She was very clear that the difference between them being suspected of merely fooling around and the revelation that they were already married would trigger a significant chain reaction. Follow current novᴇls on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
With this deduction, it would be best to keep their relationship a secret for now.
Moreover, she had seen tonight that his second sister didn’t seem as indifferent to other people’s backgrounds as he was.
"How many siblings does he have in his family?"
Upon hearing Gu Nuan suddenly inquire about the Xiao Family, Zang Xiaolian thought about the fact that she had seen the Xiao Family members tonight, and it really wasn’t necessary to keep hiding things, so she spoke frankly: "My second brother has four sisters, no other brothers or sisters."
This number undoubtedly exceeded Gu Nuan’s expectations. But upon further reflection, she found it quite reasonable.
The deep-rooted Chinese bias of favoring males over females, if Xiao Jianming insisted on having a son to carry on the family line, then they would just have to keep trying for children.
"His four sisters—" Gu Nuan hesitated.
"We call the four women in my second brother’s family ’the four tigresses.’ Of course, my second brother is already so old, and his sisters are all older than him, all of them are married."
Being called ’the four tigresses,’ it was easy to imagine they were all strong-willed women.
"Sister-in-law, you’ll know when you meet them, but I do hope, besides being careful yourself, that you’ll pay more attention to my second brother."
She had already noticed that he didn’t get along well with his second sister, and judging by what Zang Xiaolian had said, his relationships with the other sisters were also worth pondering.
When relationships between blood-related family members, thicker than water, become worse than those with strangers, Gu Nuan thought that if it were her, she would feel extremely disheartened.
After all, had all these strained relationships been caused by the so-called relationships within a wealthy family?
Zang Xiaolian took this opportunity to share some internal history of the Xiao Family: "Initially, Xiao Jianming’s father, Chairman Xiao, didn’t believe he would have a successor, having only daughters after four attempts. So, the will that Chairman Xiao made early on allocated all the property under his and his wife’s name to the four daughters. Unexpectedly, later on, my second brother was born. With his birth, the original plan for property distribution had to be abandoned. The Xiao Family is actually a very traditional family, and Chairman Xiao’s still-living mother believes that the property and the company must only be inherited by a male descendant of the Xiao Family; girls get nothing."
Therefore, the vast wealth that was once within easy reach of the four Xiao sisters, because of the birth of a younger brother, turned into nothing, leaving them empty-handed.
Anyone would have been unable to endure such a blow.
Certainly, it was a considerable fortune, even if divided into four parts!
No doubt, the disputes went much deeper than this. Initially, the men who wanted to marry a daughter of the Xiao Family were also eyeing the immense wealth of the Xiao Family.
Having married a wife with a huge inheritance, these sons-in-law had been in that position for a long time. But then, the birth of a little brother-in-law meant they were left with nothing. These marital investments of the sons-in-law proved to be futile efforts.
Zang Xiaolian, of course, did not say this explicitly, but one could always hazard a guess.
If it were merely about women, they wouldn’t fiercely scramble for wealth. Women, by nature, when provoked or oppressed, develop the frightening ambition seen in these circumstances.
Gu Nuan thought about how he had gripped her hand tightly earlier. Was he worried that Xiao Shulan might do something to her?
With this thought, she sharply swept her gaze over Zang Xiaolian’s face and asked, "Did anything happen to your second brother in the past?"