Tan Qingya’s expression remained unchanged as she said flatly, “Of course.”
Those simple two words were enough to infuriate the Old Madam. “You haven’t come home for ten days or half a month. What’s the difference between you returning to the country and not returning at all? Everyone’s laughing at me, calling me an empty-nester!”
At those words, Tan Qingya looked up and shot her a glance, mercilessly exposing the truth. “Who would dare laugh at you?”
The Old Madam had managed to turn the Tan Family into what it was today. There was no way she could be someone easy to bully. Even if she were, with the Tan Family backing her up, who would dare offend her?
“Me,” the Old Madam said solemnly. “I’m the one laughing at myself for being an empty-nester.”
Tan Qingya’s lips twitched. It was a good thing the two of them weren’t sitting down to eat with the rest of that big family, or Tan Yanxi would probably be so mad she’d make a voodoo doll of her.
“It seems Big Sis hasn’t been trying hard enough,” she said with a curved smile. “I’ll have to remind her another day to step it up and give you a few more grandchildren.”
“Qingya!” The Old Madam was furious.
Afraid she might actually give the Old Madam a heart attack or something, Tan Qingya kept her smile and soothed her. “Don’t worry. Once things settle down a bit, I’ll bring her home.”
Only then was the Old Madam satisfied.
The two had been married for quite some time now, yet they still hadn’t brought the spouse home for her to see. Though she said she respected the youngsters’ choices, deep down she was still greedy for it. She always worried that their marriage might really just be one of convenience.
“Li Zhenyu and the others have been spoiled rotten,” Tan Qingya said as she set down her chopsticks and sighed softly, giving the Old Madam a heads-up. “I’ll step in for Big Sis and discipline them during this time.”
The Old Madam paused mid-bite.
She hesitated as she looked at her youngest daughter.
Stepping in to discipline her eldest daughter’s kids… Never mind those delicate little juniors—even her eldest daughter’s temper would explode if she found out. The house would be in chaos for ages again.
“Don’t worry,” Tan Qingya said, raising an eyebrow. “I’ll keep it quiet so they don’t disturb you.”
With that reassurance, the Old Madam felt relieved.
But after thinking it over, she still packed her things and fled abroad. Her youngest daughter was set on straightening out the family discipline, and she couldn’t stop her—or even if she could, she had no choice but to dodge.
True to her word, Tan Qingya kept things quiet, so Li Zhenyu and the others didn’t dare bring the matter to the Old Madam.
The Tan Family juniors had been bullying Zhou Jianghao ever since they were kids. Now that Zhou Jianghao had suddenly become their little aunt, they were naturally terrified, afraid she’d whisper in Tan Qingya’s ear and get them all kicked out.
After days of anxious waiting, Tan Qingya’s punishment finally came—and strangely, it came as a relief.
This time, Tan Qingya showed no mercy.
Something as minor as docking their allowances was child’s play and wouldn’t serve as much of a deterrent, but she still froze all their cards anyway, letting them taste what it was like to be broke. On top of that, she terminated several collaborations with Li Ye’s company.
When Tan Yanxi learned that multiple deals had fallen through, she could no longer play dumb. She stormed in with the kids to confront Tan Qingya.
Tan Qingya sat leisurely sipping tea in the living room. When she saw them, she leaned back lazily in her chair without a word, just watching the furious Tan Yanxi with a faint, mocking smile.
“Qingya.” Seeing how relaxed she looked only fueled Tan Yanxi’s anger. “What’s going on with those collaborations?”
“Does Big Sis want to talk business with me at home?” Tan Qingya raised an eyebrow with a light smile, her tone full of feigned difficulty. “What then? For business matters, I’m President Tan, and you are…?”
Tan Yanxi’s expression darkened instantly. Without her status as Tan Qingya’s big sister, her company’s scale was nothing compared to Tan Qingya’s—it wouldn’t even get on the stage.
“Qingya.” She had no choice but to soften her tone. “It was just the kids’ little squabbles. You’re the elder—don’t take it to heart, okay?”
“When have I ever acted like an elder?” Tan Qingya’s eyes curved in a smile, as if she hadn’t caught the implication in Tan Yanxi’s words. She threw in some barbed sarcasm. “You’ve been an elder for so many more years than me—how come you don’t seem to do it any better?”
With that, she looked up. “Li Zhenyu and the others have been reaching way too far. As their mother, you should take full responsibility.”
“Since it’s the kids’ issue, why drag the company into it?”
Tan Yanxi was getting annoyed. She’d heard from the children that Zhou Jianghao had somehow cozied up to Tan Qingya. Though it made her uneasy, she hadn’t expected Tan Qingya to mix personal grudges with business.
“So what do you want?” Tan Qingya sighed. “They’re still just kids. How could I, as an elder, make things hard for the juniors? I can only settle it with their parents, right?”
“…”
Those words shut Tan Yanxi up. Tan Qingya waited impatiently for her to recover.
It only took a few seconds before Tan Yanxi calmed down. She no longer lost her reason at Tan Qingya’s words. Instead, she just stared at her coldly, with a defeated, give-up attitude. She cut straight to the point. “What exactly do you want?”
“Li Zhenyu, Li Yunyan, and the others move out of the Old Mansion and work at the place I arrange for at least a year. And they personally apologize to my wife.” Here, her gaze sharpened. “Tan Yanxi, we’re both old foxes here—don’t play dumb with me. The work assignment and apology aren’t something you can brush off with a formality.”
Tan Yanxi’s face looked awful.
Anyone with a brain could guess what moving out of the Old Mansion meant. She had many children, but Li Zhenyu resembled her the most and was her youngest. For various reasons, she and her husband doted on Li Zhenyu the most—which was exactly why they’d spoiled her into such an arrogant, willful brat.
If she moved out of the Old Mansion, her daughter would be ridiculed by everyone, and marriage prospects would be ruined.
No major family would risk offending Tan Qingya by marrying their daughter.
This was a lifelong matter.
She was getting on in years. Over the years, she’d fought hard for power, but after all the fights and exhaustion, she no longer had the energy to stir up trouble. She’d grown weary and started focusing on her children’s futures.
With the Tan Family’s backing, they could live comfortably for life. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have pushed the kids to curry favor with Tan Qingya all this time.
“Qingya.” She sighed. “Does it have to come to this? They’re your family too. You know their lives won’t be easy if they leave the Tan Family.”
“You used to dote on Zhenyu, didn’t you?”
“Out of all those kids, you doted on her the most. Are you really going to watch her get humiliated by everyone?”
“What are you talking about?” Tan Qingya looked baffled. “Out of all those kids, I doted on her the most? When did that happen? In your dreams?”
From childhood to now, she’d been fed up with this bunch of whiny, overly talkative juniors. Pulling the family card on her? That would only make her dig in her heels.
Tan Yanxi struggled for a moment. “…Before… you used to give her candy.”
Tan Qingya fell silent.
She honestly had no memory of that.
Too lazy to dwell on it, she said offhandedly, “Maybe it was candy I didn’t like, and I couldn’t find a trash can to throw it away.”
It couldn’t possibly be that she actually doted on Li Zhenyu.
She didn’t want to argue anymore and hardened her tone. “No room for discussion on this, and don’t you dare take it to the Old Madam. Otherwise, it won’t just be a few canceled projects.”
It was a blatant threat, and she didn’t bother hiding it.
Before Tan Yanxi could respond, she added coolly, “They messed with my wife—the lady of the Tan Family house. After bullying the Tan Family’s mistress for so many years, this punishment is already lenient.”
“If I let it slide lightly, won’t anyone be able to bully my wife? How will she establish her authority in the Tan Family then?”
Hearing that, Tan Yanxi’s expression shifted through a range of emotions. She finally understood Tan Qingya’s intent. After a long pause, her face ashen, she spoke again. “I understand.”
Zhou Jianghao’s background was too humble, and after years of bullying in the Tan Family, her sudden rise to mistress of the house would naturally make people look down on her.
Tan Qingya was using Li Zhenyu as the sacrificial chicken to warn the monkeys.
The Tan Family’s little drama wasn’t kept under wraps, and soon word spread through the circles that Tan Qingya was married. But no matter what the outsiders said, as one of the parties involved, the next time Tan Qingya saw Zhou Jianghao was over half a month later.
It was the hospital that contacted her.
In that half month, Zhou Jianghao had graduated smoothly and started work at City Hospital.
The oral surgery department wasn’t overly busy, but Zhou Jianghao was a workaholic. She’d spent the first half month cramming for exams nonstop, forgetting to eat or sleep. Now immersed in the job she loved, she buried herself in work every day, never complaining even when she fell ill—until she fainted at her post that day, and they realized she’d been feverish for days.
When Tan Qingya arrived, Zhou Jianghao was still out cold.
It had only been half a month, but the girl had lost a full circle of weight. Her already small face had even less meat on it now, her chin sharp and pointy. She looked utterly pitiful.
Tan Qingya’s brows furrowed.
This was her fault. She’d been too neglectful of Zhou Jianghao lately. Though they’d talked on the phone and messaged on WeChat during that time, she’d forgotten how stubborn this girl was.
With such a tenacious personality and no knack for speaking up, she just swallowed any grievances or hardships. How could anyone expect her to ask for help?
With that thought, Tan Qingya reached out and poked Zhou Jianghao’s cheek. “How are you even harder to care for than Little Beauty?”
She’d thought a delicate girl like this would be easy to pamper, that she could take good care of her. But not even long into the marriage, and she’d already let her waste away like this.
After a few pokes, her gaze shifted slightly. The skin under her fingertip felt so smooth and soft that she couldn’t resist pinching the girl’s cheek and rubbing it gently.
That finally woke her up.
Their eyes met—those beautiful eyes of hers—and Tan Qingya spoke without a hint of guilt. “Awake?”
With some reluctance, she withdrew her hand.
Her gaze involuntarily drifted over Zhou Jianghao’s lips. The other woman looked as stiff as a block of wood, but only Tan Qingya knew how soft and sweet those lips felt when kissed.
It had been so long since they’d last shared a kiss.
Realizing this, she touched her nose and hastily looked away.
“Why are you here?” Zhou Jianghao asked politely.
Hearing that formal address, Tan Qingya raised an eyebrow. She’d been playing hard to get, but it had backfired spectacularly—the other woman had flown right out of her grasp. Now they were back to square one, with Zhou Jianghao’s speech full of deferential “yous” again.
… Things had grown quite distant between them.
Suppressing her displeasure, Tan Qingya reached out in a gesture of intimacy. She brushed Zhou Jianghao’s hair behind her ear, then cupped the other woman’s feverish cheek with her palm, enveloping the burning skin. “Didn’t you say you would take good care of yourself?”
The gesture was far too intimate. Zhou Jianghao stiffened.
Yet Tan Qingya’s hand was comfortably cool against her scorching skin. It felt rather nice to be held like that. After holding back for a moment, she didn’t pull away. Suppressing the greedy longing in her heart, she replied stiffly, “It’s just a little cold.”
That answer clearly didn’t satisfy Tan Qingya. The hand that had been gently cradling her cheek suddenly tightened. Without ceremony, Tan Qingya pinched her face.
