Chapter 69 We’re Going to Raise a “Man-Eating Flower”

“Got it or not? When raising a daughter in the future, you must raise her the same way you raise a son—treat her as an heir. You need to cultivate her competitive spirit and give her the ability to stand at the very top,” Ruan Yaoyao emphasized. “Don’t raise her like her aunt—spending all day on flowers and painting, like a parasitic vine. If the Xu family falls, she’ll be finished too.”

【Right… now that you mention it…】

【I don’t think I ever saw Nannan’s ‘ending’ in the storyline. She was just background—barely mentioned.】

Ruan Yaoyao carefully flipped through the “details” above Yu Xiangqiao’s head, confirming that when the Xu family ran into trouble, the fourth and fifth sons were merely glossed-over cannon fodder—no real storyline at all. She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or upset.

She could easily imagine it—those two had zero survival skills. As long as the Xu family stood, they were fine. But if it collapsed, they probably wouldn’t even be able to support themselves.

【Sigh… forget it. If the Xu family is gone, there’s no helping them!】

【As long as the Xu family stays intact, they’ll be fine.】

Ruan Yaoyao made up her mind—no matter what, she couldn’t let anything happen to the Xu family.

Yu Xiangqiao also silently swore: Mom, don’t worry. We’ll guard the Xu family together with you!

At this moment, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law reached an unprecedented level of agreement. And in order to learn from others’ experiences, their attention shifted to the Xie family, hoping to draw some “lessons” from them.

Of course, they absolutely refused to admit they were actually there to enjoy the gossip.

“Xie Zining has an older sister,” Yu Xiangqiao said while cracking sunflower seeds, sharing what she knew. “She once told me her sister was a ‘drag-along’—an illegitimate daughter her stepmother brought with her when she married into the family…”

They had attended the same school before. Although Yu Xiangqiao had many siblings, her family was harmonious, and her parents doted on her. Xie Zining, on the other hand, was jealous and often picked fights with her.

They had even gotten their parents called in because of a fight.

“You got into fights?” Ruan Yaoyao was surprised.

【You really can’t tell! When Xiangqiao married into the family, she looked so gentle and well-behaved!】

She looked Yu Xiangqiao up and down, unable to reconcile this delicate-looking woman with someone who used to fight.

Yu Xiangqiao chuckled. “I was pretty mischievous as a kid. Plus, I had an older brother who always protected me, so I got pretty bold.”

Even when her younger siblings came along, she still beat them when needed.

Her father was busy with work and didn’t interfere much.

Her mother always tried to be fair and avoided getting involved in sibling disputes, so when the younger ones got beaten and complained, it didn’t help.

Eventually, they were “tamed” by Yu Xiangqiao and followed her lead.

When she fought with Xie Zining, her mother didn’t care much either—she only worried whether Yu Xiangqiao had suffered any losses at school.

Xie Zining, however, was different. When her guardian was called in, it was her stepmother, who immediately apologized, saying Xie Zining was immature and had caused trouble…

From then on, Xie Zining disliked Yu Xiangqiao even more. It wasn’t until they went to different universities that things gradually eased.

Later, Yu Xiangqiao got married. When Xie Zining heard it was a “business marriage,” she even came to mock her. But not long after, Xie Zining herself was also married off in a business alliance—worse than Yu Xiangqiao’s—to a notorious playboy, Ran Hao.

“Mom, you remember Ran Hao, right? The one who trended back then for being with multiple women in a single night…”

Ruan Yaoyao didn’t remember the name, but the scandal definitely rang a bell.

Back then, her scumbag husband was still alive. She had given him a firm warning: if he ever dared to marry their daughter off to someone like that, she’d poison him.

The man valued his life and quickly promised he wouldn’t. After all, Xu Nannan was also his daughter—he wouldn’t do such a thing.

Ruan Yaoyao didn’t believe him and had remained vigilant as Xu Nannan grew up.

Unexpectedly, the man died before Xu Nannan even graduated from college, which resolved one of Ruan Yaoyao’s major concerns.

Perhaps it was karma for the sins Father Xie committed in his youth—no matter how much he tried later, he only had two daughters: Xie Ziyi and Xie Zining. Meanwhile, his elder brother had three sons in a row.

Among the elite circle, people loved to gossip about who would inherit the Xie family fortune.

“I think he’ll definitely give it to his nephews. No matter how good an adopted son is, there’s no blood relation. Nephews are different—they’re his elder brother’s sons, so they’re closer.”

“Oh, what do you know? Those three nephews are all useless—either fooling around with women or embezzling company funds. They’ve been caught countless times. If they take over, the company will collapse sooner or later.”

“Then what about his second son-in-law? If he’s no good, isn’t the eldest one decent? Let the eldest daughter and her husband have a child with the Xie surname—that way, the wealth stays in the family.”

“You think the He family would agree? The eldest daughter already had three pregnancies and only gave birth to one son. Why do you think she was in such a hurry to have children at such a young age? She wanted more sons to compete for the inheritance.”

“What about the second daughter?”

“You know who she married, don’t you? Ran Hao—the guy who trended for womanizing and reportedly ruined his health. Haven’t you noticed they’ve been married so long and still have no children?”

…

Ruan Yaoyao usually didn’t enjoy attending these high-society tea gatherings, but this time, just to hear gossip about the Xie family, she specifically brought Yu Xiangqiao along.

They had barely sat down before overhearing even juicier stories than what Yu Xiangqiao had told.

Before long, the conversation turned to how Xie Zining had gotten involved with her brother-in-law, He Tao, and was caught red-handed by her sister, Xie Ziyi.

“At our hotel—you know what I mean!” Madam Zhou shot everyone a knowing look.

The group responded with drawn-out “ohs,” their expressions full of intrigue.

Some even glanced at Ruan Yaoyao and Yu Xiangqiao in surprise—Yu Xiangqiao rarely attended these gatherings, so why had she suddenly shown up today?

“Xiangqiao just finished her confinement. Staying at home all the time gets boring, so I brought her out for some fresh air,” Ruan Yaoyao said, of course not admitting she came for the gossip.

As a junior, Yu Xiangqiao simply smiled politely at the lady.

The lady’s marital surname was Ma— Hu Xiaoyan. She had married around the same time as Ruan Yaoyao and had always looked down on her, thinking Ruan Yaoyao was too submissive—tolerating her husband’s affairs and even raising his illegitimate child.

In her eyes, that was practically saint-like.

Unlike herself—no matter how wild her husband acted outside, he would never dare bring an illegitimate child in front of her.

If Ma Gaoyi dared to push things too far, Hu Xiaoyan would make an even bigger scene, ensuring he lost face in the entire elite circle.

Ma Gaoyi cared about his reputation and didn’t dare cross her. Still, he would occasionally complain, using Ruan Yaoyao as an example of a “virtuous wife.”

In ancient times, he said, someone like her would be enshrined in a temple—Hu Xiaoyan should learn from her.

No wonder Hu Xiaoyan couldn’t stand Ruan Yaoyao. With a mocking tone, she said:

“Oh my, who would’ve thought—not only are you a virtuous wife, you’re also such a good mother-in-law. Then again, some people were never the same as us. They believe in ‘obey your father at home, your husband after marriage, and your son after your husband dies.’ If the daughter-in-law gets upset and whispers a few words in the son’s ear, some people won’t be able to sit still—losing sleep and appetite over it.”