Jiang Qingran flopped onto the bed and nodded. “Mm.”
Qinghe was puzzled. “But why, Miss? With the power and influence you have now, if you don’t want to marry, no one can force you.”
“Because I want to marry him.”
If she had to marry someone in this world, then that man could only be Jing Moxuan.
The truth was, the real Jiang Qingran had died years ago on the way to the country estate. Thinking that no one would care about a discarded daughter, the carriage driver had casually thrown her body into a riverside ditch. That was when she, a medical PhD from the twenty-first century, had transmigrated into this body. But at the time, the original host had been too young, sick, and badly injured. No matter how many abilities she possessed, she couldn’t use them.
Just when she was on the brink of death, a young man in a wheelchair happened to pass by. He was as refreshing as a clear breeze beneath a bright moon, strikingly handsome and unmatched in elegance. He found a physician for her and gave her water and food.
He had told her only one thing: “Live. Become strong.”
From that moment on, the young man had taken root in her heart.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Suddenly, someone knocked at the door.
Qinghe opened the door and saw Cai Xiumei standing outside, holding a half-grown boy’s hand. She asked, unhappy, “What are you doing here?”
Cai Xiumei smiled. “I’ve come to have a private chat with Ranran.”
Qinghe hesitated and glanced into the room.
By then, Jiang Qingran had already sat up from the bed. “Let them in.”
As soon as Cai Xiumei entered, she gently pushed her son, Jiang Yuanchuan, toward Jiang Qingran. “Ranran, look. This is your younger brother, Xiaochuan.”
Jiang Qingran merely gave him a brief glance.
Back then, Cai Xiumei had suffered severe hemorrhaging while giving birth to him, and afterward had blamed it on Jiang Qingran, calling her a jinx who had brought bad luck simply by standing outside the delivery room.
Seeing that Jiang Qingran remained silent, Cai Xiumei nudged Jiang Yuanchuan again. “Call her ‘Big Sister.’ In the entire Jiang family, she is your only full elder sister.”
Yet Jiang Yuanchuan couldn’t bring himself to say the words. Instead, he turned to look at Cai Xiumei. “If she’s your daughter too, then why have you never mentioned her all these years? Why did you never visit her in the countryside? Now she’s about to get married. She won’t come home often in the future. So why put on this act now?” With that, he spun around and strode away.
Cai Xiumei gave an awkward smile, while her heart felt as though it were being sliced apart by knives. Everything she had done was for his sake. Yet he did not understand her at all.
“Ranran, your younger brother is still young and doesn’t know any better. Don’t hold it against him.”
Qinghe curled her lips and muttered, “I think Eighth Young Master understands far more than you do.”
Pretending not to hear, Cai Xiumei kept looking at Jiang Qingran gently. “Ranran, Mother knows you’re angry with me. But back then, I had no choice. If I hadn’t gone along with your father, not only would you have been driven out of the residence, Xiaochuan and I would have been as well.”
Jiang Qingran found it utterly unbelievable and shot her a disdainful glance. “You’re the legitimate eldest daughter of a former Vice Minister of Revenue and the lawful wife, the original mistress of this Prime Minister’s Residence. How did you manage to trample your own dignity into the ground, then hand it over to Jiang Wenxiang and Shen Ruoliu so they could toy with it?”
“So what if you had been driven out of the Prime Minister’s Residence? Wasn’t your dowry enough for you and your children to live comfortably for the rest of your lives?”
“After all these years of bowing and scraping, working like an ox and a horse, what have you gained? And what has become of your children?”
As for her being branded a “jinx,” that was one thing.
But Jiang Yuanchuan was the only legitimate son of the Prime Minister’s Residence. Even so, he was constantly bullied by the three concubine-born sons Shen Ruoliu had borne.
Cai Xiumei lowered her head. Her eyes reddened as she sniffled. “But your grandfather died long ago, and my natal family has already fallen into decline. Who could I rely on?”
She paused before continuing, “Let’s not talk about the past. The important thing is that you’ve finally been allowed to return. That’s the greatest blessing of all. Although the Seventh Prince is in poor health, he is still His Majesty’s son. Once you marry into his household, your life will surely be much better than it was on the estate.”
“Why must you be so stubborn? If you would just say a few kind words and win your grandmother’s and father’s favor, wouldn’t all your suffering finally come to an end?”
She did not expect this daughter, whom she considered a calamity, to become her support. She only hoped Jiang Qingran would stop bringing trouble upon her and Xiaochuan.
Jiang Qingran let out a cold laugh. “Right now, Jiang Wenxiang is the one begging me. Why should I curry favor with him? Who does he think he is?”
“Once I become the Seventh Prince’s Consort, won’t he still have to bow and pay his respects to me? And he dreams of becoming the Imperial Father-in-Law? What a fantasy. He’s completely delusional. If you’re willing to degrade yourself, that’s your choice. Don’t drag me down with you. The moment you sent me away ten years ago, we were destined to become strangers. From now on, don’t come looking for me anymore. Otherwise, don’t blame me for making things unpleasant for you.”