Chapter 548 - 193: Eldest Sister, You Have Suffered
Sun’s mother was stunned by her daughter’s words. ’What kind of twisted logic is this? But then again... she actually has a point.’
’Bullshit! What point? There’s no point at all.’
’Jie Jingchen is married. Even if he gets a divorce, he’d be a divorcé. How could my daughter marry a divorced man? Forget everyone else, my own sister-in-law would mock me relentlessly.’
Marrying a divorced man was something she would never support.
"You shut up," Sun’s mother snapped.
"Mom," Sun Dexiang whined, clinging to her mother’s arm. "Mom, you love me the most. I’ve set my heart on Fourth Brother Jing, and I’m going to marry him. You can’t break us up just because of my sister-in-law."
"Break you up? The nerve of you," Sun’s mother scoffed, a laugh of pure exasperation escaping her. "A ’happy couple’ is in love with each other. And you? I’m not trying to put you down, but look at the two of them. They’re devoted to each other. This is all in your head. You’re a young, unmarried girl. If you get rejected, how humiliating will that be?"
"Fourth Brother Jing won’t reject me," Sun Dexiang said confidently. Her mind was already filled with fantasies of being with Jie Jingchen. He would divorce Qin Mei for her, then marry her. They would be incredibly happy, and she had even picked out names for their children.
Sun’s mother pinched her waist, jolting the daydreaming Sun Dexiang back to reality. "He won’t reject you? Ah Xiang, where do you get the confidence to say that? Don’t you have any self-awareness? Just look at yourself, and then look at Qin Mei."
In Sun’s mother’s opinion, a man might leave Sun Dexiang for Qin Mei, but he would never leave Qin Mei for Sun Dexiang. Qin Mei’s beauty was otherworldly. Next to her, her own daughter looked like a mere handmaiden.
"Mom, I’m your daughter," Sun Dexiang protested.
"Stop daydreaming. I’ll say it again: give up on this idea, and the sooner the better," Sun’s mother said, her tone harsh.
"And what if I don’t?" Sun Dexiang’s tone was firm.
"Sun Dexiang, I would rather find you a match in the village than let you marry a divorced man." The implication was clear: if she didn’t listen, her mother would take her back to the village.
Sun Dexiang gritted her teeth and glared at her mother. ’She’s actually threatening to take me back to the village.’ She decided against confronting her mother directly. ’Fine, I’ll play along for now.’ But she had already made up her mind. She wasn’t going to give up on Jie Jingchen so easily.
’First, I’ll stay here and slowly build a relationship with Jie Jingchen. I’m confident he’ll fall in love with me. For me, he’ll definitely divorce Qin Mei.’
"Mom, I understand," Sun Dexiang said, lowering her head.
Sun’s mother was satisfied. She knew exactly how to handle her younger daughter. Wiping the tears from her face, she said, "Ah Xiang, you need to dress up nicely the day after tomorrow. Your father and I don’t ask for much. We just hope you can marry into the city and live a comfortable life."
"I know," Sun Dexiang nodded obediently.
Seeing this, Sun’s mother was even more pleased. "I think Jing Wu is quite a catch. Are you sure you won’t consider him?"
Sun Dexiang shook her head decisively. "Not considering it."
Sun’s mother didn’t press the issue. "Fine, if you won’t consider him, then so be it. When your sister-in-law’s younger brother holds his banquet, I’ll keep my eyes peeled and find you an even better, more promising young man."
"Okay." Sun Dexiang’s spirits were low. She hid the gloom in her eyes as her resolve only hardened around the idea that lingered in her heart.
Jie Jingling returned to her room, where Qin Mei was waiting for her.
"Amie," Jie Jingling said, looking at Qin Mei with a guilty conscience.
Qin Mei smiled, took Jie Jingling by the hand, and led her toward the kitchen.
At the dining table, Qin Mei pointed to the medicinal herbs on it and asked, "Sis, do you recognize these herbs?"
Jie Jingling sat down and examined them carefully. She recognized medicinal herbs and knew their properties, but she had no idea how to combine them into formulas. She had only scratched the surface when studying under Old Zhang; the most she had learned was how to identify different herbs.
"I recognize them," Jie Jingling replied.
A flicker of light passed through Qin Mei’s eyes. She asked again, "You recognize all of them?"
"All of them," Jie Jingling nodded, giving her a definite answer.
Qin Mei smiled, poured the herbs into a tripod pot, and had Jie Jingchen watch the fire. Then, she pulled Jie Jingling into a room to cool off by the fan.
Shen Qing and Jie Jinghun got off work early. Jie Jinghun was thrilled to see Jie Jingling and gave her a warm hug.
"Big Sis," Jie Jinghun’s gentle voice choked with emotion. "Big Sis, you’ve suffered."
Jie Jingling shook her head, her nose tingling as she fought back tears. Her voice also choked up. "I haven’t suffered."
Compared to the other sent-down youth, her life hadn’t really been that hard. She knew a little about medicine and became the village’s barefoot doctor, so she didn’t have to work in the fields. It really wasn’t hard at all.
"Big Sis," Shen Qing called out. This was the first time she had met her eldest sister-in-law. When she and Jie Jinghun got married, his older sister hadn’t been able to come back.