Chapter 350: Li Yi’s Plan
Under Jiang Shiying’s scrutinizing gaze, Li Yi was panicking like crazy.
This was a father-in-law sizing up his son-in-law—surely he found fault with everything!
He hadn’t even had a chance to nurture his own “little flower,” yet it had bloomed and borne fruit in someone else’s garden—who could stand that?
More importantly, Li Yi felt guilty!
He had far too many secrets. If his father-in-law set his sights on him, what good would come of it?
So, for him, today was like facing a trial by fire!
“Uncle Jiang, just say what’s on your mind. Staring at me like that is pretty intimidating!”
Jiang Shiying was quite pleased with Li Yi’s slightly timid demeanor. Not bad—he wasn’t as defiant as he used to be.
This showed that the kid was treating him as an elder and was genuinely sincere toward his daughter; otherwise, he wouldn’t have this attitude.
“Did you already know that Xue’er was my daughter?” Jiang Shiying asked.
“Not really. I just realized it when I saw the photo during dinner that day!”
Li Yi continued, “You guys did such a great job with the records. Once we hit the name ‘Ye Lingwan,’ the trail went cold. If I hadn’t happened to see a photo of my mother-in-law from her younger days that day, I wouldn’t have dared to confirm that Xue’er was your child!”
Jiang Shiying nodded. Back then, it wasn’t just their Jiang family—all the prominent families that had suffered misfortune had been relocated under aliases.
His wife was no exception. At the time, Ye Lingyun’s real name had been changed to Ye Lingwan, and she’d been sent to the Yong County Cotton Mill.
Once the turmoil had subsided, the old patriarch had someone specifically seal away his wife’s files.
Not to mention an ordinary person like Li Yi—even provincial or ministerial-level officials would find it difficult to uncover his wife’s true identity.
“No wonder you said Yun’er and I would have a house full of children and grandchildren. So you already knew the truth, and you’ve even given us a grandson?”
“Um…”
Li Yi gave an awkward smile but offered no explanation.
“It’s one thing that you know Xue’er is our daughter, but what were you thinking saying all that? Don’t you realize that because of your words, Yun’er has been planning to adopt a child lately!” Jiang Shiying frowned.
Li Yi was instantly dumbfounded; he hadn’t expected his words to lead to such consequences.
“I was just trying to prepare for their reunion, who would’ve thought you two would get the wrong idea!”
“How exactly do you plan to have them reunite?” Jiang Shiying asked in a stern voice.
He’d been thinking about this very thing just moments ago, but he still hadn’t come up with a good solution.
He was well aware of his wife’s health condition; it had only just stabilized, and she simply couldn’t handle such a major shock.
If her condition were to worsen because of this, that would be the last thing anyone wanted to see.
Li Yi said, “I plan to have Xiaoxue meet her mother-in-law first!”
“Meet?”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shiying froze in shock!
Standing nearby, Jiang Longcheng interjected, “Brother Li Yi… no, brother-in-law, won’t that give the game away?”
However, Li Yi just smiled and said, “It’s fine. I’ll do Xue’er’s makeup later; I guarantee she won’t look nearly as much like her now!”
“Makeup? Do you think that’ll work? Do you think it’s some kind of disguise?” Jiang Longcheng said with a laugh.
Li Yi thought of all the amazing makeup techniques used by beauty bloggers in his past life; the so-called art of disguise was nothing more than that.
Although he couldn’t achieve that level of skill—and didn’t have that many cosmetics—giving Tang Xue a slight makeover shouldn’t be a problem.
“Whether it’s makeup or a disguise, as long as my mother-in-law doesn’t recognize her, that’s all that matters!” Li Yi said.
“And then?” Jiang Shiying asked again.
“Then it’s all up to you and Xue’s performance!” Li Yi said.
“What kind of performance?”
“Put on a big show of adopting a godchild!”
Upon hearing Li Yi’s words, Jiang Shiying’s eyes lit up instantly!
“So you mean I should adopt Xue’er as my goddaughter, so she can rightfully call Yun’er ‘Mom’!”
“Exactly. That way, they’ll be reunited as mother and daughter, and the shock to your mother-in-law won’t be as great. It’s a win-win!” Li Yi said.
“But what about later? We can’t keep this up forever, can we?” Jiang Longcheng interjected immediately.
Second Sister Li Lan, standing nearby, added, “Exactly. If you pull this stunt, how will Xue’er ever be able to meet Auntie as her true self in the future?”
“I’ve thought that through as well. After this meeting, the next time they see each other will be after Xue’er gives birth. We’ll assess Mother-in-law’s physical condition then.”
Li Yi continued, “If my mother-in-law has recovered reasonably well, then I’ll have Xiaoxue meet her as she really is. We’ll just say she lost weight after giving birth and was swollen from the pregnancy before. That’s a reasonable excuse, right?”
“If she hasn’t fully recovered yet, we’ll just wait a little longer!”
Jiang Shiying nodded and said, “That’s a good idea. If mother and daughter see each other more often, maybe Yun’er’s illness will get better faster!”
At that moment, Li Yi glanced at Tang Xue and said, “I’m a bit worried about Xiao Xue’s health right now, and I’m also afraid she might not be able to control her emotions when the time comes!”
Hearing this, Jiang Shiying immediately frowned and said, “Then why don’t we just wait until Xue’er has given birth before going to the capital…”
Before she could finish, Tang Xue spoke up, “I… I want to go see my mother!”
“But what about your health?” Jiang Shiying asked, frowning.
Tang Xue replied, “I don’t think it’ll be much of a problem if we take the train!”
She had traveled by train before, especially in sleeper cars, and found it quite smooth.
As long as she was careful getting on and off and had someone there to look after her, there shouldn’t be any problems.
After saying this, Tang Xue turned her gaze toward Li Yi.
Jiang Shiying, Jiang Longcheng, her parents, and her second older sister all looked at him as well; after all, he was Tang Xue’s partner, so it was up to him to make the decision at this moment.
Li Yi thought for a moment, then said, “As for a sleeper train, it shouldn’t be a problem!”
Just then, Jiang Shiying suddenly said, “Conditions in the village are still a bit poor. Why not let Xiao Xue give birth in Beijing?”
“Let’s discuss that later. For now, should we let Xiao Xue go to Beijing to meet her mother-in-law?” Li Yi asked.
“I want to go!” Tang Xue reiterated her wish.
“Then let’s go!” Li Yi said firmly.
Just then, Jiang Shiying suddenly suggested, “Why don’t I arrange for a helicopter?”
Li Yi immediately shook his head and said, “Forget the helicopter. That thing isn’t nearly as comfortable as a train, and since Xiaoxue has never flown before, she’ll probably get airsick.”
“If we’re really going, let’s drive to Ningbo tomorrow and get some soft-sleeper train tickets!”
Jiang Shiying immediately replied, “Alright, I’ll take care of the tickets!”
“No need. There’s no need to owe anyone a favor over something like this. Leave it to me!” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
After discussing this matter, it had grown completely dark, so Li Yi finally called everyone to prepare for dinner.
The Li family members immediately set out the bowls and chopsticks, while Li Yi carried a basin to serve the lamb from the pot and the pork bones and chicken from the stove.
He then washed the pot, heated the oil, and began frying the oil cakes.
Soon, the fragrant stewed meat, golden-brown fried cakes, and rich, aromatic wine were all served!
Though the selection was modest, every dish was a hearty main course, and even the wine was top-quality Moutai.
Seeing all this, Jiang Longcheng felt quite satisfied.
It was clear that the Li family took their visit very seriously!
Since today marked the reunion between Jiang Shiying and Tang Xue—a joyous occasion—everyone was in high spirits.
Consequently, the Jiang uncle and nephew, Li Gang, and even the Li family father and son—who never usually drank—all raised their glasses.
The end result was a complete defeat for the Li family father and son—after just two glasses, both of them were completely out of commission!
Jiang Shiying and Li Gang came out slightly ahead, each downing half a pound to their hearts’ content!
Only Jiang Longcheng dominated the table, single-handedly polishing off a bottle of Maotai and towering above the rest!
The meal was a complete success, with both hosts and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves!