Chapter 322: Hot-Tempered Old Woman

Chapter 322: Chapter 322: Hot-Tempered Old Woman

Hua Zhaoxing scrambled into the main house in a panic.

Qin Tianxuan followed leisurely behind him.

Before he could enter, two grim-faced, sturdy men blocked his way. "Hold on. Who are you?"

"He’s Hua Hua’s bodyguard!" Yan Xinyue appeared, her face haggard, leading a limping Hua Hua by the hand.

Qin Tianxuan frowned. "Hua Hua just went through something so dangerous. Why aren’t you letting her rest?"

Yan Xinyue gritted her teeth. "Are you the one calling the shots here? I was still at the hospital when that old hag... the old matriarch summoned me back. Do you think she gives a damn whether my daughter and I live or die?"

Her eyes flashed with anger as she spoke. "You’re an outsider; you don’t understand. The old matriarch wants a grandson, not a granddaughter..."

"Favoring boys over girls, huh..." Qin Tianxuan chuckled dryly, then walked over and lifted Hua Hua onto his back. "Just sleep on Uncle’s back. Everything will be okay."

Hua Hua yawned and nestled securely on his back, quickly falling asleep.

Inside, Hua Zhaoxing was being mercilessly berated by the old matriarch. Her voice rose to a roar. "And where is that floozy of a wife you have? That woman who runs around everywhere dressed so gaudily?!"

Outside, Yan Xinyue trembled with humiliation and fear, but finally, she gritted her teeth and went inside.

"Mother..."

"Who said you could call me Mother? Whether at home or at the company, you will call me Chairman!"

The Hua family matriarch was simply looking for a fight. Her hair was freshly dyed black, but it couldn’t hide the deep wrinkles etched into her face. She raised her cane and began to viciously lay into Yan Xinyue.

"Don’t think you’re some great miss of the Yan Family. Hmph, everyone knows you were born to a mistress! You’re just an illegitimate daughter! The Yan Family has never even publicly acknowledged you!"

At that moment, the normally shrewish Yan Xinyue was trembling uncontrollably, all of her usual defiance gone.

Out in the world, she could put on the mask of an arrogant young miss and a high-society wife.

But in front of this demonic old woman, she was nothing more than a perpetually bullied and wronged daughter-in-law.

"The Sweet Milk Tea Shop project, that was your idea, wasn’t it? How much of the family’s money did you waste? And now? It’s a complete and utter failure!" the old matriarch raged.

Hua Zhaoxing mustered the courage to speak up for his wife from the side. "Mother, the milk tea company has already been sold. The God of Wealth Hall took it over. I had a great conversation with the Marquis from the God of Wealth Hall. He might be able to help us through this crisis."

The old matriarch slammed her cane on the floor, her expression dark. "Bullshit! I order you to terminate the partnership with the God of Wealth Hall immediately!"

Hua Zhaoxing was stunned. "Why? Mother, that’s the God of Wealth Hall, under the Night Emperor!"

The old matriarch snorted. "There is no ’why.’ This is a demand from the Daqin Royal Family and the Divine Doctor Ye Family! A big shot in the Imperial Capital has already informed me. The Northern Domain Night Emperor has long since retired. The God of Wealth Hall has no future!"

Her face hardened with disdain. "Don’t be fooled by how arrogant that Marquis is now. Before long, the Daqin Royal Family will move to suppress them completely. Without the Night Emperor, the God of Wealth Hall is just an empty shell!"

Hua Zhaoxing’s face flushed as he objected. "The Marquis of the God of Wealth Hall is world-renowned for being magnanimous and just! Mother, you’re overthinking this. Even if the Northern Domain Night Emperor has retired, he is still a hero of Da Xia. The God of Wealth Hall will only grow stronger!"

SLAP! The old matriarch slapped him across the face. "Say that again! I dare you!"

Hua Zhaoxing didn’t dare say another word.

Just then, Hua Hua was startled awake.

Hearing her grandmother’s roaring from inside, she hopped down uneasily. "Uncle Qin, you absolutely must not go in. Grandma has a really bad temper. I’ll go check on things."

Qin Tianxuan shook his head. "If you go in, you’ll probably get hit. I don’t think much of this grandmother of yours."

Hua Hua sighed and walked into the room like a little adult.

"Grandma, please don’t be angry. Maybe Mom and Dad did something wrong, but they’ve been working really hard for the company..."

Before Hua Hua could finish her childish plea, the old matriarch exploded. "When adults are talking, is it a child’s place to interrupt? Well now, you’re not even grown yet, and you’re already starting to lecture me?"

Glancing at her granddaughter with disgust, the old matriarch showed not a shred of affection. "Get lost! You don’t study, you just cause trouble all day. If I had a grandson, I would raise him myself. But unfortunately, you’re just a girl who’ll be married off sooner or later!"

Hua Hua bit her lip, large tears welling in her eyes.

She had just been held hostage, she was exhausted, and her heart was still filled with fear, yet she couldn’t get a single shred of affection from her grandmother.

This imposing and terrifying grandmother only ever gave her that same look of disgust.

Seeing that she was about to cry, the old matriarch grew even more disgusted. "If you dare shed a single tear, you don’t get to eat today! Get outside and face the wall!"

In the end, Hua Hua couldn’t hold back her tears.

The old matriarch’s voice was a sinister rasp. "Fine. The whole family is disobedient. A family of three, and not a single one is useful! Go on, make this wretched girl stand in the garden! No food for her!"

Hua Hua bit her lip hard, trying to hold back her tears, but they just wouldn’t stop.

Just then, a clean white tissue was held out to her.

It was Qin Tianxuan!

The two sturdy guards at the door had fallen at some point, without making a single sound.

The old matriarch was startled. "Who are you? How did you get in?"

Qin Tianxuan patted Hua Hua’s little head, comforting her, before looking up. "I’m Hua Hua’s bodyguard."

A bodyguard?

The old matriarch laughed in exasperation. "A kid this small needs a bodyguard? She’s spoiled rotten! Do you know who I am? I’m her grandmother, and I’m the one who calls the shots in this family!"

Qin Tianxuan said nonchalantly, "Oh? I really couldn’t tell you treat Hua Hua like a granddaughter. I’ve rarely seen a grandmother with such an awful temper. Hey, are you just too old? Is there something wrong with your brain?"

HISS!

Everyone in the room gasped.

Hua Zhaoxing was scared stiff.

Yan Xinyue, however, looked up with a strange light in her eyes.

’I can’t believe this delivery guy has so much backbone!’

The Hua family matriarch was dumbfounded. No one had ever dared to speak to her like that.

She raised her cane with a trembling hand. "You... you..."

Qin Tianxuan said coolly, "Old woman, don’t point that thing at me. Believe it or not, I’ll snap your cane in two."

The Hua matriarch shrieked, "Fire him immediately! Beat him and throw him out! What is this thing?!"

’A lowly bodyguard, acting so arrogant and disrespectful—and on Hua family turf, no less!’

She was already bellowing, "Guards..."

BANG!

With a single kick, Qin Tianxuan shattered the old matriarch’s cane. It broke on the spot with a loud CRACK.

He took a step forward, his tone deceptively calm. "Can Hua Hua eat now? Hmm? Well, answer me."

They were only three steps apart. Even if security arrived, they wouldn’t be able to protect the old woman in time.

She trembled, her naturally explosive temper on the verge of erupting.

But under the terrifying pressure radiating from Qin Tianxuan, the old matriarch could only submit.

Only then did Qin Tianxuan withdraw his oppressive aura.

The old matriarch trembled all over. "Hua Zhaoxing, I’ll remember this bodyguard. And don’t bother firing him. He won’t be walking out of this mansion today!"

Hua Zhaoxing looked helplessly at Qin Tianxuan. "I’m sorry, Mr. Qin. You... you shouldn’t have done that. She is my mother, after all. You should go."

Qin Tianxuan remained impassive. "Sorry, but I have to see that Hua Hua is all right before I leave."

The scene was at a stalemate.

Just then, an assistant ran in from outside. "Matriarch, this is bad! President Wang from the Golden Sparrow Silver Alliance has issued an ultimatum! We have to repay the first loan installment—one billion—by midnight tonight! What should we do?"

The old matriarch’s face changed. Forgetting everything else, she viciously swung the broken remains of her cane at Hua Zhaoxing’s head.

Hua Zhaoxing grunted in pain, blood streaming down his face.

"This is all your wife’s fault! You two solve it yourselves! If you can’t, don’t even think about coming back to this family! And another thing, your younger brother is getting out of prison soon! Hmph, you’re not the only heir to the Hua family anymore!"