandmother Chang was a profoundly superstitious person who believed completely in Ba-Zi and fortune-telling.
The burning of incense and worshipping of Buddha was done regularly to pray for her good health, long life, and riches for the Chang family. Plenty of money offerings were made to the temple, too. Before her two sons got married, she was introduced to a great fortune-teller, whom she provided with her sons’ and their partners’ birth dates for him to decipher. Once she was told that the couple’s birth dates were compatible with each other, she gave them the green light to get married.
Liu Xiangwen glanced briefly at Chang Jingqiu. At that juncture, Grandmother Chang’s focus was directed toward Liu Xiangwen alone, so the evil smile that crept over Chang Jingqiu’s lips went completely unnoticed.
Chang Jingqiu nodded at Liu Xiangwen, to which the latter then continued, “The monk said Ruan Danchen’s fate is very unyielding. She’s destined to overpower those close to her and born to be ill-fated with her family. She has no father and no mother, so anyone close to her will be strongly overpowered by her.”
Seeing the look of surprise on Grandmother Chang’s face, Liu Xiangwen said, “I didn’t believe it at first when the monk said that. Even though his deciphering was quite accurate, we can’t just blindly believe those fortune-tellers in the current day and age, right? Although I didn’t say anything at the time, I still took the fortune and left.”
Liu Xiangwen leaned forward and lowered her voice, as if afraid that anyone else would listen. “But at the end of the day, I thought that I ought to let you know at least.”
Before Liu Xiangwen could even do anything, Grandmother Chang’s thoughts began veering off into negativity. “How’s that not accurate? I think the monk was very accurate! Huanyue died as soon as Ruan Danchen came to this world, and the father died in an explosion at the same time too. Her parents were gone as soon as she was born. If that’s not considering ‘overcoming’ them, then what is? Now that I think of it, my daughter died because of her! If it wasn’t for her, Yuehuan wouldn’t have died!”
Grandmother Chang seemed to have been enlightened as to her daughter’s cause of death. Her eyes turned red immediately, filled only with rage and resentment.
Both Liu Xiangwen and Chang Jingqiu knew who those emotions were directed to.
“Mom, when you say that, I suddenly remembered something. Her adoptive mother is Liu Ronghua, right? I heard Liu Ronghua disappeared some time ago and no one knows her whereabouts until now. Qi Chenglin was looking for her too, I think. I believe she disappeared suddenly and no one knew where she went. I heard that she was all okay and normal a day before her disappearance. I have a friend whose friend is a neighbor of Liu Ronghua. The day before Liu Ronghua disappeared, the neighbor bumped into her and spoke with her about what happened in their recent lives. Liu Ronghua didn’t say anything about leaving. She even suggested for the two of them to have lunch at one of the new French restaurants that opened in B City. Everything was fine, so how could she just disappear so suddenly?”
Liu Xiangwen looked at Grandmother Chang. “I now feel that Liu Ronghua’s disappearance is quite fishy.”
“It must be Ruan Danchen that pressured her until something happened!” Grandmother Chang slapped her thigh and said, “Hmph! Qi Chenglin still treats her like a princess. One day, she’ll turn the Qi family upside down, and they’ll only regret it once blood is spilled!”
Neither of them noticed that Chang Jingqiu flinched slightly when Liu Xiangwen brought up Qi Chenglin’s search for Liu Ronghua. That slight change in expression was quickly hidden once again.
Chang Jingqiu was thoroughly shaken nonetheless. She consoled herself immediately because she herself had no idea where Liu Ronghua was sold to. Furthermore, Qi Chenglin might not link it with a kidnapping, much less know who Brother Chen was.
Qi Chenglin was a proper businessman who was not in contact with those shady people. He would not be doing anything illegal either. Even if he knew Wen Ren, it was only because of his status as a member of the Eight Great Families. He would not rely on Wen Ren’s influence to do unconscionable things.
Wen Ren was also being closely watched. Even if he were to do something unethical, the country had already appointed him to his post, so he would not be undertaking it himself.
Chang Jingqiu feared that Qi Chenglin would badger Wen Ren into helping him find out what happened to Liu Ronghua. The Wen family’s machinery alone would enable them to find out whatever information they wanted. Brother Chen was no match for them.
Frowning in thought, Chang Jingqiu wondered if she should contact Brother Chen in secret and check that not a single trace was left of the entire operation.
“Jingqiu, what are you thinking about? Are you feeling unwell?” Grandmother Chang asked.
“No. I was just thinking, if that’s true, then Elder Uncle will be in a bad situation, right? His relationship with Ruan Danchen is getting better, but we should prevent Ruan Danchen from burdening Elder Uncle,” Chang Jingqiu said gently.
“Hmph. Your elder uncle is an idiot.” Grandmother Chang was annoyed at the mere mention of her eldest son.
...
Chang Zhiyuan was discharged from the hospital, and after his body had completely recuperated, he dragged Mo Yuxin and Chang Jingwan to buy toys at the mall. Chang Zhiyuan’s excuse for bringing them along was that he was too old—he was afraid of buying something that did not suit the little guy’s fancies.
Although Chang Jingwan’s age gap with Qi Youxuan was quite significant, she was much younger than Chang Zhiyuan. The two ladies were able to advise him, at least.
When Chang Jingwan was choosing those gifts, she still felt that everything was unreal. How could such a prestigious family like the Qi family become her in-laws so suddenly? How was it that Jixia Elementary’s Little Master became her younger cousin brother?
As she was picking out the gifts, Chang Jingwan was smiling silly as she was choosing a suitable one. Her status had changed and she was no longer an ordinary person!
The family of three huffed and puffed before buying a big toy car.
Sunday came. Qi Chenglin and Ruan Danchen brought Qi Youxuan over to Chang Zhiyuan’s house. The Ruan family tagged along too, but Grandfather and Grandmother Ruan did not tag along.
The old Ruan couple were technically the eldest there, and since Chang Zhiyuan was younger than them, there was no basis for an elder person to visit someone younger than them. They would simply wait for Chang Zhiyuan to bring his family to visit the Ruan elders.
The Ruan family completely ignored Grandmother Chang’s side, so they treated Chang Zhiyuan as the Chang family’s elders. They considered it the first time meeting their in-laws.
Ruan Keyu and Chang Yuehuan had already passed on, and since everyone there were the respective family members to the deceased couple, everyone thought that they should tell each other what they knew about the both of them. It would serve to cement their understanding of the Ruan Keyu and Chang Yuehuan—no one forgot about the two of them.
The Ruan family only knew about Ruan Keyu and did not know much about Chang Yuehuan. It was an opportunity for Ruan Danchen to know more about Chang Yuehuan. Chang Zhiyuan was still young and na?ve when Chang Yuehuan was around. Grandmother Chang, on the other hand, did not even have the courtesy to give Ruan Danchen a pleasant expression, so the possibility of asking her about Chang Yuehuan was remote.
When they arrived at the home, they were startled by the toy in the living room.
“Youxuan’s here!” Chang Zhiyuan smiled with a face full of creases. He pulled the boy to him and pointed at the toys in the living room as if it was a pile of treasure. “Your Granduncle bought this for you! Play with them however you want, okay! If you get tired of it, Granduncle will buy new ones for you.”
“Granduncle, you’re the best!” Qi Youxuan threw himself into Chang Zhiyuan’s arms and rolled about before running toward the toys.
Ruan Keshan stared from behind. Deep down, he felt that it was not unfavorable to have Chang Zhiyuan present, since the latter would vie for the little boy’s affection with him.
“My dear in-laws, it’s not good to do this. You’ll easily spoil the child with material goods. Besides, Youxuan’s not someone who plays a lot!” the unrelenting Ruan Keshan said. “Your actions foster only extravagance and wastefulness in a young child. Once in a while is good enough, you know! We need to teach our children that things are hard to come by. A bit of pampering is okay, but not to this extent!”
Chang Zhiyuan’s face twitched after hearing what Ruan Keshan said. How could a visiting guest chastise the owner of the house like that!
Deep down, Ruan Keshan huffed. His father was right—Chang Zhiyuan was an unscrupulous businessman who was always crafty in his dealings.
That Chang Zhiyuan was too sly!
“I enjoy buying things for my grand-nephew. I’ll compensate for all the gifts I didn’t manage to give in the past seven years, and in the future, I’ll buy even more for him.” Chang Zhiyuan cocked his chin and proclaimed arrogantly, “I have the money, so I’ll buy, buy, buy!”
Ruan Keshan was furious! ‘You think I don’t have money?’
Chen Minxia tugged at Ruan Keshan haplessly. “Our in-laws are showing sincerity.”
Despite those words, her eyes were actually warning him: ‘Shut up!’
“...” Ruan Keshan paled immediately.
“...” In trying to move past that, Mo Yuxin quickly said, “Come in and sit.”
Everyone went in, but Ruan Keshan deliberately placed himself last. He pulled on Ruan Zeer and said, “That businessman is too sly. Why didn’t I think of it earlier! Since Youxuan’s on a diet and can’t eat meat, I can buy toys for him! When we go back later, we’ll stop by the mall and buy a toy for him.”
While saying that, Ruan Keshan shook his head. “Simply buying a toy isn’t enough. That’s just copying Chang Zhiyuan. It’s not sincere at all, and Youxuan would definitely be less happy than he is today.”
Ruan Keshan’s expression displayed some pain after watching the elated Qi Youxuan.
“You and Qi Youxuan are always together. Help me think of what else I can buy to make him happy,” Ruan Keshan said.
Ruan Zeer found it rather imprudent to say, ‘Youxuan’s the happiest if you just give him money.’
Instead, Ruan Zeer nodded to indicate that he would think properly.
The purpose of the visit was for a meal, but ever since Ruan Keshan sat down, he was continuously battling it out with each other.
Neither men had ever vied excessively with their own brothers for their parents’ attention. Chang Zhiyuan had been criticized by Grandmother Chang so excessively that he was never allowed to explain himself, yet on this occasion, the two men—whose combined ages nearly reached a hundred years—were desperately trying to get the attention of a boy whose age was much younger than the remainder of that hundred years.
Mo Yuxin and Chen Minxia were at a loss. They felt that their respective husbands were a complete embarrassment, and once both women’s gazes met, they noticed the similarities of their mindsets and smiled knowingly to each other.
Chang Zhiyuan said, “Ah, Youxuan, what else do you want? Just let Granduncle know! Granduncle will buy em’ for ya!”
Ruan Keshan continued, “Ah, Youxuan, you love The Avengers, don’t you? Granduncle will head to the mall later and buy the full set of action figures for ya!”
For the sake of keeping up with his grand-nephew, Ruan Keshan—a man who cared about nothing else except math in the past—even managed to pick up trending phrases like The Avengers and action figures.
Chang Zhiyuan proceeded to say, “Ah, Youxuan, when you have your holidays, Granduncle will bring you to Universal Studios in the US! You can see many of your favorite film characters there in person.”
Ruan Keshan was unyielding. “Ah, Youxuan, when you have your holidays, Granduncle will bring you to Akihabara in Japan! Th-->>