173: Chapter 173: He Wants to Change the Will 173: Chapter 173: He Wants to Change the Will When the night is deep and quiet, there’s always a group of young night owls still “holding their positions.”
So, whenever there’s a major scoop online, they are always the first ones to feast on the news.
Jiang Qi had people release the news at two in the morning, as per Master’s request.
In less than half an hour, all the major gossip media apps were buzzing with activity.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Jiang Qi felt justified in lying down to rest.
…
The next morning, the vibrant dawn burst from the east, dispersing the faint morning fog.
The warm sunlight seeped through the sheer curtains, casting streaks of golden light on the bedroom floor and by the bed.
The weather was gradually getting colder, and a chill permeated the air, making Su He just want to laze in bed on days off.
Although she was awake at this moment, she wasn’t fully alert yet; her body was curled up in the bedding like a cooked shrimp, only her fuzzy head poking out just to breathe in some fresh air.
And the spot beside her had long been empty.
She admired the man’s perseverance; he would get up early for morning exercise almost every day, unless it was raining.
So, how could a man who loves sports and fitness possibly have any physical defects?
She lingered in bed a bit longer but eventually got up; she had promised Zhou Yixing she would help him analyze data, and she hadn’t started yet.
She had initially planned to look at it over the weekend.
After she freshened up and went downstairs, she heard the cheerful voice of the little guy and the barking of Paomian.
Ever since her son got a playmate, he had indeed become much more active than before, though he was already lively.
Su Yimo’s childish voice rang out, sweetly calling her, “Mommy~”
Paomian also turned his head and barked twice at her.
Su He glanced around the hall and didn’t see anyone else, “Why are you by yourself?”
Su Baobao replied, “Great-grandma left after breakfast, Dad seems to be in the study, and Auntie hasn’t woken up yet.”
Hearing this, Su He understood and said, “Okay, you keep playing with Paomian, Mommy will have some breakfast.”
Su Baobao obediently nodded, “Okay, Mommy.”
Just as she was halfway through her meal, the phone placed beside her rang.
It was Gu Yu.
She frowned slightly—Gu Yu wouldn’t usually call her, especially not early in the morning.
After hesitating for a second, she answered.
Gu Yu’s anxious voice came through, “Senior sister, come to the hospital quickly.
Master suddenly fainted; he is now in the emergency room.”
In fact, on the way to the hospital, the old man had regained consciousness and told him not to call Su He, but he had no choice now but to call her.
Su He wasn’t unaware of the noise on the other end of the phone; Old Mr.
Su had always been in good health, so there was no reason for him to just pass out.
She responded gravely, “I understand, which hospital are you at?”
Gu Yu replied, “At City First Hospital.”
“Alright, I’m on my way now; if anything happens in the meantime, give me a call.”
“I understand, senior sister.”
After hanging up, Su He immediately called Lan Yan, as she was closer to the hospital and could get there faster.
“Hello, boss, what happened?”
“You go to the hospital now, find Gu Yu.
Old Mr.
Su is in the emergency room, I’ll be there in about half an hour.”
Hearing this, Lan Yan quickly got up from the sofa, “Okay, got it, I’m heading back now.”
Jiang Yan happened to come out of the bedroom; he had been to the bedroom, saw no one, and then headed downstairs.
He looked at her with a somber face as she walked quickly out of the dining room.
As soon as Su He came out, she caught his eye.
He looked down at her and asked, “What happened?”
Su He briefly told him, “Something happened with Master; I need to go back to the hospital.”
Jiang Yan frowned, “I’ll drive you.”
Seeing her worried, he didn’t feel reassured letting her drive alone.
But Su He declined: “No need, I can go by myself.
You going out right now might draw too much attention, especially with our son still at home.”
She hadn’t forgotten that currently, the internet was ablaze with searches about his “severe illness.”
Ever since her identity was revealed, there must be people watching her in secret.
She also didn’t want to disrupt his plans.
She knew his concerns: “Don’t worry, I’m fine.
I value my life more than anyone, and I certainly don’t want my son to have a stepmother.”
Jiang Yan: “…”
That she could still joke like this meant his worries were needless.
“Mommy, where are you going?” Su Baobao just happened to walk over.
Su He looked down at her son: “Mommy has some private matters to handle, you’ll stay home with daddy today.”
Jiang Yan slightly bent down to pick up the little guy, “Didn’t you say last night that today you were going to give Paomian a bath?
Daddy will help you bathe Paomian later.”
After hearing this, Su Baobao nodded, “Okay~”
–
Half an hour later, at the City First Hospital.
As soon as Su He stepped out of the elevator, she heard the noisy clamor outside the emergency room.
She walked over with furrowed brows.
Gu Yu, with his keen eyes, spotted her as soon as she appeared.
“Sister, sister is here.”
He ran past the members of the Ouyang Family to Su He.
“Sister, you’ve finally arrived.”
“How’s the old master doing?”
“He’s still in the emergency room, hasn’t come out yet.” Gu Yu glanced at the people from the Ouyang Family, then added, “They all think the master won’t make it, so they are here to divide the inheritance.”
There are actually two factions in the Ouyang Family, one is from the first wife’s eldest son, the other is from the second wife.
Because Ouyang Jiuzhang had two wives, when the first wife passed away, he was only thirty-seven years old, so he remarried, this time to his current divorced wife Luo Xiuzhu.
The eldest son and the second son appear amicable on the surface, but in reality, they are incompatible like fire and water.
The amicability is because the old master dislikes infighting and gossipers within the Ouyang Family.
Secondly, it is to curry favor with the old master since the entirety of the Ouyang Family’s assets are still in his hands.
Luo Xiuzhu was slightly stunned when she saw Su He.
Although knowing that she was married, and to a wealthy family no less, she still remained wary of her.
She was not unaware of how much the old man valued Su He as his disciple, and if by any chance, that old man handed over the Ouyang Family to this woman, then she and her son would have nothing.
“What are you doing here?”
Su He ignored her, just as Lan Yan, dressed in a white coat, came out from the emergency room.
Seeing her, Lan Yan walked straight towards her and openly said: “Director Su, Mr.
Ouyang wishes to see you.”
When the people from the Ouyang Family heard that the old man wanted to see Su He, everyone’s heart skipped a beat.
Luo Xiuzhu’s family reacted first, with the second son of the Ouyang Family directly pointing at Lan Yan, and said fiercely: “Are you mistaken?
She is not one of our Ouyang Family, how could my dad only want to see her by herself?”
“Exactly, how could my grandpa not see his own family and only see this outsider?”
“I think you are all in this together!”
One of the younger men stepped forward, his tone equally unpleasant.
Su He coldly glanced at him, it was the same man she had slapped the day before.
The few of them talked and stood in front of Su He, obviously trying to prevent her from going in.
Su He crossed her arms, swept her cold eyes over the people in front of her, and smirked coldly: “Brains are a good thing, I hope you make good use of them.
Surely you didn’t just grow a head for the sake of being tall?”
“Why the master isn’t seeing you, don’t you have an inkling?
Some things, if you want to bring them up in public and not feel ashamed, then I’ll speak freely.”
Her expression was indifferent, her tone neither warm nor fiery, but her words were filled with oppression and threat.
“Or perhaps, you’d like another visit to the police station.”
Luo Xiuzhu, wrinkling her face full of wrinkles, said solemnly, “Young lady, are you threatening me?”
Su He chuckled lightly: “It seems the Old Madam is still quite lucid.”
On the other side, the eldest of the Ouyang Family and his family did not participate and just stood quietly to the side.
The eldest son’s wife suddenly pulled her husband Ouyang Ming’s arm and whispered, “Husband, don’t you think the old master’s female disciple looks familiar?”
Due to his wife’s comment, Ouyang Ming took a closer look at Su He.
She was indeed beautiful, but he did not recognize her.
“Familiar?
Do you know her?”
Immediately after, the eldest son’s wife took out her phone and started looking for a photo.
She usually enjoyed browsing the internet and reading gossip to pass the time at home.
Recently, she had come across Su He herself; she was sure she hadn’t mistaken her.
Soon, she found the photo taken of Su He and Zhou Yixing having dinner together.
“Look, look, isn’t this her?” the eldest son’s wife excitedly brought her phone closer to Ouyang Ming’s eyes.
“She is the Young Madam of the Jiang Family.”
Ouyang Ming glanced at the photo, then looked up at Su He, and asked, “Which Jiang Family?”
The eldest son’s wife said in a scolding whisper, “Nonsense, of course, it’s the Jiang Family of Yue City’s Jiang Group.”
Ouyang Ming was slightly stunned, then heard his wife say, “But I saw on the internet this morning that the chairman of Jiang Group, who is her husband, is seriously ill and in the hospital right now.
Her husband is seriously ill, and she still has time to meddle in our family’s affairs.
This is very suspicious, don’t you think the old master might actually give all his estate to this woman?”
The wife was slightly suspicious too.
Although they had never dealt with Su He before, they knew very well that the old family head valued this disciple highly.
Even more than his own grandchildren.
People who didn’t know might think Su He was his biological granddaughter.
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Ming’s eyebrows furrowed, then he said, “If she really is the Young Madam of the Jiang Family, she probably wouldn’t care about the Ouyang Family’s small fortune, right?”
Chen Chunmei said, “Are you silly?
Even ant meat is still meat.
Although the Ouyang Family’s wealth is nothing compared to the Jiang Family’s, it’s still quite a significant fortune.
Who would think they have too much money?”
It seemed what she said made some sense.
Chen Chunmei asked worriedly, “Husband, if that’s true, what should we do?”
Ouyang Ming thought for a moment, then calmly replied, “It seems that the second brother’s family has had some conflicts with her, heard they even went to the police station yesterday, probably because of her.
Let’s not rush and just observe how things unfold.
The Old Madam is more anxious than us about the old master’s wealth.”
Chen Chunmei nodded upon hearing this, seeming to agree.
“…”
Su He had no intention of causing any conflicts in the hospital, after all, this was a hospital.
She lifted her eyelids slightly; her voice was cool and her tone languid, “Old Madam, you are getting on in years, better to save face for yourself and your family.
Making trouble here, on a larger scale, won’t benefit you; instead, it is innocuous to me.”
Implying that, in the end, it would not be her that would suffer.
Then she seemed to think of something and added, “Also, don’t forget, ‘the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.'”
After saying this, she glanced unintentionally at Ouyang Ming and his family standing not far from them.
Luo Xiuzhu was slightly taken aback; she was not oblivious to the implication in Su He’s words.
The eldest son’s family was quiet and unobtrusive—could it be that they were hoping to benefit as the bystanders?
With Su He’s subtle reminder, it seemed that was indeed the case.
Watching Luo Xiuzhu tangled in thought, Su He’s eyes, clear as water, flashed a hint of mockery.
She no longer paid attention to them and walked past them quickly into the resuscitation room.
The second son’s family tried to stop her but was immediately blocked by Lan Yan and Gu Yu.
Ouyang Guang turned back to look at the Old Madam, frowning, “Mom, are you really going to let her in?
What if my dad changes the will?”
The face of Luo Xiuzhu, weathered by years, looked extremely grave now, “Shut up, if you’re not letting her in, what else do you want to do?”
After speaking, she looked towards the eldest son’s family; it seemed she had underestimated the eldest son’s composure, which surprised her.
“Your brother hasn’t said anything, so stop meddling.”
Ouyang Guang listened to his mother’s abrupt and somewhat biased remark towards the eldest family, which was very strange.
Gu Yu, standing to the side, could not stand to listen anymore, this family was always talking about wills and wills…
He simply stood far away to spare his ears.
In the room of the emergency, the old master had already woken up.
In fact, he had been awake for a while, and the doctors hadn’t done any resuscitation; his unconsciousness was real, but it was induced by their agitation, and he was alright after calming down.
His body was not in any serious trouble.
He had previously instructed Gu Yu not to disturb Su He, but the youngster still called her.
When he saw Lan Yan appear, he knew she must have found out.
The doctor in the resuscitation room recognized Su He and briefly explained the old master’s condition to her before leaving.
Su He pulled up a chair, sat down beside him, and said, “The doctor said your blood pressure is a bit high.
You should just rest well in the hospital for the next couple of days and stop thinking about those annoying matters.”
Hearing this, the stern face of Ouyang Jiuzhang softened with affection.
Usually, he maintained an expressionless demeanor, and Su He had long gotten used to it.
Ouyang Jiuzhang let out a deep sigh and said, “The Ouyang Family has been known as sculptors for generations, but by my time, things have changed.
None of my sons or grandsons want to carry on the craft; they only think about inheriting the property.”
Su He said to him, “Don’t you still have me and Gu Yu?”
Ouyang Jiuzhang smiled affectionately upon hearing this and said, “I’m not worried about you, but that boy Gu Yu is a bit challenging to teach.”
“Then take it slow.
You have plenty of time to teach him.
If a steel bar can be ground into a needle, then naturally Gu Yu can too.”
“You know just what to say to placate me.
How great it would be if you were a child of the Ouyang Family.”
Ouyang Jiuzhang discovered her talent when she was only fifteen, at that time she followed Old Mr.
Su to his antique shop in Beijing.
While he and her grandfather were chatting, she went to his carving studio and picked up a piece of redwood, carving a heart.
The shape of the heart, as well as the patterns and fine blood vessels on it, were intricately carved and resembled the real thing.
Moreover, she completed it in less than two hours, a pace not everyone can achieve—at least he had never encountered such a person.
He was both shocked and pleasantly surprised, immediately wanting to take her as his disciple.
Su He was also interested in carving at the time, so she agreed to become his disciple.
Su Yiguo never interfered with her decisions; whatever she liked, everyone in the Su Family supported.
Later on, Ouyang Jiuzhang found that she truly possessed talent; she learned many techniques after just being taught once.
She also had the ability to create and design and had strong skills in drawing.
Normally, when beginners start carving, they design a draft sketch and then carve according to the final draft.
This is a basic skill for any sculptor.
However, she skipped this step.
Everything she carved was done directly as if the draft design was already in her mind.
But ultimately, her ambitions did not lie in carving; after all, the Su Family had a medical lineage, and her inheriting Old Mr.
Su’s mantle was also right, so he never strictly required her to stay in the world of carving forever, just so long that she did not abandon this craft.
Due to the development of technology, there are now a large number of machine-carved products, but machine carving can never replace hand carving.
Everything has spirit, and the spirit of carving works is always endowed by humans.
Thus, hand-carved works are those with spirit, which is also the craftsmanship inherited by the ancestors, and cannot be lost.
He no longer had hopes for anyone from the Ouyang Family.
Half an hour later, Su He came out.
Upon her emergence, Luo Xiuzhu and her family surrounded her, bombarding her with questions.
All they were concerned about was whether they could get the Ouyang Family’s property.
She didn’t bother to respond, merely saying indifferently, “I’m afraid you all might be disappointed.
Master is in very good health; he needs rest in these few days.
You all should go back if there’s nothing else.”
She didn’t plan to let them see him, and moreover, the old master had said that he didn’t want to see any person from the Ouyang Family.
“What do you mean by this?” Ouyang Guang sensed something off in her words and immediately questioned sharply, “Are you trying to restrict my dad and prevent us from seeing him?
I think you have ulterior motives, yet you claim you’re not interested in our family’s money.
I think you just want to take over our Ouyang Family’s wealth!”
Su He coolly subdued the chill in her eyes.
She remembered the old master’s words just now; inside, the old master indeed mentioned a will.
Originally, he might have considered leaving them some money for the family’s sake, but after this morning’s incident at Yuling Pavilion where they demanded him to give up several antique shops of the Ouyang Family, his heart went cold.
Therefore, Ouyang Jiuzhang entrusted her with a task—he wanted to amend his will…
Su He looked at him, her lips curling into a cold smile.
“Money indeed is a good thing; no one would ever complain about having too much.
If someone offers me money, I would certainly accept it with a clear conscience; after all, no one is a fool.”
“…”
After speaking, she turned and left.
Lan Yan and Gu Yu immediately followed her.
Leaving them staring in confusion.
“Mom, what does she mean by that?”
“Is my dad really going to give all the Ouyang Family’s money to this unrelated woman?”
…
Once the three were inside the elevator, Su He then said, “Gu Yu, you stay here in the hospital these few days to take care of the old master, and don’t let the Ouyang Family disturb him.”
Gu Yu responded after listening, “Okay, I got it, senior sister.”
Then, Su He said, “Lan Yan, you go handle the procedure to transfer the old master to our department’s VIP ward, and coordinate with the head nurse.”
“Sure, boss.”
After arranging everything, Su He left the hospital.
She went to a law firm.
Because her mind was preoccupied, she didn’t notice a car following her since leaving the hospital.