Chapter 9: Charcoal in the Snow You are worried about your love rival, right?
Seeing that Jiang Ming didn't answer, A Qiao turned around and kicked him again. She didn't seem to use much strength, but Jiang Ming was already in so much pain that he felt dizzy.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Jiang Meng screamed and quickly echoed.
Doctor Wang instinctively wanted to say, "I can set his bones for free," but when he saw Jiang Tong's polite smile, he felt a chill in his heart, and the words came out of his mouth: "Well, young lady, come with me to get the medicine."
…
When Jiang Tong came back with the medicine bag, Aqiao had gone somewhere again, and Zhong Wanci was making a fire in the kitchen.
Jiang Tong felt heartbroken. Although the Zhong family was not a wealthy one, Zhong Wanci grew up in luxury. She was served by maids and old women whenever she went out. She never had to cook or wash clothes by herself.
Jiang Tong took a deep breath. Fortunately, she was no longer the good-for-nothing young lady who had been kept in seclusion in the boudoir. If she gave herself some more time, everything would be fine.
Jiang Tong calmed down and walked in: "Mom, I'll get the medicine back... Mom? What's wrong with you?"
Zhong Wanci was wiping her tears alone. When she heard her daughter's voice, she frantically tried to stuff something in her hand into the stove.
Jiang Tong was curious for a moment, so he walked around to the back of the stove and snatched it away.
"Tongtong!" Zhong Wanci wanted to snatch it back, but she was not as agile as Jiang Tong.
Jiang Tong turned around and read it in just a few seconds, but was stunned for a moment.
It was a letter, a letter sent by the two elders of the Zhong family.
"Grandma asked you to go back to the Zhong family." Jiang Tong looked at Zhong Wanci in disbelief.
In her previous life, until Zhong Wanci was forced to death, there was no news from the Zhong family. She had always believed that the Zhong family elders adhered to the principle of "marry the chicken and follow the chicken", so they turned a blind eye to Zhong Wanci's experience.
But it turns out that they had planned to take their daughter back home and completely free her from the burden of the Jiang family?
But why had she never heard of this?
"Mom, do you... want to go back?" Jiang Tong looked at his mother.
Zhong Wanci was obviously crying while reading the letter, and her eyes were still red.
In Jiang Tong's memory, ever since Jiang Tong's outburst and his father fell ill, his mother has always been crying.
She knew that as a mother, she had never had a single idea.
She had always obeyed her husband. Now that her husband had fallen ill, there was no one to tell her what to do.
Now, her father has spoken, asking her to go back and leave the Jiang family, which is a quagmire.
For Zhong Wanci, who had been trapped in darkness and at a loss for what to do these days, this was like a sudden guiding light.
Jiang Tong murmured, "It's okay for you to go back, or stay here..."
"I won't go back." Zhong Wanci said this with tears in her voice.
Jiang Tong was stunned for a moment, then nodded. She knew that a woman should obey her husband after marriage.
Jiang Tong thought about it, put the medicine bag on the stove, and began to untie the ropes.
Zhong Wanci's next words startled her and she turned around suddenly.
She said, "What will you do if I leave? I can't leave you alone in this hell. Besides, if I go back, Dad will definitely make me remarry, and then we'll probably never see each other again."
As Zhong Wanci spoke, she gently took the letter and stuffed it into the stove. She then took the medicine bag from Jiang Tong's hand and said, "Your father is still ill and his mind is not clear. If I leave, will Ah Tong decide your marriage alone? I have to be there to help and choose a good family for you. Only then will I feel at ease."
Jiang Tong never expected that her mother, who always had a confused mind, could be so clear-headed and firm in her stance when it came to her own affairs.
But if she really thought so, why did she commit suicide immediately after her father passed away in her previous life?
Didn't she care about her own life at that time?
In a split second, a terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Jiang Tong's mind. She heard her own voice asking, "Mom, let me ask you a question. If, I mean if, Dad dies of this illness, will you—will you commit suicide for him?"
Zhong Wanci had just poured the medicine packet into the medicine jar when she turned her head and glanced at her daughter in surprise. "What are you thinking about? If your father dies and the Jiang family is in this state again, I'll wait for you to get married and then I'll go back to the Zhong family. Do I really expect Ah Xuan to take care of me in my old age? Not to mention if your father dies, even if he gets better in the future, if he still only has his adopted son in his heart, I'll still go back to my parents' home and let them live on their own!"
Zhong Wanci was still talking, but Jiang Tong suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
If her mother had no intention of committing suicide, then she could have been forced to death in her previous life!
It goes without saying who can benefit from the chastity arch.
In an instant, Jiang Tong, who was always calm, became furious and his eyes turned red.
Zhong Wanci turned around and saw Jiang Tong's appearance. She was shocked and held her daughter's face with concern: "Tongtong, what's wrong with you?"
Jiang Tong turned her head away to conceal her feelings and said incoherently, "I'm fine."
After a while, he turned around and forced an ugly smile at Zhong Wanci: "Mom, I'm here for you from now on. I will never let anyone bully you."
Zhong Wanci almost cried again. She responded vaguely and thought to herself, Tongtong has grown up and knows how to protect her mother.
But Tongtong was so sad that she no longer threw herself into his arms and cried loudly. It seemed as if there was an inexplicable barrier between mother and daughter, which made her feel a little lost.
She was overwhelmed with emotions and didn't know whether she should be relieved or sad. She just hugged her daughter tightly and let the tears flow.
…
In the wing room of the music house, Su Guanqing was groping and counting money on his couch.
All ten of his fingers were wrapped in fine cloth, blood seeping from his fingertips through the cloth, and his fingers trembled slightly when he moved.
"Why are you doing this?" Feng Fuliu said coldly. "The guests asked you to write poems and lyrics, but you refused. They asked you to keep playing, but you just kept playing! Just to give in and beg for mercy, is it going to cost you your life? Why bother getting angry with the guests?"
"I'm not angry with them. They just want to see Master Yuequan groveling in the past. Whether I submit or not, the result will be the same." Su Guanqing continued to count his money with no expression of joy or anger.
"I just don't understand you. You care about your self-respect, but you went anyway when asked to. You didn't seem to get angry at those men who humiliated you. You don't care, but you can't bend down to smile and curry favor. You suffered this humiliation in vain."
"It's not in vain, isn't it still a reward?" Su Guanqing struggled to pick up a silver melon seed with his fingers wrapped in fine cloth, and said with a smile, "There's also silver, which I didn't even get when I played the violin in the audience before."
Feng Fuliu sneered, "So what if you have money? You can't spend a single cent on yourself."
Su Guanqing did not refute anything. After counting, he put all the copper coins and melon seeds into his purse and stood up.
Feng Fuliu saw Su Guanqing touching his bamboo stick as if he was about to go out, and her eyes widened: "You are not going to give money to others now, are you?"
Su Guanqing nodded and said gently, "Miss Jiang hasn't been here for a few days, and Uncle Jiang is still sick. I don't know how things are going at home, and I'm worried."
"I see, you're worried about your love rival!" Feng Fuliu twisted her body and twirled her fingers, with her fingertips facing Su Guanqing.
Su Guanqing said solemnly, "Fu Liu! Don't talk nonsense! A girl's reputation is important!"
…
Zhong Wanci is very conflicted now.
After being beaten, Jiang Ming has not been able to get up yet. He has been crying and moaning in the house all day long. It seems that he was seriously injured.
After all, she is the man's legal mother. Although she is indeed reluctant, she should still ask a doctor to see him.
But the problem was that she had no extra money and only a few pieces of dowry jewelry left. She was unwilling to let her daughter starve for the sake of someone else's son.
Just as Zhong Wanci was hesitating in the yard, there was a knock on the gate.
Zhong Wanci was a little confused. Ever since the Jiang family fell from power, no one had ever visited her house. Who could be knocking on the door?
She opened the door and saw a handsome man holding a bamboo stick standing outside.
"Guan Qing? Why are you here?" Zhong Wanci was a little surprised.
Su Guanqing recognized Zhong Wanci's voice and greeted her. Then he said, "I heard from Tongtong that my uncle was ill. I wonder if he is feeling better now?"
"Thank you for your concern. Your Uncle Jiang is much better now."
"That's great," Su Guanqing breathed a sigh of relief. "Is Tongtong home?"
"She's here, but..." Zhong Wanci hesitated. "She's locked herself in her study and won't let anyone disturb her. She says she's working on... on some painting. Why don't you go in and find her yourself?"
Anyway, she didn't dare to argue with Jiang Tong. An angry Tongtong was too scary.
"Since Tongtong is busy, don't disturb her." Su Guanqing took out a heavy cloth bag from his arms and handed it over. "I'll trouble you to give this to Tongtong."
Zhong Wanci took it and realized that the bag was filled with money. She panicked and said, "This is unacceptable."
"This is just a small gift from my nephew, please accept it, aunt."
“But, but…” Zhong Wanci looked at Su Guanqing’s ink-black yet lifeless eyes and felt like crying again, “But it’s not easy for you either.”
Su Guanqing smiled gently: "It's okay, just consider it as a loan from me. If the Jiang family can survive the difficulties in the future, you can return it to me."
He paused here, his thin lips opening and closing, his fingers unconsciously clenching the bamboo stick, which made Zhong Wanci feel strange. She hesitantly asked, "That... the person we rescued before, how is he?"
"You're talking about her. I haven't seen her in ages. I don't know where she went. I asked Tongtong about it yesterday, and she said she has her own things to do and it has nothing to do with us, so I shouldn't get involved."
The knot of knots that had been weighing on his heart seemed to have vanished in an instant. Su Guanqing's clenched hands, which had turned white, suddenly loosened, and a smile gradually spread across his brows. "In that case, I won't ask any more questions. It's getting late, so I'll go first."
After he finished speaking, he bowed slightly in the direction of Zhong Wanci, pointed at his bamboo stick, and turned away.
As soon as he walked out of the alley, someone pulled up his bamboo stick and Feng Fuliu's voice rang out in anger: "You're rushing to give money to someone without even seeing their face!"
No matter what he said, Su Guanqing was not angry: "Miss Jiang is busy. When she is done, she will come to see me."
"Well, you came to ask for money!" Feng Fuliu sneered, "Don't expect me to accompany you to do this stupid thing next time!"
Inside the door, Zhong Wanci held the purse and was entangled again -
...Now that I have money to hire a doctor, it seems unreasonable not to do so.
She took two hesitant steps toward the door.
…But I have to buy more medicine after Huaishan finishes it, and this little money won’t last long! Besides, there’s another person in the family now, and although the girl disappears from time to time, she still needs an extra pair of chopsticks when she comes back.
She paused again.
...There is no other income at home, and Guanqing has no obligation to send more money. If it is all spent, Tongtong will have to starve too.
Zhong Wanci looked back at the closed study and finally made up her mind.
...Huaishan didn’t see a doctor for so long, but he’s fine now, right?
...A'an is a young man. If he holds on a little, maybe he will get better.
...Wait a little longer and see what happens in a few days.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
