Chapter 155: Drills and Training
The sun was bright today. The weather was fine.
Jiang Wan attended to Old Madam for most of the night before she finally managed to soothe her.
Old Madam Jiang had truly been stunned by that slap from Heir Han.
Her heart ached, her wound ached; everything ached.
She was filled with remorse, yet she couldn’t say a word.
To her surprise, the Seventh Prince’s men arrived early in the morning.
The Seventh Prince’s men were very reliable; they arrived ready to take them away without any delay.
Jiang Wan was very excited. She could finally leave this godforsaken place.
However, before leaving, she certainly had to call her parents to come along.
While soothing Old Madam, she sent someone to fetch her parents.
Unexpectedly, when the servant arrived at the detached residence, they saw Jiang Da passed out drunk in the room, and Jiang Rong hiding inside.
Madam Jiang and the children were nowhere to be found. Even the wet nurse had run away…
The couple had a huge argument last night. For some reason, the topic of Jiang Changtian had come up.
Jiang Huaisheng said he had let everyone enter the Quiet Room, even Mother had gone in, but she was the only one who hadn’t.
Madam Wu was simply stunned by this line of reasoning.
Just because the bad guys spared her once, did that make her one of them?
If that were the case, the enemy wouldn’t need to do anything; they could kill half your family, leave the other half, and the remaining half would kill each other off.
Madam Wu was so furious that she couldn’t help but complain: “The worst person is your Mother. If it weren’t for her stirring up trouble and framing me and Jiang Changtian, how would we have ended up in this situation?”
Jiang Huaisheng, having grown accustomed to defending his Mother, actually attacked Madam Wu.
This time, he was sober. He shoved his wife. His wife hit the ground, then held the child and wept.
Hearing the child and Jinger crying at the same time, Jiang Huaisheng felt annoyed. He didn’t know what to do. He had already apologized, but the incident had already occurred; what else could he do?
He could only drown his sorrows in alcohol.
He loved Jinger, and he also revered his Mother. He still remembered that on the road of exile, whenever Mother had a bite to eat, she would always share half with him.
Mother might have wronged his younger brother, but she had never wronged him. It was he who hadn’t done well enough.
He was worried about his Mother’s injury and didn’t dare to see Mother.
He was also worried about Ronger’s condition. Now, traumatized, Ronger wouldn’t leave the house, didn’t want to see anyone, and just sat in his room reading books. He was also irritated by the sound of children crying.
He didn’t know how life had turned out like this. There was endless frustration.
When the servant came to find him and told him to return to the residence, he excitedly went to find Jinger, only to discover that she was gone. Not only was Jinger gone, but his newborn daughter, Shushu, was also missing.
Had Jinger disappeared while holding the child? Could she have already returned to the residence?
Jiang Huaisheng took Ronger back to the residence. Although they had only lived in the detached residence for a short time, Jiang Huaisheng felt that everything was inconvenient and he was unaccustomed to everything.
There was no dedicated large study here, no dedicated training ground, the bed wasn’t as big as the one there, there was no incense in the room, and his sleep was poor.
He thought that a real man should earn his own money to support his family. Yet, despite being well-read and skilled in both literature and martial arts, he couldn’t find any work when he went out.
He couldn’t possibly go to a restaurant to keep accounts or copy books for others; that would be an absolute joke. How could he possibly do such things?
But for him to work at the county office, it would be equivalent to begging his younger brother, Jiang Changtian. Jiang Changtian had gone mad and was no longer his brother; he would only be humiliated, and he would not go and humiliate himself.
After some searching, he found he had nothing to do. Previously, he had also had nothing to do, but he never had to worry about food or drink and was very comfortable at home. Now, with nothing to do and having to worry about food and drink, he couldn’t sit still at home.
Now, he dared even less to think about why his younger brother had thrown himself into the river back then. When his brother had said those things, he only felt that his brother was cowardly and stubborn; for a grown man to think of death at every turn was hopeless.
But now, he didn’t know what to do either. He thought Jinger might have returned to the residence with the child. When the servant came to invite him, he quickly took Ronger and returned.
Unexpectedly, Jinger had not returned, and the child hadn’t been brought back either. As a woman, where could she go in the middle of the night with a child?
He had only shoved her, not beaten her. Jiang Huaisheng frantically went everywhere, asking around like a madman.
He heard that Heir Han had left early this morning, taking a woman carrying a child with him.
Jiang Huaisheng felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Impossible.
Jinger came from a prominent family. Although the Wu family had been implicated and fallen on hard times, she wouldn’t just run off with Heir Han after living a few days of hardship with him. No matter what, she was his legitimate wife and the Mother of his children. What was this about running off with Heir Han? Was she degrading herself, reducing herself to a concubine? Could it be that she really had something going on with Heir Han behind his back?
On the road, Heir Han gradually sobered up. His face was still as swollen as a pig’s head.
Looking at Madam Wu and the child in the carriage, he felt a headache coming on. If his father knew he had done such an absurd thing, would he beat him to death?
“How about I have someone take you back?” Heir Han asked tentatively.
“Although Jiang Da isn’t a good person, he should be more reliable than me. I have many people in my inner residence; you wouldn’t have to worry about food or drink, but I am very unfaithful.”
Madam Wu sat in the carriage with dull eyes. Last night, her husband had shoved her to the ground, and her back had hit the corner of the table hard, yet her husband hadn’t even looked at her once; he had turned and run away.
Her grief was greater than the death of her heart. They had been childhood sweethearts, grown up together, married, and had children. After so many years, he had actually doubted her.
In a fit of anger, she had run out with the child, but once outside, she didn’t know where to go. As a woman who had never wandered outside before, she was very frightened and could only head toward the county office.
Unexpectedly, she was encountered by Heir Han and taken away. Heir Han had held her and called out for his Mother all night.
Madam Wu felt life was hopeless. If it wasn’t her husband, it didn’t matter who it was.
She loved Jiang Huaisheng, she loved the sensible, honest, and devoted Jiang Huaisheng, she loved the Jiang Huaisheng who thought of her in every way, she loved the considerate Jiang Huaisheng. However, he was gone.
Madam Wu had never managed household affairs; in the Jiang Family, she had basically lived on her husband’s love. Once that love was gone, she was at a loss and didn’t know what to do.
“I won’t get down. If you make me leave, I will dash myself and the child to death right in front of you,” Madam Wu said.
Heir Han:…
With tears in her eyes and a dull gaze, the carriage moved slowly. She had been out for a day and a night, but her husband still hadn’t come to look for her.
Upon learning that Jinger had been taken away by Heir Han, Jiang Huaisheng felt life was hopeless and wanted to chase after them, but he was stopped by his Mother.
“What is the use of chasing back a woman as fickle as she is? How will Ronger and Wan’er get married in the future? You should just consider her dead.”
Old Madam Jiang was also furious to hear that Heir Han had taken Madam Wu away. She was even angrier at Madam Wu.
Heir Han didn’t take anyone else but took Madam Wu and the child; this must have been Madam Wu offering herself up.
She had been tortured enough during this time. Finally, someone had come to pick her up. Even if she was injured, she had to leave this place. She was terrified by that mad son.
The family was extremely efficient. It was also because Jiang Wan had always kept important valuables packed, ready to leave at any time. When the Seventh Prince’s men arrived, they packed up and set off that very day.
Jiang Huaisheng wailed about wanting to find Jinger and Shushu, but he was tied up by the guards and put on the carriage by Jiang Wan.
Although she had feelings for this place where she had lived for many years, a voice in her heart kept telling her to leave, to leave quickly.
As for Mother, if she had really left with Heir Han, it was not appropriate to make a big fuss looking for her right now; they could only wait until they were settled.
On this day, dust rose and fell on the official road. On this day, Commander Jiang, having newly taken office, prepared to conduct a drill and training exercise. After all, a new official must show his mettle.
It was said that Commander Jiang’s troops consisted only of the old, weak, sick, and disabled. He brought thousands of the old, weak, sick, and disabled to the official road. The crowd was massive.
Jiang Changtian earnestly asked Meng Shaoxia for advice: “Little Meng, you are a professional at leading troops. Please give us some guidance later.”
Meng Shaoxia looked at what was before him. Although there were many people, they didn’t look like strong soldiers, but the neat and tidy formations were impressive. He watched Brother Feng raise his left hand, and a group of people moved to the left; Brother Feng raised his right hand, and a group of people moved to the right. The orders were executed strictly; it was simply invincible.
People in this era were rarely literate; distinguishing left from right was difficult, let alone following orders. If the army he led could do this, he would have long been invincible and unstoppable. Was there a secret to this?
Jiang Feng smiled honestly. There was no secret; it was just an insight he gained from watching Mianmian play with ants and command them. Mianmian could even make ants line up; since these were people, it was even more possible.
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