"Because you don’t listen to ." Granny’s feelings for her grandson were a mixture of love and resentnt. If she hadn’t threatened to take her own life back then, Jie Jingchen wouldn’t have the surna Jie, but Qiao. A grandson of the Jie Family taking the Qiao surna? She would never allow it. Not even in death.
Jie Jingchen let out a derisive laugh. "Zhang Hongyan, on the other hand, hung on your every word," he mocked. "And what was her tragic end?"
"You..." Granny glared at Jie Jingchen. He really knew how to touch a sore spot. "If Zhang Hongyan hadn’t died, would your mother have been able to marry your father? If your mother hadn’t married your father, would you, Jing Wu, and Jing Qi even exist?"
Jie Jingchen raised an eyebrow, not giving her any face. "Whether the three of us exist is not important," he said bluntly. "What’s important is my mother. If she had listened to my maternal grandfather’s arrangents, her life would have been a hundred tis better than marrying my father—a widower with three children."
Granny was furious but couldn’t refute his words. The Qiao Family were wealthy rchants in Jiangxiang, but the Jie Family? Their statuses were completely mismatched. Even she had to admit that Qiao Yanqiu must have been blind to marry their eldest son.
Heh! But you had to hand it to him, their eldest son got incredibly lucky. It was like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse—a tiny chance, but he’d actually pulled it off.
Not wanting to argue the point with Jie Jingchen, Granny sighed. "The old saying is true: ignore your elders’ advice, and you’ll pay the price. Ever since your father married your mother, he’s been a rebellious son. No matter what I say, it goes in one ear and out the other. I told them countless tis that Zhang Hongying had sinister intentions, that we couldn’t keep her here, that there would be trouble. But they refused to listen, insisting she stay."
"And as it turns out, I was right. If Second Daughter-in-law Jing hadn’t brought your grandpa and over, your father would have fallen right into her trap. Knowing your mother’s temperant, she would never have forgiven him. She would have divorced him for sure. With all you children married and with families of your own, wouldn’t it be shaful for them to divorce now?"
"What’s so shaful about it? Granny, aren’t you the one who’s been trying to convince to divorce?" Jie Jingchen retorted, turning her own logic against her.
Granny glared at him and snapped, "What age are they? And what age are you?"
Qin i couldn’t help but speak up. "Divorce isn’t restricted by age. If a marriage is unhappy, people can divorce at any age. Enduring it and just getting by only brings misery to oneself and harms the children."
"You..." Granny was so angry at Qin i’s words that she trembled. "There’s sothing wrong with your thinking! You need to go get your ideology re-educated!"
"Am I wrong?" Qin i asked.
"You think you’re not wrong? Fourth Wife of Jing, that kind of thinking is completely improper! ’Marry a man, marry a man, to be clothed and fed.’ What is marriage? Do you have any idea?" Granny demanded.
Granny and Qin i were from completely different generations. Their education and their mindsets were worlds apart. So beliefs were so deep-rooted they were etched into her bones. Qin i started to regret opening her mouth. ’Why am I even arguing with an old woman?’
"No wonder Second Daughter-in-law Jing said she asked you for help and you coldly refused," Granny said. "She couldn’t handle it alone and had no choice but to turn to us for help. Fourth Wife of Jing, since you’re married to Jing Si, you and Second Daughter-in-law Jing are sisters-in-law. No matter how terrible your personal relationship is, when it concerns a major affair of our Jie Family, you are expected to set aside your grievances and present a united front."
Qin i remained silent. ’Xu Chunyan had selfish reasons for asking for my help. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to get involved, but Jie Jingchen told to just watch from the sidelines. When it cos to my in-laws’ business, it’s better to interfere as little as possible.’
Seeing that Qin i wasn’t talking, Granny continued to lecture her for a bit. But Qin i remained silent, and Granny couldn’t keep up the one-woman show. She turned her criticism to Jie Jingchen instead. "And you, Jing Si! Why didn’t you bring your wife to see and your grandpa?"
"I injured my back," Jie Jingchen said.
"What?" Granny exclaid, her gaze fixed on Jie Jingchen’s lower back. She knew Jing Si had been injured but not where. "How did you injure your back? Is it serious? Are you healed? Your father said you went back to work. Honestly, a back injury is a major problem. You can’t be careless about it. If there are lasting complications, it will be a huge issue. Listen to Granny. Stop going to work and stay ho to recover."
"Jing Si." Grandpa walked toward them, a worried expression in his eyes when he heard Jie Jingchen had injured his back.
"Grandpa," Jie Jingchen greeted him. Grandpa was seventy-two and Granny was seventy; both were still quite robust.
"Jing Si, your granny is right. You must listen to her this ti," Grandpa said.
"Grandpa, don’t worry. My wife already healed my back injury. It won’t affect my work," Jie Jingchen said.
"Your wife really healed it?" Granny asked, unconvinced. She gave Qin i a few more scrutinizing glances, recalling how she had perford acupuncture on the eldest son. Granny didn’t understand the technique, but she had seen it done before.
"It’s true." Jie Jingchen paused before adding, "My wife is also treating Jing Qi’s leg."
Granny, who clearly favored sons, couldn’t care less about Jing Qi’s leg. "Does it affect his ability to have children?"
The question was blunt and pragmatic. After a mont’s thought, Jie Jingchen gave her a definitive answer. "It definitely affects it."
"Ah!" Granny and Grandpa exchanged a look. They had the sa thought: Jie Jingchen was ruined. In their minds, a man who couldn’t have children was a cripple.
Qin i frowned at Jie Jingchen. ’Is he trying to ruin my reputation?’
"Granny, I’m the one who can’t have children," Jie Jingchen said, his face impassive. "Pressuring us will only embarrass ."
Grandpa’s cloudy eyes filled with worry, but Granny didn’t dwell on it for long. She had plenty of grandsons. This one, Jing Si... if he could have children, great. If not, it didn’t matter. There were other grandsons to carry on the Jie Family na.
Jie You was her great-grandson. Currently, he was the only great-grandson from the eldest son’s branch of the family. She would have to dote on Jie You twice as much.
"Fourth Wife of Jing, your grandpa and I are hungry. Go make us so food," Granny said, her tone a command.
"Granny, my wife doesn’t know how to cook," Jie Jingchen said.
"She doesn’t know how to cook? Then what did you marry her for? To put her on a pedestal and worship her?" Granny glared furiously at Jie Jingchen.
"My mother doesn’t know how to cook, either," Jie Jingchen reminded her.
"And what is your mother’s status? What is *her* status?" Granny snapped.
Not wanting to argue the point, Jie Jingchen took Qin i’s hand and started walking toward the courtyard gate.
"Stop right there! Where are you going?" Granny slamd her hand on the table and shot to her feet.
"To pick up Jing Qi. He’s still at our second aunt’s house," Jie Jingchen said without breaking his stride.
"You go pick him up! Your wife stays here to cook for us!" Granny roared.
"She doesn’t know how to cook," Jie Jingchen replied, his tone frigid. Qin i remained silent.
"Then she can learn!" Granny bellowed.
"Who’s going to teach her?" Jie Jingchen asked.
Granny gritted her teeth. "I will."
"Don’t go to all that trouble. You can do it yourself." With that, Jie Jingchen led Qin i away, leaving Granny seething with rage.
They hadn’t gone far before Qin i stopped Jie Jingchen. Glancing back at the courtyard gate, she whispered, "We’re just going to leave like that?"
"Grandpa and Granny both know how to cook. They’re very robust, so making a al is no problem for them," Jie Jingchen said, raising a hand to gently stroke Qin i’s hair. His eyes were filled with warmth.
"Your granny doesn’t seem easy to get along with," Qin i admitted. ’What I really want to ask is when they’re leaving. When I was dealing with Aunt Zhang, we weren’t related, so I could talk back without holding anything back. But with your granny... I have to be more careful. I can’t go all out.’
"My granny has never been easy to get along with," Jie Jingchen said with a small smile, gently pinching her nose. "I know what you’re worried about. But we’re the younger generation; we can’t just kick our elders out."
Embarrassed that he had read her mind, Qin i asked, "Jie Jingchen, do you think I lack the virtue of respecting my elders?"
"Qin i." Jie Jingchen ran his slender fingers through her hair. "So elders deserve respect. Others don’t."
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