CHAPTER 256: CHAPTER 209 LENG NING’S BIRTHDAY

The next day was Leng Ning’s birthday at the Leng Mansion.

Early in the morning, Mrs. Leng got up to instruct the servants to prepare, purchase ingredients, decorate the house, and arrange Leng Ning’s birthday party. If it weren’t for yesterday’s small accident involving John getting injured, her plans wouldn’t have been disrupted, and she would have taken care of everything last night.

As for the gift, she had been so occupied with John’s matter lately that she hadn’t managed to pick out something suitable in a hurry.

Luckily, she had some precious jewelry safely stored in her room’s safe, which she had acquired at auctions. She decided to temporarily give one of them to her daughter and choose something more thoughtful that Leng Ning liked once the day’s events were over.

Mr. Leng was also quite busy. Even on weekends, he couldn’t spare time, as he had to attend the opening of an old friend’s gallery. After breakfast, he left the house.

Qian Rouxuan, being perceptive, joined John and the Leng parents for breakfast before helping Mrs. Leng alongside the servants.

Mrs. Leng pulled John to sit on the sofa and looked approvingly at Qian Rouxuan organizing the arrangements. She gently asked John, "Sweetheart, is your hand feeling better?"

"Much better! Grandma, what’s the occasion today?" John asked curiously, noticing the servants bustling around the room and his mother arranging flowers.

Mrs. Leng smiled and said, "It’s your auntie’s birthday!" After saying this, she immediately recalled the unpleasant encounter between Leng Ning and John a few days ago and hurried to reassure him. "John, let Grandma tell you—your aunt is a good person. She was just in a bad mood that day, which is why it happened. You need to be polite to your aunt, okay?"

John nodded. "Grandma, I will!" But deep in his eyes, there was a glint of disdain. So it was that woman who had insulted his mother. She didn’t want to acknowledge him—well, he didn’t want to acknowledge her either!

Just as his mother had said, she was merely a daughter; in a few years, she’d get married and belong to someone else’s family. Everything in the Leng Family would be his eventually. So there was no need to take her seriously. Whatever she said, he could just pretend he hadn’t heard.

For now, the most important thing was to keep his grandparents happy. The more he acted mature, the more he’d appear considerate compared to her.

Mrs. Leng beamed with satisfaction. This child really was sensible. If only Xiao Ning could be more understanding, it would be perfect.

John tugged at Mrs. Leng’s hand. "Grandma, can you come upstairs to play with my toys?"

Seeing the cautious, yearning look in the child’s eyes, Mrs. Leng’s heart melted completely. How could she refuse? She immediately instructed Qian Rouxuan, "Rouxuan, I’ll go upstairs with John now. Please make sure everything gets properly arranged downstairs!"

What she was thinking, though, was that Leng Ning would likely return in the afternoon. Once everything was ready in the morning, she’d find an excuse to send Qian Rouxuan away to avoid any unpleasant situations.

Qian Rouxuan was more than happy about this arrangement. Putting down the roses she was holding, she responded, "Auntie, don’t worry! I’ll make sure everything is arranged perfectly!"

Mrs. Leng smiled. "That’s wonderful! Oh, and Rouxuan, you do know that today is Xiao Ning’s birthday, but she and you..."

She didn’t finish the sentence, but Qian Rouxuan immediately understood, her eyes narrowing slightly as she gave a gentle, poised smile. "Auntie, don’t worry. After finishing the arrangements, I’ll leave. I happen to have a friend’s invitation to attend, and it wouldn’t look good if I skipped it."

Mrs. Leng was very pleased and headed upstairs hand in hand with John.

Although Qian Rouxuan wasn’t happy deep down, she didn’t show it outwardly. Before officially marrying into the Leng Family, she couldn’t afford to provoke Leng Ning and could only keep up appearances. However, once she was officially part of the family, she was confident she’d have ways to assert her power...

As she watched the servants bustling about under her direction, her irritation quickly dissipated.

There were only a few people left in the room: Nanny Wang, Aunt Qiu from the gardens outside, and two young maids—Xiao Li and Xiao Lian—cleaning the rooms.

When they saw Mrs. Leng leave, Qian Rouxuan still assumed the posture of a hostess, which made them feel indignant.

Nanny Wang, having worked here the longest and considered a senior, grew annoyed at Qian Rouxuan’s arrogant demeanor. She simply decided to head to the kitchen to help with food preparations.

Aunt Qiu, who was usually responsible for the outside garden, barely intervened in indoor matters. She took the opportunity to head outdoors and didn’t come back in.

After a while, only Xiao Li and Xiao Lian were left in the hall, slowly arranging flowers.

Qian Rouxuan could certainly sense their attitudes but held back her resentment. She thought to herself that once she married into the Leng Family, she’d kick out these disrespectful people and replace them with her own trusted staff.

When everything was ready, Qian Rouxuan finally left. Yet Mrs. Leng noticed that there was no sign of Leng Ning and grew frustrated as she dialed her phone.