Chapter 120
With what happened to Yu Jiayan before, and having suffered such a huge loss, Jiang's vigilance was very high.
Although she didn't think of it at first, she understood something after seeing Chu Huan and the system's attitude: Huai Yang had a problem, and it was a big problem!
"Is he here for my identity?"
Apart from being the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Justice, Jiang Shi didn't know what else about herself that was worth Yang Dou going through so much trouble to plot against her.
The system gave her the answer: [Yes.]
"As expected." Jiang smiled bitterly.
The identity of the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Justice brought her status and glory. Since the day she was born, she has enjoyed the convenience brought by her identity. Now she is being plotted against because of her identity again and again.
If you ask her if she likes this identity, of course she does.
She was raised in the palm of her parents' hands, with fine clothes and delicious food, and she never suffered any loss. She was much better off than other children of noble families and officials, not to mention the poor people who had to sleep in the open air.
Do you want to ask her if she hates this identity? Of course she does.
If she didn't have this identity and was just an ordinary woman, she might be able to find someone she loves and live an ordinary life instead of being plotted against twice in a row.
She has her sufferings, and ordinary people have their sufferings too. She has long since let it go.
Jiang accepted the reality and decided to face it: "Tong'er, please tell me in detail what happened."
Chu Huan observed for a moment and felt relieved when she realized Jiang Shi wasn't being forced or trying to be strong. "Tong'er, go ahead."
The system was also worried that Jiang would not be able to bear the repeated setbacks, but it did not expect that she was still very strong inside and recovered so quickly. She is a strong woman!
Huai Yang accidentally heard that you returned home after your divorce, and he became interested. You know the reason. Your father is a third-rank official in the Ministry of Justice. He introduced Yu Jiayan to the Honglu Temple a long time ago. Although he was later dismissed for visiting prostitutes, isn't visiting prostitutes illegal?
He thought he was a decent person and wouldn't do anything like that, so he wanted to take a shortcut and get you, then ask his father-in-law for a favor and get a position. He sent someone to monitor your movements and followed you around for a while, constantly thinking of how to get close to you.
He thought you might be susceptible to sweet talk from men because of Yu Jiayan's incident, and that this method wouldn't work. He also thought hiring a few people to bully you and then saving you might get noticed by your father, so he decided to target your daughter.
Huaiyang happened to see Jingjing always carried her cat with her, and being a cat lover, he picked up a wounded kitten and waited near your house for several days before creating this chance encounter with Jingjing.
"Wait." Hearing this, Jiang couldn't help but said, "You mean, he didn't heal the injured kitten, but let it hurt for several days, waiting for the right opportunity?"
This behavior was completely different from Huai Yang's usual gentle and kind personality, and it had a great impact on Jiang.
System: [Yes.]
Jiang: “…”
The system issued a second strike: [Strictly speaking, he was squatting outside for four days and seven hours.] Because Jingjing didn't go out to play every day.
Jiang: “…”
Huai Yang's gentle, kind and cat-loving personality completely collapsed, and the only thing that remained was his patience.
Some people in the Chu family despised Huai Yang's behavior, some sighed sadly because they associated the cat with themselves, but there were relatively few who were angry.
The cats in Dasheng are all wild cats and nocturnal animals. They often make noises in the middle of the night. Sometimes they squat in the corner and suddenly jump out to scare people. Some of them also steal and spill food in the kitchen. They are different from modern cats that have been educated by their owners.
Many servants of the Chu family originally came from poor backgrounds. They couldn't even get enough to eat, and their brothers and sisters sold themselves into slavery in order to survive. Who would sympathize with a cat that was competing with them for food?
Emotions such as sympathy and compassion can only be felt when one has enough food and clothing.
Jiang had no objections, so the system continued.
As Huaiyang expected, Jingjing became concerned when she saw the injured cat. She looked at him a few more times, and after Huaiyang showed some kindness, she took the initiative to approach him and ask what happened to the kitten.
Huai Yang then explained that the kitten had been injured by someone and was very weak. He had just happened upon it and was about to take it home to treat it. "How could your daughter have known the wickedness of human nature? She had thought he was a kind person and had been deceived."
Jiang:!!!
When she found out that she was being plotted against, she just sighed. When she heard that her daughter had been deceived, she clenched her fists, her joints creaked, and her whole body exuded an intimidating murderous aura.
Her daughter is her Achilles' heel. Anyone who dares to touch her maliciously will surely be met with a thundering blow from her mother.
The system looked a little alarmed and whispered: [Didn't I say before that Huai Yang has his sights set on your daughter?]
How come he wasn't that angry just now, but suddenly exploded now? There's no way he could have a delayed reaction, right?
Chu Huan wasn't sure where Huai Yang had touched Jiang's sore spot. After so much preparation, he should have known most of it except for the biggest one, right?
Jiang's hands were shaking, and her voice was trembling. "There's nothing wrong with being kind, gentle, and sympathetic to the weak. What's wrong is taking advantage of others' kindness and gentleness. I don't want Jingjing to go to the other extreme because of such people, thinking that beautiful qualities will only hurt herself."
Chu Huan agreed with Jiang's words very much.
Haven't there been cases in modern times where people who had the good intention of helping the elderly were accused of harming them and then blackmailed? As a result, many people later hesitated to step forward when they saw an elderly person fall on the roadside and needed help.
The system didn't think this was a bad thing: "Now that I've suffered a loss, I'll learn this lesson. It will make me more cautious in the future, which is a good thing."
Jiang didn't think this was a good thing; she only felt heartbroken. "Jingjing is still young. As her mother, I should protect her from the wind and rain. Perhaps one day in the future, she will understand this truth, but that will be after she grows up."
She was blaming herself for letting her daughter's kindness be taken advantage of.
Chu Huan and the system didn't know how to comfort her for a moment.
The system had different opinions from Jiang's, and didn't want to force itself to follow Jiang's ideas. Chu Huan had lived two lives and had experienced some bad things in her childhood, but she was not a real child and was not as hurt as others expected.
Chu Huan felt that this shouldn't be said only to Jiang, so she used a telepathic communication method so that the rest of the Chu family could hear: "Kindness is right. You can teach your daughter to be kind, but you should also teach her how to protect herself."
Jiang's distressed expression froze for a moment: "What do you mean?"
Chu Hua: [You can't be with your daughter all the time, nor can you protect her all the time. Since you can't guarantee that your daughter's kindness and gentleness won't be exploited, then teach her how to protect herself and let her become a kind and strong person.]
Just like what many people have come up with nowadays: before rescuing someone, check if there are any surveillance cameras or other passersby nearby, and ask them to take a video to help as a witness. This approach does not violate your conscience and can also protect yourself, the best of both worlds!
The Jiang family was shocked. This statement sounded very reasonable. Why didn't she think of it before?
Wait, it’s not that there aren’t any. Every time Jingjing goes out, she is followed by maids and guards, but they didn’t expect Huai Yang’s purpose.
"If I tell her how to be on guard against others, won't that just let her know there are a lot of bad people in this world?"
As a result, her Jingjing still cannot grow up carefree.
Chu Huan disagreed with Jiang's approach, saying it was almost overprotective.
"Are there not many bad people in this world? Couldn't you have told Jingjing that there were beggars out there, and told her not to go to remote places when she went out to play?"
"This..." Jiang couldn't refute it.
After learning that the Ye family, which had a great reputation for being kind, was actually a den of scammers and that the charity they ran was often involved in human trafficking, Jiang was so frightened that she couldn't sleep well for several days. She also warned her daughter not to go out alone and not to go to remote and deserted corners as she might be kidnapped by beggars.
Chu Huan added: [Overprotection is a good thing. Your daughter can indeed grow up innocently, but what if there are things you haven't considered?]
The system, which had originally disapproved of Jiang's approach, couldn't help but interject, "If that day ever comes, a minor injury or shock would be considered lucky. What if they're kidnapped and can't be found, or even murdered on the spot?"
"Your father is the Minister of Justice. He handles countless cases every day. You might not know all of them, but you know some of them, right? Aren't there a lot of serial murders in the capital? Did you forget about the eye-gouging incident so quickly? You don't think only adults were killed, and not children, do you?"
Jiang covered her chest and took a deep breath. How could she forget such a big thing?
When the serial murders occurred, she kept her daughter at home, saying it was dangerous outside and would not let her go out because one of the headless bodies was dumped just one street away from her home, too close.
She wanted to protect her daughter and didn't tell her what happened. Her father probably also wanted to protect his daughter and granddaughter and didn't tell her that there was a child among the victims.
Chu Huan waited until Jiang had calmed down a bit before speaking: "Maybe I'm being more rational. The following is just my personal opinion. Whether you accept it or not is up to you."
Jiang looked over, her face pale: "Go ahead."
Chu Hua: [You should teach your children about the beauty of the world and guide them to grow into people of good character. You should also teach them about the ugliness of the world so they don't become defenseless against people and things. If something unexpected happens, they might be too shocked to escape.]
Some things elders don't teach, but others will. However, letting others teach often comes at a great cost. By that time, perhaps the child is already hurt and bleeding, and may even blame the elders for not teaching them. Having the opportunity to complain is good; the worst thing is that even that opportunity is gone.
Why is the opportunity gone?
Because they are already dead.
The moment she got the answer, Jiang felt that what Chu Huan said was too sensational and that there would not be such serious consequences. Didn't she grow up innocently under the protection of her parents?
Then, she thought again: Yes, her parents didn’t teach her, but Yu Jiayan and the Yu family did. A failed marriage and almost death in childbirth, isn’t the price high enough?
Didn't she privately blame her parents for not realizing what was wrong sooner and for not pulling her out of her misery sooner?
Chu Hua: [I think it's more important to let them live safely than to let them grow up innocently.]
[Besides, who says that being innocent and kind can't coexist with knowing how to protect yourself? ]
Jiang subconsciously asked, "How can we coexist?"
Chu Huan was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Aren't you the best example?"
Even though he has been severely hurt and has learned to fight back and retaliate, he remains innocent and kind, and does not casually assume malice towards others.
Jiang's face suddenly turned red, and she didn't want to talk about this topic anymore: "Well, well, Tong'er, please continue."
System: [Huai Yang used a gentle, kind, and patient persona to approach you, and even invited you and your daughter to visit his home to see the cats. You felt it was inappropriate and declined.]
If you go there, you'll find that the cats in Huai's house don't treat Huai Yang well. They don't want to get close to him and are very afraid of him. Some of them are even aggressive. When they see him, they will snort at him, their fur standing up, and they'll even scratch, bite, and claw at him.
"Huai Yang said that cats have never liked him since he was a child." Jiang sighed as soon as she finished speaking, "Have I been deceived again?"
Chu Huan nodded, looking at Jiang with a hint of sympathy in her eyes.
The system said: [Yes, he lied to you. He was popular before.]
Generally speaking, cats are very protective of their young and have a high tolerance for them. However, this doesn't mean they won't learn their lesson after being beaten or injured. After all, they are wild cats that you occasionally feed, not domestic cats that you've grown up with, so they don't have the same level of affection.
[Also, Huai Yang abuses cats in a very cruel way.]
Jiang:? ?!
Everyone: ? ? !
Cat abuse? This is something that is incomprehensible to everyone.
Cats do steal some food, cry late at night, and suddenly jump out to scare people, but there is no need to abuse them, right?
Cats are also living things. Some cats catch mice, some cats are cute and keep people company to entertain them. How did such a kind cat offend you? You actually have to go to the extent of cat abuse!
System: [Don't be fooled by his outward appearance. Ugh, saying this is an insult to Brother Dog. I'm so sorry for Brother Dog.]
[The gentleness and patience Huai Yang displayed were all a facade. He knew that people liked this type of man and were easily put down their guard around him, so he deliberately acted this way towards you.]
The real Huai Yang is very dark, his heart filled with destructive desires. He vents all his negative emotions on the cat, and only after venting can he be gentle with you.
Jiang's hair stood on end when he thought of the person who spoke gently one moment and cruelly tortured the cat the next.
"vomit--"
Chu Huan: “…”
system:【……】
Jiang was so scared that he vomited, which was something that Yiren Yitong had not expected.
In view of this, the system is not good at describing in detail the process of Huai Yang abusing the cat, so as to avoid Jiang's nightmares, which would be even more sinful.
How can I explain this? Most people who dislike cats avoid them and won't intentionally harm them. Cats won't attack people unless they feel threatened, and the two can live in peace.
There are relatively few people like Huai Yang who, when faced with a little unhappiness in life and unable to change it, blame the heavens, the earth, and their parents, even taking it out on weaker lives.
Jiang's face turned pale as he asked, "Is it really that little?"
The system froze for a moment: [Uh... Well, I'm such an honest system, it's hard for me to lie to you.]
[It affects men, women, young and old, for different reasons and to varying degrees, but it's basically a psychological problem.]
[Well, having said all that, the answer is: yes, quite a bit, but definitely not a lot.]
Jiang: "Ugh—"
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