"I was even thinking of adding my aunt's son-in-law's unmarried nephew. There are plenty of single girls in the group; they can find a match right here."
"Just wait and see, the group limit is five hundred members, and it's going to hit the max. If you can't handle it, you can leave, but let me remind you, Uncle Edmond has already mentioned you in the group, so you better apologize before you leave."
Royce hung up the phone, his head pounding with anger, when he heard Nadia's screams.
Turning around, he saw his mother choking Nadia and quickly rushed over.
"Mom, Nadia is pregnant! Let her go!"
...The hospital room was in chaos, and the group chat was buzzing too.
About ten minutes after Edmond's message, Nelson replied.
Nelson: "A child's misbehavior is the father's fault, an unvirtuous wife is the husband's fault. It's my responsibility. I apologize and will come with a switch to atone. @Edmond @Lily"
Lily actually had a good impression of Nelson.
When she was with Royce, Malika often insulted her sarcastically, but Nelson never did.
Although she rarely saw Nelson at the Zhou family home, the few times they met, Nelson was always kind and carried himself with the dignity of an elder. He was a refined man, though his brows were perpetually furrowed.
Now that Nelson had apologized publicly, she felt it was unnecessary to make things difficult for him. She was about to say it was okay when Edmond's message popped up first.
Edmond: "No need to visit, but a red envelope will do. @Nelson"
Then Nelson started sending red envelopes.
Karina, enjoying the drama and wanting to irk Malika, began sending red envelopes too.
Karina: "Oh my, that video was truly frightening. Royce's wife should drive less in the future, for everyone's sake."
Karina: "Edmond's wife, you should've said something earlier about such a big incident. It's a sin that the third sister-in-law didn't come to see you. Third sister-in-law, here's a red envelope for you to buy something nice. @Lily"
With that, Karina began sending red envelopes.
As Karina, a sister-in-law, sent red envelopes, the other sisters-in-law couldn't not follow suit.
So, except for Malika, the remaining sisters-in-law started sending red envelopes too.
Once the main house's sisters-in-law sent them, the extended family followed suit, using the opportunity to introduce themselves.
Soon, a barrage of red envelopes rained down for Lily.
Someone who had just joined the group was blinded by the screen full of red envelopes, thinking that having Edmond in the group really showed off wealth. Gleefully, they started grabbing the envelopes.
After grabbing one, they were immediately called out.
Karina: "Night Owl Handsome, whose nickname is that? Don't grab my red envelopes, they're all for Lily. Can't you see?"
Night Owl Handsome: "Who is Lily?"
He was a distant relative of the Zhou family, a recent university graduate looking for work in Jiangyu, pulled into this group from another family group.
Just woken up, his mind and eyes were fixated on the red envelopes, not knowing who Lily was.
After his message, his WeChat pinged non-stop with dozens of private messages. Just as he was about to return to them, a new message popped up in the group.
Edmond: "My wife."
Lily: "Please write 'Edmond's wife is called Lily' in the group announcement. Thank you. @Franklin"
Spectators: "..."
Shameless.
Franklin: "Got it."
Night Owl Handsome: "...Sorry, my bad. Aunt Lily, please accept my red envelope. @Lily"
And so, another person joined in sending red envelopes.
...The sisters-in-law giving red envelopes to Lily caused quite a stir.
Even the old patriarch of the Zhou family was alerted.
Edmond received a call from the old patriarch while playing golf at the club with Yao Chengren, discussing conditions for acquiring "Win".
The phone was handed to him by Octavian, and as soon as he put on his earphones, he heard the old patriarch's questioning voice.
"Did you have Franklin create the group just to vent Lily's anger?"
Edmond, dressed in dark gray leisurewear, lining up a shot, replied coolly, "Yes."
The old patriarch's voice grew shrill with disbelief.
"If you want to vent her anger, fine, but why did you have to pull in all those unrelated people?"
The old patriarch was most furious about this.
He had watched the video and understood the incident thoroughly. Blaming Nadia and Malika was justified.
But Edmond and Lily had gone too far.
Such an embarrassing matter should stay within the family. Instead, they dragged in so many outsiders, airing their dirty laundry.
The old patriarch, sounding earnest, tried to reason.
"Edmond, you can't keep indulging Lily like this. She's getting more and more brazen. Calling people out in front of everyone—she's truly something!"
Edmond swung and hit the ball.
"When that road had only Lily's car, if there had been another car in front of her, or a truck, Nadia's acceleration would've resulted in Lily being sandwiched. What would the consequences be then?"
"You care about face, but do you know I haven't slept well these past few nights? Every time I close my eyes, I see the image of Lily being hit. I've been endlessly grateful that there was no car in front of her."
The old patriarch fell silent.
Yao Chengren, watching the ball fly, clapped enthusiastically, "Great shot!"
Edmond handed his club to Octavian and walked towards the terrace, continuing to discuss the family group with the old patriarch.
"Which of Lily's words were incorrect? She didn't use any foul language or personal attacks. After such a scare, she didn't escalate the matter. But Malika called and verbally attacked her. Shouldn't she be angry?"
With Lily's temper, if she really wanted to escalate, she could have verbally destroyed Malika.
But she restrained herself, merely stating the facts without using overly harsh words.
She didn't even keep the red envelopes; she sent a large one herself for the younger generation to grab.
She was considering his position.
The old patriarch, unable to refute, softened his tone.
"There could've been another way to resolve this without airing our dirty laundry."
"Another way?"
Edmond took the iced water Octavian handed him, downing half the bottle.
"Someone like Malika won't learn her lesson unless she loses face. Before Lily married me, she bullied her. After Lily married me, she continued. She values face the most, so I'll strip it from her."
"I'm making it clear that I back Lily. No one can speak ill of her or bully her. Whatever she does is right. Anyone who wants to bully her should think twice about whether they can handle the consequences."
His tone remained indifferent, without any noticeable inflection.
The old patriarch made one last attempt.
"But what about your second brother? He never wronged you. Why involve him?"
Edmond: "Including him is giving him face."
...Nelson indeed needed to step in.
When Edmond mentioned him in the group, Nelson was having tea with friends, unaware of the situation until his third brother called and told him to check WeChat.
After learning the full story, he felt both anger and helplessness.
He knew Malika had held a grudge against Lily for years. He thought Malika would finally be at peace after Lily got married, but she hadn't stopped.
Calling Malika, Royce answered.
"Mom is with me. She went crazy at the hospital, and Nadia's pregnant, so I took her home with me instead of sending her back."
Nelson drove to his son's place immediately.
Before leaving, he instructed.
"Your mom won't apologize, so use her phone and apologize in the group under her name. Send some red envelopes to Lily, and you and your wife need to apologize too."
Royce resisted, "Dad, we'll lose face if we apologize!"
Nelson: "I've already apologized in the group. If you don't, it's a slap in my face."
Royce, his temples throbbing, raised his voice.
"Uncle Edmond is too much. You've always been good to him, and he drags you into this!"
Nelson: "Fool, by stepping in, I can end this farce. This is Edmond giving me face, providing you a way out."