Chapter 40: The He Family’s Ancestral Tradition of Falling for Their Wives

Lunch had already been set downstairs. In front of the long table, He Zhiyi turned her head upon hearing footsteps, her small face wrinkling.

Judging by the missing lipstick on Jiang Yu, she could deduce that something definitely went down between the two of them just moments ago.

Was her brother that fast?

He Zhiyi’s eyes were filled with disdain.

He Lian gave her a strange sideways glance, pulled out a chair for Jiang Yu to sit down, and extended his long chopsticks to pile food onto her plate.

The white porcelain bowl in front of Jiang Yu quickly piled up like a small mountain. However, the chef at Han Palace Mansion was exceptionally skilled, and every dish looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful, so she buried her head and ate very earnestly.

He Lian chewed on some mutton, keeping his face turned sideways to watch her.

Eating like a little kitten—so cute.

Old Master He glanced at his grandson’s foolish look and scoffed to himself. So many women in Jinzhou wanted to throw themselves at him, yet this little brat had fallen madly in love with a foolish girl.

Truly, heaven punishing the wicked.

There actually came a day when He Lian had to wait on someone.

He deserved it.

He totally deserved it!

Sensing the gaze, He Lian turned his head: “Are you still having a cold war with me?”

“Cough, cough!”

Old Master He nearly choked and immediately put on a stern face: “What nonsense are you spouting? I went to Haicheng on a trip with my old sisters, what cold war? Say that again and I’ll break your legs.”

He Lian took a calm sip of warm water, hitting right where it hurt: “I heard from Zhiyi that you two argued over my first boyfriend again, didn’t you?”

He Zhiyi abruptly lowered her head.

Traitor!

Old Master He put down his chopsticks, getting riled up just mentioning this: “What first boyfriend? I was your first! Back when your dad just passed away and a bunch of illegitimate children were fighting for the inheritance, you just took a fancy to my capability and wanted me to help you smooth things over. I fell for your trick and got scammed into this!”

“Cough, cough… cough, cough.”

He Lian turned back. Jiang Yu was lowering her head and coughing lightly, her shoulders even trembling.

So that was it.

The He family actually had an ancestral tradition of falling for traps.

He Lian helped pat her back, told her not to rush, and then said to the old man: “Then didn’t you also bend over backwards to coax her your whole life? To this day, you still tremble whenever I glare at you. So spineless.”

Old Master He hummed twice, and after a moment of awkwardness said, “If you have time, give her a call and ask when that stubborn old hag is coming home. She’s so old, what if she trips and gets hurt outside?”

He Lian’s attitude had nothing whatsoever to do with filial piety: “Not doing it. Your old self’s retirement happiness is something you should fight for yourself.”

“You little brat.”

After the meal, the grandfather and grandson stayed at the dining table to talk. When the matter of He Shaoyuan sending an assassin was brought up, Old Master He’s expression turned somewhat complicated, and he said helplessly, “As for this matter, there’s no clear right or wrong.”

He Lian puffed on a cigarette, and upon hearing this, sneered as he flicked the ash.

“His son spent all those years trying every possible way to get close to me, defrauding me of my respect and trust,” He Lian leaned back against his chair. “And the result? Just to kill me.”

Old Master He frowned. Thinking of his eldest branch’s eldest grandson, he also felt rather unsettled.

After a long pause, he patted He Lian’s shoulder.

“Forget it. Your eldest uncle has already lost his son, and the He family has only you as a grandson. All of this will eventually be yours,” Old Master He said. “Just humor him one more time.”

Only one grandson?

He Lian raised an eyebrow, wanting to say something, but in the end, it only turned into a cold laugh as he got up and walked over to the living room.

He Zhiyi was teaching Jiang Yu how to play Gomoku.

The two of them sat opposite each other on the sheepskin rug by the coffee table. Terrified that Jiang Yu wouldn’t understand, He Zhiyi grabbed her hand and gestured over the chessboard: “As long as you connect five pieces, whether vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, you win, got it?”

He Lian sat cross-legged next to Jiang Yu, propping his chin on his hand to watch.

Developing her intelligence a bit wasn’t a bad idea either; her little brain had been rusted shut for so many years, it was time to activate it.

Jiang Yu: “I know how to play… this game.”

Not just He Lian, but He Zhiyi’s eyes also lit up: “Really?”

Jiang Yu picked up a black piece and placed it right in the center.

He Lian leaned forward in pleasant surprise.

This little fool even knew that black pieces went first? Amazing.

He Zhiyi immediately rolled up her sleeves and offered a pre-emptive apology to her brother: “In that case, I won’t hold back! Brother, don’t blame me for bullying little Jiang Yu.”

Ten minutes later, she had lost four games in a row.

He Zhiyi: “…”

Why? She didn’t understand.

With a blank expression, Jiang Yu picked up the pieces one by one.

Strict Beian used to rarely let her and her mother go out, so the mother-daughter duo always played Gomoku at home to pass the time. She learned everything very quickly, and gradually even her mother was no match for her.

Besides.

Gomoku was quite simple to begin with. Since she had already said she knew the rules of the game, she didn’t need to fake stupidity and deliberately lose to He Zhiyi.

“Brother!”

He Zhiyi said with a crying face: “I can’t even beat a fool at board games anymore.”

He Lian shot her a sideways glance, his large palm stroking the top of Jiang Yu’s head. He thought to himself that this single-minded little fool still had plenty of brainpower; she had just been dulled by the torture of the Song family.

His deep-seated resentment toward the Song family flared up again, so he simply moved to sit beside He Zhiyi.

“Ah-yu, let’s play together.”

Jiang Yu nodded, contemplating whether she should lose to him.

Her worries were clearly unfounded. He Lian’s strategy was extremely sneaky; living up to his title as the Commander-in-Chief of the Citadel Guild, his troop deployments were completely illogical, and he even deliberately threw the game.

He Zhiyi pointed with wide eyes: “Brother, your pieces here are clearly already winning, you can’t be this biased!”

He Lian threw two words at her:

“Shut up.”

Looking at those two unobstructed lines of three white pieces, Jiang Yu hesitated for a few seconds before finally conceding defeat, pointing with her finger: “He Lian, white piece… placed here… you win.”

He Zhiyi: “Look, look, even little Jiang Yu sees it.”

“Oh.”

He Lian reached out and brazenly picked up a white piece: “There, now I don’t have to win.”

He Zhiyi: “…”

What a scumbag.

Jiang Yu was also utterly speechless. Thank goodness she was perceived as a fool externally; if she were a normal person, letting her win so blatantly would have been even more embarrassing.

She had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep playing.

This time, He Lian didn’t even bother to hide it. Every time he was about to win, he would place his white pieces far away, completely separated from Jiang Yu’s black pieces, making He Zhiyi roll her eyes straight to the back of her head.

Fine, fine. A younger sister is still far less important than a foolish wife.

A few minutes later, Jiang Yu won decisively. Yet looking at the left side of the chessboard, where a row of white pieces stood isolated like they were being punished to stand in the corner, she couldn’t feel happy at all.

He Lian leaned back in smug satisfaction, glanced at his aggrieved younger sister, and mockingly teased: “What? You unconvinced? You want to play against me?”

He Zhiyi thought to herself, forget it. She couldn’t even beat Jiang Yu, so who would want to play with a cheating chess player like him.

However, seeing him looking so smug, He Zhiyi’s eyes rolled around craftily.

“Brother, if you keep being this double-standarded, believe it or not, I’ll find a way to deal with you.”

He Lian sneer-laughed: “Crying won’t save you now.”

Furious, He Zhiyi gnashed her teeth, wishing she could bite her brother’s head off.

Instead, she turned her head and shouted toward Old Master He, who was teasing a pet munia: “Grandpa! It’s probably not a good idea for Jiang Yu to sleep in the guest bedroom alone tonight. Why don’t you let her sleep with me instead!”

Old Master He didn’t even turn his head: “That’s fine. Anyway, she certainly can’t sleep in the same room as your brother.”

He Zhiyi turned back and blinked at her brother with a provocative look.

He Lian’s face turned dark as iron.

“…”

Fine.

Really fine.

Effing fantastic.

Sansukini: The men in the family has a history of falling into “traps” of love (chasing and doting on their wives)

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