"I said, Dad's not home!" Jiang Yao smirked triumphantly. "Dad completely forgot you were supposed to be returning home today! And rightly so, with you married to that kind of person, is it really necessary for Dad to throw you a homecoming banquet? Ha, wouldn't that be embarrassing enough!"

"I don't need any homecoming banquet!"

Jiang Can suddenly stood up and blocked Jiang Yao's way, "I want my dowry!"

"dowry?"

Jiang Yao raised an eyebrow at her, a malicious smile curling at the corner of her lips. "What dowry? I've never heard of it before!"

Jiang Can froze, her heart pounding wildly.

In that instant, all the grievances, resentment, and hatred surged into her heart. She knew she came from a humble background and had been branded as an illegitimate child since the moment she entered this world. But her birth was not something she could choose, and even in the darkness of these past years, she had strived to move towards the light.

I doubt any normal girl would agree to such an absurd request as to marry in place of another!

All she wanted was to save her mother.

Why must they take away even this little bit of hope!

Jiang Yao snorted and turned to go upstairs, but Jiang Can grabbed her arm.

"Don't go! Explain yourself!"

"Explain yourself clearly!" Jiang Yao pinched her arm hard.

Jiang Can winced in pain and staggered backward, slamming the back of his head against the wall with a loud thud.

She looked up and saw Jiang Yao's increasingly sinister mockery: "Jiang Can, you're already a married daughter, a handful of dirty water thrown into that poor, remote village! Don't even think about having anything to do with the Jiang family anymore!"

"But... Dad promised me himself!" Jiang Can gritted her teeth, "As long as I marry in your place, he'll give me a generous dowry, enough for my mother..."

"You can get your mother a good hospital room and imported medicine?" Jiang Yao laughed heartily. "My silly sister, do you still remember why Dad kicked you and your mother out of the house back then?"

Jiang Can remained silent, a chill creeping into her heart.

"Isn't it because your mother is promiscuous and got pregnant with a pair of bastards from who-knows-where, which made your father furious!"

"Jiang Can, that bitch deserves to go to hell! You think Daddy will save her? Ha, Daddy would rather she die out there!"

"No..." Jiang Can's eyes reddened, and she tried her best to hold back, but the tears still fell uncontrollably.

“My mother isn’t that kind of person; she was framed…”

"You mean you were framed by my mother?!"

Jiang Yao raised her voice eight octaves and glared at her fiercely.

Jiang Can's gaze was cold. She remembered her mother telling her that the more guilty a person is, the more they pretend to be strong on the surface.

"I didn't say that." She wiped away her tears and said calmly, "Actually, neither of us knows what really happened in the previous generation. So please watch your words in the future. If you dare to disrespect my mother again, I won't let you get away with it!"

"Ha, you'd better have the ability first!"

Jiang Yao sneered twice, deliberately tossing her hair back to reveal the diamond necklace she had just bought.

"How is it? Pretty, isn't it?" She looked at Jiang Can provocatively. "I just bought this necklace, and it wasn't cheap at all, three hundred thousand!"

Jiang Can was taken aback.

Jiang Yao said fiercely, enunciating each word clearly, "It was bought with your dowry!"

"you……"

"Let me tell you the truth, Dad never intended to give you any dowry! Making you my substitute is already giving you face! Jiang Can, don't push your luck!"

Jiang Can bit her lip tightly, trembling with anger, yet helpless.

She saw Jiang Yao's smug smile, and then the servant politely "invited" her out. She walked out of the courtyard, dejected. The sky was overcast, and the air smelled damp.

The weather is unpredictable this time of year; heavy rain can come unexpectedly, catching her off guard.

Jiang Can had no choice but to quicken her pace and head towards the bus station.

"Third Master, Miss Jiang has come out."

"Hmm." Gu Mang took off his boxing gloves and tossed them aside, then unwrapped the bandages from his hands layer by layer. "How is she?"

"It doesn't look too good."

The man's brow furrowed.

"Miss Jiang doesn't look well. She must have been upset at her parents' home. I inquired and the Jiang family's servants said that she didn't get her dowry and was even humiliated by her sister."

Gu Mang clenched his fist, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

How much was her dowry?

"It seems to be 300,000."

"How much is the piece of land that the Jiang family bid for worth?"

"One billion."

"Very well." Gu Mang sneered, "Let's use this piece of land to wake up those brainless bastards in the Jiang family!"