Hidden identities of the AI Heiress
Chapter 801 - Chapter 801 Chapter 801 The Secret Kept from Her

Chapter 801: Chapter 801 The Secret Kept from Her Chapter 801: Chapter 801 The Secret Kept from Her Because Xu Qiao knew her son was obsessed with being spoiled, even if she knew he had done something wrong, she wouldn’t do anything about it, and she might even help him deceive everyone.

That’s why the housekeeper didn’t directly state at the banquet that it was because of Jiang Yuan that they were driven away.

And once Jiang Family’s business was affected, Jiang Shaocheng would naturally come asking, and when he found out what Jiang Yuan had done, would Jiang Shaocheng be able to tolerate it?

Xu Qiao frowned deeply, her face full of disbelief, “Although Yuan’er likes to have fun, he would never do such a thing. The Li Family must have made up some excuse to push all the blame onto us, making us seem at fault so that we can only be at the mercy of others.”

She still believed in her son; though he had a taste for beauty, he hadn’t done anything outrageous. At most, he was just into street racing and hanging out with questionable characters every day.

Perhaps they were looking for a reason so they wouldn’t hold a grudge against Qiao Yun.

That’s too much!

“The Li Family would need to lie to deceive us? You think just because the Jiang Family can get by in Yuncheng, they’d look up to you?” Jiang Shaocheng was infuriated, hands behind his back, pacing back and forth restlessly, “The Li Family’s housekeeper personally told me to discipline this good-for-nothing.”

At this point, Xu Qiao couldn’t come up with any reasons either. It would be easy for the Li Family to target them; there was indeed no need for them to beat around the bush.

But Jiang Jing had not anticipated that the trouble would stem from Jiang Yuan; the expression on her face changed unpredictably, as if she had been slapped.

She had previously claimed that Qiao Yun was treacherous and had sabotaged them behind the scenes, whispering in Grandpa Li’s ear to kick them out.

Now that the situation had reversed, didn’t she appear to be the petty one who judged others by her own standard?

Jiang Jing felt an uncomfortable blockage in her chest and recalling that Jiang Yuan hadn’t offered a single explanation at the time, she couldn’t help but angrily ask him, “What exactly did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Jiang Yuan stubbornly denied, clutching his waist in pain.

His dad was really harsh; that kick probably left his waist bruised and purple.

He must have had a run of bad luck to get kicked on consecutive days.

“Not telling the truth, huh? Believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death!” Jiang Shaocheng found a golf club from somewhere and swung it a few times towards Jiang Yuan.

“Mom, save me! Dad’s going to kill me!” Jiang Yuan hopped around and hid behind Xu Qiao.

Xu Qiao stood in front of Jiang Yuan and said placatingly, “Shaocheng, let’s talk this out calmly, no need to resort to violence. Even if he really did make a mistake, he’s still your only son. Do you really want to kill him?”

Jiang Shaocheng didn’t want to, but if he didn’t show a firm stance on the matter, the Li Family would probably latch on relentlessly.

How much the Li couple doted on Li Miao was clear for all to see.

Putting down the golf club, Jiang Shaocheng said patiently, “I’m giving you one more chance. Tell me the truth, or I won’t beat you to death.”

“Just tell us, did you do it or not?” Xu Qiao urged anxiously.

Jiang Yuan, realizing he couldn’t escape, muttered hesitantly, “I didn’t do much, just asked Li Miao if she wanted to be in a relationship with me, and it’s not like she didn’t just turn me down and mock me for being ugly. I got agitated and grabbed her a bit, but I really did get kicked, twice by the Lu Family.”

As he spoke, Jiang Yuan even sounded wronged.

Xu Qiao rolled her eyes and nearly fainted. She never imagined Jiang Yuan would be bold enough to make moves on the Li Family’s young mistress at a Li family banquet. She raised her hand and slapped his arm several times, “You good-for-nothing, how dare you? What have I told you?”

Jiang Shaocheng was too angry for words.

Jiang Jing let out a derisive chuckle, looking down on the situation.

This brother was beyond saving.

Jiang Yuan sulked and retorted, “Mom, didn’t you say that Li Miao was going to marry me someday? I have to win her over first. And how am I ugly? It’s her loss not to realize my worth…”

Xu Qiao kept shooting him looks, signaling him to shut up, but Jiang Yuan didn’t catch on and continued to vent, “If she married me, I would definitely treat her well. Why won’t she agree? I’ve always treated her as my fiancee.”

The more Jiang Shaocheng listened, the more livid he became, berating Xu Qiao, “How did you raise our son? You’ve turned him into this ignorant and arrogant brat.”

He was quite self-aware. If it weren’t for his relationship with the old lady of the Li Family, they probably wouldn’t even bother with them.

And he thought about marrying Li Miao, as if she’d spare him a glance.

Xu Qiao couldn’t save face and explained, “I was just saying it casually. Who would’ve thought he’d take it seriously.”

Jiang Yuan was unhappy that his mother wasn’t on his side and said, “Mom, wasn’t it you who asked me to coax Li Miao and marry her? How has it suddenly become ‘just casually saying’ now?”

Xu Qiao: “…”

Being exposed by her own son, Xu Qiao’s expression was particularly colorful.

Jiang Shaocheng was furious and warned Jiang Yuan, “I’m not going to interfere with past events, but from now on, you’d better stay away from Li Miao if you see her.”

“I know,” Jiang Yuan said out loud, but inside he didn’t feel that way at all. With the way Li Miao treated him, his face was completely lost; how could he not seek a comeback? The more Li Miao rejected him, the more determined he was to win her over.

Plus, there was the adulterer who kicked him at that time and Qiao Yun–he hadn’t settled the score with them yet. How could he just let it go?

Jiang Yuan thought the matter would just pass, but Jiang Shaocheng said at this moment, “Since you’re in the wrong, we must show the right attitude.”

Jiang Yuan watched in shock as his father raised the golf club again, “Dad, what are you doing?”

“I’m saving your life! If I don’t punish you today, the Li Family won’t let us off,” Jiang Shaocheng said as he brutally slammed the club onto Jiang Yuan’s leg.

Jiang Yuan screamed in pain, his face twisted with agony, and his heart filled with anger. He retorted resentfully, “What’s so great about the Li Family? Why should we be afraid of them? Are they just rich? We have money too.”

“You!” Jiang Shaocheng’s cheeks twitched with anger. “Useless fool! If I don’t teach you a lesson today, you’ll bring disaster upon us sooner or later!”

Jiang Shaocheng had initially planned to deliver a few hits and be done with it. After all, Jiang Yuan was his only son, and even though he was angry, he hesitated to cause him serious harm or disability.

Now, hearing Jiang Yuan’s senseless talk, he was truly infuriated.

Without another word, he started beating him.

Jiang Yuan couldn’t escape and could only keep calling for his mother to save his life.

Xu Qiao, seeing Jiang Shaocheng’s genuine rage, didn’t dare to step forward and could only plead from the sidelines.

Jiang Jing watched all this with cold detachment.

She had also come to an understanding. Although Jiang Yuan was indeed in the wrong, was it necessary for the Li Family to be so merciless?

Perhaps there was indeed merit in what Qiao Yun whispered in someone’s ear.

Thinking this way, she felt a sudden relief in her heart, knowing she was no petty person.

Jiang Yuan was beaten black and blue, with injuries on his hands and feet. Xu Qiao was heartbroken. Seeing Jiang Shaocheng still wanting to hit, she cried out with red-rimmed eyes, “Enough’s enough! Which is more important to you, the Li Family or your own son?”

Jiang Shaocheng, stifled with anger, violently threw the golf club on the ground and pointed at Jiang Yuan, “Go upstairs to your room now and don’t you dare step out without my permission!”

“Dad…”

“Go!”

Jiang Yuan climbed the stairs limping, full of resentment.

Xu Qiao’s heart clenched painfully as she cried out, “How can you be so heartless? Our son has grown this big and has never been beaten so harshly.”

“You think I wanted this? If I don’t do this, the Li Family won’t let it go,” Jiang Shaocheng said, utterly irritated.

Xu Qiao suggested, “You could ask the old lady cousin to speak for us.”

The “old lady cousin” was the old lady of the Li Family, who was a very distant relative of Jiang Shaocheng’s father, related beyond the five degrees of mourning. Although the connection was tenuous, the Jiang Family still shamelessly clung to it.

Before Jiang Shaocheng could respond, the always observant Jiang Jing responded sensibly, “Mom, you’re confused. If Dad really troubles the old lady cousin over such a trivial matter, it will only make things worse.”

“Jingjing is the sensible one,” Jiang Shaocheng’s face brightened slightly, despite them being twins, how come Jiang Jing is so smart, while Jiang Yuan is just useless.

Even before his death, Jiang Shaocheng had started worrying about the group failing under Jiang Yuan’s hands; if only Jiang Jing were a boy.

Jiang Jing curled her lips slightly, her words laden with meaning, “Dad, now that my brother has been seriously injured, shouldn’t we call an ambulance?”

Jiang Shaocheng’s expression froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered and nodded repeatedly, “You’re right.”

He hurriedly had the servants call for an ambulance and instructed, “If anyone asks, say that Jiang Yuan did something wrong and I disciplined him. It’s only natural for a father to punish his son.”

Xu Qiao was stunned and frowned, “This is a family matter, why make such a fuss? Does Yuan’er still have any dignity left?”

Jiang Shaocheng was very displeased with Xu Qiao and scolded her, “What do you know? If I don’t make it obvious, how will the Li Family see my stance?”

Xu Qiao, being reprimanded, turned beet red.

The ambulance arrived soon after.

Jiang Yuan, in excruciating pain, was thus bewilderingly carted off.

Jiang Shaocheng thought for a moment and decided to go to the hospital with his wife and daughter.

When an ambulance suddenly arrived at the Jiang Family, naturally people started asking questions, and it wasn’t long before everyone knew Jiang Yuan had been beaten up by Jiang Shaocheng.

On the way to the hospital, Jiang Shaocheng resolved one crisis and looked at Jiang Jing with an extremely tender and kind gaze, “Jingjing, there’s a banquet in a couple of days, you will accompany me.”

Jiang Jing nodded, “Okay.”

Jiang Shaocheng told her, “The reception is for the second young master of the Huo Family. Pay attention then, you might get chosen by the Huo Family.”

This was also why he brought Jiang Jing to the banquet.

Jiang Jing was focused on information technology, which would give them common topics to discuss, and his outstanding daughter could raise his own prestige by making an appearance.

Moreover, since the second young master of the Huo Family was not yet married, if he took a liking to Jiang Jing, they wouldn’t have to try so hard to curry favor with the Li Family.

Unaware of her father’s thoughts of a marital alliance, Jiang Jing was looking at her phone, which her best friend had sent her.

[Jiang Jing, do you know Su Qingyan is back in Yuncheng? I just saw him!]

Jiang Jing stared at the message, her heart beating a little faster.

…

As the Jiang Family’s uproar was sensational, the chief steward came to report the news to Li Hanzhou.

Li Hanzhou’s reaction was minimal, his brows and eyes light, “If they say he’s crippled, then let him be crippled; whichever hand he used, that’s the one we’ll take.”

The chief steward respectfully accepted the command, “Yes.”

He shook his head secretly.

Playing tricks in front of Master Li is like asking for death.

Once the chief steward had left, Li Hanzhou replied to Qiao Yun’s message with calm composure, [I won’t be joining you, there are some matters I need to deal with, I’ll catch up with you in a few days. ]

Qiao Yun’s reply came quickly: [Oh.]

Li Hanzhou raised an eyebrow, his face expressionless, but his reply was completely opposite to his current expression: [Even a day apart is too much for me, how can I live without you?]

Qiao Yun: [Be good, you’re not young anymore, you need to learn to be independent.]

Li Hanzhou: […]

Li Hanzhou serenely deleted the “A Thousand Love Phrases” sent by Shen Qi with a single tap.

Forget it, this method is not for him.

…

Two days later.

Early in the morning, the Lu Family set off for Beijing Airport, filled with excitement.

This time it was only the Lu couple, as Lu Jingzhi needed to hold down the fort at the family company, and Lu Zhanxing would come later due to work constraints.

Lu Xian was to help out with the group, the old lady felt too old to come along, but the old master was quite excited and, taking Lu Shiran with him, dashed off to join them.

In the car on the way to the airport, Lu Shiran curiously asked, “Sister, is there anything fun to do in Yuncheng?”

Qiao Yun hummed thoughtfully, then shook her head, “I don’t know.”

Lu Shiran paused, “You haven’t played before?”

Qiao Yun gently nodded, “Yeah.”

Although she had lived in Yuncheng for quite a while, her life revolved solely around the research institute, and back then she wasn’t interested in anything else.

Hearing this, the Lu couple felt a deep pang of sympathy.

Lu Shiran chuckled, “Once we’re in Yuncheng, brother will take you to have fun. Wherever you want to go, we’ll go, okay? And not just Yuncheng – we’ll travel the world together in the future.”

Qiao Yun pursed her lips, her gaze softening, “Okay.”

Watching Lu Shiran enthusiastically discuss fun places with Qiao Yun, the Lu couple shared a knowing smile.

Just then, Qiao Yun’s phone vibrated.

She signaled Lu Shiran to wait a moment before pulling out her phone and looking down to see a message from Han Si.

[Professor Qiao, there’s a bit of news about the Huo Family! A file went missing from the Huo Research Institute over a decade ago and a female researcher disappeared as well. Dead or alive, nobody knows. The Huo Family kept it very tightly under wraps, and this is all that’s been uncovered so far.]

There wasn’t much information on the Huo Family.

For Han Si to have been able to uncover this was already quite impressive.

These matters remained unknown to this day; she wondered what means he used to find out.

Qiao Yun had a rough understanding of the Huo Family, an old family with a long history, originally a warlord clan that after the wars, branched into business. Fifty years ago, they were still involved in the underworld, and later turned legitimate by founding the Huo Consortium.

However, most don’t believe the Huo Family has completely cleaned up. Behind the scenes, they might have unknown underground influences.

Qiao Yun asked: [Do you know the name?]

[The specifics haven’t been found out yet, only that she was known by the codename Yao.]

Qiao Yun’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Pei Ya named the AI driving system Yao Yao, and the missing Huo researcher was called Yao… coincidence or…?

It seems Pei Ya’s involvement with the Huo Family was deeper than she had thought.

Qiao Yun’s eyelashes trembled slightly, her reply calm, [Keep investigating.]

She wasn’t in a hurry.

It had been out of concern for Pei Ya that she wanted to investigate, but now Qiao Yun was curious about the secrets buried deep within, secrets that even Pei Ya felt he needed to hide from her.