"That Mu Qingran is truly unfortunate."

"Indeed, she was about to become the young mistress, but then she gave birth to a stillborn, had her womb removed, and now can’t have children anymore. And things got even worse, her leg was broken... Her life is over. It’s just too pitiful."

"Pitiful my ass. During her time at Huo Garden, she didn’t hesitate to yell at us, leveraging her status as the future young mistress. After she couldn’t marry the eldest son, she clung to the second son. Even the child turned out to be the second son’s. I knew she wasn’t anything good to look at—turns out she has such a disgusting past! Ugh, no, I’ve got to thoroughly clean the room she stayed in, and the places she’s been. Think about it, she used to hook in other countries and even ran drugs for a cartel, she’s had STDs, who knows if she left any infections behind!"

"Yeah, I’ll come and help clean in a bit..."

"Speaking of cleaning, I went to clean the isolation room yesterday. In just a few days, the madam has become unrecognizably thin, and all she does is mutter the second son’s name, and occasionally curses the eldest son. It’s so scary, tsk tsk."

"If I were the old man, I wouldn’t forgive the madam either. It’s one thing to start infighting against the eldest son, but to introduce such a woman to the young master, and to harm Huo Group just to take down the eldest son. Do you know? These past few days, the old man took back the madam’s bank cards and several properties registered in her name. I even heard the butler on the phone with the mental health clinic..."

"What was the butler on the phone with the mental health clinic for?" a servant asked curiously.

"It seems like an order from the old man. From what I gathered in the butler’s conversation, it sounded like he’s saying the madam is mentally unstable and wants her to move into the clinic for treatment."

There was a gasp of shock from several gossiping maids, "You mean... the old man is treating the madam like a lunatic, sending her to a mental hospital?"

"Once you go into a mental health clinic, surrounded by lunatics, even a normal person might turn crazy within a year or so!"

"The old man has really made a ruthless move this time!"

"Yeah, exactly."

"It looks like the Huo Family’s fortune will all go to the eldest son alone. Look, with the madam and the second son out of the picture, and now that the old man is sick, the board of directors has temporarily handed everything over to the eldest son to manage."

"Indeed, and there’s Miss Jiayi, who’s clever and knows how to please the old man. As soon as he fell ill, she immediately moved to the room next door to take care of him. With Miss Jiayi’s charm, the old man surely dotes on the eldest son even more. Once Miss Jiayi and the eldest son get married, the Huo Family’s entire fortune will probably belong to the eldest son."

...

The chatter of the servants reached Jiayi’s ears in waves.

She finally understood the decision that Huo Tianpei had alluded to earlier.

It seemed he intended to send Yao Zhenru to the mental health clinic.

Whether Yao Zhenru was genuinely distressed or faking it, ending up in such a place is probably only slightly better than death.

Jiayi was about to enter her room when a dark figure stood in front. He had clearly overheard the conversation of the servants.

Huo Zhenyang, wearing a white shirt with sleeves rolled up above his elbows, hands in his trouser pockets, leaned slightly against the corner of the staircase, looking at Jiayi with a glimmer in his eye that was barely perceptible.

Because it was convenient to take care of the old man, Jiayi had moved into a small room next to Huo Tianpei’s, and had had no opportunity to see Zhenyang.

Now seeing him, Jiayi’s heart skipped a beat and she murmured in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s, "You... didn’t go to the office today..." Then, holding the tray in her hands, she hastily passed by him, eager to get back to her room quickly.

Just as she was passing by him, he suddenly pulled her elbow!

Jiayi’s grip on the tray loosened, and it nearly slid down.

Huo Zhenyang promptly freed his hands to protect her tray, and with a swift grasp, he tossed the cumbersome tray onto the nearby coffee table with a clang.

Then, he turned his body and braced his long arm against the wall, blocking her path.

The man’s face, with its indiscernible emotions, dipped down, his long lashes casting a shadow over his eyes, "I didn’t go to the office today. Tonight I have to attend the premiere of ’Perilous Moment’ at Tianhe Cinema, don’t you remember?"

Yes, I remember. How could I forget? It’s to support Jian Meiyi’s event.

Jiayi blinked, her almond-shaped eyes showing no turmoil, "I see, then you better get ready quickly, it wouldn’t be good to be late. I’m going to change the old man’s dressing."

Having said that, her slender figure bent, intending to slip under the arm he had propped against the wall.

Huo Zhenyang’s expression stiffened, a flash of coldness in his eyes. Did she dislike seeing him that much? It had been several days since they last met, and upon seeing him, she reacted as if she had seen a ghost.

He swiftly grabbed her delicate arm and pinned her to the wall, scrutinizing her from head to toe.

"What’s wrong?" She felt somewhat guilty under his gaze, having asked and answered, what more did he want?

His thin lips slightly raised, he tugged at her outer garment unkindly and without tenderness, "You’ve made yourself look like a lowly maid, only good for serving others. The old man must have been quite happy with you these past few days. Good job."

Having taken care of the patient these days, running around all the time, serving tea and water, it would be inconceivable to wear the designer clothes he bought for her.

Thus, Jiayi had asked a maid for a maid’s dress, which was convenient and also prevented stains.

Jiayi suddenly understood his implication, "I’m not taking care of the old man to curry favor or battle for the inheritance. I genuinely care about him."

An old man approaching late life, longing for spoiling grandchildren and yearning for a happy and warm family, now has to see his wife stop at nothing to frame their son, using a woman to entice the son and, to undermine the son, willing to damage the company he had poured his lifetime into. His heart’s suffering... must not be lessened...

What seemed like a wealthy household, yet was rife with so many hidden blades and swords, with family members harbouring their own agendas, far from being united.

Although Huo Tianpei was a powerful elder in G City, he was also the most pitiable elder in G City.

Jiayi could very much relate to Huo Tianpei’s sentiments, and that was why she had wanted to move into the room next to his, to take care of him personally.

The man before her, however, was filled with nothing but utilitarianism and a desire for power, thinking she was caring for the elderly man only to placate him. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Heh, you really care about the old man?" Huo Zhenyang’s lips twisted in a sardonic smile, seemingly contemptuous, yet too lazy to inquire further.

Jiayi’s face flushed slightly, "A cold-blooded creature wouldn’t understand that humans have emotions."

She still didn’t dare directly insult him, omitting the subject and not saying that the cold-blooded creature was him.

She took advantage of his momentary distraction, pushed him away, and headed towards her own room!

He was a cold-blooded creature? He knew nothing of feelings? Huo Zhenyang’s thick eyebrows twitched and furrowed tightly.

Jiayi pushed open the door to her room next to the old man’s, taking only two steps in before a gust of hot breath surged from behind her, and she was shoved into the room.