NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 10
The old An family mansion was not located in Qingcheng City.
It was situated in a small town on the outskirts of Qingcheng City. The old An family mansion alone occupied half of the town's main street.
With the development of cities and towns, many had lost their original appearance, but the An family residence here preserved all the antique buildings.
At first, developers wanted to buy the old An mansion, but of course the price could not be agreed upon, so this place became a "feng shui treasure land." The Urban Planning Bureau realized there was no way to develop it, so they came up with the clever idea to turn it into a tourist attraction, which also attracted many visitors. The front gate of the An family mansion often appeared in various internet celebrities' Weibo posts, gradually becoming a hot photo spot.
An Nuan and Li YaJu walked through the vermilion gate of the An family mansion.
Right in front was a large courtyard. After crossing the courtyard there was an artificial hillside stream, followed closely by a lotus leaf pond. Passing over a small green bridge and walking through several deep alleys, one would finally see upon entering a dignified, lofty main hall with intricate carved architectural details, fully demonstrating its magnificent grandeur.
At this moment, the An family's only elder, Wen QingCui, was sitting in the very center of the main hall, with an extremely unhappy expression on her face.
Sitting on both sides were An YanKun's family.
Originally An YanKun had his own villa in the city, but in order to show his filial piety, in recent years he had moved his whole family back to live in the old An family mansion, putting on an act of dutiful son and loving mother.
An Nuan looked around discreetly, and took the initiative to politely call out, "Grandmother."
"I only called for you, what is she doing coming along!" Wen QingCui didn't even give An Nuan a kind look. She started right in berating her, "What, are you afraid I will bully you, this old woman!"
"Mother-in-law misunderstands, I came because I heard you summoned An Nuan to the mansion, and I was thinking it's been a long time since I've seen you, so I wanted to come see you." Li YaJu quickly explained.
"Sister-in-law, your words sound nice, but I don't see you bringing any gifts at all. Your sincerity is really something!" Liu Feng said sarcastically, with a very contemptuous expression.
An Nuan turned her head to look at Liu Feng.
Previously when she had helped teach An Xiao a lesson, Liu Feng had still gone along with things, but now seeing a chance to gain favor before the mother-in-law, her face instantly changed.
"Who said we didn't bring grandmother any gifts?" An Nuan retorted.
"What gifts did you bring? Take them out! Let's see!" Liu Feng pressed in a overbearing manner.
Li YaJu felt somewhat awkward.
In her hurry, she really hadn't thought much before coming over.
Now being questioned like this, she inevitably lost a bit of face.
She gave An Nuan a look signaling her to endure things.
Every time they encountered her mother-in-law's family, her own mother always endured humiliations silently.
But right at the moment An Nuan was about to speak, Wen QingCui directly said, "Talking big about gifts you don't even have!"
An Nuan pursed her lips for a moment, then bluntly said, "Grandmother, did you call me back because you have something to discuss? If there's nothing, then I'll be going back now, wouldn't want to be a bother to grandmother!"
She pulled her mother, preparing to leave.
"Stay right there!" Wen QingCui bellowed angrily, "Did I tell you to leave?! So disrespectful, as expected she was raised by a poor family, doesn't even have basic manners!"
Obviously meant as an insult to Li YaJu's lowly birth.
Li YaJu listened on, and while she truly felt aggrieved, for many years now she had seen her own mother return from the An family mansion with red-rimmed eyes, but in order not to make things difficult for her father, and to not disrupt the peace at home, she endured everything silently.
But in reality, the result of her forbearance did not gain any benefits at all. On the contrary, it allowed Wen QingCui's disparagement and ridicule towards her mother to become more and more excessive, more and more presumptuous!
An Nuan's expression clearly underwent a drastic change.
Wen QingCui continued berating, "What, just because you inherited the An family property, now even I am beneath your notice!"
"Grandmother, don't forget, your surname is Wen." An Nuan retorted mercilessly, "This An family property, you can't exactly claim as your own!"
"You!" Wen QingCui stared wide-eyed until she was speechless, face flushed red with anger. She never expected her usually timid granddaughter to directly humiliate her to her face like this today.
"Grandfather's will clearly stipulates the inheritance of the An family property. If grandmother is dissatisfied... why don't you go complain to grandfather about it." An Nuan gave a cold mocking laugh!
"Insolence!" At this point An YanKun also became enraged. "An Nuan, you are utterly unfilial. To actually curse your grandmother like this!"
"Uncle, I just spoke casually. What are you imagining?" An Nuan put on an innocent face, "Could it be uncle was the one having such thoughts, that's why you'd think this way?!"
"Talking nonsense!" An YanKun's face turned green.
An Nuan gave a cold chuckle, "I didn't come back today to argue or be bullied by you all either. Of course I also didn't come to let you bully me. I came back only because grandmother said she had something to discuss. If grandmother just wants to scold me, sorry, I'll have to decline!"
Her icy words made one's heart tremble.
It truly felt like An Nuan had suddenly become a different person.
She had become eloquent and full of imposing manner.
She directly met Wen QingCui's gaze without any fear.
This left the Li YaJu beside her so shocked she couldn't even speak.
The incident from a few days ago when An Nuan had slapped An Xiao already made her look at her daughter in a new light. But seeing how she could speak to Wen QingCui in such a overbearing manner today really made her doubt if this was still her daughter.
But she had to admit, facing the many years of oppression from Wen QingCui, she had never felt so gratified.
In that moment, she chose to stay silent no matter what.
She decided to let her daughter take the lead.
At worst...
At worst they would just cut ties completely with these people from the An family mansion.
She now saw clearly, these people had never once treated them as family. No matter how she tried to curry favor it was useless.
"You, you, you..." Wen QingCui was rendered speechless by An Nuan's rebuttal. She shouted angrily, "Get out of here!"
An Nuan's eyes flashed coldly, "Grandmother, I feel I should remind you - the deed to this An family mansion is in my father's name. That is to say, the place you live is our home. Do you think it's appropriate for you to tell us to get out?"
"An Nuan!"
"Of course, I don't mean grandmother should get out. I'm just advising grandmother, don't be so shameless using other people's things. It's very unbecoming." An Nuan said with extreme contempt.
She left Wen QingCui without an ounce of dignity.
"Absurd, An Nuan you've completely lost your mind!" Wen QingCui jabbed her finger at An Nuan's nose as she cursed loudly. She had never been treated like this before, and was clearly completely unable to accept it.
"I was just stating facts. Please point out where I offended grandmother, so I can avoid making the same mistake again. As for grandmother, considering your age, you should understand many matters clearly. Please don't behave in an undignified elder bullying the young manner, otherwise if you truly upset everyone, they may turn against you. That wouldn't be pleasant for anyone."
An Nuan's righteous words left Wen QingCui speechless.