Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

In this vast and prosperous city, there are always a few top-tier, wealthy businessmen who hold high positions or possess enormous family fortunes. Ji Zhong, Ji Lingyao’s father, was one of them.

The Ji family was very wealthy and had three sons. The third son, Ji Zhong, controlled all of the Ji family’s shares and resources, making him the undisputed head.

Besides conquering the business world, Ji Zhong was also quite a talk of the town in the romantic world.

To discuss the Ji family’s affairs, one must first talk about Ji Zhong’s unfortunate original wife.

Mr. Ji, who was over fifty, had one wedded wife. Unfortunately, this young lady, who came from a merchant family, failed to bear him any children. All four children currently under Mr. Ji’s name were illegitimate children.

With Mr. Ji’s permission, these four illegitimate children were brought into the family, entered the Ji family company, fought for the Ji family’s assets, and completely disregarded the wife who had been married to Ji Zhong for over twenty years.

This unfortunate woman always believed that as long as she stayed by Ji Zhong’s side, there would be a day when the sun would shine again. Moreover, their marriage was a business alliance, which meant the divorce was inevitably impossible.

At that time, Ji Zhong was very fond of Ji Lingyao’s mother and decided to bring the then-young Ji Lingyao back to the Ji family.

It was this matter that essentially drove his wife to death from anger.

And Ji Lingyao, at the tender age of six, was saddled with the reputation of “the one who angered Mrs. Ji to death” on the very first day she entered the family.

After Mrs. Ji was angered to death, Ji Zhong never remarried, but the number of illegitimate children continued to grow. There were seven or eight known to the Ji family alone, not to mention the unknown ones.

This matter caused a great scandal in the Ji family, but it eventually faded away.

Ji Lingyao was the fourth child to enter the Ji family home, with two older brothers and one older sister above her. Perhaps because the reputation of “angering the wife to death” was so bad, Ji Zhong did not allow any more illegitimate children to move in, but he did not mistreat them and gave them everything they were entitled to.

As the catalyst for “angering Mrs. Ji to death,” Ji Lingyao naturally did not have an easy time in the Ji family.

In the beginning, Ji Zhong raised Ji Lingyao outside, hiring a nanny to look after her. Ji Lingyao was too young then and didn’t understand why she had a mother and father but never saw them.

Once the label “illegitimate child” was attached, almost everyone looked down on her, including the nanny hired specifically to serve Ji Lingyao.

During the two years she was kept outside, Ji Lingyao was often beaten by the nanny. She wasn’t allowed to cry or tell Ji Zhong. The nanny would repeatedly pinch the flesh in unseen places until the little girl was too distressed to cry out before feeling satisfied.

After two years of this, Ji Zhong finally discovered that his daughter was being abused by the nanny and replaced her with a new one.

An Xin was just 20 years old at the time. She came to the city from the countryside to work. With only a middle school education, she couldn’t do any skilled work. She washed dishes and waited tables in restaurants, and later learned some kitchen work. Because she was a good cook and hardworking, she started working as a nanny.

Ji Lingyao remembered the first time she saw this young nanny.

She was a complete stranger, and it terrified her.

Ji Zhong comforted his young daughter, telling her: “From now on, she will be responsible for taking care of your daily life. If anyone ever hits or scolds you again, tell Daddy immediately. Don’t be afraid.”

Ji Lingyao looked at An Xin, her eyes dark and bright. She didn’t know if this woman, who was much taller than her, would feed her leftovers every night, would beat her occasionally, or would abuse her like the previous nanny.

When An Xin learned that the previous nanny had been driven away for child abuse, she felt especially sorry for Ji Lingyao. She simply couldn’t understand how anyone could lay such a heavy hand on such an introverted and lovely little girl.

Initially, their relationship was very simple. Ji Lingyao never spoke to An Xin, so An Xin had little to do every day besides housework.

Fortunately, however, Ji Lingyao seemed to really enjoy the food she cooked.

The eight-year-old girl was timid when sitting at the dining table. She didn’t dare touch the delicious food in front of her. An Xin took off her apron and sat across from her, looking at the poor child and saying, “I didn’t know what you like to eat, so I made some of my specialties. Give them a try.”

Ji Lingyao was thinner than average children, and her small face was sallow from poor nutrition, but her eyes were bright. She looked at An Xin and quietly asked, “Can I eat it?”

An Xin didn’t understand what she meant.

Ji Lingyao whispered again, “Do I not have to wait for you to finish eating before I can eat?”

It was then that An Xin understood how the previous nanny had treated her.

“No, you don’t.” An Xin looked at the little girl with some heartache and told her, “You will never have to eat leftovers again. You are the young mistress of this house, and every meal will be fresh.”

In that moment, little Ji Lingyao thought that this woman seemed genuinely good to her.

In the days that followed, Ji Lingyao ate delicious food every day. Her clothes were no longer constantly dirty, and her bed was always warm in winter. Although her occasional naughtiness would sometimes anger An Xin, Ji Lingyao never worried that she would leave her.

Because in her darkest days, An Xin was the only person who stayed with her.

She was like her own sunflower, warm like the sun, yet belonging only to herself.

An Xin was very satisfied with her job. She didn’t have to deal with the boss; her work only required her to care for an 8-year-old child, cook meals every day, and clean the empty house. There was practically nothing else.

But this life didn’t last too long.

One day, An Xin welcomed another guest besides Ji Zhong—Ji Lingyao’s eldest brother, Ji Zhong’s first illegitimate son.

The man looked to be in his twenties and closely resembled Ji Zhong, so An Xin immediately recognized him as one of Ji Lingyao’s brothers.

He said he wanted to make a deal with An Xin.

The deal was to poison Ji Lingyao’s food, causing her to be poisoned from childhood, resulting in a physical disability, so she would never be able to inherit Ji Zhong’s assets.

It was then that An Xin realized the previous nanny had also made a deal with this older brother, but she was foolish and was discovered by Ji Zhong in less than two years.

“If you agree, you can have anything you want.”

The man reached out, touched An Xin’s cheek, and said, “If you want to enter my house, that can also be considered.”

An Xin pretended to agree but didn’t understand why anyone would really harm a child less than ten years old for money.

Of course, An Xin never intended to follow the older brother’s instruction to poison young Ji Lingyao. However, the little girl seemed to have become aware of the matter, and during that time, her gaze towards An Xin was particularly strange.

One night, Ji Lingyao ran to An Xin’s room with a pillow and timidly asked her, “Sister, can I sleep with you?”

An Xin looked at Ji Lingyao, who was wearing a pink nightgown and fuzzy slippers, and couldn’t bear to send her away. From then on, Ji Lingyao seemed to grow accustomed to sleeping with An Xin. She would squeeze into the small bed with her every night, which was the only way she could sleep soundly.

Ji Lingyao actually knew everything. She knew why the previous nanny had abused her, and she knew her brother had come to find An Xin.

She was actually terrified that An Xin would truly harm her. She was only eight years old, far too small to contend with these adults.

The only thing Ji Lingyao could do was take a gamble.

Gamble that An Xin was a good person.

Gamble that An Xin wouldn’t harm her.

In Ji Lingyao’s young heart, she was extremely starved for love. The tumultuous life of the past few years had already made her understand what kind of family she had entered. In the Ji family, she was the youngest child, with three older siblings above her and others watching covetously, trying to take away her inheritance.

Ji Lingyao rarely saw her father, Ji Zhong, even once a year, let alone the mother she had barely seen over the years.

Now, the only person Ji Lingyao could rely on in this house was An Xin. So, she tried every means possible to please An Xin, to soften this woman’s heart, to make her unwilling to hurt her, to make her… step up and protect her.

An Xin never knew Ji Lingyao had such intentions. In her perception, how could an eight or nine-year-old child have such complex motives? In the countryside, children that age were still playing in the dirt.

After that, Ji Lingyao’s eldest brother would find An Xin to “chat” every few days. An Xin had phone recordings and plenty of evidence, but she didn’t know who she should report the matter to.

Tell Ji Zhong?

He loved all his children equally. An Xin couldn’t be sure Ji Zhong would truly take his youngest daughter’s side. The most likely outcome would be that she would be fired, the matter would be resolved quietly, and Ji Lingyao would fall into the hands of another nanny. At that point, there was no telling if that nanny would be as “obedient” as she was.

Fortunately, the situation took a turn.

Ji Lingyao’s second brother found An Xin. He was also eager to muddy the waters. He took the “vitamins” and recordings from An Xin, suggesting that instead of driving out 8-year-old Ji Lingyao, it was better to drive out the already adult eldest brother.

The feuds of wealthy families are always about money and power. An Xin was just a simple woman from the countryside. She wanted nothing except for Ji Lingyao to grow up safely.

It’s unknown what methods Ji family’s second brother used, but he managed to undermine the eldest brother’s power, spread many rumors, and finally presented evidence that the eldest brother intended to poison Ji Lingyao, completely pulling the seemingly successful man off his pedestal.

After Ji Zhong dealt with these issues, he turned his attention back to his poor young daughter and the young nanny named An Xin.

Perhaps because of An Xin’s dedicated care, Ji Lingyao’s childhood was relatively peaceful and happy.

Ji Zhong brought his young daughter back into the Ji family, occasionally taking her to various banquets to constantly establish their presence in public, proving to everyone that he no longer considered Ji Lingyao a “harbinger of doom” or the debt-collector who “angered Mrs. Ji to death.”

An Xin remained Ji Lingyao’s nanny, staying by her side as she slowly grew up.

Ji Lingyao even believed that An Xin would stay with her for a lifetime, watching sunrises and sunsets together, and spending their years together.

In the sixth year of An Xin’s employment as the Ji family’s nanny, when Ji Lingyao was 14 years old, Ji Lingyao made a decision.

She decided to confess her love to An Xin.

Support