"Take it, do we have to be so formal? This pastry is really delicious, much better than the ones in our county!" Jiang Ling put the box back in.
Zhao Erleng's wife hesitated for a moment but finally accepted. Watching Jiang Ling's busy figure, Zhao Erleng's wife wanted to say something but stopped herself.
Jiang Ling chuckled, as if she had seen through her, and said calmly, "Sister-in-law, you must have something else to discuss with me, right? Are you curious about that Widow Wang?"
Zhao Erleng's wife blushed instantly. She stood there awkwardly, at a loss for what to do. Jiang Ling patted Zhao Erleng's wife and said, "That widow Wang came over to thank me. I guess it's probably because of that childbirth thing!"
"Although I hate her, you saw what happened during childbirth that day. Old Mrs. Lu looked like that. My separation from Lu Youren was like escaping a sea of suffering. As for Widow Wang, she had only herself to blame. All I want is to keep to myself and not interfere with them in the future!" Jiang Ling's explanation left Zhao Erleng's wife somewhat confused.
She looked at Jiang Ling with a somewhat blank expression. The strong sunlight shone on Jiang Ling, giving her a faint golden glow. Zhao Erleng's wife was a little dazed. For a moment, she felt that Jiang Ling seemed to be from a different era than her.
"Sister-in-law... Sister-in-law..." Jiang Ling gently patted Zhao Erleng's wife's shoulder and softly called out to her, who was still in a daze.
"Ah!" Zhao Erleng's wife suddenly woke up. She rubbed her eyes hard and looked at Jiang Ling apologetically, saying, "Sorry, sorry, I made you laugh. I'll take the things with me now, thank you!"
Perhaps to hide her embarrassment, Zhao Erleng's wife grabbed the gift Jiang Ling had given her and ran out in a flash.
Jiang Ling smiled faintly as she watched Zhao Erleng's wife disappear into the distance, then walked towards Jiang Yaojie's room.
"Yaojie, listen to your uncle, your mother has her own reasons!"
"I don't care, she's a bad woman! Uncle, do you know what kind of life my mother lived before? If she hadn't divorced him, he would have beaten her to death!"
Before Jiang Ling even stepped inside, a slightly heated argument broke out. Listening to Jiang Yaojie's vehement defense of himself, Jiang Ling felt a surge of warmth in her heart.
"Ahem...ahem..." To avoid making the two of them feel awkward, Jiang Ling coughed lightly outside the door, then whispered inside, "Zhishan, Yaojie, are you both inside?"
Upon hearing Jiang Ling's voice, the two immediately stopped arguing and both responded with a soft "hmm".
Jiang Ling pretended nothing had happened and walked into Jiang Yaojie's room. Looking at everyone in the room, Jiang Ling waved to Jiang Yaojie and said, "Yaojie, come out with your mother for a bit!"
Jiang Yaojie didn't understand what Jiang Ling was thinking, and with his head hanging low, he walked out of the house with Jiang Ling.
"Sit!" Jiang Ling said, pointing to the chair of her subordinate.
"Mother...I...I think I did nothing wrong just now!" Jiang Yaojie suddenly raised his head and said with a determined look.
Jiang Ling had anticipated Jiang Yaojie's response, so she showed no surprise. She glanced at the sky and said, "Yaojie is a good boy. He's grown up and knows how to protect his mother!"
"But Mother doesn't want you and your younger siblings to get involved. I know you're angry, angry that Wang has made such a mess of our family! But you saw what happened when Wang gave birth last time, your grandmother's expression..."
“I don’t have a grandmother like that, nor a father like that. I only have one mother!” Jiang Yaojie stubbornly interrupted Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling rubbed her temples helplessly. From a modern perspective, she could understand Jiang Yaojie's thoughts, but this wasn't modern times; it was ancient times, and in a village at that.
Jiang Yaojie was brought here by Old Lady Lu. If others heard these words, the rumors in the village would probably spread again. Jiang Lingdao didn't care, since she had been appointed an official by the Emperor.
Even if they had the guts, they wouldn't dare, but Yaojie is different. Jiang Ling doesn't want Yaojie to hear those unfounded "crimes" at such a young age.
“Yaojie, I’m not criticizing you, but you and your grandmother are related by blood. I understand what you’re saying, but what if other people hear this? You’re getting married. Think about it, who would marry their daughter into a family with questionable morals? Besides, even if you don’t care, you should at least think about your older sister, younger sister, and younger brother!”
Jiang Ling knew that Sui He, Wen Xi, and Nian Ci were Jiang Yao Jie's weaknesses. Sure enough, Jiang Yao Jie initially didn't care, but after hearing Jiang Ling mention his younger brother and sister, his previously indifferent expression turned into one of fear.
He covered his mouth and whispered, "Really...really?"
"Of course. Think about it, those people will definitely think that I taught you. As the saying goes, 'If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked too,' isn't that the point? Yaojie, I know you are a good kid, and this matter is indeed Wang's fault!"
"But now, Mother and he are divorced. We should just live our own lives and not bother with them!"
Jiang Yaojie clutched his head, a pained expression on his face. Jiang Ling knew that this was Jiang Yaojie struggling with inner turmoil. Jiang Yaojie wasn't inherently bad; he was just a little stubborn.
“Why don’t we just keep to ourselves and not interfere with each other? We’re all from the same village, we see each other all the time. If we really fall out, this place still belongs to the Lu family, right?” Jiang Ling continued.
"Mother, I know..."
"Is An Ruren here?" Before Jiang Yaojie could finish speaking, the village chief's voice slowly came from outside.
Jiang Ling gave Jiang Yaojie a look, then stood up and went outside to greet them.
"Village Chief, you're too kind. Please just call me Madam Jiang. Calling me 'Madam' or 'Madam' sounds too distant!" Jiang Ling smiled and invited the village chief in.
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