20 Did You Feed Your Manners to the Dog? (2)

For so many years, Camilla thought Adrienne was stupid and easy to manipulate. She had never known this girl could use her daughter to corner her like this. She glanced at Elise and saw her daughter's pale complexion as she trembled in her seat. Had she underestimated Rosemary's daughter, or had Adrienne been hiding this side of her?

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Old Master Jiang shot Elise a glare. "You are the adopted daughter of the Jiang family. If you can't uphold your new status, perhaps you should return to where you came from!"

Adrienne laughed inwardly, witnessing such an act before her. The old man must have known by now that Elise was also a Jiang and not just a daughter Camilla had brought to their family. He must have been aware of how people talked about her father's affair with Camilla while her mother was still in a coma.

"I-I…"

However, Elise was too mortified to say anything to defend herself. She hadn't even anticipated that Adrienne knew of it and would use it against her. It only made her hate Adrienne even more. To her Adrienne's statement was a deliberate act to ruin the first impression she would have on her first meeting with their grandparents.

Tears shone in her eyes and she lowered her head. Adrienne had single handedly destroyed her first impression with a few words. She swore in her heart that Adrienne would pay for the humiliation she suffered today.

However, even before she or her mother could say anything, Adrienne continued to fuel the fire.

"It's not too late to correct her ways, Grandpa." Adrienne continued, gesturing to the servants to start serving their meals with a wave of her hand. "We can employ teachers to teach her the good virtues and etiquette expected of the adopted daughter of the Jiang family."

"That's right." Their grandfather nodded in agreement. "Whatever the Jiang family has given you, do not forget that we can take it back easily."

Old Mistress Jiang looked at her granddaughter with displeasure. She thought Adrienne was harboring ill thoughts toward her father and his new family.

"Addie, aren't you too vicious to your sister? You could have helped her instead."

"That's right." Cayden said, not wanting to waste this rare chance to question his sister. "This wouldn't have happened if you looked after her. You should have warned her not to trust others so easily."

Camilla quickly reacted and added. "Father, I apologize on behalf of my daughter. She's just young and inexperienced. Please don't hold it against her."

"You all make it sound like I'm actually part of this family." Adrienne chuckled, thinking that this family was like a group of vicious hyenas. "Then why wasn't I included in your recently commissioned family portrait? Father proudly displayed it in the main study for everyone to see. If my Grandpa Zhao knew about this, he would be displeased. After all, this estate was one of the dowries my mother brought with her when she got married."

At the mention of Old Master Zhao, Cayden immediately shut his mouth while their grandmother looked taken aback by Adrienne's answer. She started panicking at the thought of the Zhao family coming after them. She then shot Camilla a glare for causing trouble to their family. Ever since their son married this lowly woman, her friends had always teased her whenever she played mahjong.

"Addie, your Grandpa Zhao reached out to you?" Old Master Jiang asked her curiously while Lewis's expression turned gloomy.

"Yes, he did." Adrienne nodded. "In fact, I received an invitation to visit him next weekend. I'm sure he has a lot of questions. I heard Uncle Reese recently returned from his mission and wanted to see me. He was also asking if I could bring my father with me."

Adrienne liked how her father's complexion turned white. A week ago, after meeting that nefarious nurse at the hospital, she sent word to the Zhao family asking to meet them. She was trying to see if she could use them this time. She wasn't expecting they would respond, but she did receive a reply the morning after, what's more, it was her uncle who answered for the Zhao family.

Reese Zhao was her mother's younger brother. Although the Zhao family were descendants of a scholar family, he had chosen to take a different path and became a military man. It also wasn't a secret that Reese Zhao disapproved of his older sister's marriage to Lewis Jiang.

Everyone fell silent as they were occupied with their thoughts. It took a whole minute before Old Master Jiang cleared his throat and looked at Adrienne. They hadn't heard from the Zhao family over the past two years, but the old man knew they were vicious tigers waiting for the perfect chance to pounce on their victims.

Looking at Adrienne, he wondered if she resented the Jiang family. After all, her father married his mistress and brought her to her mother's home. It was an insult not anyone could easily overlook, but he couldn't stop his foolish son from marrying Camilla Yan.

"For the past two years, I feel like an outsider in my own home, feeling cast aside and forgotten by everyone." Adrienne started. She sounded bitter and disappointed at the same time. She knew that Camilla and her children would surely try other ways to get rid of her, but how could she allow it to happen?

This was her mother's home, and she would protect it! Previously, she was chased out, but not this time. The reason why she lost everything in the past was because she let these people walk all over her.

"Which is why I asked Grandpa Zhao to hand over the title of this estate to me, and he agreed. So Father, if you'd like to continue playing house with Aunt Camilla, my brother and Elise, please find somewhere else to live!"