Jiang Cheng felt incredibly warm inside as he watched his two grandfathers show him such attentive care.
"Thank you for your concern, Grandpas. I'd like to eat some millet porridge."
Hearing this, the middle-aged butler, who had been silently waiting nearby, immediately turned and quickly left without a word.
Feeling the atmosphere in the room growing somewhat stiff, Jiang Cheng hesitated briefly before turning to look at his father, Jiang Jianmin.
He softly asked, "Dad, where is Mom?"
Jiang Jianmin's previously tense face relaxed slightly. He took a deep breath and slowly replied, "Your mother went out to play with her girlfriends."
Hearing this answer, Jiang Cheng did not feel much surprise.
After all, when living in Chengdu, his mother Li Yan's daily activities were nothing more than playing cards, shopping, or practicing calligraphy.
Aside from her regular card partners, she maintained close contact almost every day with various girlfriends on her phone whom Jiang Cheng didn't even know.
Thinking about it this way, these friends must all be from the Capital.
With this thought, Jiang Cheng then turned his attention to Jiang Chenghong, who was sitting nearby, and asked caringly, "Second Grandpa, did you take your medicine on time today? How are you feeling?"
Jiang Chenghong smiled and nodded upon hearing Jiang Cheng's question, replying, "I've taken it, child. Don't worry, I take my medicine strictly on time and dosage. My physical condition is quite good right now."
Speaking of this matter, Great-Grandfather sighed heavily, then turned to Jiang Cheng with an angry expression, speaking in a highly vexed tone.
"It makes me furious! Tell me, he got sick and didn't say anything sooner, keeping it a secret until now. He really has guts. He's grown up now and thinks he knows everything."
As Great-Grandfather spoke these words, he deliberately glanced at Jiang Jianmin, who was standing beside him; the look in his eyes clearly carried a hint of insinuation.
Hearing Great-Grandfather's merciless accusation, Jiang Jianmin knew perfectly well that Great-Grandfather was referring to him.
His already poor complexion instantly turned even more ashen, as if covered by a layer of frost.
Witnessing this scene, Jiang Cheng secretly and completely negated and overturned all the opinions he had formed about his Great-Grandfather yesterday.
It seemed that Great-Grandfather's cautious attitude in front of his father last night was merely an anomaly caused by their long-awaited reunion.
Before this, Jiang Cheng had heard Second Grandpa talk about their grandfather's temper.
The reason why communication between their grandfather and their father always seemed to fail.
The most crucial reason was that Great-Grandfather's attitude was simply too rigid and overly domineering when communicating with others.
After witnessing Great-Grandfather's inconsiderate way of speaking firsthand today, Jiang Cheng finally understood the root cause.
Since childhood, Jiang Jianmin had never communicated with him in such a blunt and impersonal manner as he did today.
But then again, people who lived in the early 1920s...
Their concepts of family and the father-son relationship were still different from those of today.
Seeing the situation fall into a stalemate again, Jiang Chenghong quickly reached out and pulled Jiang Cheng, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.
With a face full of smiles, he said to Jiang Cheng.
"Good grandson, you should try to persuade your grandfather and your father. I can't talk any sense into these two. When they aren't meeting, they are full of regret and talk about wanting to see each other all day long. Now that they've finally met, they start arguing at the drop of a hat. They truly are a pair of feuding father and son!"
Hearing these words, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but feel confused and asked.
"Great-Grandfather, when I went to your study before, didn't you tell me that my father was your only child? What exactly is going on?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Cheng saw Great-Grandfather's expression change slightly, as if realizing he had said the wrong thing.
Great-Grandfather quickly explained, "Good grandson, don't misunderstand. Grandpa only has you as a grandson. Those others are just for show; they aren't real. Don't worry..."
Seeing his father gently pat Jiang Cheng's shoulder to offer comfort.
Jiang Jianmin, who had been silent all this time, suddenly glared fiercely at Jiang Cheng, his eyes carrying a hint of barely noticeable jealousy.
Clearly, he felt uneasy about his father treating his own son with such doting affection.
Having suffered an "eye-glare attack" from his own father for no reason.
Jiang Cheng felt extremely wronged and innocent, and could only shrug helplessly, indicating that he was utterly confused as well.
However, from Great-Grandfather's explanation, Jiang Cheng roughly understood what was going on.
"So what my father meant just now is that very few people currently know my dad's true identity, right??"
Great-Grandfather nodded: "I told you before, your uncles didn't end well. I only have your father left by my side, and I am truly afraid... Especially after my term of office ended, I needed to be even more cautious."
Jiang Jianmin widened his eyes, looking at his father in disbelief.
Because this was the very first time in his life he had heard the word "afraid" come from his father's mouth.
All this time, all he had ever heard were firm and unyielding words from Great-Grandfather.
Yet, today, these words revealing inner fear, worry, and the dread of loss were a complete first.
Seeing his elder brother pause, seemingly unable to utter the words stuck in his throat.
Jiang Chenghong took a deep breath and picked up the thread of conversation.
"After Big Brother's term of office ended, those days were truly difficult! As the old saying goes, power is like flowing water—colorless and tasteless—but it possesses enormous influence. Once the stipulated time is up, this flow of water rushes to the other side, making those rice fields fertile. And people, they often abandon the original field without hesitation, turning instead to the richer land."
After saying this, Jiang Chenghong earnestly advised Jiang Jianmin.