The Real Young Master is Entangled by the Paranoid Fake Young Master - Chapter 52

“Director Jiang, Old Madame Jiang, my sincere apologies. My son has been most impolite. I will certainly discipline him once we return!”

The usually haughty Song Shicheng instantly transformed into a groveling dog before the Jiang family. Naturally, even while bowing, he didn’t miss the chance to trample on Zhaoqing.

Seeing Shicheng fail to defend his own son and instead immediately pinning the blame on him, Jiang Yizhu steadied his nerves and offered a curled smile.

“Uncle Song, please don’t say that. This isn’t your fault, and you needn’t apologize for it. Actually, I can understand Zhaoqing’s feelings. Back when we were at the same school, he was always a bit envious of me. Now that I have the honor of being a Jiang, it’s understandable that his heart feels unbalanced. If he hadn’t insulted my reputation today, I wouldn’t have planned to do anything. Uncle Song, please don’t punish him too harshly when you get home; a small reprimand will suffice. I won’t hold a grudge, for the sake of our time as classmates.”

Facing Yizhu’s manipulative “generosity,” Shicheng felt as though he had found a kindred spirit. Looking at the two of them in league together, Zhaoqing almost wondered if they were the true father and son!

A father who cared for his child would have tried to pull them out of the line of fire. Instead, Shicheng lunged at the opportunity to blacken Zhaoqing’s name further.

“Young Master Jiang, you have no idea, this boy has been beyond reckless lately. He didn’t just irritate my mother into illness; he even fought with me, his own father, and intentionally took his sister away to hide her. My poor, pampered little daughter, she listened to his delusions and is now suffering somewhere unknown.”

Shicheng sighed heavily, casting a pointed glance at Young Master Jiang the Fifth and his mother, Liu Shu. Liu Shu, dressed in a tailored, expensive qipao and stroking her purple jade bracelet, glared at Zhaoqing as if she wanted to carve a piece of flesh from him.

“What? Mr. Song, what is the meaning of this? Lili is a bright, beautiful child, and she gets along perfectly with our A-Can. We agreed to become in-laws, and Lili was supposed to stay with us for a while to build a relationship with him. Now you’re saying she’s gone? Mr. Song, how is it that you can’t even manage your own children?”

Her words were sharp and mean, but in high society, such political marriages were common a standard way to consolidate resources. Given that the Song family was currently in decline, they had undoubtedly taken favors from the Jiangs in exchange for their daughter. Now, it looked like they were trying to back out.

The surrounding guests began to look at the Song family with disapproval.

“Is that so? ‘Getting along’? This is clearly just buying and selling children!” Zhaoqing shot back. “My sister isn’t even fifteen. My ‘good’ father, in order to sell her for a high price, locked her in a windowless, suffocating room for days and nights like a prisoner! I ask you, what kind of father is this cold-blooded? What kind of grandmother is this heartless?”

Zhaoqing’s words rang out with a powerful resonance. A few socialites who had daughters of their own whispered to one another, “Is this how a father should act? How useless must these adults be to make a child pay the price?”

“Exactly. And that Young Master Jiang the Fifth, hasn’t he always had a terrible temper? He almost beat someone to death when he was younger. If he weren’t riding the coattails of the main Jiang branch, what decent family would give him their daughter? Lili is a lovely girl; marrying into that side branch is a tragedy.”

While alliances were common, most families wouldn’t stoop to such depths to torment their own flesh and blood. Zhaoqing had finally exposed the collusion between Shicheng and the Fifth branch. He wanted to see how the head of the house and the Old Madame would respond; he was betting on them maintaining the Jiang family’s public “face.”

Even if they hate me for this, I have to use this chance to break Lili’s engagement, Zhaoqing thought.

“Mr. Song! Your son is incredibly rude! Your family begged us for this alliance, and now you dare to cross the bridge and then burn it? And this Song Zhaoqing! I’ve heard about him! He grew up in those filthy streets and was only brought back a year ago. A person like that must be full of lies. He dares to slander me and my son! Mr. Song, you cannot allow him to be this lawless!”

Liu Shu, emboldened by her status as a Jiang relative, refused to accept the public humiliation. “Auntie, look at this! Ever since my husband passed, every Tom, Dick, and Harry thinks they can step on us!” She pressured Shicheng before turning to Old Madame Jiang with a sob.

Old Madame Jiang felt a headache coming on. She spoke with a dignified authority: “If the girl is so young and unwilling to marry into your house, why insist on a forced union? This is not the way of the Jiang family.”

The Old Madame prized family reputation above all else. Her first reaction was not anger at Zhaoqing’s “rudeness,” but disgust at Liu Shu’s attempt to force the marriage.

“Auntie, how can you blame me? It’s them! The Song family took our investment and now they refuse to honor the deal! Such petty behavior! Auntie, you must stand up for us, or else everyone will think they can bully the Jiangs.”

As Liu Shu continued her tirade, Jiang Yizhu chimed in: “This is all just Song Zhaoqing’s side of the story. Who knows if it’s actually his sister who wants to marry and he’s the one interfering?”

“Waaaah! Brother! Brother! I don’t want to marry him!”

Just as Yizhu finished speaking, the sound of a young girl’s crying drifted from the distance. The crowd turned to see a beautiful girl in a pink dress running toward them, throwing herself into Zhaoqing’s arms.

“Lili? Why are you here?” Zhaoqing asked, surprised. He stroked his sister’s head to comfort her.

“Brother Zhaoqing, second brother brought me here.” Song Lili pointed toward the courtyard where Song Yuening was walking toward them.

“Zhaozhao, I’m here. Don’t worry; no one will dare bully you.”

Yuening’s manner was elegant and refined, but his words were clearly pointed. His gaze swept over Yizhu, the Fifth Master, and Liu Shu before landing on Song Shicheng. He took Zhaoqing’s hand; though his grip wasn’t heavy, his cool palm gave Zhaoqing a sudden sense of security.

Shicheng suddenly understood. He looked at Yuening in disbelief, realizing he no longer knew this “obedient” son at all. When they had exited the cars, Yuening had claimed to be taking a call from a competition committee. Shicheng had let him be, fearing they would be late. Now he realized the call was a ruse to have Lili brought to the banquet.

Shicheng’s rage boiled over. He hadn’t expected the “sickly” Yuening to stand on the same side as Zhaoqing.

Rebellion! This is pure rebellion!

Did Yuening not value his own life? The “special medicine” provided by the Songs made him weak and often caused him pain, but it had allegedly managed his heart condition. Is this how he repays us? Shicheng even considered cutting off Yuening’s medicine for a while to let him suffer the agony of a failing heart as punishment.

But in his fury, Shicheng forgot one crucial detail: Yuening hadn’t touched that medicine since being rescued from the island.

“Come, Lili. Don’t be afraid. You’re here now. Tell everyone: are you willing to marry Young Master Jiang the Fifth?” Yuening’s calm voice sounded, almost as if it had a hypnotic quality.

“I’m not willing! Brother! I don’t want to get married! I’m scared, I’m so scared!” With both brothers backing her, Lili let all her grievances out. Zhaoqing tenderly wiped her tears.

“The poor girl, her eyes are so red from crying.”

“Exactly. It’s tragic enough not having a mother, but to be sold off by her father.”

“Lili is a good girl, she’s, my friend. Mom, can I go hug her?”

Both the elite guests and their children felt an immense wave of sympathy for the beautiful, sobbing girl. Even Old Madame Jiang’s heart softened.

“Since the girl is unwilling.” The Old Madame prepared to be the “villain” and force Liu Shu to break the engagement. However, as her gaze shifted, she caught sight of Song Yuening’s face.

In an instant, the words died in her throat. Her hands began to tremble as she fumbled for a pair of ornate glasses. She put them on and began to scrutinize Yuening’s features with extreme intensity. Beside her, Jiang Jinhua noticed his mother’s distress and looked over as well.

The sight left even the usually unflappable head of the Jiang family stunned.

This child, he looks exactly like the late Old Master Jiang! Even his resemblance to a younger, unscarred Jiang Jinhua was uncanny. Without a blood relation, how could two people in this world look so alike?

In that moment, neither Jiang Yizhu nor the Fifth Master mattered. Old Madame Jiang’s breathing grew rapid, as if she might faint at any moment.

Zhaoqing was waiting for the words “the engagement is dissolved,” but instead, he watched the Old Madame stumble down the steps and reach out to touch Yuening’s face.

“Child, you… you…” She gripped Yuening’s hand, murmuring something to herself.

Confused murmurs broke out among the guests. Jiang Jinhua, maintaining a shred of logic, gently lowered his mother’s hand.

“Grandmother! What are you.” Jiang Yizhu’s sharp intuition sensed something was horribly wrong. He tried to speak, but the authoritative Jiang Jinhua silenced him.

“The banquet is about to begin. Guests, please take your seats! Yizhu, anything else can be discussed after the banquet.”

What? What does this mean?

Not only Yizhu, but Zhaoqing was also bewildered. How had the conflict between him and Yizhu, and Lili and the Fifth Master, been so easily brushed aside? He couldn’t comprehend what had happened in that split second.

Yuening still hadn’t let go of Zhaoqing’s hand. As the guests began to file in, the two remained standing in place. Zhaoqing was debating whether to leave now or storm inside to continue the fight, but Old Madame Jiang walked back over. She took Yuening’s other hand, her voice kind and maternal.

“Child, come. Come to Grandmother’s side. Let me have a good look at you.”

Zhaoqing was stunned. Is Yuening really that likable? Why is the Old Madame so enamored with him on their first meeting?

Yuening, faced with the sudden affection, gave a polite smile but spoke firmly: “But I have to stay with Zhaozhao. Wherever he goes, I go.”

“Come, come, children all of you come together!” The Old Madame had completely abandoned her icy demeanor. She wouldn’t let go of Yuening, agreeing to whatever he said.

“But with him here, I don’t want to go in,” Zhaoqing said, a spark of mischief returning as he pointed boldly at Jiang Yizhu.

To everyone’s shock, Old Madame Jiang turned to Yizhu and said sternly, “Yizhu, go back to your room for now!”

Since arriving at the Jiang house, Yizhu had never suffered such a slight. He cried out “Grandmother!” in a fit of shock, but he withered under Jiang Jinhua’s stern expression. He had worked hard to build a “good boy” persona and didn’t want to ruin it today. Stomping his foot, he fled upstairs in a fit of resentment.