Pampered by Short-Lived Bigshot by Beautiful Crescent

Chapter 1: 001 Marry into the Jiang Family? Be a stepmother or a living widow Chapter 1: 001 Marry into the Jiang Family? Be a stepmother or a living widow Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation The last days of summer were upon them. The sudden night rain cooled the air by several degrees, but once the wind ceased and the rain stopped, the heat once again surged. The air remained sticky and irritable.

Pingjiang, Yiyu Tea House

On stage, two performers, one playing the sanxian and the other hugging a pipa, sang in tender, gentle Wu dialect—a local, famous style of storytelling and ballad singing.

The audience listened to the performance while discussing the most sensational news in Pingjiang City.

“The Jiang Family patriarch is gravely ill, and his children are showing their true colors, each trying to claim their share of the family wealth.”

“The patriarch is sick, yet the Jiang Family celebrates with engagements and weddings, claiming it’s to cheer him up. It’s laughable.”

“They just want to marry off quickly before the patriarch passes, adding more heads in hopes of getting a bigger share of the inheritance.”

“They’ll stop at nothing to get a larger inheritance. Having money isn’t always a good thing.”

“There’s a rumor that the Jiang Family had an informal childhood engagement with the Jiang Family in Sijiu City? It’s said the eldest wants to marry his stepdaughter into the Jiang Family.”

“But considering the Jiang Family has two sons, it’s quite a situation…”

Years ago, the Jiang Family in Pingjiang and the Jiang Family were equally matched. But in recent years, the Jiang Family has waned while the Jiang Family has grown more prominent. It stands to reason that even the legitimate daughters of the Jiang Family don’t quite measure up to the Jiang Family now. Still, that Jiang Family…

The discussion was met with long sighs.

“A stepdaughter? What about the status of the legitimate daughter?”

“No choice, when the stepmother calls the shots, she’ll fight for her daughter’s best interest.”

“This marriage was initially intended for the legitimate daughter. No matter how the Jiang Family is, it shouldn’t be a stepdaughter’s place to interfere.”

In a corner, a young woman got up, settled the bill, and left with a box of snacks.

On stage, the performers were singing a section from “The Story of the Cat and the Crown Prince,” which went,

“…Empress Liu is quite foolish, exchanging the true master is inappropriate. Quickly switching the Crown Prince with a cat, ordering the maid to toss it into the green waves.”

center of the gossip—Tang Wan, the Jiang Family’s

*

Pingjiang Jiang Family Villa

a woman in her sixties approached. Despite the signs of hardship on

“What’s going on?”

Family has sent

not seen

“They haven’t arrived yet.”

Grandpa might not be enough.” The Yiyu Tea House made them the

the engagement between our two families. Although it’s not

not is one thing, but having it taken by a

“Where’s Grandpa?”

went out, said it was stuffy at home, and

going out? Asked me to

…

a mother-daughter pair in the living room. The woman, striking at thirty-five or thirty-six, wore

“Wanwan’s back.”

woman was Tang Wan’s stepmother,

Zhang Liyun had married in when Tang Wan was in middle school, and she

next to her

she was three years younger than Tang Wan—the stepdaughter of the Jiang Family everyone

family, with no blood relation to

allure. In appearance she seemed sweet and charming, though Tang

and inferior image she held at home

spread rumors, Tang Mo felt guilty and didn’t dare get close to her, and the relationship remained

have some tea.” The maid had already

and sat down leisurely, seemingly ignoring the apprehension in the eyes of the mother and daughter

the Jiang Family is coming over soon,” Zhang Liyun

Tang Wan’s expression

between our families. Although it was just a verbal agreement, with no formal documents, the patriarch values his promises and intends to honor the commitment.” Zhang Liyun looked at Tang