Chapter 6: Your Son Is No Better

Although the Li family had never been to the capital and had not witnessed Yan Chaonian’s wedding with their own eyes, they were well aware of the kind of family she had married into.

After Li Chun’s reminder, Li Xia paused, his face filled with astonishment before he slapped his thigh hard. "That son of a turtle! Why didn't I recognize him back then? I said that fellow looked sanctimonious and not like a good man—he’s truly an animal."

Li Chun gave a light cough, and Li Xia fell silent, albeit reluctantly. Li Xia turned his gaze to Yan Chaonian. "What is he doing in the Southwest, and why did he manage to find his way to the Jin Workshop?"

"It must have been his target from the start."

Yan Chaonian did not know his specific intentions either, so she shared the information she had gathered with the two men. "I suspect something happened at the Earl’s manor, or he encountered some major crisis. Perhaps it even has to do with the brocade that won us the top prize last year."

"Whatever the reason, once he’s on our turf, we must peel a layer of skin off him."

"We need to let him know that a daughter of the Li family is not to be bullied. That dog of a man, so shameless."

Whenever Li Xia thought back to the miserable state his sister and her family were in when they returned three years ago, he grew furious. Although they didn't share the same mother, they had the same father—she was his own sister. The fact that they hadn't been able to avenge her after she was so severely mistreated had always been a deep regret. Now that the opportunity had arrived, they absolutely could not miss it.

"Your family was in such a wretched state back then. My brother-in-law nearly lost a leg. If it hadn't been for meeting our current nephew-in-law, it’s unlikely you would have returned in one piece. This grudge must be settled."

Even the usually steady Li Chun didn't argue. Yan Chaonian felt a warmth spread through her heart. From her maternal grandfather down, the Li family had always been hot-tempered. Her mother was the same, and even her current grandmother and two uncles were people who could not swallow an insult. If they could take revenge within their power, they did it on the spot; if they couldn't, they kept it in their hearts and waited for the right moment.

With such family members protecting her, she wouldn't be afraid even if another Jiang Wencheng appeared.

She was no longer afraid, but Li Xia was deeply worried that she would be muddled again. He acknowledged that his niece was talented in business, possessed a thorough understanding of weaving, and knew the preferences of the nobility well. Her ability to bring the Li family’s workshop back from the brink of death to become today’s Chao Jin Workshop was proof of her competence.

However... she was muddled when it came to people!

Back at the Earl’s manor, she shouldn't have endured so much humiliation. She had let a child manipulate her; that was the Jiang family’s kin, and whether he was good or bad, the Jiang family had to deal with it. In his view, there were countless ways to handle that old woman; why had she let herself be suppressed and bullied for so long?

Thinking it over, she must have been completely bewitched by that scoundrel Jiang Wencheng!

"Compared to Yuan Shen, that Jiang Wencheng is a pile of putrid waste. Yuan Shen is upright, has good character, and has achieved so much today with his own two hands. So many young ladies adore him. If your mother hadn't been decisive and snatched him up, you wouldn't even know what a fine man you’d have missed."

"Just think about how good he is to you. Whatever you want to do, he supports you; even if you turned the heavens upside down, he would shield you. You mustn't let him down."

Yan Chaonian sighed helplessly. "I am not muddled."

"It’s just that his sudden arrival made me a bit emotionally unstable. It’s not like I don't realize how useless I was in the past."

"Rest assured, I have long since reformed. Haven't you seen how I’ve stood my ground?"

The first year she returned, every time her uncle saw her, he would scold her, asking why she hadn't tossed a bag of rat poison into the well to kill everyone in the Earl’s manor, or why she hadn't put scorpions and venomous snakes in her mother-in-law’s bed. He had been so angry he’d wanted to go to the capital himself to strike from the shadows.

"But Uncle, you mustn't be muddled yourself. Think about the consequences before you act, and think about my aunt."

Her aunt was a literal tigress. It was said she had been fierce before marriage, and after marrying her uncle, she had become even fiercer. Don't let her uncle’s bravado in front of her fool you; in front of his wife, he was as timid as a rabbit.

Li Chun, too, felt troubled by his brother, whose temper grew with his age while his common sense remained stagnant. "In a few years, you'll be a grandfather, yet you’re still so reckless. Can’t you be more steady?"

Li Xia couldn't care about that now. Even though Yan Chaonian said she wasn't muddled, he still couldn't help but nag. "In any case, that Jiang fellow is no good. Don't you dare soften your heart. Think about how he drove you to the brink of destruction. For now, you shouldn't go to the workshop, lest that deadbeat pester you."

Yan Chaonian couldn't help but laugh. "Why would I soften my heart toward him? He isn't my son."

"Even if he were your son, it wouldn't matter," Li Chun interjected. "That child wasn't raised by your side, and he grew up listening to those malicious slanders against you. The misunderstandings are too deep. You’ve been away for years, and having been raised by his grandmother and stepmother, he knows nothing of right and wrong. He can only hate you more than before."

"I know you can't let go, thinking that if he hadn't been raised by his grandmother, he would have been close to you. But don't forget: firstly, there are no 'ifs,' and secondly, he is a scion of nobility; he won't want to acknowledge a mother who remarried."

"Don't be soft-hearted, even for his own good. He is still young and has no power to protect himself. You aren't strong enough to ensure he grows up smooth and worry-free. Let him believe his grandmother and stepmother are the best in the world; that is his good fortune."

Sometimes, being muddled is the greatest form of self-protection. Being too clear-headed only brings pain.

Yan Chaonian was momentarily lost in thought; she truly hadn't considered it from that perspective. Li Xia, not having fully grasped the logic, was still thinking about how to give that father-son duo an unforgettable lesson, continuing to praise Yuan Shen and disparage Jiang Wencheng.

Hearing him go on endlessly, Li Chun clenched his fists. His brother’s mouth was like the old lady’s foot-binding cloth—stinking, long, and never-ending.

He shifted his gaze to Yan Chaonian. "What are your plans?"

Li Xia finally shut his mouth, though he didn't forget to chime in, "Ah, yes, what are your plans?"

"To know one's enemy is to win. I intend to see what his true purpose is. But before that, I must toy with him. You two uncles must not reveal my identity. I will speak up when I need your help."

Yan Chaonian instructed them solemnly. "Uncle, the next time you see him, just treat him like a swindler. Don't let him suspect you."

Jiang Wencheng considered himself a scion of an Earl’s manor and looked down even on the Yan family, let alone the Li family; he had no interest once he heard they were merchants.

Though he said this, if Jiang Wencheng put in the effort to investigate, it wouldn't be difficult for him to find the truth.

"Rest assured, don't you trust your uncle to handle things?"

He promised readily, but in his heart, he was already plotting his next move. Li Chun understood his brother, but he wouldn't stop him. It was time to collect some interest and make that scoundrel suffer.

The group then turned to the arrangements for the Chao Jin Workshop. "We need to add a few more looms, and we don't have enough weavers. Yet, every household in the city is competing for them; it’s truly not easy."

"Also, the dye workshop says they can't replicate the colors we need; they’ve run into some trouble there."

"There is, however, a new batch of cotton that arrived, said to be from the North. We might want to go take a look..."