Chapter 43 - Leaving the Jiang Family (2/2)

Some time ago, Jiang Ming had told him that his elder brother was back in the country, and that his health had deteriorated, to the point of near-death. As Jiang Shaocheng’s younger brother, he wanted to find a bride for him–a perfect picture to paint just before he died, especially since the joyous occasion might lend him relief from his illness in his final days. But a few days later, Jiang Ming had come back claiming his brother’s bride had been replaced by a scheming woman.

He just hadn’t expected that she would be a whore as well, a blemish on the Jiangs’ reputation.

“You dare defy me? For her?” Fury broiled in Jiang Hanchen, wreathing his face in dark shadow.

Jiang Shaocheng looked back over his shoulder icily. “I’m merely stating the truth. I will have no other woman but Tang Qiu. If you won’t treat her with respect, there’s no point in me staying. When I die, she’ll take care of it. You won’t have to lift a finger over my dead body.”

“You wretch… What is this woman worth, that you should cling on to her? You–”

“She’s worth it if I say so.” Jiang Shaocheng beckoned for Tang Qiu to push the wheelchair. She glanced at Jiang Hanchen and hastily obeyed.

“Do you know what your leaving here means?” Jiang Hanchen’s roar chased them as they left. “Do you really want to sever ties with me over her?”

Him, and the possessions of the Jiang family, was what his father meant. Jiang Shaocheng didn’t even look back.

His son had just walked out without hesitation.

Blinded by rage, Jiang Hanchen hurled a teacup to the floor. It shattered at Jiang Ming’s feet, and he leapt back, startled. He hadn’t expected that Jiang Shaocheng would cut ties with his family over Tang Qiu. How could a cripple like him survive without the aid of the Jiangs? It was as good as courting death. But this surprise–if you could call it that–was a welcome one.

The butler was frightened too, but he dared not comment on what he had just witnessed. “Calm down, master,” he said in a mollifying tone. “It’s not worth it to ruin your health. He was probably trying to test that woman, to see if she would still stay with him even if he wasn’t the young master of the Jiang family.”