Sun Miaoqing sat in the corner, trembling all over.
She was terrified, enraged, ashamed and indignant all at once.
She was afraid that if she really ended up in the Jingzhao Prefecture Office, she might never get out!
That treacherous woman, Guo Xinyue, would only push her forward as a scapegoat and definitely wouldn't care about her life or death...
She was ashamed because there were so many dignitaries here today, yet she had made such a huge fool of herself in public!
This incident would surely reach the ears of Young Master Guo, and he would think even less of her in the future...
She was enraged that that bitch, Li Wanming, dared to hit her!
Moreover, she had lashed out without a word. She was truly a rude shrew with no upbringing!
She wouldn't let today's incident go. In the future, she would surely get back everything with interest.
Li Wanming, just you wait!
Just as she was seething with anger, thinking about how to take revenge in the future, out of the blue, Xiao Jingnan sat down beside her.
"What do you want?" Sun Miaoqing asked warily.
"I have a deal here that Cousin Sun will surely be interested in," Xiao Jingnan said.
"A deal?" Sun Miaoqing didn't understand. "What deal could we possibly make?"
Xiao Jingnan said, "If Miss Sun can arrange for your younger brother to be adopted into the Li family, you'll be a great hero of the Sun family from now on!"
"Me?" Sun Miaoqing pointed at herself in disbelief.
Madam He had been trying to achieve this for years but hadn't succeeded. What ability did she have to make it happen?
But Xiao Jingnan was certain. "This matter can only be accomplished by Miss Sun, and it must be done today."
Sun Miaoqing sat there with her mouth half-open for a long time. Suddenly, she asked, "Why are you helping me? What's in it for you?"
"My request is simple. If Miss Sun becomes the elder sister of the head of the Li family in the future, you should give me 30% of the Li family's property."
He pretended to sigh. "I thought that if I sacrificed my official career, I could marry into the Li family. Who would have thought that not only did I fail to marry in, but my wife and I were also kicked out..."
"Li Rusong and his wife are really heartless. In order not to divide the family property, they could even turn a blind eye to their own daughter and watch her live a hard life!"
Sun Miaoqing suddenly realized. "So you didn't really want to marry Li Wanming? You just had your eye on the Li family's property?"
"Of course," Xiao Jingnan said. "Otherwise, why would I have schemed so hard?"
"What do you plan to do?"
Sun Miaoqing's eyes lit up. She was already 70% convinced.
It made sense. Who would be willing to marry a woman like Li Wanming?
It was said that she had been a hooligan in the Fujian area, and she had become even more vulgar after returning to the capital.
She was good-for-nothing, ruthless and heartless.
The bite on her arm today had almost taken a chunk of her flesh off!
Xiao Jingnan said, "All the clan elders of the Li family are here today. As long as Miss Sun can bring up the matter of the adoption in public, it will be a done deal. Even if Li Rusong and his wife want to object, it will be too late."
"Is it that simple?" Sun Miaoqing hesitated.
"Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be this simple. But since Princess Chengping and Minister Han are here today, Li Rusong won't dare to make a big fuss."
"In our dynasty, filial piety is highly valued. The two grandmothers are both elders of the Li family. Once they've made a decision, who would dare to object? Aren't they afraid of being charged with disobedience?"
Sun Miaoqing thought about it and found his words reasonable.
Filial piety was highly regarded in this dynasty, and it had always been Li's mother who ran the Li family. As long as this matter was brought up in public today, even if Li Rusong and Yuan Jinqiu wanted to object, they wouldn't be able to.
"I'll go and talk to Grandmother now."
She stood up happily and was about to run off to find Madam He.
Xiao Jingnan stopped her. "You can't tell your grandmother."
"Why?"
It was, of course, because your grandmother wasn't as stupid as you.
"Of course it's because if she does it, this matter won't be beneficial to you."
Xiao Jingnan coaxed her patiently. "Think about it. This is a major matter for the Sun family. Your grandmother has always wanted to accomplish it but has never succeeded. Why? Of course, it's because she lacks the ability."
"Your grandmother is too indecisive and slow.
"Over the years, she has always been submissive in front of the elder Mrs. Li. Even though she has managed to please Mrs. Li, so what? In the end, this matter still has to be approved by the Li family's clan elders before it can be considered valid, right?"
"Moreover, if your grandmother were to arrange this, it wouldn't showcase your abilities, would it?"
"Can't Miss Sun see? She only has Sun Bingwen in her heart. If she were to push you aside and marry you off to some old and ugly nobleman to secure Sun Bingwen's future, wouldn't you be helpless?"
"But if you manage to accomplish this on your own today, you'll be a great hero of the Sun family! From now on, everyone and everything in the Sun family will have to defer to your wishes. You'll be the undisputed young mistress of the Sun family!"
Sun Miaoqing looked at Sun Bingwen, who was sitting on Madam He's lap, offering a toast to Li's mother. The more she listened, the more reasonable it seemed.
Her grandmother had always only had her younger brother in her heart and didn't care about her, her granddaughter.
Although Madam He had always said that as long as Sun Bingwen was successfully adopted, she would be able to enjoy a good life in the future.
But who knew if she would marry her off to some crooked and ugly old nobleman to secure Sun Bingwen's future?
It would be better to seize this opportunity and fight for herself!
If this matter succeeded today, she would bring boundless wealth to the Sun family! From now on, everyone in the Sun family would have to look at her face and follow her lead.
Seeing that she had agreed, Xiao Jingnan whispered his plan to her.
A smug smile curled up on Sun Miaoqing's lips.
Brilliant!
Absolutely brilliant!
Who would have thought that this poor wretch had such a scheme?
However, he wanted 30% of the family property just by talking...
Did he think she was a fool?
Sun Miaoqing stood up. "Your idea is good. But 30% of the family property is out of the question! After this is done, I'll give you at most 20 taels of silver."
Xiao Jingnan was stunned. "But we had an agreement..."
Sun Miaoqing said contemptuously, "That's what you said. I never agreed!"
She lifted her foot and walked towards the main table.
Xiao Jingnan let out a soft sigh behind her. "A man's greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Miss Sun, your sufferings are in line with your lack of vision..."
Sun Miaoqing walked up to Madam He, picked up Sun Bingwen, and said that there were too many people in the room and the air was stuffy. She wanted to take her younger brother out for some fresh air.
Madam He saw that her goal of pleasing Li's mother with Sun Bingwen had been achieved. The little grandson's face was flushed, probably because of the alcohol. She felt a bit心疼 and told Sun Miaoqing not to take him too far and to be careful not to let him fall.
A little while later, the chubby Sun Bingwen came back.
He waddled his chubby arms and legs and walked unsteadily to the middle of the main hall. In his childish voice, he asked, "Grandmother, you said you'd let me change my surname to Li in the future. When will that be?"
The room suddenly fell silent. Everyone was shocked.
Madam He quickly got up from the table and tried to cover his mouth. "What are you talking nonsense about..."
Sun Bingwen said again, "How about changing it today?"