Chapter 227 - The Distant Relationship
Lihua gasped. "So you two and Jiang Li were in cahoots. No wonder…"
She seemed to be in a trance. ??
Then she sighed. "Old Madam should stop enforcing her decisions. I mean to say that others should get a say too in such important things. Jiang Ruiling is an adult, and she the most right to decide here."
Jiang Ruiling said, "Indeed and you have been the only one to stand openly against her after Uncle Weizhe."
"I am just doing what I feel is right. If only one person takes all decisions without caring about anybody else's opinion then the family would never be happy."
Jiang Weiyuan ever so faintly smiled. Jiang Ninghong seemed to be in deep thought as she stared at her. A thought swirled in her mind that she finally let out after much contemplation.
"Yes. The family should be happy. That's why...I would like to ask you to help Li and Lanying too."
Jiang Ruiling and her father exchanged curious glances.
Lihua blinked her eyes. "Jiang Li and Jiang Lanying? What help?"
"Help them fix their marriage."
She widened her eyes. "Huh? Is there any problem between them…"
Suddenly, she realized that there were times when the husband and wife seemed too distant. Jiang Lanying was a quiet woman and whenever she tried to talk to Jiang Li, he would ignore her most of the time. He would only give perfunctory responses. They hardly had any decent conversations, and she didn't even know when she saw them smiling together.
Jiang Ninghong said, "I think you have realized it."
"Ah yes…" she slowly nodded. "But what is the problem between them?"
Jiang Ruiling shook her head. "We don't know. We tried to ask them many times. But they have nothing to say."
"Ah? Don't they love each other?"
They frowned and looked at each other.
"..."
What kind of a reaction is this?
"So that means...it's an arranged one?"
Jiang Ninghong nodded. "Indeed. Lanying is an influential family's daughter. Her father is the chairman of his company."
"Old Madam really likes rich heirs and heiresses huh? But at least this time, she chose a good woman for Jiang Li."
"How do you know?" She raised her brow.
"Hm? I just get that feeling. She is soft and demure and even though she doesn't speak much, I get that she is a nice woman. Isn't that why you let her marry your son? Otherwise, you would have stopped their marriage just how you tried to help Jiang Ruiling in the background. If she is your daughter-in-law, that means you wanted her to be that. You wouldn't have let your son marry someone with malicious intent."
Jiang Weiyuan was surprised and smiled. "Indeed."
Lihua nodded. "And I think the reason why she talks less is because she doesn't talk much to her husband. For a woman in a new home, her husband is a sort of bridge between her and his family. But if Jiang Lanying is having problems and cannot talk to him due to the reasons they have, then it would be hard for her to mingle in the family. If they cannot have a decent talk as husband and wife first, then how will she handle his family? It would be hard for a woman with her personality."
Jiang Ninghong was slightly taken aback by this logic.
"I understand this because I was at her position when I stepped into the Jiang villa. But Wei always stood by my side. Because he was there, I didn't feel lonely, and his presence gave me the strength to face everyone here. Isn't it the same with you, Aunt?"
She softly nodded.
"How many years has it been since their marriage?"
"Two years. Li was twenty-five at that time."
"Oh! So the younger brother got married first!"
Jiang Ruiling nodded. "Actually...Old Madam had chosen sister-in-law for cousin initially," she chuckled.
Lihua was dumbfounded. "Really? For Wei?"
"En. But cousin wasn't interested, of course. Old Madam was really furious for disobeying her, but cousin just didn't agree. That's why she was so forceful regarding Shi Ruomei and his marriage. He already declined once and she let him because he is the CEO and the Mafia King. But he rejected her too. Old Madam never brought up my sister-in-law's topic to poke him because it was awkward to say that now that she is bro's wife."
"Ah...no wonder I never heard that argument."
They nodded.
"So then how did Jiang Li come into the picture?"
Jiang Weiyuan said, "Old Madam still wanted her to marry into this family because of her good background. Wei disagreed so she told Li to marry her."
"..."
Her mouth heavily twitched.
What is this - a passing the parcel game going on? One brother got out so the next brother stepped in?
"And he agreed?"
"Surprisingly, yes."
Lihua curiously asked, "So both Jiang Li and Jiang Lanying don't have anybody they loved previously. Even though Old Madam decided it, it wasn't really a forced marriage."
Silence.
"What?"
Jiang Ruiling said, "I don't think it was forced on bro. He is just like me. He wouldn't have married her if he didn't want to. But I cannot say for my sister-in-law. We hardly talked to each other, so I don't know her thoughts."
Lihua pursed her lips. "That's where you all went wrong. I understand why the family didn't like me. So nobody approached me because Wei brought me against everyone's wishes. But you liked Jiang Lanying, right? So you all should have taken some initiative to make her feel at home. If you can see that she cannot talk to Jiang Li, then you should have shown that you care about her."
The trio - "..."
"We do."
"When? The last time I saw Jiang Li leaving the breakfast table and she was trying to talk to him - Uncle or Aunt didn't really say anything. It was clear that Jiang Lanying felt awkward."
They had nothing to retort.
Lihua gasped. "Uncle and Aunt are like mother and father to her. If you don't show care, then who will?"
Jiang Weiyuan cleared his throat. "I... really don't know how to do these things…"
Lihua choked.
It's not some rocket science!
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