229: Chapter 229 All Retreats Cut Off 229: Chapter 229 All Retreats Cut Off Third day morning.
“Boss, the information you asked me to prepare is all ready.”
Bai Yang had received a last-minute order from Su He two days ago to gather dirt on two ladies.
Little did he expect the sheer abundance and spectacular nature of the scandals involving these two wealthy young ladies.
If this whole stack of scandalous information were to be released, these two would never be able to mingle in any circles again.
Upon hearing this, Su He responded with a “Hmm” and said, “Release it.”
Bai Yang obeyed, “Alright, I’ll have someone post it right away.”
…
By noon that day, the entire entertainment app’s webpage was swamped with people, causing it to crash.
The subjects of the online gawking were one, a popular young actress familiar to everyone in the entertainment circle, and another, though not well known to many, still managed to have her personal information dug up by netizens within half an hour of her scandals being exposed.
Tang Sirou who was at the Tang Family home and An Xueyin who was at the Lin Family’s saw it all an hour after things started blowing up.
It was only because people in the industry were discussing it in group chats that they found out.
Tang Sirou had always been seen by fans as an actress with talent, purity, gentleness, elegance, and understanding.
But who would have thought that she was actually such a diva behind the scenes, with a temperamental nature.
There were videos and recordings online of her scolding her assistant, and even videos of her acting capriciously with brand representatives.
More importantly, she had claimed at the start of her career that she would never use stunt doubles in filming, yet the whistleblower posted lots of evidence showing that she did use doubles.
Sometimes for basic scenes simply because she couldn’t wake up early enough to reach the filming location.
This alone drastically ruined Tang Sirou’s image in her fans’ eyes, instantly turning fans into haters.
This was a nightmare and an unbelievable revelation for many fans as Tang Sirou’s dirt had never been exposed before.
The same was true for An Xueyin; her master’s thesis was ghostwritten.
During her university days, she hardly ever attended classes, constantly absent, but the university turned a blind eye due to her status and let her graduate nonetheless.
What shocked everyone even more was how promiscuous she was, having relations with several men simultaneously, evidenced by real and explicit photos and videos.
A flood of comments from netizens followed:
“Wow, this gossip is so juicy!”
“The daughters of wealthy families are indeed unrestrained, now I see…”
“My God, this person is supposed to be medical graduate, isn’t she harming people by coming out to practice?”
“People like her should be boycotted, ordinary people’s lives matter too, how irresponsible of the university!”
“Money makes the world go round, as long as the money is right, why would the school care?”
“I used to really like Miss Tang, thought she was quite inspirational, leaving behind the life of a wealthy heiress to act in films without relying on her family’s resources.
I even saw her at some events where she proactively greeted us fans and even took photos together, so gentle.
Never would I have imagined this is what she is like behind the scenes.
It’s utterly disillusioning, and from this moment on, I’m turning from fan to hater.”
“…”
Tang Sirou grew increasingly panicked as she read through the comments beneath her Weibo post.
If this wasn’t stopped, her acting career in the entertainment industry was over.
She immediately called her agent.
However, the agent told her, “Sirou, there’s nothing the company can do about this now.
Also, the company has just informed me that they want to terminate our contract.”
After she was terminated by Jiang Media, she had signed with another entertainment company.
Though not as influential as Jiang Media, it was still a decent company.
Now that this company also brought up termination, it was like cutting off her way out.
Agent was also helpless: “Sirou, have you offended someone recently?”
Because of the scandals leaked online, she initially spent a large sum of money to settle them.
She even had someone erase all traces, but who could have imagined that someone would dig them out again, which just shows how powerful the person behind the leaks is.
Offended whom?
Tang Sirou almost didn’t need to think before Su He’s name came to mind.
On the other side.
An Xueyin, seeing the information about herself online, was completely devastated.
Once this information goes public, she will become a laughingstock in this circle and a topic of conversation after meals.
And Su He’s move undoubtedly cut off her retreat.
—
In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Day.
Early in the morning, Su He and Jiang Yan brought Su Yimo back to the Jiang Family Mansion.
Jiang Yan went to the study as soon as he arrived at the mansion.
Being close to the New Year, he was indeed very busy.
The mother and son then accompanied the Old Madam to the back garden.
Until the afternoon, Jiang You and Jiang Nanche also returned.
As well as Jiang Zhongqian and his wife who hurried back from abroad, they are Jiang Nanche’s parents and the Old Madam’s second son.
Jiang Zhongqian and his wife are both artists, holding exhibitions all over the country, usually so busy that they are hardly seen, and even their only son was raised freely; from the time Jiang Nanche could crawl, the couple entrusted him to the care of Jiang Family elders.
As such, Jiang Nanche and Jiang You can be said to have grown up together.
And for the couple, it’s only during New Year or other significant days that they manage to come back.
So, when the Old Madam saw them, she was somewhat surprised and said, “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t come back?”
Nan Jia, the mother of Jiang Nanche, a lady born into a scholarly family in South China, elegant, gentle as jade, well-educated, truly a woman steeped in poetry.
She was dressed in simple but elegant attire, also gentle.
She stepped forward and took the Old Madam’s hand, smiling, “Mom, Zhongqian and I thought to give you a surprise.
We’ve come back to spend New Year’s Day with you, are you happy?”
Among the three daughters-in-law, only the second son’s wife was the most empathetic, although they hardly met throughout the year, she would often call, instructing this and that.
She also knew that Nan Jia was different from them, a typical workaholic.
“Second Uncle, Second Aunt,” Su He greeted the two.
In fact, she hadn’t seen them much, especially after she married Jiang Yan, she rarely came back, just the occasional phone call to the Old Madam.
However, the couple knew her very well, as the Old Madam often praised Su He to them, and even Jiang Nanche, who idolized Su He since childhood.
Nan Jia looked at her, speaking gently and kindly, “By the way, Susu, I brought gifts for you and Xixi, I asked the servants to put them in your room.
We didn’t know about Xixi’s situation until Mom told us; to think you and Ah Yan’s child is almost four years old.
We’ve missed so much; this time when we came back, your Second Uncle and I picked out some small gifts for Xixi.”
Su He grinned, “Then on behalf of Xixi, thank you, Second Aunt, for going to the trouble.”
“Dear child, why say such things?
Xixi is our Jiang family’s first great-grandchild; we must spoil her,” Nan Jia said.
All the complexities, Nan Jia didn’t understand and didn’t ask why Su He only brought the child back after four years.
…
It’s seven in the evening.
The night has fallen and the lights just came on.
Outside the gate of the Jiang Family Mansion, Jiang Zhongzhen and his family of five stand.
Without the Old Madam’s permission, they cannot step inside the mansion.
The bodyguards outside also dare not let them in privately.
“Sir, it’s not that I don’t want to let you in, but without the Old Madam’s approval, I really can’t do anything,” said the bodyguard outside.
Cheng Wan’s face looked extremely unpleasant as she sharply remarked, “I told you not to come if it was not allowed, yet you insisted.
Now look, the Old Madam doesn’t even want to see us!
Isn’t this humiliating yourself?
You say you want to come here to be humiliated, and you even drag us along.
I think you’ve been staying at home for too long, your brain has gone dull!”
Jiang Yue stood idly by, speaking impatiently, “Yeah, Dad, let’s just go back.
Grandma probably really doesn’t want to see us.
It’s useless to wait around here, you don’t mind losing face but we do.”
After speaking, he turned around, ready to leave.
The next second, Jiang Zhongzhen roared, “Stop!”
Jiang Zhongzhen looked at his two sons, getting increasingly angry the more he looked.
How could he have fathered such disappointing sons?
Seeing him angry, everyone dared not say a word.
Jiang Zhongzhen, his face turning blue with rage, pointed at them and said bitterly, “Look at yourselves.
If you had even half the capability of Jiang Yan, would you be unable to even enter the gate of the mansion?
And yet here you are, complaining to me!”
“Especially you.” He glared at Cheng Wan, “Would it kill you to sweet-talk the Old Madam once in a while?
And if you talk less harshly and complain less, would you lose a limb or suffocate?
The Old Madam is still my mother.
Since you entered the Jiang Family, was there even one day you showed her respect?
Every time you came to the mansion, you had that sullen face, as if someone owed you millions!”
Cheng Wan stood rooted to the spot, dumbstruck.
Although Jiang Zhongzhen had criticized her chattering before, he had never spoken to her like he did today.
“Isn’t that big brother and sister-in-law?”
At this moment, a gentle voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
“Why are you all standing outside?”
Nan Jia had just gone to fetch something from the car and was about to go back when she heard the commotion outside the gate and came out.
The guards at the gate looked at Nan Jia and all called out in unison, “Second Madam.”
Cheng Wan squinted slightly at the approaching Nan Jia, “Nan Jia?”
When did she come back?
The group looked at each other through an iron gate.
Nan Jia glanced at the gatekeeper beside her and asked, “Why aren’t the gates open?”
The gatekeeper, looking embarrassed, explained: “Second Madam, the Old Madam has blacklisted the sir’s family.
Without the Old Madam’s permission, they are not allowed to step inside.”
Nan Jia was slightly stunned, she really did not know about this.
It was indeed an awkward situation.
Had she known earlier, she would definitely not have curiously walked over.
Now, whether she leaves or stays is problematic.
Nan Jia and Cheng Wan were peers, but whether it was in terms of demeanor or carriage, Nan Jia overshadowed her completely.
Even when they were younger, Jiang Zhongzhen pursued Nan Jia, who ultimately rejected him.
Just as Nan Jia was unsure what to say, Su He appeared.
Su He came out to look for Nan Jia, as it was time for dinner and she hadn’t returned, so she came out to find her.
She didn’t expect that the Jiang Family uncle and his family would be standing outside.
She hadn’t heard any of the servants report that they had come.
However, she was aware of the rules set by Grandma.
Thus, Su He didn’t say much, but turned to Nan Jia and said, “Second Aunt, dinner is ready.
Second Uncle asked me to call you.”
Seeing her blatantly ignore the big brother’s family, Nan Jia blinked but still nodded, “Oh, alright.”
Just as the two were about to turn away, Cheng Wan shouted, “Su He, are you so oblivious to others?
Also, was it you who asked the Old Madam to bar us from entering?
Do you really think you run the Jiang Family?
You are nothing but a woman married into Jiang Family from outside; what right do you have to meddle in Jiang Family’s affairs?”
Her tone was too filled with dissatisfaction and sarcasm, shrill and uncomfortable to listen to.
Just as Nan Jia was about to say something, Su He held her hand.
Su He knew Cheng Wan disliked her and had always looked down on her.
It was simply because Su He had often talked back to her and had caused her son and husband to lose face during the shareholders’ meeting.
Su He didn’t get angry.
She tugged the corner of her mouth, looking calmly at her and said, “I ignore people selectively.
Also, since you already mentioned I am an outsider, what about you?
You are a Cheng, what right do you have to speak here?”
“Even if it was I who asked Grandma to keep you out, it’s because I have the ability to do so.
If you had the ability, you’d make Grandma let you in.
Why waste your time arguing with someone younger?”
Su He’s words were slow and indifferent, but carried a tone of pride, leaving Cheng Wan momentarily speechless.
After speaking, Su He suddenly remembered something.
She looked at Cheng Wan, whose face was red with anger and without a way out, and then continued, “Oh right, Auntie, you were right about one thing – a large part of the Jiang Family affairs, I indeed do have a say.
Like your son’s position in the Jiang Media, do you believe I can have him removed immediately?”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
Cheng Wan pointed at her, glaring fiercely.
Unintimidated, Su He replied, “Try me and you’ll see if I dare!”
Her tone was calm, yet it sent chills down the spine.
Cheng Wan, encountering Su He’s cold eyes, felt her arrogance halve instantly.
Nan Jia stared at Su He, momentarily lost in thought, thinking how imposing her niece-in-law appeared.
She had met many people, all sorts and kinds, but Su He was different.
Su He’s character was just the type she admired.
…
Ten minutes later.
In the living room of the Jiang Family Mansion.
“Mom, I’m sorry, it was my son’s immaturity that disappointed you,”
Jiang Zhongzhen sincerely said to the Old Madam sitting at the head of the room.
Although Cheng Wan was reluctant, she still followed up with, “Sorry, Mom, we indeed handled things wrongly.”
The Old Madam didn’t even glance at her, knowing exactly how sincere she was when she said “sorry”.
The Old Madam’s expression was grim and indifferent as she stated, “The person who you should be apologizing to isn’t this old woman, but Ah Yan.”
“…”