Havoc had been wrecked in the An Family. The servants could hardly breathe under the tense atmosphere.
A sullen Old Mrs An sat in the middle of the council chamber. Her wooden staff hit the floor with a thud, breaking the silence in the room, “There is a crisis in our family, yet none of you has a solution? Are you all mute?!”
Her question was directed at her sons; two were biological, and one was adopted.
The eldest was An Zi Qin, the father of An Xia.
The second was An Zi Qi, An Xia’s uncle.
An Yuan Ding was the adopted son.
The three remained silent.
There was no solution to this.
An Xia had killed a member of the Song clan, and it was the daughter of the leader. The Song family would not be appeased even if they took An Xia’s life.
“Brother, An Xia is your daughter, you’ll have to deal with this,” An Zi Qi sighed and said with a false concern. “But there is no room for error, otherwise you too, will not escape the blame. If Leader Song is not satisfied with the deal, this will be the end for the An Family.”
His wife was quick to chime in, “Yes brother, you must think of a solution. We shall not let our family be destroyed by your daughter’s actions.” She had no interest in her brother-in-law’s family’s affairs, except when it affected her.
Deep down, she even took pleasure in their misfortune.
An Zi Qin and his family were the only ones standing in the way between her family and the An family’s business.
Despite being the eldest, An Zi Qin was weak and incompetent. Unnerved by his family’s remarks, he stuttered, “I…I… This has nothing to do with me. An Xia now belongs to the Song family. I am not responsible for her actions… do what you see fit.”
Not only was he weak, he was also selfish.
“But Zi Qin, we are all responsible as we are a family. I do have an idea, if you would like to hear it, Ma’am?”
The one who spoke was Mu Ning Xue, An Zi Qin’s mistress.
Eight years ago, his wife’s deteriorating mental health had led An Zi Qin to bring his mistress home without discretion.
However, Mu Ning Xue was no ordinary mistress. She was also Old Mrs An’s distant niece.
Old Mrs An nodded, allowing Mu Ning Xue to proceed.
Frowning as though she was in distress, Mu Ning Xue continued delicately, “A mother has to pay for her daughter’s actions; if we were to send elder sister to the Song family, trading two lives for one, that should appease them.”
The elder sister she mentioned was Ye Meng Wei, An Xia’s mother and An Zi Qin’s wife.
Mu Ning Xue was not thinking about the An Family.
She was thinking for herself.
Old Mrs An drove her daughter-in-law to madness with her cruelty, yet refused to let her cut ties with the An family. Even though Ye Meng Wei was driven mad, she would always belong to the An Family.
Old Mrs An promised that Mu Ning Xue would get an official status as a wife if she gave birth to a child.
However, the promise had yet to be honored even after she gave birth to a daughter and a son.
Her illegitimacy disqualified her from attending family events and parties, despite being treated like a wife in the household.
This time, she would not forego the opportunity to turn things around.
An Zi Qin was happy to comply, “Yes mother, I agree with Ding Xue. One life might not suffice, but surely Leader Song would be satisfied with two.”
In any case, he never had feelings for Ye Meng Wei. With her gone, he could then marry his long-time mistress.
Everyone in the An family knew he adored his mistress as much as he despised his wife.
