Chapter 122 - Chapter 122: You Can’t Marry Her
Chapter 122: You Can’t Marry Her
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Although Chang An was Jiang Changbai’s attendant, he had many other tasks to perform daily, so he was shocked to see Jiang Changbai returning home covered in injuries.
“Stop shouting. Go get a basin of water.”
“Eldest Miss.”
Upon seeing Jiang Peihuan, Chang An quickly showed his respect.
Jiang Peihuan walked to the bedside where Jiang Changbai was lying face down, his upper body bare. His back was riddled with horrific whip scars, many of which were bleeding.
Despite looking pale, Jiang Changbai was still conscious. Seeing Jiang Peihuan standing by the bed, he chuckled weakly, “Huan Er, why are you here?”
“If elder brother can still laugh, the injuries must not be too severe.”
“Eldest Miss, you must be joking. Young Master’s wounds won’t heal for at least a few weeks.”
Before Jiang Changbai could respond, Chang An, who had just brought in a basin of water, couldn’t help but chime in.
Chang An placed the basin on a nearby rack and was about to clean Jiang Changbai’s wounds when he was stopped by Jiang Peihuan.
Meeting his confused gaze, Jiang Peihuan said softly, “I’ll do it.”
Taking the cloth from Chang An, Jiang Peihuan carefully cleaned Jiang Changbai’s wounds.
At first glance, his back was covered in blood, which made it look terrifying. After cleaning the wounds, Jiang Peihuan realized that they were less severe than they appeared, merely skin deep.
Otherwise, according to Deputy General Liu’s strength, Jiang Changbai would have fainted long ago.
“Elder brother, you were too impulsive today.”
“I’ve already decided to marry Liu Xin, so it was bound to come out sooner or later. Now that it’s out, at least everyone in the family knows.”
“Elder brother, do you understand the difference between sooner and later?”
Seeing Jiang Changbai’s puzzled face, there was a hint of helplessness in Jiang Peihuan’s eyes.
Jiang Changbai, a young celebrity in the battlefield, was clever and brilliant there, but when it came to matters at home, he was a straight-shooter.
“You could have planned better, maybe improved everyone’s impression of Xin Er, then proposed the marriage. That way, even if the marriage didn’t work out, it wouldn’t look so bad.”
“But today, elder brother, you spoke up without thinking, causing grandmother to develop a dislike for Xin Er, and our parents now have opinions about her. As for others, Third Aunt has always been out of favor with grandmother. She had just managed to improve their relationship a little, but now it’s all back to square one. Grandmother now dislikes Third Aunt even more.”
“I… 1 didn’t think that far.”
Hearing Jiang Peihuan’s words, Jiang Changbai furrowed his brow.
Lowering her head, Jiang Peihuan carefully applied medicine to his wounds. Then she sat on a stool nearby and continued speaking, “I know you didn’t consider all this, but all these things happened because of you.”
“Xin Er will be sent away tonight, she… elder brother, what are you doing?”
Seeing Jiang Changbai suddenly sit up, Jiang Peihuan quickly held him down.
“I need to find her. I can’t let her go home just like that.”
“Preventing her from going home, what do you intend to do?”
A stern voice suddenly came from the door. Jiang Peihuan turned around and saw Jiang Changbai’s parents entering the room.
“Father, mother.”
Seeing them, Jiang Peihuan quickly paid her respects.
“Huan Er, it’s getting late, don’t stay here any longer. Go back to Palm Garden and rest.”
Jiang Changbai’s father, Jiang Hong, was quite gentle with his daughter. He softly addressed Jiang Peihuan.
As soon as he heard this, Jiang Changbai quickly tugged at Jiang Peihuan’s sleeve, pleading for help with his eyes.
Seeing this, Jiang Hong glared at him, “As a big brother, you can’t take care of your sister and yet you always have her worry about you. Are you not ashamed?”
“Enough, don’t say any more.”
Jiang Changbai’s mother, Xue Yan, was slightly upset seeing her son’s injuries. Seeing Jiang Hong about to speak, she gave him a displeased look.
After checking on Jiang Changbai’s wounds and finding nothing serious, Xue Yan finally addressed her son, “Do you really like Liu Xin that much?”
Just as Jiang Changbai was about to answer, Xue Yan continued, “Regardless of how much you like her, you can’t marry her.”
“Mother?”
Hearing Xue Yan’s words, surprise filled Jiang Changbai’s eyes. Not only was Jiang Changbai surprised, but Jiang Peihuan also looked shocked.
In Jian Peihuan’s heart, although Xue Yan was born into a prestigious family, she was very open-minded.
“Mother, do you also care about social status differences?”
After a moment of silence, Jiang Changbai looked at his mother with eyes filled with pain. At his words, Jiang Hong was about to react, but Xue Yan stopped him.
Looking at Jiang Changbai who lay on the bed, Xue Yan smiled and said, “In your eyes, is your mother that kind of person?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why?”
Jiang Changbai blurted out subconsciously, but his eyes were full of confusion.
Meeting his gaze, Xue Yan spoke plainly, “There are two reasons why I’m stopping you from marrying Liu Xin, the first being your grandmother.”
“You saw your grandmother’s attitude today. If you insist on marrying Liu Xin, she might be angered to death by you. And then, there’s your Third Aunt. How will she face your grandmother in the future? Of course, you can choose to disregard all this.”
“But there’s one thing you cannot overlook.”
Seeing Jiang Changbai and Jiang Peihuan both looking at her, Xue Yan continued, “The Liu family is a royal merchant family, rich enough to rival a nation. Your father just surrendered his military authority, which temporarily eased the emperor’s vigilance towards us. But if you were to marry Liu Xin, what would the emperor think?”
Upon hearing Xue Yan’s words, both Jiang Changbai and Jiang Peihuan fell silent.
Seeing that neither of them spoke, Xue Yan whispered, “Think about it carefully. If you still want to marry Liu Xin despite all this, your mother won’t stop you anymore.”
After saying this, Xue Yan left Jiang Changbai’s room.
Jiang Hong looked helplessly at his eldest son and followed Xue Yan out of the room.
From the moment Xue Yan and Jiang Hong left, Jiang Changbai seemed to lose all his energy. “Elder brother?” Seeing his state, Jiang Peihuan couldn’t help but call out softly.
“Huan Er, I’m fine, you can go back. I’m tired and want to rest.”
“Then rest early, elder brother.”
After taking one last look at Jiang Changbai, Jiang Peihuan also left the room. Jiang Changbai lay on the bed and, once the footsteps outside faded away, he immediately sat up.
“Young Master, where are you going?”
Chang An pushed open the door just in time to see Jiang Changbai getting dressed. Full of panic, he hurriedly went over to him.
But Jiang Changbai ignored him, continuing to dress. After he was dressed, he looked at Chang An and said, “I’m going out, don’t tell anyone..”