Jiang Bai was recovering from a serious illness and was almost exhausted. While preparing medicinal meals, she secretly drank some spiritual liquid several times to have the strength to keep going.
When Wang Linlin's condition improved, she also breathed a sigh of relief.
Only then did Lin Yong have the mood to listen to Jiang Bai's explanation.
Jiang Bai recounted everything that had happened over the past two days, and showed Lin Yong and Wang Linlin the bandaged wound on his calf.
Wang Linlin blushed slightly, coughed a few times, and said, "This matter is also our fault for not thinking things through. If my husband hadn't been so impatient, he wouldn't have been deceived by your mother."
Hearing this, Lin Yong nodded in agreement: "I'm really sorry about this. Doctor Jiang, please take good care of yourself these next few days. If you feel that your body can't hold on, you can stay at the mansion. The medicinal herbs here are all available, which will make it easier for you to recover."
His implication was that Jiang Bai should continue working despite his injury, and if it was inconvenient for him to travel, he should stay at home so as not to delay Wang Linlin's treatment.
Wang Linlin understood what he meant and gave him a reproachful glare.
Lin Yong was unaffected.
Jiang Bai smiled and declined, "I'd better not stay here. The two children are still at home."
"You can bring the children over; there are plenty of rooms here, enough for them to stay in," Lin Yong insisted.
Seeing that Jiang Bai was embarrassed, Wang Linlin quickly added, "Going home is good too. It's more convenient at home. We'll send a carriage to pick you up."
Jiang Bai nodded: "Then thank you, Madam."
"You're welcome, it's my pleasure," Wang Linlin said with a gentle smile.
After Jiang Bai returned, Wang Linlin scolded Lin Yong: "Zhao Yi is still here, and you're already planning to bring his wife and children over. What are people going to think?"
Lin Yong glared at him and said coldly, "Let him think what he wants. If he can't take good care of his wife, I'll take care of her for him."
"Nonsense!" Wang Linlin scolded softly.
Judging from Zhao Yi's attitude yesterday, it's clear he has feelings for Jiang Bai. Lin Yong, as a general, is interfering in their marriage, which only gives others something to criticize.
Although she understood that Lin Yong had no romantic intentions, it was inevitable that Zhao Yi would overthink it.
Zhao Yi now manages most of the business in the General's Mansion, making him a god of wealth that the couple needs to support. Jiang Bai is also the divine physician who saved her life.
It would be bad for anyone if things turned sour with them.
Thinking of this, Wang Linlin sighed.
-
When Jiang Bai got home, he saw Wang Xiufen sitting on a chair in the hall, slurping down brown sugar water.
When the man saw her return, his eyes widened, and he asked, "How did it go?"
Jiang Bai took a deep breath and said, "It's very serious. I can barely control the condition."
"Has no one mentioned me?" Wang Xiufen asked cautiously.
“Mother,” Jiang Bai lowered his eyes, not answering the other’s question, “I’ve had enough of cleaning up this mess for you.”
"Let's cut ties."
Wang Xiufen panicked: "Is something wrong with the general? Are they going to kill me? I just cooked a simple meal, using good quality lard. I didn't even use that much oil when cooking for Jiangcheng. Who would have thought that the lady's constitution is so weak that eating lard would cause her problems..."
What good is being born into a good family if you don't live to enjoy it?
Jiang Bai simply said, "This is the last time. If you come looking for me again, I will go to the General."
Seeing the resolute expression on her face, Wang Xiufen felt as if there was no way to salvage the situation, so she gritted her teeth.
She said, "I'm fine with severing ties, but you have to pay for my retirement."
Jiang Bai raised an eyebrow: "How many do you want?"
“Two hundred taels of silver,” Wang Xiufen said immediately.
She had a plan in mind: one hundred taels would be used to pay off gambling debts, fifty taels would be Jiangcheng's wedding gift, and the remaining fifty taels would be her retirement money.
This time, she was going to hide the money carefully and not give it to Jiang Cheng no matter how pitifully he begged her for it.
“Too much,” Jiang Bai said without blinking, cutting off half of it. “One hundred taels.”
Wang Xiufen opened her mouth, wanting to raise the price.
"If you agree, I'll give it to you right away; if you don't, then forget it," Jiang Bai said coldly.
Wang Xiufen gritted her teeth: "One hundred taels it is."
"Then I'll call the village chiefs from both villages over, and we'll write a certificate," Jiang Bai said calmly.
Zhao Ping'an jogged all the way and got the two village chiefs to appear at his home in two-thirds of the time.
Upon hearing that Jiang Bai was going to sever ties with his mother, a large group of villagers who had come to watch the spectacle surrounded Jiang Bai's house, forming three or four layers of tight security.
Jiang Bai took out a pen, but instead of writing a letter of severance, he did some calculations in front of everyone.
The cost of her food, clothing and daily necessities at home, calculated over sixteen years, was only ten taels of silver, while the income she earned from the chores she did for the family during that period was far more than ten taels.
Jiang Bai's father died early, and his mother was lazy and loved to eat. Jiang Bai was the one who cultivated the family's few acres of land.
When she reached marriageable age, upon hearing Zhao Laoda offer twenty taels of silver, Wang Xiufen sold him without hesitation, pocketing the bride price but receiving no dowry.
Jiang Bai took out all the IOUs, and after calculating everything, Wang Xiufen took 107 taels from her.
She took out the silver she had earned from Ren Yunzhou, counted out one hundred taels, and handed it over. In front of the villagers, she said sincerely, "Mother, you gave me life, and I am grateful. You spent ten taels of silver on me back then, and now I am returning twenty times that amount. Our mother-daughter relationship has come to an end."
Jiang Bai was willing to spend two hundred taels of silver to sever all ties with his mother, causing an uproar among the crowd.
They all speculated about what heinous things Wang Xiufen had done to provoke Jiang Bai to take such action.
Jiang Bai knew that in ancient times, no matter what excessive things parents did, their children had to bear the consequences. The prevailing blind filial piety was something she couldn't change on her own.
So she was willing to spend money to sever ties with Wang Xiufen and Jiang Cheng, while at the same time gradually revealing what Wang Xiufen had done.
The fact that she was so forgiving despite her mother's extreme behavior could offset the negative impact of her cold-hearted act of severing ties with her family.
The ancients spent a fortune to buy horse bones, which is no different from this story.
Jiang Bai settled the accounts and wrote a letter of severance. After the two village chiefs read it, Wang Xiufen pressed her fingerprint on it.
She felt relieved; Jiang Cheng's gambling debts could be paid off now. Otherwise, if they dragged it out until tomorrow, the interest would snowball and bankrupt her and her son.
As for Jiang Bai, what's wrong with signing a letter of severance? After all, this person was born from her womb, and they are connected by blood. If anything happens in the future, Wang Xiufen doesn't believe Jiang Bai can just stand by and watch.
Two hundred taels of silver is nothing. Unless Jiang Bai gives her his life, she will always be his daughter.
Thinking of this, she happily took the silver home. She wasn't angry that she couldn't find Jiang Cheng. Instead, she walked with her bound feet, asking around as she went, until she reached the gambling den.
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