To Defeat Scum, You Must Start Early, My Lady

In the hall, Nie Wenzhi said in a slow, gentle voice, “I think, since it’s come to this, why not just come to a mutual agreement with the Ji family to cancel the marriage? A marriage is fundamentally a matter between two people. It’s a new era now; young people have the freedom to choose their own love. We can just graciously admit that yes, Zhizhi has fallen in love with someone else while she was growing up, and take the initiative to call off the marriage after exlaining to the Ji family.”

“That won’t do!” Qin Ciling said, “The Song family will be criticized for sure!”

“But we’re already being criticized anyway. No matter how much we explain or suppress the news, everyone is already sure that Zhizhi has dated Yi Wenhan. Instead of letting the situation remain in a deadlock and keep worsening our relationship with the Ji family, why not grant Zhizhi and Yi Wenhan’s wish. We’ll go visit the Ji family to apologize. When it comes down to it, I don’t think the Ji family will refuse to accept our apology no matter what. They’ll still give us Song family some face, so they won’t dare to take things too far,” suggested Nie Wenzhi, as if she was very serious in trying to find a solution to the problem.

Qin Ciling quietly thought over what Nie Wenzhi had said.

Song Shan was also silent.

It was undoubtedly the best thing to do, mutually calling off the marriage with the Ji family. Both family could just tell the media that the marriage agreement was just a casual remark of the previous generation. Now that the children had grown up and had their own love relationships, of course the elders could not get in their way. This way, the negative impact the matter had brought upon the two families could be resolved peacefully.

Nie Wenzhi was right. Even if the Ji family was reluctant, if Song Shan opened his mouth, the Ji family would not adamantly refuse. Even if the Ji family was the losing side in this matter, they still had to help.

“Instead of waiting for the Ji family to cancel the marriage, which would cause harm to both the Song family and Zhizhi, why not come to an agreement with them? Besides, it’s a fact that Zhizhi likes Yi Wenhan, so let’s make it happen. When Lan passed away, she asked me to take good care of both Zhizhi and Zhidao. I really don’t want to see Zhizhi sad,” Nie Wenzhi spoke such moving words.

The living room went quiet.

Everyone seemed to be conidering the feasibility of this move.

The only one who was indifferent was Song Zhizhi.

In the past, she would have really appreciated the way Nie Wenzhi was being considerate of her all the time.

She was about to speak when she heard Qin Ciling say, “What say you, son?”

Song Shan sighed and slowly said, “What Wenzhi proposed is indeed the best solution for now.”

“I disagree!” Song Zhizhi spoke up.

Everyone turned to her.

The momentary flash of malice on Nie Wenzhi’s face was very obvious.

Song Zhizhi declared, “I’ve said that I’m going to marry Ji Baijian, so I’ll be marrying him no matter what.”

“The problem is, it’s not up to us now. The Ji family doesn’t want to accept you. When we went to the Ji family the other day, I personally promised Ji Yunlei that the marriage will commence, but now the problem arises on our side. How do you propose we make the Ji’s let you into their family?” Song Shan’s tone was obviously a little reproachful.

Song Zhizhi said slowly but clearly, “Give me a week. I can solve it. What you need to do now, dad, is to calm Uncle Ji down. I’ll give both the Song family and the Ji family a satisfactory answer in a week’s time. If they’re still not satisfied, they can cancel the marriage then. The most pressing matter at hand is to suppress the news, then catch the culprit behind the scene who ochestrated it.”

“I’ve already asked someone to investigate the news. The first one to break the news is the Yinhe Media Corp. As you know, this company would report any kind of news, be it good or bad, and they especially like to report on the big families. It was already kind enough of them not to use your full name in the reports. If I use my power to suppress the news, I fear it may be counterproductive,” said Song Shan.

“I know what I have to do now,” replied Song Zhizhi.

Looking at his daughter, Song Shan had a feeling that she had suddenly matured a lot. The way she handled the emergency in a calm and collected manner was completely different from how she would react before.

“But Zhizhi,” Nie Wenzhi spoke, “Even if we suppress the news, the Ji family won’t pretend like nothing has happened. This affects the reputation of the Ji family; they will never compromise it. Do you still not understand the unspoken rules of high society? There’s nothing more important than honor. I know you’re willing to sacrifice your love for the sake of the family, Zhizhi, and I’m deeply touched by it, but sometimes sacrifices aren’t enough. Okay, even if the Ji family grudgingly accepts you due to the pressure from our family, do you think you’ll have a happy life in the Ji family? I’m really worried that you’ll end up gettting hurt.”

“I know what I’m doing…” Song Zhizhi retorted.

“That’s enough.” Qin Ciling could not bear to listen anymore. She told Song Zhizhi, “Things have already come to this. What else do you want to do to embarrass yourself? Can’t you see that your aunt is being considerate to you?”

Song Zhizhi bit her lip tightly.

“Remember how you talked back to us when we objected to your relationship? You said matters of the heart can’t be forced. Okay, since you’ve chosen this path, see it through to the end! Stop embarrassing yourself any further!” Qin Ciling admonished loudly.

“Mom, don’t be angry. Zhizhi is still young after all,” Nie Wenzhi quickly took on the act as the kind one.

Only now did Song Zhizhi truly realize that Nie Wenzhi was even more capable of fanning the flames and winning people over than she had thought. Nie Wenzhi had been controlling the conversation from the beginning, and could not have interpreted the act of a good character any better.

Song Zhizhi took a deep breath.

She knew that it would be difficult to change the family’s impression of Nie Wenzhi overnight. Things must be done gradually. She did not get angry. Instead, she spoke very, very calmly, “Grandma, dad, give me a bit of time to make my thoughts clear.”

Qin Ciling did not have that kind of patience at all.

But Song Shan had always doted on her. He sighed and said, “Okay, tell us what you have in mind.”

Song Zhizhi said, “We all know about the current situation in the business world. The Ye Clan lacks an heir. An internal election will definitely be held sooner or later. Right now, all the important officials are building their own factions. The conglomerats have become highly sought after in these critical times, so they have a loud voice. The Ji Hong Group is a major player in Jin City’s business sector. This marriage will be of great benefit to us!”

“Tell us something we don’t already know!” Qin Ciling said forcefully.

Song Zhizhi nodded. “What I’m trying to say is, since my marriage with Ji Baijian is the best strategy for our family, why give it up?”

“Right now, we’re not the ones who are giving up; they’re the ones who want to cancel the marriage.” Nie Wenzhi interjected, trying to put Song Zhizhi in an awkward spot.

Song Zhizhi looked back at Nie Wenzhi. “When have the Ji family ever said that they want to cancel the marriage? Dad only said that the Ji family wants to reconsider.”

“You’re still too young, Zhizhi. You have to learn to read between the lines sometimes,”Nie Wenzhi said in a soft voice.

“So you interpreted it in the worse way possible for us? We haven’t even tried convincing them yet, or even think about how to deal with this matter properly, and you’ve already decided on your own that the Ji family will withdraw from the marriage for sure?” Song Zhizhi questioned her in a righteous and aggressive tone.