Chapter 24: Choose

Chapter 24: Make Your Choice

Holy moly!

This truly deserved a resounding "Holy moly!" for Eldest Daughter Jiang!

We’ve seen children prevent their fathers from taking concubines, but never a granddaughter so adept at showing "filial piety" to her grandfather!

Onlookers inside and outside the courtyard agreed that Eldest Daughter Jiang’s maneuver was absolutely brilliant! Oh right, they probably didn't know how to articulate their shock, but that was the gist of it.

However, the mere fact that his granddaughter knew how to be "filial" genuinely delighted Old Jiang. His old arms and legs, now caught in his wife’s merciless iron grip, hurt so much that the pain made the old man laugh out loud.

"Ouch!"

Old Wang Shi couldn’t win against her own stubborn daughter, but surely she could handle her stubborn old man?

No wonder she had warned him earlier not to blab when calling for people—so this was the trap she’d laid? The old lady, fuming, secretly gave him a hard pinch, instantly sending the old man stumbling back a good three feet.

Old Jiang, an innocent bystand caught in the crossfire, dared not turn around to blame his wife, nor could he blame his granddaughter for digging this pit. He could only glare fiercely at his good-for-nothing son.

Just you wait till we get home; see if I don't sort you out!

Rubbing his arm, he grimaced and played along with his granddaughter’s act. After such a long period of working together, the grandfather-granddaughter duo had already achieved perfect synchronicity.

"Eldest Daughter, your grandpa may be quite old, but these old arms and legs of mine are still strong and sturdy!"

He then turned to look at the Zhu family daughter, who was now pale with anger, deliberately puffing out his scrawny chest and taking two shaky steps forward. He bared his mouth, which had lost two big teeth last year.

The grandfather and granddaughter shared the same mischievous streak.

"Girl, don’t you worry! Once you truly enter our Old Jiang family, this old man won’t treat you poorly! We’ll follow whatever rules you mentioned—the equal wife rules.

Then you’ll be Suozi’s proper stepmother, the legitimate second grandmother to all these little rascals in the family.

If anyone dares to disrespect you, this old man will be the first to object! I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of, rest assured, alright?"

Bullshit!

If years of ingrained rules hadn't been etched into her bones, Zhu Mingzhi would have loved to summon and curse out every ancestor of this damned old man for eighteen generations!

She trembled with rage!

Just based on what this old fool said, she would absolutely never have a chance to marry Jiang Huailiang in this lifetime.

"Your Jiang family dares to be ungrateful! I—"

"Second Brother, come here too!"

Jiang Wan directly cut off the other’s words, beckoning her younger sister over and positioning her right in front of Zhu Mingzhi.

"What you said isn’t right—this is clearly our sincere intention.

Now, the only descendants of our Old Jiang family are the three of us siblings, and we’re all standing right here in front of you! I can promise you right now—if you become our second grandmother, we’ll definitely provide for you in your old age and give you a proper burial.

My grandmother has even offered to share half of the ancestral tablet space with you—if this isn’t sincerity, then what is?"

Some people in the courtyard twitched their lips, looking at Eldest Daughter Jiang spouting nonsense with expressions of utter dismay.

Like, is there a chance that you’re just being a jerk?

"...I,"

Zhu Mingzhi was left speechless and could only turn to look at Jiang Huailiang, tearfully calling out,

"Eldest Brother Jiang, are you just going to stand by and watch your daughter bully me like this?"

The moment he was named, Jiang Huailiang was met with the simultaneous stares of his entire family, startling the tall, sturdy man into shivering.

"Well, you see, I’ve had this problem since I was a kid—my eyesight isn’t too good. Hehehe..."

In other words, I saw absolutely nothing.

Zhu Mingzhi was so angry she wanted to stab him to death with a hairpin!

Xu Shi pursed her lips but ultimately said nothing. She just stood to the side, quietly listening as her eldest daughter asked again.

"So, Zhu Mingzhi, do you want to be our aunt or our second grandmother? Choose."

Zhao Shi, who had remained silent the entire time, sighed inwardly as she watched the situation reach a deadlock. The Jiang family had clearly stated their position—they would absolutely not marry Zhu Mingzhi.

She glanced at Jiang Huailiang’s wife; the woman’s half-scarred face was still somewhat unsettlingly ugly. But at this moment, Zhao Shi genuinely felt a deep sense of envy toward her.

In terms of looks, every woman present surpassed Xu Shi. But when it came to status within her husband’s family, none could compare to Xu Shi.

To be so fiercely protected by every member of the Jiang family, young and old—Xu Shi was truly someone to be envied!

Well, everyone has their own fate—why force it?

She lowered her eyes to hide her thoughts, then stepped forward directly. With a gentle smile, she made the final decision.

"I think Eldest Daughter Jiang’s arrangement is excellent. Why don’t you, Miss Zhu, become sworn siblings with Huailiang? That would also fulfill the brotherly bond he once shared with your brother."

The warning hidden in Princess of Huai’s gentle smile pressured Zhu Mingzhi into not daring to make a scene. She could only listen as the other’s voice whispered by her ear.

"This way, by tying our families together, you’ll also become a sister-in-law to me and Yu Niang.

Don’t worry—with the two of us as your sworn sisters-in-law arranging your marriage, we’ll ensure you are properly wedded with full ceremonies, becoming the legitimate wife of a respectable family.

Sister-in-law, do you think this arrangement is acceptable? If you have any objections, feel free to voice them now."

Xu Shi was indeed an extremely clever person. Hearing the Princess of Huai’s warmth and clear stance in her support, she immediately stepped forward and took over the conversation with a promise.

"I’ll leave it entirely to you, sister-in-law, to decide. What would a rural woman like me know? How could I possibly have any objections?

And little sister, don’t you worry either. I’ll definitely put effort into finding you a good match. I wouldn’t be able to rest easy otherwise!"

Regardless of what she truly thought, she had to make her words sound pleasing—no matter what, she couldn’t let her husband be labeled as ungrateful.

Zhao Shi nodded in satisfaction.

She really enjoyed dealing with clever people like this.

Everyone turned to look at Zhu Mingzhi, quietly waiting for her choice. They had already given her a way out—if she still insisted on stubbornly clinging to the Jiang family’s crooked tree, then she wasn’t worth anyone’s further effort.

Fortunately, Zhu Mingzhi wasn’t some heroic woman who disregarded life and death, nor was she foolish to the very end. It wasn’t as if she had genuinely fallen for a big black bear like Jiang Huailiang—she had just been picking the best among the worst.

Now, with the Princess of Huai’s personal promise, her family definitely wouldn’t dare to marry her off casually. That meant she had many more options in the future.

She sullenly averted her gaze—anything was better than ending up in the hands of that old thing across from her, right?

Once she figured it out, she straightforwardly knelt to acknowledge the new relationship.

"Little sister Zhu Mingzhi pays her respects to both sisters-in-law!"