Chapter 109

109. Chapter 109: Mother, I Want to Learn Medicine

On the bustling street, Li Old Matriarch's desperate pleading while dragging Jiang Xiaoxiao immediately drew many glances.

Seeing the crowd gathering, Li Old Matriarch cried out even louder: "Er Ya, don't be angry with Grandma anymore, okay? Grandma cooked your favorite eggs at home, just waiting for you to come back and eat them…"

Jiang Xiaoxiao felt her scalp prickle—this old woman truly had no shame. Just moments ago, she had been hurling herself at Sun Shi in a public brawl, and now she was turning to play the family card with her.

She even claimed she'd cooked eggs for her—did she really think Jiang Xiaoxiao was a fool to be fooled?

"Let go of me…" Jiang Xiaoxiao tugged hard to pull her arm free, but Li Old Matriarch had somehow gained tremendous strength—her withered hands clamped down like iron vices, as if trying to snap her slender arm.

"Get off me!"

Jiang Wei furrowed her eyebrows and shoved Li Old Matriarch's hand away.

"Oh no!" Li Old Matriarch collapsed onto the ground, revealing a fragility utterly unlike the viciousness she'd shown during her fight with Sun Shi. She wiped at nonexistent tears, whimpering: "Third son's daughter-in-law, I know you hate me. You can beat me all you want, but please don't ignore me—don't let Er Ya ignore her own grandmother…"

In just a few words, she disguised herself as the victim and painted Jiang Wei as a cruel daughter-in-law who beat her mother-in-law.

Jiang Wei was enraged by this shameless act, about to shout back—when her daughter suddenly shrank trembling into her arms.

"Mother, my arm hurts so much… I'm scared…"

Jiang Xiaoxiao deliberately showed her arm, still marked with faint red indentations from Li Old Matriarch's grip. Though pale, the marks stood out sharply against her fair, delicate skin—softened and nurtured by her mother over these past months.

The passersby, who had begun to feel pity for the old woman's pleading, now saw the marks—and their sympathy vanished instantly, replaced by fury at being tricked like fools.

"Spit! This old hag is no good! She hit a child so hard—how could she possibly be the child's grandmother?"

"I think this old woman isn't even the child's grandmother. Didn't she just brawl with her own daughter-in-law on the street? Now she's randomly picking a passerby to fake a family tie—what's her real intent?"

"Look at her—she's wailing, but not a single tear on her face. It's all fake!"

…

Seeing everyone pointing and cursing her, Li Old Matriarch panicked and stammered: "N-no, I am the child's grandmother! I'm her real grandmother!"

Jiang Wei saw the marks on Jiang Xiaoxiao's arm, suppressed her rage, and forced back the urge to kick the old woman over. She gave a cold smile: "If you're truly the child's real grandmother, then tell me—what's my daughter's name?"

"Isn't it Er Ya? Do you think I'm stupid?" Li Old Matriarch immediately planted her hands on her hips and declared confidently.

"Hmph." Jiang Wei sneered, turning to her daughter. "Xiaoxiao, tell her your name."

"I'm Jiang. Jiang Xiaoxiao!" Jiang Xiaoxiao spoke slowly, each syllable clear.

"So what if you're Jiang!" Li Old Matriarch shot back without flinching. "Even if you're Jiang, you're still a granddaughter of the Old Li Family!"

The onlookers laughed bitterly at her shameless words.

"I've seen some things in my life, but never anything this brazen! Why should any girl on the street become your granddaughter just because you point at her? By your logic, every girl in this street becomes your granddaughter the moment you look at her?"

"I think this old woman's lost her mind. Just now she was fighting with her own daughter-in-law on the street—probably got a shock and now wants to snatch someone else's daughter to be her daughter-in-law and granddaughter!"

"N-no… not like that…" The merciless laughter shattered Li Old Matriarch. She tried to explain, but when they mentioned her daughter-in-law, she spun around frantically to find Sun Shi—begging her to testify for her.

But when she turned, she saw Sun Shi and Li Jinfeng had already slipped away during her struggle with Jiang Shi and her daughter.

Li Xiufen was gone too.

Since her face had been ruined, Li Xiufen dared not show herself in public. Today, she'd only ventured out with a veil out of necessity—but during her scuffle with Li Jinfeng, the veil had slipped off, exposing her face to everyone. Overwhelmed with shame, she could no longer bear to stay.

Now only Li Old Matriarch remained alone on the street, surrounded by accusing stares.

Jiang Wei raised her hand and cracked a horse whip—the lash struck the blue stone pavement before Li Old Matriarch's feet, shattering it with a visible fissure.

Li Old Matriarch turned pale as death, her legs buckled, and she collapsed onto the ground.

"If you ever bother us again, I swear this whip will land on you!" Jiang Wei snapped.

With that, she gripped the reins. The chestnut-brown horse neighed loudly, reared high on its front hooves, and galloped away.

The crowd stared at the departing horse carriage, then at the cracked stone slab beneath them—and all shivered.

That was solid stone—trodden by people and carts for over a decade without a scratch—and now it was split by a single whip. How much force must that have taken…

If that whip had struck a person, it would have split them clean in two.

…

After Li Old Matriarch's disturbance, Jiang Wei lost all desire to find Jiang Yu at the Yue Lai Restaurant. She turned the horse around and headed straight home.

As soon as they arrived, Jiang Wei yanked up Jiang Xiaoxiao's sleeve, stared at the faint red marks, and her face grew colder.

Jiang Xiaoxiao saw her mother's expression and immediately tried to reassure her: "Mother, I'm fine. It's just a few marks. I—"

Before she could finish, Jiang Wei pulled out an ointment from her space and began applying it, gritting her teeth as she did: "That old hag hit you so hard—how dare she squeeze you? Next time I see her, I won't let her off!"

If there hadn't been so many people on the street today, she wouldn't have held back—she'd have let that whip land on the damn old witch!

Jiang Xiaoxiao, unable to comfort her, could only sigh helplessly.

Being bullied wasn't new to her. Just like at the Shuzhai before—she couldn't blame others. She was simply too weak. She had to grow stronger, fast.

As she thought this, her gaze drifted to the Medical Book she'd bought at the Shuzhai.

Jiang Wei followed her eyes, saw the tattered cover, and sighed: "You really like that book?"

She knew roughly what had happened at the Shuzhai—especially how her daughter nearly got falsely accused just for buying that torn book. It made her furious.

"I do." Jiang Xiaoxiao nodded, staring fixedly at the Medical Book. Then she added softly: "Mother, I want to learn medicine. Will you let me?"