“If my second brother liked Cao Xinrou, he would have married her long ago. Why would she still be an old maid? And you, Jiang Yanyan, Cao Xinrou is your ‘mistress,’ yet you’re so eager to stick up for her?”
Not loving someone just means not loving them.
If Jiang Chengbei had even the slightest feeling for Cao Xinrou, in the original story she wouldn’t have spent her whole life loving in vain.
Jiang Yanyan had long treated Cao Xinrou as her future sister-in-law.
Now, hearing Ning Xi mock her “Sister Xinrou” as an old maid who couldn’t get married, and call herself the watchdog, Yanyan’s neck flushed red with anger. When she saw Ning Xi wasn’t fazed by her provocation, she immediately lost her composure.
“You—you’re calling who a dog?!”
“I’ll call anyone a dog if they deserve it!”
Ning Xi didn’t indulge Jiang Yanyan.
She was going to marry Jiang Chengbei, but she wasn’t going to be a pushover.
She didn’t force herself into a circle she didn’t belong to.
She didn’t need to please those who disliked her.
Those who treated her well would be rewarded doubly. Those who treated her badly? She would scold them and make them regret it.
As the youngest daughter in the family, Jiang Yanyan had never been scolded like this.
She had to reclaim some dignity, folding her arms and sneering.
“Even if you marry my second brother, don’t expect me to call you sister-in-law!”
“Do I care?”
Ning Xi smirked nonchalantly.
“You’re not money, and you’re ugly. Why should I care about you? Also, talk to me less in the future I have a condition where I can’t stand stupidity. Get out now, and if you say one more word, I’ll call you a dog.”
Jiang Yanyan was rendered speechless.
She stood there, stifled with frustration, then after a few seconds, burst into tears and ran out.
“Mom, Ning Xi bullied me!”
She grabbed Tian Guilan’s sleeve, nearly twenty years old but crying with teary eyes.
Tian Guilan, already annoyed, looked even worse after hearing Jiang Yanyan exaggerate.
“Already at the door, bullying your sister-in-law? That’s outrageous!”
With her mother backing her, Jiang Yanyan’s provocations grew bolder.
“Exactly! Ning Xi is full of bad habits lazy, greedy, looks down on rural folks, always dressing up all fancy. Who does she think she’s trying to attract? Second brother, aren’t you afraid she’ll cheat on you?”
“She’s not cut out for married life at all!”
“A good girl like Sister Xinrou is perfect for you!”
Ning Xi listened from inside, not planning to intervene.
This matter was for Jiang Chengbei to handle.
If he allowed others to defame or bully his fiancée, there would be no point in the marriage.
Luckily, Jiang Chengbei did not disappoint.
He scolded Jiang Yanyan severely.
“Shut your mouth!”
The cold, deadly aura he’d honed in the army erupted. Ordinary people let alone enemies would tremble at it.
Jiang Yanyan’s legs weakened, her face turning ghostly pale.
“Se-second brother…”
Tian Guilan was startled. “Chengbei, what are you doing? Yanyan is still young and doesn’t understand. Don’t scare her like that.”
“Still young?”
A layer of icy frost covered Jiang Chengbei’s brow.
“She’s twenty, not two. She should know what’s appropriate to say. Mouth open, speaking of cheating do you think an educated young lady would say such things? You can’t just use ‘immature’ as an excuse to maliciously attack someone.”
“Your sister… she’s just been spoiled,” Tian Guilan tried to defend her.
Her youngest daughter had reached the age to look for a husband. With a promising officer like her second brother backing her, the girl’s future would be fine. She couldn’t let sibling resentment grow.
Jiang Chengbei’s gaze turned colder. “Don’t use ‘spoiled’ as an excuse. Bad is bad.”
His little sister had indeed been spoiled by their mother.
A tree not pruned grows crooked; now Jiang Yanyan was already skewed. As her older brother, he usually turned a blind eye as long as she didn’t cross the line but bullying Ning Xi was unacceptable.
A man who couldn’t protect his wife couldn’t talk about protecting his family or country.
“I’ll say it again. I’m marrying Ning Xi. If anyone in this house looks down on her or bullies her, it means they’re not taking me seriously. Once married, I’ll take her with me. Jiang Yanyan, if I hear you disrespect Ning Xi again, don’t blame me for dealing with you.”
Jiang Yanyan quickly nodded.
She was afraid of the strong, seeing Jiang Chengbei really angry, and dared not say another word.
Tian Guilan’s face turned dark purple with suppressed anger.
Old Master Jiang glanced at the quarrelsome mother and daughter, cleared his throat, and spoke.
“From now on, Xi girl is a member of the Jiang family. No one is to mistreat her. We Jiang family are not ungrateful. Alright, everyone, stop standing around and go about your business.”
The Jiang family dispersed.
Zhou Qinglian was delighted inside.
Even before the bride officially entered the household, there was already drama. There would be more entertainment in the future.
Once everyone returned to their rooms, Jiang Shi’an, who hadn’t said anything, approached Jiang Chengbei with a sullen expression. Suppressing his envy, he congratulated him.
“Chengbei, congratulations on becoming a groom.”
He was a few months older than Jiang Chengbei. Now that Jiang Chengbei was getting married and he was still single, though he was dating the niece of a school principal, that girl had a huge face she couldn’t even compare to one finger of Ning Xi.
If only Ning Xi didn’t have a capitalist background.
He would have gladly married her and treated her well.
Too bad. Such a delicate beauty paired with a rough soldier like Jiang Chengbei… if he tried to flirt with Ning Xi, who knew if she would favor him?
Just as he was lost in fantasy, Jiang Chengbei interrupted.
“You should work harder too, try to settle down soon.”
Jiang Shi’an laughed awkwardly. “I’m still early. For now, work comes first. A man won’t lack a wife. First establish a career, then a family.”
Again with this… Jiang Chengbei impatiently nodded and returned to write the marriage application report.
Jiang Shi’an stood in the courtyard, craning his neck to peek at Ning Xi’s room window a few times before reluctantly leaving.
Inside the room, Zhang Hongmei immediately asked Jiang Chengdong.
“Look at my second brother doting on that capitalist lady. If you criticize her, he acts like you’re trying to eat him. How much do you think he’ll give Ning Xi as a bride price?”
Jiang Chengdong frowned.
“Why are you asking me? I’m not the second brother. How should I know?”
“I’m just asking. You always scold me.”
Zhang Hongmei glanced around and sat next to Jiang Chengdong.
“Just so you know, we haven’t split the household yet. Ning Xi’s bride price cannot bypass me or I’ll make a fuss.”
Ning Xi had no idea about Zhang Hongmei’s little schemes.
After dinner, she returned to her room early to test activating the Spirit Spring inside the jade pendant.
According to the novel, Cao Xinrou got injured and her blood seeped into the pendant, unintentionally activating the space.
She took a needle, closed her eyes, and pricked her fingertip hard.
Blood immediately welled up.
Ignoring the pain, Ning Xi quickly let the droplet fall onto the pendant.
The moment it touched the blood, the jade pendant blazed with golden light, shining so brightly she had to close her eyes.
When she opened them again, her surroundings had changed.
Before her stretched fertile black soil, gleaming with richness. Crops were at harvest, golden wheat fields as far as the eye could see.
Fruit trees bore abundant fruit.
Most striking of all was a bamboo hut ancient, elegant, and mysterious.
Curious, Ning Xi pushed open the bamboo door. A faint, sweet mist wafted out. At the center of the hut was a spring, bubbling clear water, transparent like jade, exceptionally refreshing.
This was the Spirit Spring.
It nourished all things, healed injuries, and purified impurities.
Excited, she drank from it, instantly feeling unprecedented lightness. Her waist didn’t ache, her legs weren’t sore, all fatigue vanished.
This was incredible!
Her delicate fingers trembled with excitement.
She quickly picked up a bamboo slip next to the spring. Small text described the Spirit Spring’s functions:
The space could be used for planting.
The spring nourished and strengthened the body.
The bamboo hut preserved items; nothing stored would rot.
It was like a pie fell from the sky!
After leaving the Spirit Spring space, Ning Xi remained overjoyed alternating between silly laughter and giddy smiles. By late night, she finally fell asleep. When she woke, it was already nine in the morning.
A soft “knock knock” sounded at the door.