Scumbag Forcing Me to Divorce? Watch Me Turn Around and Marry a Powerful Capital Tycoon! - Chapter 63

No one truly knew how much pain the old Madam Si carried in her heart.

She was grieving—grieving so deeply she could hardly breathe.

Her daughter was gone.

And her only granddaughter had vanished without a trace.

She had given birth to nine children in her life. Among them, Si Huashang was the youngest. Because of this, Madam Si was already fifteen years older than Old Madam Shi.

Old Madam Shi was sixty-two.

She herself was seventy-seven.

She had already stepped past her prime, her body steadily declining with age. And she feared—feared with every beat of her frail heart—that she might leave this world without ever seeing her daughter and granddaughter again.

Every time that thought crossed her mind, her heart clenched in stabbing waves of pain.

A pain sharper than having one’s flesh cut open. A pain no one else could ever truly understand.

Seeing their mother on the verge of collapse, the eight sons of the Si family immediately gathered around her, forming a protective circle.

“Mom, please don’t say that. We will find Shengbao!”

“Big Brother’s right. As long as we don’t give up, there will come a day when Shengbao returns to us.”

One after another, they tried to comfort her with hopeful words.

But the more Madam Si listened to it, the angrier she became. Her hoarse voice trembled with rage.

“Find, find, find—that’s all you know how to say! Pretty words to coax me, but what use are they? My poor Shengbao is still so little, forced to suffer the cruelties of this world alone! Tell me—what use are the eight of you? Why did I raise you, if not for this?!”

Her eyes glistened with tears, and she hurled the cushion from the sofa at her sons.

“What use is it for Shengbao to have uncles like you!”

Her voice broke.

Every time she imagined her precious little granddaughter enduring hardship outside, she felt there was no longer any meaning in living.

Night after night, she would lie awake, her chest heavy with sorrow.

Her health had deteriorated sharply over the years—not from illness, but from grief gnawing away at her. If not for the Si family’s immense wealth sustaining her medicines and care, she might not have lasted this long.

The eight brothers stood in silence, their heads lowered, their mother’s accusations slicing into them like blades. They did not argue. They simply let her vent her anguish.

For the truth was—she was right.

The Si family ruled Hong Kong with iron power.

Between the eight brothers, they dominated nearly every resource in the business world. The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth brothers had even extended their reach abroad. Over the years, they had exhausted every possible avenue, wielded every shred of influence they possessed… yet still, their little sister and Shengbao had never been found.

It was as if the two had vanished from the face of the earth.

It was their failure. Their shame.

As uncles, they had failed to protect the ones they should have protected most.

The weight of guilt crushed them, each silently wishing they could take Shengbao’s place and suffer in her stead.

“Mom,” a gentle voice interrupted the heavy silence. It was Zhao Yunong, wife of the eldest son, Si Huawen. She stepped forward, her tone soft, coaxing. “Please, calm your anger. Our Shengbao’s destiny is extraordinary. Remember? The Master foretold it at her birth—she carries the life of a phoenix. He said she would one day rise from the ashes. Nothing will harm her, not truly. It’s only that fate hasn’t aligned yet. When the time is right, we’ll find her. I’m certain of it.”

The Si family, being true children of Hong Kong, believed deeply in such things.

At Shengbao’s birth, Madam Si had sought out the most revered Feng Shui master in the city.

The moment he laid eyes on the infant; he had been shaken. He declared her a phoenix child, destined to bring glory and fortune to her family.

Even years later, when tragedy struck and Si Huashang and Shengbao disappeared, the Master still affirmed: the phoenix will be reborn.

Zhao Yunong continued, her eyes thoughtful:

“Mother, there’s another matter. News came from the capital—our in-law, Old Madam Shi, her head illness has relapsed. I was wondering if perhaps we should send someone to visit her…”

The moment she spoke, Madam Si stiffened, her worry shifting instantly.

“Her illness relapsed. No, I must go myself. I must!”

She and Old Madam Shi were bound by shared suffering.

Both women, burdened by fate, had lost what was most precious.

One had lost daughter and granddaughter.

The other had lost daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

Yes, Shi Nanxing still lived—but for years he had been trapped in his unmoving body, a man in name only, sustained by breath and nothing more.

In her grief, Madam Si still found herself mourning for Old Madam Shi.

At least she herself had eight sons and many grandchildren to fill her halls.

Old Madam Shi? She had only two children.

And when Nanxing fell, she was left with only one daughter, Shi Nanyue.

A lonely, desolate old age.

Zhao Yunong frowned gently, then suggested, “Then let me accompany you, along with Yingxiang.”

Yingxiang, the wife of the third son, Si Huali, was also living at the manor.

For in Hong Kong’s great families, tradition demanded that so long as the matriarch lived, the household remained united under one roof.

The fourth through eighth brothers often stayed abroad, their empires expanding outward, but those who remained lived together.

The Si family was large, but harmony prevailed. Sisters-in-law were like true sisters, not rivals. It was this unity that had once allowed the brothers to purchase a private plane solely for Shengbao—without a single voice of opposition.

For Shengbao wasn’t only the treasure of her eight uncles.

She was the beloved jewel of her eight aunts as well.

Not one of them had daughters of their own. When Shengbao was born, they had adored her to the skies.

Madam Si rubbed her temples. “Yunong, you must stay. The household depends on you. Yingxiang and I will go.”

The eldest daughter-in-law had many responsibilities—too many to leave unattended.

Zhao Yunong bowed her head. “Yes, Mother. I’ll tell Yingxiang.”

“Go, then.”

…

The moment news reached the capital that Madam Si herself was coming, Shi Nanyue sprang into action.

The Si family wasn’t merely Hong Kong’s royal clan. Their power reached across oceans.

Their current standing far surpassed that of the Shi family.

And with Madam Si coming in person, there could be no negligence in their welcome.

Shi Nanyue instructed her daughter urgently.

“An’an, the day after tomorrow, you’ll come with me to the airport to receive her. Remember to dress beautifully. You must leave a good impression on Madam Si.”

For the Si family’s thirteen grandsons were all dragons among men. If Tang An could capture the old matriarch’s favor, endless doors would open.

Tang An frowned. “But she isn’t my real grandmother. Will pleasing her even matter?”

“Of course it matters!” Shi Nanyue’s gaze sharpened. “Shengbao may be gone, but you remain. You are the Shi family’s only child now. Blood ties don’t matter—what matters is resemblance, timing, fate. You’re about Shengbao’s age, and Madam Si is a woman who cherishes old bonds. When she sees you, she’ll be reminded of Shengbao. Think, An’an—thirteen grandsons, yet not one granddaughter. Do you understand what that means?”

Her hand squeezed her daughters meaningfully.

“An’an, this may be your chance. You may not share their blood, but that could work in your favor. If you win Madam Si’s heart, if you one day marry into the Si family, if you give birth to the eldest grandson… then Hong Kong will belong to you. The entire world will belong to you.”

Jealousy flared in Tang An’s eyes.

Shengbao had been blessed with too much—born into two powerful families, adored by eight towering uncles, shielded by thirteen dragon-like brothers, spoiled even by the aunts who were not bound to her by blood.

She had been everyone’s little princess.

But what of it?

That “little princess” was dead.

And the dead could claim nothing.

All of it, Tang An vowed silently, all of it will become mine.

Her mother was right. If she could secure Madam Si’s affection and become the Si family’s granddaughter-in-law, then her future would blaze brighter than the sun.

The Shi family. The Si family.

Everything would belong to her.

Her eyes glinted with ambition.

Shi Nanyue patted her daughter’s cheek tenderly, passing her a bowl of bird’s nest soup.

“Enough. Take this to your grandmother.”

Tang An wrinkled her nose. “Why is it always me? All the lowly errands fall to me, but never the good things. She won’t even let me use the family plane, though it’s sitting idle at the airport gathering dust.”

She was learning to fly, studying for her license, and had wanted to practice.

But when she had mentioned it to her grandmother, the old woman’s face had turned dark.

That plane had been bought for Shengbao, she’d said. Apart from Shengbao, no one was allowed to touch it.

The sting of that memory made Tang An’s resentment burn hotter.

All these years, she had tended to her grandmother faithfully, never complaining, never shirking. And yet—no matter what she did—it was never enough to make the old woman love her as much as she had loved Shengbao.

Never enough.

Shi Nanyue sighed softly, her smile touched with calculation.

“An’an, I know it feels unfair. But your grandmother is old. Old and foolish. She says things that hurt without thinking. We, the younger generation, must bear it with grace. As for the plane, what’s the rush? When your uncle’s final day comes, all of the Shi family’s wealth will fall to you anyway. Do you think I would fight you for it?”

Her voice was smooth as silk.

And Tang An’s heart filled with fire.