Chapter 106 Counterattack
Jiang Qingning was standing on the bluestone path in the front yard, holding a small pair of silver scissors in his hand, accurately cutting off a withered side branch of the purple lily.
Dead branches fell to the ground, and arrogant shouts were heard outside the door.
"Jiang Qingning!"
The condescending voice penetrated the cool morning air and pounded directly into the courtyard, "Come out here, you evil creature!"
Jiang Qingning's hand holding the scissors paused almost imperceptibly, and the fingertips felt the cool touch of silver.
She slowly turned around and handed the silver scissors to the little maid behind her, whose face turned pale and she was almost trembling.
Jiang Qingning raised his feet and walked steadily towards the door, with a gentle and faint smile on his face, as if he was welcoming an ordinary elder, rather than the cold and secluded grandmother outside the door.
"Grandma is well."
Jiang Qingning stopped three steps inside the threshold, bent his knees slightly, and performed an impeccable salute.
Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the neighbors gathered outside the door and peeking in to hear.
"My granddaughter didn't know you were coming today, so I didn't come to greet you. I beg your forgiveness, but..."
Jiang Qingning raised his eyes and his gaze calmly swept over the carriage that was blocking the middle.
"Grandmother's carriage seems to be blocking the entrance to Ning Pavilion. My granddaughter has just moved here and the gate is not yet firmly established.
Such a scene might cause controversy and damage Grandma's reputation. Why don't you please move into the hall and have a cup of hot tea first?"
Jiang Qingning turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation.
"Stop pretending!"
Old Mrs. Jiang's cloudy eyes stared at Jiang Qingning's face, as if she wanted to pierce Jiang Qingning.
She slammed the crutch in her hand heavily, and it hit the smooth stone steps in front of Ning Pavilion with a dull sound.
"Hot tea? I'm afraid that drinking your tea will shorten my lifespan!"
Old Mrs. Jiang's hands were shaking slightly from gripping the cane so tightly, and her voice became increasingly high-pitched and hoarse.
"Let me ask you, the Jiang family is torn apart, the second and third branches are enemies, and the Shang family's bitch is bringing Yuerou to divorce and climbing up the ranks of the Pingjiang Marquis's mansion."
"Your second uncle was driven to desperation by gambling debts and had to sell off his property. Your third uncle even asked to split up the family, throwing away the legacy of our ancestors!"
"The Jiang family, as big as it is, fell apart in an instant. How dare you say that it wasn't you, Jiang Qingning, who orchestrated all of this? You were deliberately plotting to destroy the Jiang family. Speak!"
The last word was so sharp that it almost broke the voice, wrapped in eight years of accumulated resentment and accusations that poured out at this moment.
The courtyard was eerily quiet.
The whispers outside the door disappeared instantly.
Jiang Qingning looked at Old Lady Jiang, her chest heaving violently with excitement, and the undisguised rage and disgust in her eyes directed at her alone.
The faint smile on Jiang Qingning's face melted like thin ice, replaced by a calmness that was almost indifferent.
She met Mrs. Jiang's eyes, which were almost spitting fire, and her words were clear, echoing in the dead silence inside and outside the mansion:
"Grandma, please calm down. I am a slow-witted granddaughter. There is something I don't understand, and I would like to ask you first."
Jiang Qingning tilted his head slightly, his eyes devoid of any warmth. "My father and brother have been sent by the Emperor to the remote, smoky, and humid land of Lingnan for eight years now. Lingnan is scorching hot and humid, full of poisonous insects, and often harassed by ferocious tribes."
"I wonder if, in these eight years, Grandma has ever written home, asking if my father is still healthy? Has my brother ever been seriously injured in that dangerous place? In the bitterly cold winters of Lingnan, do they have charcoal fires to keep warm? In the raging mosquitoes of summer, do they have good medicine to ward off malaria?"
"Grandmother, while practicing Buddhism in the Shangqing Temple, was devoted to the Buddha. But was there ever a moment when she thought about her blood relatives thousands of miles away who had brought glory to the Jiang family?"
Each question was like a cold hammer, knocking in the silent air and also on the hearts of the neighbors who were listening attentively outside the door.
The anger on Mrs. Jiang's face suddenly froze, as if she was choked by something unexpectedly.
"presumptuous!"
She shouted sharply, slamming her cane down on the ground again, as if to completely shatter her momentary loss of composure.
"How can a junior like you interfere in the actions of an elder? Your father guards the border, that is his duty and the grace of the court.
Why should I worry about you every day? Are you questioning your grandmother now? Jiang Qingning, you are so brave! "
She took a deep breath, her voice sharper with anger. "Stop rambling. I just want to ask you, Yuerou is your biological cousin. She was so young, yet you forced her to hang herself in her room!"
"If we hadn't discovered it in time, a life would have been lost in your hands. Is your heart made of stone? How could the Jiang family raise such a cold-blooded and heartless person like you!"
When talking about Jiang Yuerou's suicide, Mrs. Jiang became more emotional, her body was shaking, and she had to rely on the maid beside her to support her.
The maid also raised her eyes and looked at Jiang Qingning, her eyes full of undisguised condemnation and fear.
"Jiang Yuerou committed suicide?"
Jiang Qingning repeated it, her tone calm but with a hint of doubt, "Grandma, your words really frightened me, and I was even more confused.
Third Aunt Shang divorced with her daughter and arranged a marriage with the Pingjiang Marquis's Mansion. This was known to everyone in the capital.
Sister Yuerou is temporarily staying at Jiang Qingningning Pavilion, also at the request of Third Aunt, in order to avoid the turmoil of the family division and wait for her marriage in peace."
"She is now with Jiang Qingning, where she has the best food, clothing, and everything else, and she is free to move around.
How can you say he was forced to commit suicide? Did grandma hear some false rumors?"
Jiang Qingning took a small step forward and looked directly at Old Lady Jiang with a frank gaze.
"Furthermore, if we talk about the word 'force', I would like to ask Old Madam Jiang, what happened when Third Aunt Shang knelt before you?
When she cried and complained that her uncle favored his concubine over his wife, condoned his mistress to humiliate his wife, and intended to seize her dowry,
Grandmother, you, the old feudal lord who always claims to protect the Jiang family bloodline, have you ever said a word to stop them?"
Old Mrs. Jiang's face turned extremely ugly in an instant, as if a dye vat had been overturned, with green and red mixed together.
She obviously didn't expect that Jiang Qingning would mention the mess before the third branch split up so directly, and she didn't expect that Jiang Qingning would know so much about it.
She moved her lips, wanting to refute, but couldn't find a more powerful argument.
"As for being cold-blooded and ruthless."
Jiang Qingning's voice suddenly sank, "My granddaughter dare not forget, let alone forget what happened eight years ago in the Jiang family's ancestral hall, where the ancestral tablets were enshrined.
How my second and third uncles earnestly advised me that marrying into the Anping Marquis's mansion was a privilege for the Jiang family and a blessing that I, Jiang Qingning, could only achieve after several lifetimes of hard work!
Jiang Qingning's eyes suddenly raised up and met the surprised and doubtful eyes of Old Lady Jiang.
There was an undisguised hatred in her eyes.
"Grandmother, you were sitting behind the screen at that time, right?"
Jiang Qingning took a step closer, and every word he spoke was as sharp as a knife, clearly reaching the ears of Old Lady Jiang.
"Listen to how your two sons, in order to cling to the mighty Anping Marquis's mansion and secure their own future, disregarded their blood relationship and stubbornly pushed your own granddaughter into the fire!"
"At that time, Mrs. Jiang, your grandmother who values family harmony the most, did you ever say even a single word for me?"
"Have you ever lifted the screen for me and stood up to rebuke them?!"
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