The county magistrate had no way to deal with Wang Shi, who insisted stubbornly on her stance, but since Wang Shi’s attempt had failed, she was sentenced to ten public beatings with a wooden board. After that, the case was dropped.
As Wang Shi was being beaten by the yamen runners, a trace of a smile appeared in Jiang Chan’s eyes. By the time Wang Shi was helped up again, she no longer had the strength to speak.
Seeing Jiang Xing cowering like a quail beside Wang Shi, Jiang Chan stepped forward at the right moment. She handed over a purse: “Inside are thirty taels of silver notes. You can take them back to buy some good food for Aunt to help her recover.”
Wang Shi could do such things, but Jiang Chan could not. She was not a saint. In this era, a woman’s reputation was extremely important. If she watched Wang Shi being beaten without showing any reaction, people would later say she was heartless and ungrateful to her family.
So, in order to stifle such rumors, Jiang Chan doesn’t mind giving Wang and others a little benefit to shut up the mouths of the crowd.
Although Wang Shi was in so much pain that she couldn’t bear it, her eyes lit up when she heard that Jiang Chan was giving her money. She reached out and tightly clutched the money in her hand. Jiang Miao had an idea and wanted to persuade Wang Shi not to accept it.
Wang Shi argued, “Did I endure all those beatings for nothing? She said it’s to help me recover.”
Everyone looked at Wang Shi’s robust body and collectively fell silent.
The county magistrate waved his hand and dismissed the crowd. The crowd dispersed in a flurry, eager to spread what they had just seen and heard. Jiang Xing and Jiang Miao supported Wang Shi as she walked slowly behind the grim-faced Jiang Mu, Wang Shi still moaning and groaning.
No matter how stupid Jiang Mu was, he has now figured out the situation. He couldn’t believe that the eldest sister had played them one after the other, completely turning the tables on them. Now she had only given up some silver, but she had ruined the reputation of their whole family. Thinking of this, Jiang Mu gritted his teeth.
Not long after they had walked a short distance out of town, Jiang Xing saw Jiang Chan and Uncle Zhong standing on the official road. There was no one else on the official road at this time. Jiang Mu and the others slowly walked over, and Uncle Zhong bowed: “Third Master, the young lady specially asked me to send you all home.”
Jiang Mu stared at Jiang Chan, “I didn’t realize you were thinking so far ahead, gaining a good reputation all for yourself.”
Jiang Chan blinked and did not deny Jiang Mu’s words: “I was just protecting my legitimate interests. If you hadn’t had any ulterior motives, there wouldn’t have been such an outcome today.”
“I originally thought, after all these years of raising me, even if you were biased, you still brought me up. But you shouldn’t have tried to marry me off to Lai San for a mere five taels of silver.”
Jiang Chan glanced at Wang Shi, whose body was stiff, “You knew perfectly well what kind of person Lai San is—drunken, gambling, and having beaten two wives to death—yet you were set on marrying me to him.”
“You were unkind to me, so I can’t be ungrateful. Since I can’t rely on you, I can only find my own way. I left you, hoping you’d be sensible and not seek me out again.”
“But you treated me as if I were easy to bully, constantly bothering me. Since that’s the case, I had no choice but to act. In the end, you brought this on yourselves.”
Jiang Miao couldn’t hold back, “So it’s all our fault? No matter how you hate us, we’re still your family. You can’t erase our blood ties.”
Jiang Chan glanced at him coolly, “Don’t talk to me about blood ties now. Where were you before? Did you ever treat me as family? We’re both your sisters, why could she do nothing while I had to work like a cow and horse to serve your family?”
Jiang Chan felt a surge of emotion. She knew she was channeling the original owner’s feelings. These were words the original owner had never dared to say to Wang Shi and the others, and now Jiang Chan was speaking them on her behalf.
Jiang Xing trembled. After today’s events, she was utterly terrified of Jiang Chan and wished to be as far away from her as possible.
Looking at the gloomy faces of Jiang Mu’s family, Jiang Chan suddenly felt bored. She instructed Uncle Zhong: “Uncle Zhong, please send them back. I’ve made my words clear. As long as you don’t show up in front of me, I guarantee I won’t do anything to you.”
“But if you can’t remember this and insist on talking about blood ties, I don’t know what I might do. As for the thirty taels of silver I just gave you, consider it payment for all the years you raised me, even though you never spent five taels on me. From now on, we go our separate ways. If you prosper, I won’t cling to you; if you fall, I won’t add insult to injury. Let’s just treat each other as strangers.”
After finishing, Jiang Chan ignored their pale faces and turned back to town.
In the carriage, Wang Shi lay on the cushion while Jiang Mu, Jiang Miao, and Jiang Xing squeezed into one corner, feeling wronged.
The carriage was silent. Suddenly, Jiang Mu sighed, “Jiang Chan really hates us.”
Wang Shi’s bottom hurt, but her voice was unaffected. “That stinky girl is an ungrateful white-eyed wolf1. The fortune teller was right, this girl was born to torment me.”
Uncle Zhong, who was driving, suddenly jolted his hand, and the carriage swerved sharply. Wang Shi, caught off guard, fell face down onto the floor of the carriage, wailing in pain.
Uncle Zhong’s mouth twitched, but he spoke apologetically, “I’m sorry, there was a big rock in the road. I had to swerve to avoid it.”
Jiang Miao quickly said, “It’s okay, we should have been more careful.”
In their current position, they had no choice but to endure. He tugged Wang Shi’s clothes, “Say less, we can talk about anything when we get back home.”
Wang Shi, now afraid, whimpered and stayed silent.
Jiang Xing had been like a quail since getting on the carriage. She was now truly keeping a low profile. After Jiang Chan’s stunt today, if word got out, what would she do in the future?
Fortunately, few villagers went to town, so they probably didn’t know yet. The more Jiang Xing thought about it, the more anxious she became.
After dropping off Jiang Mu’s family in the village, Uncle Zhong returned to town without saying a word. He didn’t want to spend another second with Jiang Mu’s family, finding them utterly disgusting.
“White-eyed wolf” (白眼狼) is a Chinese term in that refers to someone who is ungrateful or disloyal, particularly to friends or family. It implies someone who takes advantage of others’ kindness or trust without showing appreciation or loyalty in return. ↩︎
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