Grandma Jiang was the pillar of the family. Her sudden illness was no small matter. Jiang Jiaqi absolutely believed Bai Wenxi's words. Jiang Beihuai would surely take the opportunity to settle scores with some people in the family.
He had already sided with his nephew, but his remaining pride prevented him from giving in: "After all, blood is thicker than water. Your third aunt is still quite..."
"Uncle, I have to go and take care of Grandma." Bai Wenxi shook off Jiang Jiaqi's hand that was holding hers, tearing apart the false pretense of warmth. "Grandma has managed to turn this bad luck around. I don't think the aunts will be able to stir up much trouble in the group for much longer."
In the empty corridor, Jiang Jiaqi was left alone in deep thought.
The female housekeeper's eyes were swollen like peaches from crying. She stammered and pleaded when Bai Wenxi came in: "Young master, young mistress... I was thinking, could I stay and take care of the old mistress tonight?"
Jiang Beihuai didn't answer. Bai Wenxi declined understandably: "There will be professional nurses coming to take care of her tonight. Let's all go back. We'll talk about everything after Grandma wakes up."
There was still a lot to deal with tomorrow. Bai Wenxi mentally sorted out the complicated tasks and frowned ever so slightly. Jiang Beihuai immediately sensed the change in her mood and quietly hooked his index finger around his wife's little finger.
"Tired?" He managed to force a smile, but the exhaustion on his face was hard to hide. "Why don't you go back first and come back to keep Grandma company tomorrow?"
Bai Wenxi quickly realized: "You're going to stay here tonight?"
Jiang Beihuai nodded, threw his suit jacket in the chair, and slumped into the soft sofa. "I don't feel at ease leaving Grandma here alone. I'll feel better if I watch over her myself."
He ran his hands through his thick black hair, which got tangled between his fingers, looking like clumps of tangible troubles. Bai Wenxi couldn't bear to see him run around for days and then stay up all night. She quickly squeezed onto the sofa beside him: "Then I'm not going back either. I'll stay with you. It's a top - class VIP ward anyway. There's a partition where we can sleep."
The female housekeeper wanted to say something else, but Jiang Jiaqi, who had just come in, stopped her. "Aunt Xiuxiang, come back to the old mansion with me. I'll bring you here tomorrow."
He winked at the female housekeeper and said earnestly, "It was you and the old mistress in the room when this happened. It's only natural that the kids have some misgivings. We'll have to wait for the old mistress to wake up to sort some things out. Am I right?"
There was more to his words than met the ear. Bai Wenxi looked up at them.
The female housekeeper pouted and followed Jiang Jiaqi out with a mournful face. Bai Wenxi curiously turned her husband's face towards her and couldn't contain her curiosity. "What was that thing you were talking about in the corridor?"
She propped her chin in her hand. Under the light, her eyes were hazy with a glimmer in them. The dimples on Jiang Beihuai's face deepened, and his white teeth showed as he said, "How do you manage to pick out the key points? I only mentioned it in passing, and you still remember?"
Bai Wenxi had also learned to hug his arm and act coquettishly. "Tell me quickly..." She knew Jiang Beihuai well. He was cold on the outside but warm - hearted on the inside and would never keep things from her.
Jiang Beihuai had originally planned to find a suitable time to tell Wenxi this old story, but being pestered by her, he had no choice but to tell the truth. "I know why Grandma sent everyone around her away and talked to Aunt Xiuxiang alone."
"Why? Hurry up and tell me." Bai Wenxi was dying to know the hidden story. She couldn't imagine what kind of entanglement a maid could have with the Jiang family.
Jiang Beihuai got up to check Grandma Jiang's electrocardiogram, then poured two glasses of water. Bai Wenxi took one and drank it all in one gulp.
He sighed and told the story of his father's unrequited love for Su Xingfei again. Bai Wenxi was confused. "I know this. Didn't Uncle and Aunt tell me before?"
Jiang Beihuai walked to the window, looking at the bright stars in the sky, and slowly swallowed a mouthful of cold water. "Do you know that there was another silent admirer in this unrequited love?"
Bai Wenxi was stunned. She couldn't figure out the complicated love - hate relationships of the previous generation, and now there was another person?
"Aunt Xiuxiang has been in our family until now. On the one hand, she's really an old employee. On the other hand, Grandma feels guilty towards her daughter." Jiang Beihuai felt dizzy just thinking about his sinful father. "Her daughter was about the same age as my father. Your mom and her were interns at Jiang's Advertising Company at the same time back then."
Bai Wenxi suddenly realized. "She had a crush on your father?"
Jiang Beihuai looked away, sank into the sofa, and hugged his knees as he told the sad old story. "Your mom married into the Bai family. She confessed her love to my father but was rejected. My father spent his days carousing, and she just accompanied him silently..."
"I would never do that!" Bai Wenxi waved her fist angrily. "I would never be so submissive just to please a man! She was so stupid. Your father would never fall in love with her."
Jiang Beihuai was startled by her passionate declaration and his heart raced for a long time. "Do you still want to listen to me?"
Bai Wenxi laughed awkwardly, waved her hand, and covered her face in embarrassment. "Go on, go on."
"It was also fate playing tricks. My father got drunk in a bar, and Aunt Xiuxiang's daughter went to pick him up. Unfortunately, there was an accident on the way."
Jiang Beihuai paused. Since Grandma had told him this story, every time he mentioned this tragedy, his heart would ache as if it was being tightly squeezed.
"At that time, Aunt Xiuxiang was heart - broken, but my father promised to bury her daughter in a grand manner. From then on, he would turn over a new leaf and manage the family business well. That's why she stayed."
Bai Wenxi estimated the time, checked Grandma Jiang's condition again, and found that her vital signs were still stable. Then she sat down and continued chatting with peace of mind.
"No wonder! I knew Aunt Xiuxiang's daughter passed away early, but I didn't know there was such a story behind it. Your father really didn't do any good deeds!" She had no good impression of her father - in - law whom she had never met.
Jiang Beihuai bit his lower lip. "So that's why Grandma is so polite to Aunt Xiuxiang. After all, my father indirectly killed her daughter."
By this time, Bai Wenxi also understood why Grandma Jiang was so considerate and tolerant towards the female housekeeper. Just then, the hired nurse came in with a drip to change it.
The two of them stopped talking, simply freshened up, and went to sleep.
In the dead of night, the only sound in the ward was the "tick - tock" of the medical equipment.
Jiang Beihuai tossed and turned but couldn't fall asleep. He finally got up, put on his clothes, and paced to Grandma Jiang's bedside.
He looked at his unconscious grandma and gently tucked in the corner of the quilt for her. He didn't get involved with the female housekeeper because he knew that Grandma was no weakling.
If she could find a way to win over the female housekeeper and make her continue to serve the Jiang family whole - heartedly back then, she wouldn't fall ill because of her now. There must be other reasons.
Jiang Beihuai was silent, staring at the old woman lying on the hospital bed. Although Grandma was wealthy, time was the most fair thing.
As she got older, it still left the marks of the passing time on the face of this rich woman.
"Although it was you who brought me back," Jiang Beihuai leaned over and held Grandma Jiang's cold hand. "I still want to say sorry to you. Let the Jiang family, where people are at odds with each other despite putting on a show of harmony, just fade away on its own..."