Chapter 17 Family
Jiang Bingji's words made Jiang Li's situation very awkward.

Tong'er stood beside Jiang Li and wanted to argue for her, but as a maid, she had no right to speak here.

Jiang Bingji reminded everyone present how cruel and ruthless Jiang Li was in the past. A woman who murdered her bloodline was really scary.

Jiang Li seemed to have not heard Jiang Bingji's words. The smile on her face did not diminish at all. She smiled at Jiang Bingji and said, "Is this my little brother? I didn't expect him to be so tall after coming back. He's so cute."

Her praise didn't seem fake, but to Ji Shuran, it sounded malicious. Before she could speak, Jiang Bingji shouted, "Who is your brother? You are a murderer!"

This was only said once, but it would be a bit harsh if it was said twice. Especially since Jiang Bingji raised his voice, Jiang Yuanbo frowned and said, "Who taught you to talk like that?"

Jiang Bingji shrank his neck, seemed a little afraid of his father, and stopped talking.

Madam Jiang patted Jiang Bingji's back soothingly and glared at Jiang Yuanbo: "Just talk, what's the point of getting angry at a child?" She looked at Jiang Li again and said calmly: "Second girl, come meet your uncles and aunts."

Jiang Li followed his words and then looked at the others.

In addition to the eldest son Jiang Yuanbo, the second son Jiang Yuanping's family and the third son Jiang Yuanxing's family also live in the Jiang Mansion.

Jiang Yuanping is Jiang Yuanbo's legitimate brother, and is now a third-rank official in Yanjing City. His wife is Lu, the legitimate daughter of a steward, and they are a perfect match.

Jiang Yuanping was a big-bellied woman, quite different from Jiang Yuanbo's handsome appearance. She looked very smiling and was very kind to Jiang Li. Lu was a typical noblewoman in Yanjing, and she was very particular about her appearance. Jiang Li took a quick look and saw that her clothes and hairpins were mostly jewels. She probably had no shortage of money and loved to dress up. Lu was slender and beautiful, but her eyes were shrewd, complementing Jiang Yuanping. She took off a string of jasper beads from her wrist as a gift to Jiang Li, saying "Glad you're back" while looking at Jiang Li.

Jiang Li readily accepted it.

As for the third wife, Jiang Yuanxing, he was the son of the concubine of old master Jiang, and a bastard. Although he was a bastard, he got along well with the other two wives of the Jiang family. However, old lady Jiang did not like the third wife very much and was always indifferent to her. The third wife, Jiang Yuanxing, was born with a delicate and weak appearance, and a bit shy. His wife, Yang, seemed to have a fierce temper. It was said that she was a bastard daughter of Si Zhilang's mansion. Although she was a bastard daughter, Si Zhilang was much higher than Jiang Yuanxing, a proofreader. Perhaps because of this, Yang always thought that she was marrying down and treated Jiang Yuanxing very strongly.

When Jiang Li met the third wife, Yang gave her a pair of pearl earrings. These pearl earrings were old, and it was not known whether the third wife was in trouble or Yang was stingy, but compared with the jasper beads given by Lu, they were really not worth mentioning.

These were Jiang Li's second uncle, second aunt, and third uncle and third aunt. Next to Lu, there were two teenagers. The older one was about sixteen or seventeen years old, and looked like Jiang Yuanping, chubby and smiling. The younger one was about the same age as Jiang Li, and looked like Lu, with a dignified appearance. He was staring at Jiang Li, but when he saw Jiang Li looking at him, he immediately looked away.

Jiang Yuanbai said: "This is your eldest cousin Jingyou and second cousin Jingrui."

They were originally the two legitimate grandsons of the second wife.

The third wife, Yang, had two daughters who looked about the same age as Jiang Li. The older one was called Jiang Yuyan, who looked plain, dressed very plainly, and looked a little timid. The younger one was called Jiang Yu'e, who had a rather charming demeanor and dressed more colorfully than Jiang Yu'e. She stared at Jiang Li, wondering what he was thinking.

These are Miss Jiang Er’s family members.

Standing in the hall, looking at these completely unfamiliar faces, her nominal relatives now, Jiang Li's mind emerged with the small county of Tongxiang, and the scenes of herself, Xue Huaiyuan, and Xue Zhao playing and frolicking. Even though this place was luxurious and magnificent, Jiang Liye did not think there was anything worth lingering in the Jiang Mansion. These family members looked at her with only tentative, sizing, or ulterior motives, and felt that this seemingly elegant and quiet mansion was also full of murderous intentions.

They stared at Jiang Li. Perhaps it was because it had been too long since they last met and they could not get close to each other. Only Jiang Yuanping talked to Jiang Li for a few words. No one else said much. Jiang Li even saw fear and contempt in the eyes of her two half sisters, Jiang Yu'e and Jiang Yutang. Perhaps it was because the fact that she murdered her stepmother and stepbrother was deeply rooted in people's minds. Now people regarded her as a cruel and ruthless evil woman and were unwilling to associate with her.

Jiang Yuanbo didn't notice this. Seeing that Jiang Li had already greeted her relatives, he said to Ji Shuran, "Madam, have someone take Li'er to her yard. Li'er must be tired after traveling all the way. She should rest early today."

Jiang Yuanbo's relatively gentle attitude towards Jiang Li made everyone in Wanfeng Hall look different.

Ji Shuran smiled and said, "Even if the master didn't order me to do so, I would have already arranged it. Madam Sun," she ordered, "Take the second young lady to the courtyard where she lives." Suddenly she remembered something and smiled at Jiang Li, "Li'er just returned home. I think it's not appropriate for you to have only one little maid by your side, so I thought of arranging two maids to serve you." She then said to Madam Jiang on the high seat, "Xiangqiao and Yunxiang in my courtyard are good, diligent and well-behaved. I want to arrange for them to be for the second young lady. What do you think, mother?"

Madam Jiang said calmly, "You decide."

Ji Shuran smiled and asked Jiang Li, "Does Li'er like it?"

Jiang Li looked at Ji Shuran's gentle and considerate appearance and just felt amused. She really couldn't understand why Ji Shuran was still so uneasy now that she had a legitimate son and Jiang Yuanbo's heart was on Ji Shuran, and she even didn't let go of her, a legitimate daughter who had not returned home for seven years and had a bad reputation? As soon as she returned home, she sent a pair of men to be by her side.

Jiang Liye smiled and said, "It's a kind gesture from my mother, so naturally I like it. It would be disrespectful for me to refuse it."

Ji Shuran seemed to be relieved. Seeing his wife and daughter getting along harmoniously, Jiang Yuanbai's expression was much more relaxed. He said, "Then don't delay. Take Li'er to stay first."

Nanny Sun quickly took Jiang Li away.

Since the Jiang Mansion was occupied by three families, the land was naturally not small. Jiang Li followed Nanny Sun. She was not familiar with the road in the Jiang Mansion, but Tong'er was familiar with it. The further she walked in, the weirder Tong'er's expression became.

This yard was really far away. When she arrived there, Jiang Li looked at the three words in front of the gate in a daze.

At the gate of the courtyard, there is a small wooden plaque. The writing on it is not very beautiful, but it has an inexplicable sense of free and easy cuteness.

Fangfei Garden.

Jiang Li couldn't tell what she felt in her heart. After a long pause, she murmured in a low voice: "Fang Fei..."

"This is the yard where Madam recuperated." Tong'er reminded quietly beside him.

(End of this chapter)