Madam Xu, seeing that the Old Master and the little lady had nodded to her, led the young lady out to find a phone.
Old Master Xiao and Second Master Xiao both had smiles in their eyes.
They hadn't expected to witness such a dramatic mother-daughter reunion upon their return to the country; it made their decision to bring their niece back worthwhile.
Joan was somewhat dazed, not understanding what was happening.
Two servants of the Xiao family tried to step forward to speak, but were interrupted by Tian Jing.
"If you dare to utter a single word, I'll give you the feeling of being a flying person."
The two servants froze.
"Joene, Weiwei... Ah~"
*Bang*
Second Master Xiao opened his mouth to report the secret in English, but was kicked by Tian Jing.
However, he was too fat, and Tian Jing couldn't aim accurately. He hit the wall by the second gate.
With another *bang*, he fell back to the ground.
The wall, upon inspection, had a semi-circular dent.
Tian Jing felt more heartbroken about the wall and angrier at the fat old man who had fallen to the ground. "Do you not take my warning seriously? Or do you think that because you claim the surname Xiao, I wouldn't dare to kick you?"
"I haven't even verified your identities, and one by one, you're disrespecting the owner of this siheyuan."
"Did you familiarize yourselves with domestic laws before returning? Trespassing is a crime in any country, isn't it?"
Grandpa Xiao lowered his head, using a cough to mask his suppressed laughter.
The stunned Old Master Xiao and the dazed Second Master Xiao, still on the ground, were jolted awake by Grandpa Xiao's coughing.
Old Master Xiao raised his finger and pointed at Tian Jing, "You? You're utterly disrespectful to your elders."
"Whose elder? And who is the elder?"
Tian Jing sneered. "Heh heh, barging into someone's home and claiming to be their elder is not enough. Hearsay is not admissible."
"You need to provide proof that you are relatives of the owner of this siheyuan. If you can't, don't blame me for calling the police."
Proof? Do relatives need to show proof to recognize each other?
Old Master Xiao's chest felt constricted with anger at these unreasonable words.
But this Chen Jing was clearly someone who wouldn't budge. If she actually called the police, even if it was sorted out in the end, it would still be a considerable embarrassment.
"Third Brother, say something."
Grandpa Xiao looked up. "I don't know you, just as you never knew me overseas."
"Leave on your own accord. If I really call the police, you won't be able to afford to lose face."
"You?"
Old Master Xiao, who had just lowered his arm, raised it again, pointing at Grandpa Xiao. "Fine, you're capable. We'll see."
Tian Jing flashed in front of Old Master Xiao and slapped his outstretched arm away.
"We'll see, we'll see. Just now, I wanted to break this finger. I resisted my disgust and gave it a chance. I didn't expect you to be so ungrateful."
"If there's a third time, I guarantee it will be separated from the other four."
Tian Jing's speed terrified Old Master Xiao. He ignored the pain from her slap and retreated repeatedly. "You? You know martial arts?"
Tian Jing flashed back to her husband's side. "Why should I tell you?"
Second Master Xiao, helped up by his servant and eldest son, Xiao Xueping, rubbed his eyes hard. Such speed, was this the legendary master with internal energy?
Old Master Xiao took a breath. "No wonder, Third Brother is blessed!"
Third Brother? Except when Father was alive, and except in front of Father, when had he ever heard his two elder brothers call him Third Brother?
"Who is your Third Brother? You can go and find out yourself. Please leave, this is my home."
Li Zhengguo walked towards Old Master Xiao.
He shouted to Ah Guang, who had already thrown the two foreigners out, "Ah Guang, let's continue seeing our guests out."
"Ah? Oh."
Ah Guang walked towards Second Master Xiao.
Tian Jing simply crossed her arms and watched coldly.
Old Master Xiao knew that he wouldn't be able to stay today, nor could he discuss any business.
"We'll leave now. Third Brother, tomorrow morning, my second brother and I will visit again."
Old Master Xiao led the way out of the second gate.
His eldest son, Xiao Xueqi, quickly followed. It was too terrifying; his junior relative knew martial arts.
And this junior relative was the granddaughter of his father's most disliked third uncle.
Furthermore, the other party clearly disliked them as well. With such an antagonistic attitude, what should they do?
Second Master Xiao also turned around, continuing to be supported by his eldest son and servants, and stepped out of the second gate.
With the people they disliked gone, Tian Jing sat down beside Grandpa Xiao and told Xiao Shuyuan to wait at the main gate for Xiao Wei, warning Xiao Wei to behave, or she would also end up staying in a hotel.
Watching Xiao Shuyuan leave the second gate, Tian Jing then asked Grandpa Xiao, "Grandpa, are you feeling satisfied?"
"Hahaha."
Grandpa Xiao laughed heartily. "So satisfied, so incredibly satisfied. I've never felt so proud. This is all thanks to you; you're the one who deterred them, and you're the one who gave Grandpa courage."
"Grandpa, you've always been the one to back down. Sometimes, stepping back doesn't necessarily lead to a vast sea and sky; it might lead to an abyss."
"Yes. One step back, and then another, until I've retreated this far, with only this siheyuan left, and they still won't leave me alone. This time, I wonder why they've come."
Why have they come?
It must be for the things underground.
If Chen Guangfu had truly been reborn, Chen Yaoming's absence would be understandable.
The appearance of the Xiao family was definitely news passed on by Madam Xu, which Chen Guangfu hadn't intercepted, but deliberately let through.
Very well, she would see what her paternal granduncle intended to do.
"No matter why they've come, you can leave it to me to handle. The matters you were worried about, I have already dealt with, without anyone knowing."
Grandpa Xiao was stunned. "You, what did you say?"
Tian Jing pointed to the ground. "It's already been taken care of. All their plans are in vain."
"Really?" Grandpa Xiao still didn't believe it.
"Really." Tian Jing nodded vigorously. "Sixteen chests."
"Good, good. Excellent." Grandpa Xiao was incredibly excited. "I have finally lived up to my mother's trust and preserved my grandfather's family heirlooms."
Tian Jing was extremely surprised. "It's from Great-Grandfather's family?"
"Yes." Grandpa Xiao sighed and explained the story to Tian Jing. "Years ago, my grandfather was framed by an opponent, and his property was confiscated. He didn't care about anything else, only his daughter's dowry, which was also seized."
"Even if my grandfather found the dowry list from my grandmother to prove that sixteen chests were the dowry my grandmother left for her daughter, brought from her maternal home."
"That opponent still insisted that it was all embezzled by my grandfather, and the dowry list was fake."
"Those words made my grandfather, who had never embezzled anything, so angry that he spat blood on the spot."
"On his deathbed, he couldn't stop thinking about the dowry, saying he had failed his wife and my mother."
"As expected, my mother's engagement was broken off by the groom's side, and her reputation plummeted. It was impossible for her to become a principal wife."
"She eventually chose my father and became his concubine. After much persuasion, my father used his connections to secretly retrieve the dowry that my grandfather couldn't stop thinking about."
"Because these were not real gold and silver, they couldn't be exchanged for military supplies, and they were preserved relatively intact."
"My mother, holding the dowry list, checked each item against it, crying as she went, recounting what my grandmother had said when she was alive and organizing and polishing these dowries."
"She instructed me to keep them safe and pass them down through generations, as this was my grandfather's dying wish."
"Later, my mother and I secretly had sixteen large iron chests made and secretly hid the items underground. Our original intention was to avoid the main wife's family, but it also inadvertently helped us evade more troubles."
Passed down through generations?
This was Grandpa's expectation for her in her first life, yet she had failed to fulfill it.
She had easily given up her great-grandmother's lifelong efforts to retrieve the sixteen chests of dowry, gifting them away?