Volume One, Chapter 7: A Touch of Madness Keeps Illness at Bay

The love of spectacle is ingrained deep in the bones of the people here; in the blink of an eye, a crowd of onlookers had already gathered. Under so many watchful eyes, Jiang Ning felt as if she were standing on needles, a sensation that transported her back to the day Han Fang came to her school—when her dignity and poise had been torn asunder, her whole person reduced to a laughingstock.

Lu Cheng, however, was entirely focused on the phrase “strange man.” He pulled out their marriage certificate, flipped it open, and, stretching out his long arm, nearly pushed it right in Cao Huixian’s face. “What strange man? I am her man.” To assert his claim, he wrapped his arm around Jiang Ning’s waist, lifted her lightly, and gave her a fleeting kiss at the corner of her mouth. With a marriage certificate in hand, he was upright and legitimate—how could he be called a “strange man”?

Jiang Ning was clearly startled but quickly composed herself. Obediently, she wrapped her arms around Lu Cheng’s waist, the two of them a picture of mutual affection.

“You two!” Cao Huixian, trembling with rage, pointed at them but was too furious to speak. It was over—completely over. She had just confidently assured Du Chenghong that Jiang Ning would never marry anyone but him, and now, with the turn of a head, this wretched girl had already registered her marriage.

The fury nearly overwhelmed Cao Huixian; she clutched her chest, barely steadying herself, and abandoned all pretense of composure, shouting at the top of her lungs, “So you’ve really grown wings, daring even to steal the household register! Are you so desperate to run off to a man? How disgraceful—how could I have a daughter like you... And to think you’re a teacher, a role model! Is this what you teach children at school, to sneak around and steal?”

The crowd erupted in a clamor.

“She’s a teacher? I thought she was a model!”

“Which school does she teach at? Anyone know her?”

“What subject does she teach?”

“With a face like that, is she really a proper teacher? Look how angry she’s made her mother.”

The gossip swirled around her. Some people had already started recording with their phones. Jiang Ning’s ears rang; she could barely hear Cao Huixian’s voice. She clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms to keep herself alert.

Lu Cheng shrugged off his jacket and draped it over Jiang Ning’s head. In moments like this, explanations were futile. When a son quarrels with his father, even if he’s in the right, he’ll always come off as wrong. The best choice was to leave before things escalated. He tried to guide Jiang Ning away, but she stood her ground, refusing to budge.

With her vision blocked by the jacket, Jiang Ning could see only Cao Huixian’s black, rhinestone-studded suede heels, but that did nothing to erase the furious, twisted expression of her stepmother from her mind. Cao Huixian’s tirade continued.

“We raised you, put you through school and university, and this is how you repay us? Marrying just any man you please? You refused the good matches we arranged for you and insist on consorting with some riffraff. You may not care about your reputation, but we do… Look at yourself! Is there anything left of a teacher’s dignity? Are you a dog, biting people as you please? Do you realize what you’ve cost this family with that bite? Our company’s employees worked overtime preparing proposals and negotiating contracts, and we were about to sign when you ruined everything with that bite. You’re a curse upon this family!”

Even in her rage, the wealthy matron knew what to say and what to avoid; she never mentioned things that would put her in the wrong, such as the bride price.

Jiang Ning took a deep breath; her chest prickled with pain. The doctor had warned her that pent-up anger would make her ill; it was no empty threat. As Cao Huixian’s words grew more cutting, Lu Cheng’s expression darkened, and he stepped forward, prepared to silence her by force if necessary. But before he could act, someone else darted ahead.

Jiang Ning flung off the jacket covering her head, strode forward, and shoved Cao Huixian hard. When Jiang Ning charged at her, Cao Huixian sensed trouble but was convinced the girl would never actually lay hands on her. She stood her ground, only to be pushed off-balance, landing heavily on the ground. Pain shot through her tailbone, and her palm was scraped raw on the rough pavement.

The crowd burst into laughter, and Cao Huixian’s face, meticulously made up, flushed crimson with shame and fury. Hindered by her high heels, she clumsily scrambled to her feet. “You—you dare—” Before she could finish, Jiang Ning pushed her again, this time straight in the shoulder.

Cao Huixian went down a second time, the pain in her tailbone so sharp she couldn’t get up. She remained on the ground, slapping her thighs and wailing, “She’s hitting her own mother! Heaven help us, what is the world coming to?”

Jiang Ning looked down at her, retrieved a bottle of honeysuckle dew from her bag, and slammed it to the ground in front of Cao Huixian. Glass shattered with a loud crack. Shocked into silence, Cao Huixian could only gape, and the crowd, too, fell quiet.

Jiang Ning produced another bottle, gripping it by the neck like a grenade. She bent slightly toward Cao Huixian. “Have you said enough? Now it’s my turn.” Cao Huixian, terrified the honeysuckle dew would be smashed over her head, dared not utter a word.

Jiang Ning straightened, stepped back, and raised her voice for all to hear. “About the household register—you’re getting old, I don’t blame you for forgetting. But let me remind you: two years ago, when Grandpa passed away, you handed the register to me yourself so it could be canceled. I called you countless times to come fetch it, but you always said there was no rush and to leave it with me.”

“And as for my marriage, I’m twenty-six, not sixteen. I’m of legal age. If the state allows it, why won’t you? Marriage is a personal freedom. I can marry whoever I choose. Or must I marry that thug you picked out for me? Oh, but you probably don’t think he’s a thug, do you? After all, when he slipped his hand up my skirt in the cinema, and I bit him, you told me to go to his hotel room and apologize, didn’t you?”

Jiang Ning deliberately raised her voice so the crowd could hear, though her tone remained calm. The more composed she was, the more it showed she was in the right. Cao Huixian, by contrast, was unreasonable and shrill.

The mood of the crowd shifted, especially among those with daughters of their own. Now, people openly cursed Cao Huixian, calling her a disgrace.

Jiang Ning pressed on. “You claim you raised me, put me through school. But think carefully—did you fulfill a mother’s duty? Did you ever feed me, change my diapers, pay my tuition, or help me with my studies? Weren’t all those things done by Grandpa and Grandma?”

At this, the audience understood.

“So, she’s her stepmother. No wonder.”

“Even if she’s not her real mother, you can’t treat a child like that. The girl was wronged and still had to apologize—what kind of mother is that? She must have been bought off.”

In just minutes, Cao Huixian was transformed from a pitiable mother to a target of collective scorn. She pushed herself up and spat, “The money Grandpa and Grandma used was ours. If not for us, those two old fools couldn’t have raised you!”

Because her in-laws had poured all their affection into Jiang Ning, Cao Huixian had long resented them; now, in her fury, her words grew even uglier.

Another bottle of honeysuckle dew smashed at her feet, glass flying even closer this time—a shard sliced a thin line across the back of her hand. Cao Huixian shrieked in terror.

Jiang Ning narrowed her eyes. “If not for Grandpa’s hard work, would there be a Jiang Corporation today? Would you be living in luxury?”

She picked up Lu Cheng’s jacket from the ground, a smile playing at her lips—beautiful and dangerous, like a blooming poppy.

“If you insult Grandpa and Grandma again, I’ll bite you myself. Don’t say I didn’t warn you—yesterday, I really was bitten by a dog.”

With that, Jiang Ning turned and strode out of the crowd, her mind clear and her heart unburdened.

A true miracle doctor—two bottles of honeysuckle dew, and the fire in her heart was gone!