Da Bao and Er Bao grew up without Ding Jiayi by their side, and they were not close to her. It was impossible that they would give all their money to their maternal grandma and be filial to her.

  It was alright to daydream, but one must look at the facts as well.

  “Mom, lower your volume. Look, someone is laughing at you.” Qiao Zijin reminded Ding Jiayi to watch her behavior. “Mom, given your behavior, once they know that I am your daughter, who will be willing to make friends with me?” Or to start a relationship?

  Since Qiao Nan refused to introduce a boyfriend to her, her intention was to attend Zhai Hua’s wedding and source for wealthy boyfriends.

  Her mother had ruined the Qiao family’s reputation, and she was not as lucky as Qiao Nan. She had a mother-in-law who was willing to accept her despite knowing that she came from a messy family.

  Miao Jing was the only mother-in-law in the world who was willing to accept such a daughter-in-law, and Qiao Nan was lucky to know her.

  Ding Jiayi behaved herself as soon as she was reminded that they were here today to look for a future son-in-law. She no longer looked around. Even when she saw beautiful ornaments, she would control her greedy nature and shifted her gaze away so that no one could tell what was on her mind.

  But even so, the Qiao family of three, especially Ding Jiayi, had left a deep impression on the other guests.

  “Who are those three people? Whose relatives are they? I have never heard of them. Has anyone heard of them before?”

  Everyone would be mindful of the occasion and watch themselves, yet this woman had nothing to talk about except money. She must have come out from the dark corners.

  “I don’t know her.”

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  “She could not have been the groom’s relatives.”

  “What about the bride?”

  “I heard that they are the parental family of the Zhai family’s daughter-in-law who was from a humble background.”

  “They turned out to be her parental family. I never expected that such an outstanding child will come from such a family. I thought that the daughter-in-law of the Zhai family has no shortcomings. Well, I guess she will be laughed at for having such a family. The family only has eyes for money.”

  No one was perfect. The daughter-in-law of the Zhai family might have come from a humble background and was outstanding, but she had a disappointing parental family.

  Qiao Nan had been too outstanding. No one was able to get hold of the chink in her armor. Everyone felt unhappy that Qiao Nan, who was from a humble background, did better than their children.

  Today, everyone was watching the fun and was glad that they finally got hold of the chink in Qiao Nan’s armor. They would watch the Qiao family of three closely, hoping that they would catch them doing more foolish and ridiculous actions so that they could make use of this to ridicule the daughter-in-law of the Zhai family.

  Qiao Dongliang’s face turned red. He was infuriated as Qiao Nan’s reputation was affected because of Ding Jiayi. He gave her a glare. “You have two options. First, from now onward, keep quiet and go back home with me after finishing the meal. Second, if you dare to utter another word—since you have already embarrassed Nan Nan—I will drag you out of the hall.”

  When she heard the first option, Ding Jiayi thought to herself that she refused to leave. She was indeed the poor parental family of the Zhai family’s daughter-in-law. She did not have good food at home and she was here to eat to her heart’s content. Ding Jiayi only prepared a red packet that contained ten yuan.

  However, when she heard the second option, she dared not say another word.

  She was weaker than Qiao Dongliang. If he was determined to drag her, she would not be able to stop him, and if nobody helped her, she would not be able to have the meal that she had been anticipating.

  Ding Jiayi was determined to finish the meal so that she could return to Ping Cheng and brag to her neighbors.

  She gave birth to Qiao Nan. There was no way that Qiao Nan could be rid of her in this lifetime. Qiao Nan married well and she must make sure to bask in her glory. Look, she was able to have a good meal in the capital. If anyone dared to laugh at her and infuriate her, she might get her son-in-law to deal with them!

  One thing that Ding Jiayi was most skilled in was to bully people by flaunting her powerful connections.

  However, if Qiao Dongliang dragged her away, she would not be able to have the meal and she could not brag to her neighbors. Furthermore, not only was she here to have a meal, but she also wanted to make use of the mealtime for Qiao Zijin to get to know suitable partners who were good-looking and fairly well-to-do.

  Ding Jiayi finally shut her mouth up, but it did not change the way other people looked at them.

  Qiao Zijin had a terrible headache. She did not feel like acknowledging that Ding Jiayi was her mother. It was alright that she was of no help. But why did she have to mess up her plans when she finally came up with one?

  Qiao Zijin stood further away from Ding Jiayi and leaned closer to Qiao Dongliang. “Dad, what do you think I should do now?” Qiao Zijin felt weary that she was lost for words. All the suitable men of her age stood distances away from her. “Dad, aren’t you most concerned about my happiness? You are the only one who can help me now.”

  Qiao Dongliang gave a scornful smile. “I am not capable to help you. Isn’t it good enough that I didn’t drag you down like your mom?” Since when did he become a capable father? It was surprising indeed.

  “Dad, can we go out and find a place to have a good chat? I feel that you seem to have a misunderstanding with me.” If not, her father would not be so eccentric.

  “Is it just a misunderstanding?” Qiao Dongliang asked her instead. “Alright, let’s have a chat.” It was a good idea to find somewhere quiet to talk. At least, Qiao Zijin and Ding Jiayi would be away from the crowd and they would no longer shame Nan Nan.

  Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Zijin walked to another place, and Ding Jiayi hurried to catch up with them. She had no wish to stay in the same place by herself and be scrutinized by other guests as if she was an oddball. “What are you talking about? The food will be served in a while.”

  “Don’t worry. You will have your share.” Qiao Dongliang was not familiar with the hotel. This was his first time in the capital. But he used to be a soldier. He had better observing skills than other people. He found a place that was suitable for them to have a chat in no time. “Alright, say your piece.”

  Qiao Dongliang smiled, feeling the irony of it.

  As a family, they spent a lot of time at home, but they never thought of finding a place to sit down and have a good talk.

  Now that they were outside, they wanted to have a chat to clear up the misunderstanding.

  The elder daughter wanting to have a good talk was not because the misunderstanding had affected their relationship. Instead, it was because it had affected her plans.

  “Dad, are you angry at me? Or are you upset with anything that I have done or said?”