Before he died, my grandfather forced me to marry the richest man in the capital.

Grandpa Ji sat upright in his chair, his aged, wrinkled hands taking a sip of Tieguanyin tea. He slowly looked up and asked his grandson sitting opposite him, "After spending half a month together, what do you think of that girl? Is she the scheming woman you think she is?"

Grandpa Ji had served in the military when he was young, so he could clearly see the changes in his grandson's eyes.

It seems we're caught in a dilemma!

The old man wanted to give his grandson some pointers, so he made an excuse to have the butler take Tang Junyao to the mansion to familiarize her with the place.

Ji Hancheng pursed his lips and remained silent, refusing to answer the question.

How could Old Master Ji let him off so easily with just a few words? He glanced at his grandson and said, "Don't think I don't know that you forced that girl to sign a three-month agreement."

"You don't need to look at me like that. It wasn't the girl who told me, nor was it Xu Mingkai. I have my own way of finding out. Grandpa is just afraid that you are too suspicious by nature and will regret it later. That girl is quite good. The daughters of wealthy families are not necessarily better than her."

Ji Hancheng felt that his grandfather was exaggerating. "Grandpa is so sure that she has no ulterior motives."

Grandpa Ji sighed heavily. "Oh, you, you always overthink things. You have to consider everyone carefully. Not everyone is so complicated. With your methods, you could investigate her past. Of course, Grandpa doesn't want you to understand her this way in the end. Do you think she married you willingly?"

Was she unwilling?

Old Master Ji's words inevitably troubled Ji Hancheng's mind.

Grandpa Ji continued earnestly, "You just want to know why Grandpa insists on forcing you to marry her, right? You're unwilling to submit and feel that Grandpa is controlling your marriage, aren't you? Do you think Grandpa is senile now?"

"You're too clever for your own good, but this time your cleverness backfired. If I don't tell you the truth today, you probably won't let go of your prejudice against the girl."

"When Grandpa was young, he was betrayed when he went into business. Back then, your grandma and I wanted to make a name for ourselves. There were no richest people or four major families back then. Grandpa was ambitious. After leaving the army, he planned to start his own business and travel all over the country with your grandma. Your second grandpa was still in college and his family wasn't well-off. Once, when a cooperation deal was finalized, he was betrayed. A third party wanted to steal the deal and sent gangsters to hunt me down. Your grandma was seriously injured during that escape and that's why she passed away so early."

At this point, the old man's eyes welled up with tears, and his eyes reddened.

Grandpa Ji took a deep breath and continued, "But we were very lucky to meet Old Tang, who loves sea fishing. Don't look down on the Tang family now. Before we started, there was already a Tang family, but not our Ji family. It was just that we gradually declined to the point of being unknown because of Old Tang's good-for-nothing son. After Old Tang saved us, he and his wife not only came to visit your grandmother and me every few days, but also helped us introduce business. At that time, the Tang family could be said to have a place in society. Gradually, with Old Tang's help, our business became more and more successful. He provided the initial funding, but he was a kind-hearted person and did not ask for anything in return. I am grateful to him from the bottom of my heart, so I made a promise to him, telling him that if he ever encounters difficulties, he can come to me anytime, and I will do my best to help him."

"Xiao Cheng, you're very smart. You know what to do next. That girl has cut off all contact with her father and has been raised by Old Tang. With Old Tang's character, he can't raise a bad child. There are many admirable qualities in her that you don't know about. Grandpa hopes you won't be blinded by appearances and look at her with prejudice. Her marriage to you was forced by her grandfather threatening suicide, and it wasn't her own wish. On the day of the marriage registration, Old Tang didn't reveal our family background to the girl."

As he walked out of the study, Grandpa Ji's words kept echoing in his ears. If what his grandfather said was true, then without Old Tang, there would be no Ji family today. Logically, that was correct.

Old Tang made the Ji family successful, so by that calculation, that woman became the benefactor of the entire Ji family.

If Old Tang hadn't been kind-hearted and hadn't saved Grandpa, he probably wouldn't be who he is today.

This was only the second time in his life that his grandfather had opened up to him for such a long time; the first time was when he was 18 and wanted to join the army.

Grandpa recounted some of the precautions he had to take while in the army.

No wonder she signed the prenuptial agreement and filed for divorce without hesitation.

So you wanted to leave as soon as possible!

A burst of noisy laughter came from the doorway.

A group of people, young and old, men and women, walked in.

Leading the group was the second patriarch of the Ji family, who was also the younger brother of the old master Ji. Behind him were his son, Ji Hancheng's uncle Ji Ting, his wife Shen Pei, and his grandson Ji Mingyuan. As for the woman he was holding hands with, no one knew.

Ji Hancheng had absolutely no interest in knowing!

Ji Hancheng politely nodded to the elders: "Second Grandfather, Uncle, Aunt."

When Tang Junting first arrived at such a luxurious and extravagant mansion, she couldn't help but gasp in amazement. However, she concealed it well, displaying the elegance, poise, and grace of a wealthy heiress throughout.

Seeing the legendary Ji Hancheng, I was still captivated. He's so handsome; no wonder so many women in the capital want to marry him.

If it weren't for the rumors about him being so terrible, Tang Junting would really like to give it a try. Although being the second young mistress of the Ji family is not bad, it's nothing compared to being the young mistress of the person in charge of the Ji family.

Ji Mingyuan also greeted him, "Brother."

Ji Hancheng did not answer, but simply nodded and said, "I'm going to go for a walk outside."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Ji Hancheng's housekeeper, Aunt Ji, hurried over and respectfully asked, "Young Master, are you going to see the Young Madam?"

Aunt Ji: Young Master is so attached to Young Madam, it's only been a short time since we last met.

Ji Hancheng asked in a low voice, "Hmm, where is she?"

"The young mistress is in the flower room. She said the flowers there are beautiful and she wanted to sit there and admire them, so she told me to come back first."

Tang Junting was stunned, her face stiffening. She gracefully turned to the man beside her and said gently, "A-Yuan, your brother is already married?"

Ji Mingyuan scoffed, "Yeah, my brother was forced into marriage and doesn't like that woman at all." They've never even met her.

Hearing this made Tang Junting feel much better; at least Ji Mingyuan still liked her. As expected, Master Ji was heartless.

In the Ji family's flower room, a woman in a white dress was carefully observing white roses. Ji Hancheng did not go forward to disturb her, but stood quietly at the door, observing her every move.

She wore a smile that seemed serene and untouched by the world, as pure as the white rose she caressed.

After a while, she got up to look at the orchids beside her, but didn't notice the man at the door at all.

Every flower in the greenhouse is well-maintained and blooms exceptionally well. Several types of flowers, which are not blooming at this time of year, are also vying to bloom in vibrant colors, which must be due to the special methods used by the person in charge.

Feeling his intense gaze, she looked up and met his eyes, which were scrutinizing her: "Young Master Ji, are you here to see the flowers too?"

He then stepped into the greenhouse. "You like white roses."

Instead of answering, he asked a question. He didn't care much for flowers; he wasn't interested in them. To him, these things were a waste of his time.

So I won't spend time caring about it.

The two were more harmonious than ever before: "It's alright, but I saw that your greenhouse is quite beautiful, so I came in to take a look. There are also many flowers that are not in this season."

Ji Hancheng glanced at the smiling woman, his eyes darkening. "Yes, my grandmother loves flowers, so my grandfather had this greenhouse built. All the flowers here are my grandmother's favorites, and the temperature and humidity here are perfect for these flowers to bloom all year round."

Tang Junyao was taken aback. This was the first time he had talked about his family in front of her, and she was also shocked. Grandpa Ji and Grandma Ji had such a loving relationship.

If her mother... met the wrong person.

She couldn't help but feel a little envious: "Grandma is so lucky to have met someone as devoted as Grandpa. What about Grandma? I didn't see her today."

He noticed a fleeting hint of disappointment in her eyes. "Grandma suffered a serious injury when she was young, which is why she passed away early." Tang Junyao wondered if she was mistaken, but she noticed a trace of sadness in Ji Hancheng's eyes, which vanished in an instant.

Ji Hancheng: "Let's go, it's almost time to eat."

If he didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't ask. After all, it was his private matter, and they hadn't reached the point of sharing secrets.