Xie Limo wasn't bothered with what Old Master Jiang thought. "You only have a night's time. If you cannot decide by then, I will do it myself."

After speaking, Xie Limo left. However, although he left, the Xie family's shadow guards were still there, monitoring the Jiang family.

Old Master Jiang s.h.i.+vered as he continued to stare at the dagger. His eyeb.a.l.l.s were about to pop out, and his heart seemed to stop beating.

But even if he continued to stare at the dagger, nothing would change.

"Haha…" He finally understood now. No matter how much he planned, no matter how influential he was in Country A, no matter how strong the Jiang family was, everything was decided by the Xie family. Young Master Xie was the person in power.

After thinking a while, Old Master Jiang made up his mind to abandon Jiang Shantao and protect himself.

Old Master Jiang was a selfish person. Even if that person was his child, he would still abandon him.

He convinced himself that this was for the sake of the Jiang family. He had no choice, so Jiang Shantao shouldn't blame him as well.

When the Jiang family was safe in the future, he could choose another young heir from their branches and continue his hold on power…

That was why he called Jiang Shantao over to his house in the middle of the night… and sank the dagger deep into him.

Jiang Shantao's eyes were wide open, staring in disbelief at his own father. Even until his death, his eyes were opened.

Old Master Jiang closed his eyes for him and took in a deep breath before burning the house down.

He wanted to make it so that no one would be able to find out.

Shame, the police approached him on the second day and arrested him under the charge of murder. When Old Master Jiang denied the accusation, the police took out a video recording.

It was a recording of him killing Jiang Shantao. Old Master Jiang dropped to the ground disbelievingly.

But even in that state, he was dragged away.

Ever since then, there were a number of internal conflicts within the Jiang family. They were like a pile of sand, disorganized and with each doing their own things. The Jiang family was an empty sh.e.l.l.

Moreover, they were removed from the list of the n.o.ble families in the imperial capital.

The people who were spreading rumors in the dark for Old Master Jiang trembled as well. They wanted to take back the news, but everyone knew that news like this was easy to spread but hard to take back.

The n.o.ble families who decided to side with Old Master Jiang trembled in their sleep. They had to reflect on their position in the capital and not make another wrong step.

…

Yun Bixue was humming a song under her breath. When she saw Xie Limo come out of the study, she asked, "Why do you look so serious today?"

"The Jiang family has been removed from the list of n.o.ble families in the imperial capital. You don't have to worry in the future anymore."

Something that was supposed to feel good actually made Xie Limo's heart heavy. Old Master Jiang's choice opened his eyes to the inhumanness of n.o.ble families with regards to familial ties, but the sight of Yun Bixue was always able to soothe his heart.

Yun Bixue was startled. The Jiang family was removed this quickly? She knew Xie Limo's ability in doing things, so she did not probe further and simply nodded. "Okay, with you here, there's nothing for me to worry."

"Tomorrow is your birthday. I initially wanted to plan something big."

"Don't. I don't usually celebrate birthdays. Let's just do it simple, just like last year, eat a cake and some longevity noodles."

Ever since Yun Bixue lost her parents, she stopped celebrating her birthday because it reminded her of her painful past.

Xie Limo caressed Yun Bixue on the head. "You're always easily satisfied."