Jiang Ning introduced everyone one by one, and the members of the Jiang family all looked at Lu Huai’an with various expressions—some were angry, some were wary, and others seemed to be deep in thought. Lu Huai’an politely nodded to each of them.
When Jiang Ning introduced Jiang Xiu, she suddenly noticed Jiang Xiu fidgeting and a suspicious flush creeping up her face.
Jiang Ning couldn’t help but ask, “Jiang Xiu, why are you acting so shy?”
Jiang Xiu lowered her head, her voice so soft it was almost a whisper, “Nothing, nothing.”
She hadn’t expected Lu Huai’an to be this handsome. That bastard had picked up a good deal for himself.
Jiang Ning frowned and ordered, “Since there’s nothing, go fetch Dr. Li from the village.”
The Jiang family usually called on Dr. Jiang, the one who lived closest. But Dr. Li, who lived on the far west side of the village, was known for his superior medical skills.
“Oh, alright!” Jiang Xiu agreed, hurrying out the door.
Jiang Ning, seeing that Jiang Xiu obediently followed her orders, glanced at the still-lying Lu Huai’an on the bed thoughtfully. Even though he was covered in dirt and had a sickly appearance, his handsome features remained intact. Could that girl have developed some feelings for him?
After Jiang Xiu left, Jiang Ning turned to Jiang Dashan and said, “Second uncle, please help me get two crutches for Lu Xiu. He won’t be able to move around without them.”
Jiang Dashan glanced over at the family patriarch, Jiang Lao, who nodded in approval. Then, he smiled and said, “Don’t worry, second uncle will make sure Lu Xiu has them by tomorrow.”
Jiang Ning smiled and then ushered everyone out. “Alright, everyone, please leave. The patient needs rest, don’t disturb him.”
Everyone nodded, each lost in their own thoughts as they left the room.
Once everyone was gone, Jiang Ning shut the door and slowly walked over to the bed where Lu Huai’an was lying with his eyes closed, resting. She thought to herself, It’ll take a while for the doctor to get here from the west side of the village. I should ask him now.
She lowered her voice and asked, “So, tell me, who did you offend?”
“The richest family in the capital, the second daughter of the Xue family—Xue Qingling.”
Lu Huai’an didn’t hide the truth. Even after avenging his previous life, just mentioning the person who ruined his life made his fists tighten under his sleeves.
“She’s interested in you? You rejected her, so she broke your leg to force you into submission?” Jiang Ning guessed. It seemed like such a cliché scenario, but she was hoping it wasn’t true.
“Yes.”
Lu Huai’an hadn’t expected her to guess it so easily. He stared at Jiang Ning for a while before slowly continuing, “When I turned sixteen, I passed the scholar exam. After investigating me, she wanted me to marry into the Xue family. She was fourteen at the time. For the past two years, she’s controlled me through my business, trying to push me into a corner so that I would beg her. Now that she’s about to turn seventeen, she’s decided to force me once again…”
“Is… is she ugly?” Jiang Ning asked, puzzled.
If she were a beautiful, wealthy woman, Jiang Ning couldn’t understand why she would resort to such underhanded methods to force a man into submission.
Lu Huai’an’s pitch-black eyes darkened, and his voice became emotionless, “No. She’s considered quite beautiful. The Xue family patriarch has no sons, only three daughters. She looks down on the governor’s eldest son, who is an illegitimate child. She wants to control the Xue family and doesn’t want to be used as a pawn in a political marriage, so she targeted me as a tool.”
“But if you marry into the merchant family, wouldn’t that disqualify you from the imperial exams?” Jiang Ning frowned.
Lu Huai’an sighed, “The Xue family is a third-generation business family. They can split their household. Xue Qingling wants to establish her own faction, so marrying me into their family is the simplest way. It wouldn’t affect the imperial exams. If I rise to a high position, she can legitimately take the head of the family.”
Jiang Ning couldn’t help but click her tongue, “Tsk, this woman sure is ambitious. Then why didn’t she just force herself on you?”
Lu Huai’an looked at Jiang Ning in disbelief, as though he couldn’t believe she would casually use the words “force herself on you.” After a long pause, he replied, “She must be afraid I’d bring her down with me. So she wanted to break me mentally first, until she could control me at her will.”
“Alright then.”
Jiang Ning sighed. It seemed that beauty could indeed cause trouble everywhere. She believed that if Lu Huai’an weren’t so handsome, Xue Qingling wouldn’t have even looked his way. But forcing someone into submission wasn’t sweet—this kind of woman was definitely infuriating.
If she couldn’t have him, would she just ruin his life?
“How do you think she’ll get back at me? Send someone to kill me?” Jiang Ning asked. She was actually curious why, when she took him away today, no one came out to stop her.
“She probably won’t do anything for now. She cares about her reputation. Once something’s done, there’s evidence left behind. At least during her stay here, she won’t do anything drastic. But she’s really skilled at the subtle schemes of the inner quarters, so you should be careful.”
Hearing this, Lu Huai’an thought to himself, Should I prepare some self-defense tools for Jiang Ning in case she gets attacked? But then he realized, It’s not that I care about her, I just don’t want her to be unprepared against that crazy woman.
But, thinking about how he had nothing left now, he decided to let it go.
“You still want me to be careful?”
“If you really cared about me, you wouldn’t have agreed to marry me,” Jiang Ning said skeptically. “I suspect you’re doing this on purpose.”
Especially today, calling out to her deliberately—it was just too infuriating.
“You’re my wife—”
“What if I said we should divorce now?” Jiang Ning teased, curious to see his reaction.
Lu Huai’an shot her a cold glance, “Once you enter the Lu family, there’s no such thing as divorce, only widowhood.”
“You…” Jiang Ning was speechless, taking a deep breath before continuing, “They burned your house and threw you out of the medical center. What are you planning to do now? Even if I temporarily bring you back here, do you think they’ll let you go?”
Lu Huai’an remained calm, “They shouldn’t do anything until my leg is healed.”
This was just a warning for now. In his previous life, Xue Qingling wouldn’t appear again until May.
Jiang Ning was left speechless. What use was this uncertain information?
But Lu Huai’an added with a mischievous tone, “But whether they let you go, that’s not so certain.”
Jiang Ning cursed him inwardly. This guy, he’s barely keeping himself together, and yet he’s still trying to provoke me.
“I have a grudge against you, don’t I? Why are you trying to get me involved in your mess…”
“You’re the one who came to me first. I didn’t force you.”
Jiang Ning was once again left speechless. She had completely forgotten about his enemies when she agreed to this whole thing.
“Now, what should we do?”
“Whatever happens, happens. I’ll face it head-on.”
Lu Huai’an seemed indifferent, though deep inside, he had no idea what that crazy woman might do. After all, it had only been three days since his rebirth, and things weren’t following the path they had in his previous life. Everything was happening unexpectedly.
Jiang Ning looked at his face, which seemed to be asking for a punch, and she wished she could rip him apart.
“You say you don’t want the rich heiress, so why did you agree to marry me?”
“You didn’t refuse either.”
“I couldn’t refuse. The village’s reputation was at stake.”
“Same here…”
“You… Listen, I don’t lose out. You made me suffer a huge loss this time, and I’ll make you pay me back for it,” Jiang Ning said fiercely.
“How are you going to make me pay?”
Lu Huai’an watched her get angry, yet still unable to do anything about him, and felt a little pleased inside.