Madam Yun set down her teacup and spoke softly, "Of course, the Yun-Mo Family Pact is not forgotten. But are you truly sure you want to marry Cecilia Gu? You heard her just now—she has no intention of changing her surname. She still harbors resentment toward the Yun Family, so naturally she won't honor the agreement between our two families."
Max Mo gave a gentle smile, his blue eyes shining with resolve. He answered, "I had the patience to wait for Nora back then, and now I can wait for Cecilia. As long as you're willing to help, I will be forever grateful."
Madam Yun waved her hand and said, "This is all I can do. What I said earlier was not a lie. Cecilia Gu was indeed born marked by heaven’s calamity and earth’s misfortune, but the child in her womb is truly extraordinary. As the fourth generation of Yin Enterprises, if nothing goes wrong, this child might really inherit Yin Enterprises. So, you must understand—fate cannot be defied. Are you really going to go against destiny?"
Max Mo smiled bitterly, "Do I even have a choice?"
Madam Yun let out a soft sigh.
Max Mo spoke up, "Is it because Cecilia Gu was born marked by heaven’s calamity and earth’s misfortune that she must endure endless hardship just to survive? Madam Yun, why didn't you ever tell her this?"
Madam Yun scoffed, "Would she even believe me if I told her? It's better she believes what I said just now. Well, you've achieved your goal, you may leave now. Someone, see the guest out."
Max Mo rose and bowed, "I take my leave."
After seeing Max Mo off, Madam Yun's assistant slowly walked over and replaced her tea. "Madam, do you really want to match the second miss with Max Mo? Although Max Mo is excellent and extremely powerful in Y Province, it seems... the second miss doesn't have any feelings for him at all."
"That's right," Madam Yun nodded, "So he's trying to defy fate! Enough about them—any news from the Yin Family?"
The assistant replied, "You predicted it perfectly. Mrs. Yin hasn't said a word about the second miss and Charles Yin. Over in K City, Mrs. Yin is furious because her son hasn't come home for two days. Madam, do you think the second miss and Charles Yin..."
"There are plenty of twists and turns between them, too. It's all fate. Looks like that old lady from the Yin Family has made up her mind—not only is she watching from the sidelines, she's even stirring things up." Madam Yun snorted coldly, "She schemed against my granddaughter, so why shouldn't I scheme against her grandson for once?"
"You mean..." The assistant looked at Madam Yun, puzzled.
"I just want to see how capable the Yin Family's grandson really is—whether he's worthy of my granddaughter." Madam Yun narrowed her eyes, a sly glint flashing through them.
The assistant immediately lowered their head and said nothing.
Perhaps no one realized that the reason Mrs. Yin returned to China early was actually Madam Yun's doing...
Madam Yun was determined to stir up trouble in this whole mess.
When the time comes, whoever laughs last will just have to rely on their own skills!
Cecilia Gu stood on the street, still feeling as if she were in a dream.
Rona Muir had finally come back to her senses, too.
"Oh my god, Cici, your grandmother is seriously impressive," Rona Muir couldn't help but say. "I've never seen such a formidable old lady. I've met Chairman Yin countless times, and she's definitely high and mighty, but nowhere near as intimidating as your grandma!"
Sophie Mo nodded in agreement.
Cecilia Gu gave a bitter smile, "Guess I'm just unlucky! Whether it's my biological grandma or my adoptive one, neither of them is easy to deal with. But coming here today did clear up a few things for me."
"So, Cici, you really don't plan to go back to the Yun Family?" Sophie Mo asked, clearly concerned, since this decision affects her brother and the Yun-Mo Family Pact.
Cecilia Gu shook her head. "Not interested. Anyway, let’s not talk about this anymore. If it were before, I would’ve insisted on getting to the bottom of everything, but ever since I got pregnant, it’s strange—I feel like I’ve changed a lot. All I want now is to have this baby safely. All that drama and mess, I really don’t want to get involved anymore. By the way, since this is your first time here, let me take you to try some good food! It’s just a small county town, but the local dishes are actually pretty great."
Hearing Cecilia change the subject, Nora Mu and Zixuan Mo immediately nodded in agreement.
The group walked slowly along the roadside.
Small towns have their own charm—quiet, without the hustle and bustle or traffic jams of big cities.
Everything here moves at a much slower pace.
As they walked, Cecilia introduced some local specialties and snacks. Every so often, a few teenagers would zoom by on skateboards, their youthful energy making the three women envious.
There are so many things you can only do when you're a teenager.
Once you reach this age, even if you want to, your body just can't keep up.
Not to mention, as the heiress of a wealthy family, could she really go skateboarding all over town?
She'd probably get her legs broken, right?
Cecilia led them to the entrance of a restaurant and stopped, smiling, "I'm a little tired from walking, let's eat here. You can see the scenery from here, too! I've heard you can faintly see the Imperial Lotus Temple from this spot. That's why this place is always packed. I couldn't afford to eat here before, but now I can treat you both—you're in for a real treat!"
Sophie Mo and Rona Muir both laughed, and the three of them, along with the assistant, went inside.
It wasn't very busy at this hour, so they easily booked a private room.
The room was spacious, and looking out the window, you really could faintly see the Imperial Lotus Temple in the distance.
Cecilia asked the waiter who came to take their order, "Could you tell us about the Imperial Lotus Temple?"
The waiter was clearly used to this—many customers came here just for the temple. He launched into a fluent explanation in the local dialect: "The Imperial Lotus Temple dates back to the Ming Dynasty. Legend has it that Emperor Zhu built it for his princess daughter. She would come here every year to pray. One day, while praying, the princess felt drowsy and fell asleep in the temple. In her dream, she saw stars falling from the sky, landing in her arms. When she returned to the palace, she found herself pregnant. Ten months later, she gave birth to a boy. The child was said to be deeply blessed by Buddha, so the emperor sent him to the temple. Within ten years, the boy had mastered all the scriptures and began preaching across the country, becoming a renowned master."
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Cecilia nodded repeatedly—this story was fascinating.
After the waiter left, Sophie Mo gave a soft sigh, "It's really interesting. Even a royal scandal can be spun into something so beautiful."
Rona Muir laughed, "What else could they do? Execute the princess? Emperor Zhu might've been ruthless, but when it came to his own kids—especially his daughters—he was probably pretty soft-hearted."
Cecilia said, "You two just ruined a perfectly good myth."
Rona Muir retorted, "Well, it's obvious! The princess got pregnant before marriage, so they made up a story about stars falling into her arms while she slept in the temple. Since she was pregnant, the child had to be born, but because the child's origins were unclear, he was sent away. You can't just send a royal child to anyone, so the temple was the only option. Since the pregnancy happened at the temple, they let the temple raise him. The royals have money, so raising a kid from birth is no big deal. With all the royal PR, maybe the kid really was smart, and by ten he was preaching all over the country, earning the public's devotion."
Sophie Mo smiled gently, "And once the kid started appearing in public a lot, he became smooth and savvy, eventually turning into a so-called master. It's just like celebrities nowadays—they start out young, get polished by showbiz, and by the time they're grown, they're all experts at playing the game. If they have a powerful family background, it's a straight shot to fame, picking up awards left and right."
Cecilia thought about it for a moment. Huh, you know what? That actually makes a lot of sense!
"You two actually agree on something today!" Cecilia laughed, looking at them both.
Sophie Mo and Rona Muir exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Can't fight every day!"
Pfft... All three of them burst out laughing at the same time.
The food arrived quickly. Even though Cecilia was a local, she’d never had the money to eat such expensive dishes before.
Now that she had the chance, of course she wasn’t going to miss it.
The three of them chatted and ate, living it up.
Cecilia was happily eating when her phone suddenly rang.
Cecilia glanced at her phone—it was Jane Gu calling.
Huh? Wasn't she just heading home with Mrs. Wang from the neighborhood, carrying some locust flower tea? Did something happen at home?
Cecilia answered, "Mom, what's going on?"
Jane Gu sounded suddenly nervous on the phone, "Cici, for some reason, a bunch of police officers just showed up at the house."
Police?
What’s going on?
Cecilia immediately put down her chopsticks. "Are they looking for you or for me?"
"It seems they're just asking questions. I think... something happened to your grandma," Jane Gu hesitated. "Apparently, someone overheard a fierce argument at your grandma’s place, and then someone called the police."
Cecilia was stunned.
What the heck!
She couldn’t even get through a meal in peace!
Since the police had come to her house, of course she had to go back and see what was going on.
Cecilia immediately told her assistant, "Pack up all this food—we’re heading back."
While the assistant packed up the food, Cecilia went to the front desk to pay the bill.
But before she could even take out her wallet, she was gently informed, "Your bill has already been settled!"
Cecilia froze. Who paid her bill?