Chapter 211: Choice
“Blech!”
Jiang Yu retched.
She never imagined that one day, she would actually feel like vomiting when eating.
It was simply unimaginable.
To think she would have such a moment.
She felt like vomiting at whatever she ate, and felt like vomiting at the smell of anything.
She retched until her face was pale.
She, who was originally full of life and vitality, now had a sense of fragility.
This actually gave Meng Shaoxia quite a scare.
He wrote three letters to the capital in one day.
After thinking about it, he hurriedly wrote two more letters to his grandfather stationed at the border.
In these few years, Meng Shaoxia’s relationship with his family had not grown distant; on the contrary, it had become closer.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder, while proximity breeds contempt.
He was now the “dear child” in his mother’s mouth.
When he was around, he was still just a “little brat.”
His relationship with his grandfather had also become closer.
This was mainly because the food he sent, along with warm clothing, was thoughtful, practical, and even life-saving.
Nowadays, in the Imperial Court, the Emperor was addicted to pleasure and feared that General Meng’s military power was too strong.
He actually knew clearly that someone was embezzling military pay, yet he turned a blind eye and did nothing.
Anyway, in the end, even without managing it, they could still fight and win.
With so much military pay being given, who knew who it was feeding.
The soldiers were out there fighting with rags on their backs, freezing and starving to death before the fighting even began.
Old General Meng had written letters to the Emperor to plead for help, but to no avail.
If he were a truly unscrupulous general, he would have simply led his men to rebel.
However, Old General Meng still had a strong sense of responsibility, adhering to his duties and defending the national territory.
His conscience would not allow it.
As an old general, he had to beg for resources everywhere.
In the end, the person who provided the most help was actually someone who had been a Rebel.
The young men at the border might not have eaten grain from the capital, but they had eaten noodles from the Jiang Family, dried meat from the Jiang Family, and cakes from the Jiang Family.
Of course, the Jiang Family was not purely engaging in charity; rather, they had established a trade route.
The profits were thin, so they didn’t fear bandits.
Now, it wasn’t just the Jiang Family anymore; as long as there was profit, even thin profit was profit.
As long as it could pass through, the common people could conduct business in every corner of the world.
General Meng was not a businessman, so he felt a bit embarrassed, thinking that because his grandson was placed in their home, he had taken a huge advantage.
Meng Shaoxia took care of Jiang Yu cautiously; seeing her frown made his heart jump with alarm.
Usually, Jiang Yu never complained of illness or pain, except for when she had her first period a few years ago and seemed a bit weak.
Usually, when she was with him, the two of them would climb mountains and wade through water to pick mushrooms, full of energy.
Now that she was slightly weak, Meng Shaoxia didn’t even go to work properly.
He originally held a nominal position and was just helping his Father-in-law.
Since his Father-in-law had skipped work because his daughter was pregnant, he had even more reason to do so.
He paced around the room and asked: “Jiang Yu, then what do you want to eat? I’ll go make it for you?”
Jiang Yu found it amusing; she had never seen Brother Meng cook before.
However, Great-Aunt had said that if you have power and don’t use it, it’s a waste after it expires.
Between a husband and wife, a woman can sometimes be a little demanding; don’t be too virtuous.
You can pretend to be virtuous for outsiders, but there’s no need to pretend with your husband; this is the fun of how a couple gets along.
She said: “Then I want to eat noodles, the noodles you knead.”
“Okay, I’ll go knead them for you.” Meng Shaoxia stood up excitedly.
Immediately, he worried about leaving her alone.
He cast a look of disdain at the maid, feeling that the maid was clumsy and could not take good care of Jiang Yu at all.
“You teach me, you watch me knead.” He still felt at ease having Jiang Yu in front of his eyes, Meng Shaoxia said.
“Okay.”
The young couple walked towards the kitchen with pattering footsteps.
“Slow down.”
“Don’t run.”
“Are you feeling unwell again?”
“Wait a moment, wait a moment.”
“It’s not that I’m unwell, I just suddenly want to eat pickled vegetables?”
“Then I’ll make pickled vegetable noodles.”
In the front hall.
Jiang Changtian said: “Ever since I received the news from Magistrate Huang saying that Old Madam Jiang was accusing me of kidnapping her granddaughter, I was truly given a scare.
Since Censor He happened to be here, I could not bear this unjust accusation, so I sent people to turn Jingzhou upside down overnight, and finally found Jiang Wan.”
Jiang Wan looked at the room full of people and pushed Young Master Liu away in shock.
However, because of her physical weakness, she did not succeed.
It looked like she struggled for a moment, only to fall back into Young Master Liu’s embrace.
All under the gaze of everyone.
Old Madam Jiang was so angry her hands were shaking.
Jiang Wan lowered her head; her dream was her greatest reliance.
She had not even told her Father, grandmother, or mother about it.
Now, the things in her dream were known to her, Jiang Changtian, and Censor He.
What difference did this make from the whole world knowing?
Jiang Wan looked at Chu Xi opposite her; his gaze was gentle, and his robes were clean.
He was just as he was in her dream, treating people warmly, but in reality, he was a cold-hearted person, very much like his Father.
Old Madam Jiang was also trembling constantly.
She did not believe that the girl she had carefully educated and raised would do something like eloping with someone.
But Jiang Wan had unspeakable difficulties; she dared not speak of her dream.
She had her reasons.
She did not want to die in Ming County.
Right now, Chu Xi was within reach, like her hope; her future was right before her eyes.
But she knew that Chu Xi could not tolerate sand in his eyes and was vindictive.
In her previous life, although she was Meng Shaoxia’s fiancée, she and Meng Shaoxia were pure and innocent, and there had never been any impropriety.
Even so, after entering the Crown Prince’s mansion, he still looked down on her from time to time.
Right now, she was embracing someone else in front of him, and then directly going back on her word.
Not only would this provoke his disgust, but it would also make her own character seem flawed.
Could he still become the Crown Prince in this life?
So many things had changed.
Wishes spoken aloud sometimes didn’t come true.
Jiang Wan gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and simply admitted directly: “Grandmother, Father, Young Master Liu and I fell in love at first sight. I, I was wrong.”
A love-struck, ignorant young girl was always better than a fickle woman.
Jiang Wan closed her eyes, tears streaming down.
Liu Tong’s eyes also turned red with pleasant surprise.
He knew it; Qingqing liked him too.
Jiang Huaisheng had been chanting sutras since he came in, but at this moment, he suddenly stepped forward, pulled Wan’er away, and raised his hand to slap her.
“A child’s lack of education is the Father’s fault. You are not like your mother. Your mother left, which was my fault, but you, why must you be like this?”
Jiang Huaisheng then slapped himself; the sound of the slap was heavy.
Jiang Wan felt dizzy.
Her own Father’s slap made her nose run with clear fluid again; she wiped it with a handkerchief.
She wiped for a while, and it actually stopped flowing.
It seemed she didn’t feel as uncomfortable, and her head wasn’t buzzing, except for her face hurting.
Jiang Huaisheng was filled with disappointment.
Old Madam Jiang was so angry she kept tapping her cane.
Chu Xi had not expected to watch such a spectacle.
This cousin, whom he remembered as wise—he had seen a painting in his mother’s room, and although it was only the cousin’s back, it had actually given him a subtle sense of being moved, and he very much wanted to see what she looked like from the front.
Although meeting in this scene was a bit awkward, it had to be said that from the front, she was an extremely beautiful woman.
It was just that the girl whom his mother had always praised as having rare and great wisdom had actually eloped with someone because she liked them while still so young.
Perhaps love makes people foolish?
He despised this kind of thing the most; a person who couldn’t even control their emotional desires, what great things could they accomplish?
This cousin was quite good-looking, but she just had no brains.
Jiang Changtian was even impressed by Jiang Wan when he saw this scene.
The Chu Xi sitting opposite them was the biggest winner of her previous life, as she had claimed, and also her husband.
The two of them had entered the high hall hand in hand, ascended to the top, dressed in grand wedding attire, and received the worship of the world.
At this moment, she had actually managed to remain calm and composed, and even pulled along that fool surnamed Liu.
Compared to her, he himself could be considered a good person.
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