Wei Aihua's eyes were determined. "I got this."

She sneered, "A newbie daughter-in-law acting like she's the boss already. Rou'er's right, I won't let her off the hook."

"I'll always support you, sis."

At that moment, a servant knocked on the door. "Miss, Mayor Jiang is here to pick up Madam Mayor."

"Honey!" Wei Aihua exclaimed in surprise. She got up from Gao Rou'er's bed, ready to leave.

Intentionally, Gao Rou'er held Wei Aihua back. "Sis, why don't you stay here tonight? We can have a good chat and I'll tell big brother that you're not someone to be messed with."

Wei Aihua wanted to stay, but the thought of her husband personally coming to pick her up made her realize she had to go out and meet him. After all, this wasn't their home, and a man's dignity had to be preserved.

Wei Aihua said, "I'll go out to meet your big brother and tell him my decision."

Gao Rou'er's eyes filled with worry, her voice trembling as she spoke, "Sis, I'm worried that Nuannuan has brainwashed big brother. If you see him, he might bully you."

"You're overthinking it. He won't."

Although she said this, Wei Aihua couldn't forget the slap her husband had given her for Nuannuan's sake.

In the end, she left.

As soon as she appeared, Mayor Jiang stood up and said to Gao Dong, "Sorry for the disturbance, I'll discuss official matters another time. It's getting late today, so I'll take Aihua back first. If Gao Dong has time tomorrow, come to my office. Gao Dong, you're always welcome."

He didn't give Wei Aihua a chance to speak and approached her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, reminding her with a firm grip to behave.

"I want to chat with Rou'er tonight," Wei Aihua said.

Mayor Jiang replied, "Plenty of time for that. It's late now, staying at someone else's house isn't proper. Invite Rou'er to our place another day to keep you company."

He didn't agree with his wife's request, nor did he give Gao Dong a chance to stop them. He blocked Wei Aihua and pushed her into the car.

After getting into the car, Wei Aihua still wanted to get out. Mayor Jiang's face darkened as he warned, "Wei Aihua, don't make me say something unpleasant in front of others."

He pulled his wife into her seat and drove to the hotel.

Knowing his wife was upset and didn't want to go home, he stayed with her at the hotel.

Inside the hotel room, Wei Aihua sat on the bed, hands covering her face, crying. "I'm the one who's hurt, why are you all siding with her?"

"You're an adult, arguing with a child over jealousy. How old are you, and how old is she?"

"Yes, I'm older, I'm old. But! I'm not as scheming as she is. Nuannuan just wants to push me out and be the lady of the Jiang family, but I won't let her have her way."

Mayor Jiang sat beside her, frowning. "Who told you that Nuannuan wants to be the lady of the Jiang family?"

Jiang Chenyu was also involved in the marriage between him and Gu Nuannuan.

Back then, that little girl deliberately made herself ugly to avoid marriage. Later, she was forced by her father to marry his younger brother. How could she want to be the lady of the Jiang family?

There must be a misunderstanding.

Wei Aihua and Mayor Jiang had been married for many years, and she had never hidden anything from her husband.

So, she told Mayor Jiang about what Gao Rou'er had said to her that day.

"...And you dare to say she's young and I should indulge her? If I indulge her again, my son will have no place in the Jiang family in the future. Although you're the mayor and your status is noble, is society still operating under the old feudal system? Can you ensure that Jiangsu will inherit your official position and remain in power forever? No!"

She continued, "But Jiang Group can, I must firmly grasp the position of the Jiang family's mistress, and fight until death to earn back Jiangsu's rightful share."

Mayor Jiang heard his wife's words and his face hardened. "Aihua, from now on, no more dealings with the Gao family."

“Why?”

Mayor Jiang looked at his wife's still injured face. He wanted to scold her, but more than that, he felt heartache. "Fool, you're being manipulated and you don't even know."

...

The next day, Gu Nuannuan got up early from the sofa, and Jiang Chenyu also got up. "If you want to go to the Gu family, I'll take you there."

"No, going too early will make my parents suspicious."

Jiang Chenyu watched her busy figure, changing her clothes and putting her pajamas in the suitcase.

This was the routine for these few days.

Jiang Chenyu felt an impulse to have her put her clothes in the closet to make things easier for her.

But he quickly squashed that thought.

Her inconvenience was her own business, nothing to do with him.

At breakfast, Wei Aihua and Mayor Jiang were not at home.

Although Jiang Lao was not pleased with Gu Nuannuan's behavior, he knew he couldn't find fault with her and didn't scold her.

No one spoke at the table according to his rules.

In the morning, Gao Rou'er came to the Jiang family, and Jiang Lao, with a headache, ordered someone to drive her away.

In the afternoon, Wei Aihua came back.

This time, when she came back, she looked sharp and stared at Gu Nuannuan.

When Jiang Lao saw his eldest daughter-in-law come back, his attitude also softened.

He didn't mention making his eldest daughter-in-law apologize to the Gu family.

Jiang Lao privately thought that his eldest son was the mayor, and his eldest daughter-in-law was the mayor's wife. If she bowed and apologized to a commoner with even a hint of relatives, it would damage their dignity.

Yesterday's words were spoken in the heat of the moment, and after thinking about it in the evening, he decided to make a mountain out of a molehill.

So, everyone in the Jiang family tacitly accepted this.

And no one mentioned it again.

Gu Nuannuan was stubborn, and she always remembered this.

The Jiang family had two more days of peace. The bruise on Wei Aihua's face lightened a bit. On the way to dinner, she and Gu Nuannuan met again.

"Gu Nuannuan, the injury on my face, I will definitely make you pay for it one day."

Gu Nuannuan's tone was calm, her expression sudden. "You owe my parents an apology."

"Let them wait until the next life. Dad's intentions are clear. He won't let me lower my status and apologize to them for this matter. If they've suffered, they've suffered. Gu Nuannuan, you better set your position right in the Jiang family."

"Alright, I'll set it right. Just you wait and see."

Set her position right, huh? Gu Nuannuan smiled faintly.

She went to the dining room.

In recent days, with so many things happening at home, Mayor Jiang and Jiang Chenyu naturally left work early and went home.

Jiang Chenyu became even more regular in returning home than before.

He didn't tell anyone, but only he knew that during these two days, when he wasn't eating lunch at home, his heart was in turmoil. Even though he was eating, the food tasted bland. All he could think about was what if Gu Nuannuan started causing trouble at the Jiang family again.

He often checked his phone during lunch, and when he saw a call from home, his heart beat faster than usual.

Not only him, Mayor Jiang was also like this.

When they left in the morning, he specifically warned Wei Aihua not to quarrel with Gu Nuannuan again.

Wei Aihua had done very well in the past two days, but when she knew that Jiang Lao was biased towards her, she became proud and even wanted to humiliate Gu Nuannuan again.

She finally made her way to the dining room, and as they were about to start eating, she saw everyone washing their hands. But Gu Nuannuan picked up her chopsticks without waiting for Jiang Lao to speak and started eating directly.

Jiang Chenyu sat beside her, his heart racing.

He didn't know when Gu Nuannuan had started to affect his heart rate so much.

Seizing the opportunity, Wei Aihua started trouble first. "Gu Nuannuan, do you even understand basic manners? You're supposed to wash your hands before eating. Were you not taught by your parents?"

"Slap!" Gu Nuannuan slammed her chopsticks on the table and stared at Wei Aihua. "Eldest sister-in-law, is it because the injury on your face is almost healed that you've forgotten the pain?"

Bringing up this matter angered her.

Unable to control her anger, Wei Aihua stood up and pointed at Gu Nuannuan's nose. "You, you! This family exists with or without you, and with me or without me."

"I see that you, eldest sister-in-law, are already at the age where you're getting angry easily. You probably need to go through menopause soon. My grandmother took calming pills last year during menopause, and they worked quite well. I recommend that you buy a box and drink it."

Gu Nuannuan's words infuriated Wei Aihua, and Mayor Jiang couldn't help but close his eyes in frustration. Every time his wife picked a fight with Gu Nuannuan, she ended up being embarrassed.

She never learned her lesson.

As Wei Aihua was about to start yelling at Gu Nuannuan...

The head of the table, Jiang Lao, spoke up. "That's enough!"

Jiang Lao said, "Gu Nuannuan, apologize to your eldest sister-in-law."

"What am I apologizing for? She insulted me first."

Gu Nuannuan intentionally avoided arguing, so she stayed indoors, confined to the master bedroom's few square meters all day.

However, Wei Aihua had offended her parents.

She didn't want to start trouble, but trouble kept coming to her doorstep.

Gu Nuannuan carefully considered everyone in the Jiang family.

As her husband, Jiang Chenyu remained indifferent, adopting a bystander attitude.

Mayor Jiang naturally defended his wife because they were husband and wife.

Jiang Lao and Wei Aihua had been family for many years. As an outsider, how could Gu Nuannuan expect Jiang Lao to be fair to her?

If he were truly fair, he would have taken Wei Aihua to apologize to the Gu family long ago.

Gu Nuannuan couldn't understand why she had offended Wei Aihua. It seemed that, unknowingly, she and Wei Aihua had become sworn enemies.

Jiang Lao couldn't stand Gu Nuannuan's stubbornness and arguing. "Look at yourself since you came in, the house has been in chaos every day. If you don't restrain your temper, Gu Nuannuan, I've tolerated you enough."

"Tolerated? I appreciate your tolerance, but I don't care for it."

"Gu Nuannuan! Do you understand what it means to respect?!"

"The premise of respect is to be respected. Let me ask you, have you respected me?"

Jiang Lao countered, "Where haven't we respected you?"

"Where have you respected me?"

Gu Nuannuan's question left everyone in the Jiang family speechless.

After a moment, Jiang Lao's face turned red with anger, and he repeated each word slowly, "The ancestral teachings of the Jiang family are to respect the elders. Since you are a member of the Jiang family, you must abide by this ancestral teaching and apologize to your eldest sister-in-law."

Wei Aihua looked at Gu Nuannuan being scolded by Jiang Lao, a smug expression on her face.

Gu Nuannuan looked at her, her fists clenched, and she suppressed her anger as she said to Wei Aihua, "I'm sorry."

Jiang Lao's anger gradually subsided, and Wei Aihua's face was full of smiles.

"But, when will eldest sister-in-law apologize to my parents? Since the ancestral teachings of the Jiang family are to respect the elders, then I ask, when will eldest sister-in-law fulfill this ancestral teaching?"

Wei Aihua replied, "Forget it. Your mom is younger than me. It's impossible for me to apologize to her."