Volume One, Chapter 8: I Do Not Agree

Jiang Wan was stunned.

What was the meaning of this? Having just acknowledged his mistake, he was now turning around to annul her engagement to Chu Lingtian?

"Grandfather?"

"What did you say?"

Jiang Wan could not understand.

"The marriage between you two was a preposterous decision I made under erroneous circumstances," Jiang Rulong said candidly. "There is no issue with retracting it now."

On the surface, his words seemed reasonable. However, Chu Lingtian had just saved his life, and now, he was turning around to break the engagement—and doing so in front of so many people.

This was wrong. Very wrong. Things were not supposed to be handled this way.

"Well said."

The others in the hall were also stunned for a moment, not expecting the old man to make such a decision. But once they came to their senses, voices of agreement immediately followed.

"The whole affair was absurd to begin with; retracting it now is perfectly reasonable."

"Grandfather is wise!"

They were all in agreement, as if no one had ever considered Chu Lingtian. No one cared for his perspective, and certainly, no one thought to ask if he would agree.

"Biting the hand that fed you, are we?" Chu Lingtian, sitting in the corner, smiled.

He actually should have expected this. They had prevented him from coming forward, claiming it was Zhang Wudao who had saved him, as they did not want to owe him any gratitude. They had arranged his seat in the furthest corner, while Jiang Wan’s seat was at the front among the core members, miles away from him.

He should have seen these various maneuvers coming. The old man was not a good person at all.

"No, this isn't right."

Just as Chu Lingtian was about to speak, Jiang Wan stood up. "Grandfather, even if you want to cancel it, you should at least ask if I agree, or if Chu Lingtian agrees. How can you just announce it at the banquet without a word?"

"Silly girl, you are a member of the Jiang family. You should unconditionally support the decision your grandfather has made," a woman nearby whispered a reminder.

"Should I support it even if it’s wrong?" Jiang Wan countered, unconvinced.

"Where is it wrong? Isn't your grandfather doing this for your own good? The past is the past; now that you are well, do you really want to marry an ex-convict? Even if he weren't an ex-convict, what right does some young master from Donghai have to be worthy of you?"

Families from Donghai were not even fit to shine the shoes of the Jiang family.

"Exactly. How could such a pathetic person be worthy of you?"

Previously, when Jiang Wan was incapacitated and the old man needed a burial companion, even a dog would have sufficed as a husband, provided it could be buried with her. But things were different now. Jiang Wan could stand, and the old man no longer needed a burial sacrifice. Was he still supposed to just pick up any stray dog to marry into the Jiang family? That was preposterous.

"Enough. The girl is right; I didn't ask for their opinions, so my approach was indeed inconsiderate," Jiang Rulong interrupted the rustling arguments. His sharp gaze landed on Chu Lingtian in the corner as he asked with intense scrutiny, "Young man, what is your opinion? Do you agree?"

Chu Lingtian nearly laughed aloud upon hearing this.

"Young man"? When he was saving him, he was the "divine ghost doctor," and once the job was done, he had become a "young man." A fine "young man" indeed.

"Using the prestige of the Jiang family to coerce the Chu family into sending me here, and then, after I saved you... flipping the script and denying everything..." Chu Lingtian did not answer, merely smiling to himself.

"Boy, what is your name? Don't flatter yourself by claiming you saved the old man. Are you even worthy? You were merely assisting Master Zhang," one person sneered.

"To claim you saved him just because you helped out—how shameless. You truly live up to being a former inmate; your skin is thick indeed."

The harsh, mocking remarks were incessant.

On the high seat, Zhang Wudao sat on pins and needles. He shouted repeatedly, "No, that's not it! Brother Lingtian was the one who acted; I was the one assisting. Please, do not misunderstand!"

Dammit! If he had known this would be the outcome, he never would have had the loose tongue to ask Chu Lingtian for help.

When they heard Zhang Wudao’s explanation, the crowd erupted again.

"Master Zhang, I know you are magnanimous and do not wish to tear apart the engagement between Chu Lingtian and Jiang Wan. After all, it is better to tear down a temple than to ruin a marriage."

"But there is no need to put such a massive credit on Chu Lingtian’s head."

"You are a national medical saint; what is he? You say he saved him? Who would believe that?"

"Master Zhang, we understand your kindness, but please do not get involved."

Following this, those disdainful gazes landed on Chu Lingtian once more.

"Boy, the old man asking for your opinion is giving you a graceful exit. Take the hint; it will be to your benefit."

"Boy, don't be foolish."

It was as if Chu Lingtian were the villain. The noise of criticism and warnings, laced with insults and vile remarks, filled his ears.

"I say..."

Chu Lingtian stood up. A violent aura boiled within him, and a frigid temperature began to spread slowly from him as the center.

"I do not agree!"

"I do not agree to the annulment!"

Before Chu Lingtian could continue, he was interrupted by a sharp cry.

Jiang Wan’s frail figure, limping and stumbling, made her way toward the corner. She finally squeezed through, grabbed Chu Lingtian’s hand, and looked at Jiang Rulong with a firm gaze. "I do not agree."

"From the moment I spent alone with Lingtian, I had already decided."

"He is the one for this life."

In her villa, she had experienced a tenderness and care from Chu Lingtian that she had never known before. The sight of that tall figure standing before her, defending her against her third aunt and the others, still touched her deeply.

For the twenty-plus years she had spent in a wheelchair, she had never received such kindness. But in this one short day, everything she received from Chu Lingtian was pure benevolence.

This was a salvation of the soul.

He did not despise her for being disabled, nor did he look down on her for being useless... Unlike these people in the Jiang family, who kept saying that breaking the engagement was for her own good—where was that good before? Where were they in the past? Now that she could stand, now that she was no longer broken, they suddenly started caring for her?

In truth, Jiang Wan understood perfectly well: it wasn't that Chu Lingtian wasn't worthy of her; it was that his background and status brought no benefit to the Jiang family.

When it came down to it, it was just business. She was still their chess piece, their tool. Previously, she was a piece to be buried; now, she was a tool for a strategic marriage.

If she couldn't see that clearly now, then the last twenty years had truly been a waste.

Jiang Wan squeezed Chu Lingtian’s hand tighter and said again, "Therefore, I do not agree to the annulment."

"You girl! You've gone mad!"

"What kind of love potion has this ex-convict Chu Lingtian fed you?"

"Did he force himself on you while you were at your villa?"

"If something happened, just say it! The Jiang family will see justice served for you!"

Jiang Wan’s words and attitude stirred a thousand waves among the crowd. They even began to speculate if Chu Lingtian had insulted her.

"I think we should just drive Chu Lingtian away. If he doesn't leave, this fool Jiang Wan will only lose face for the Jiang family!"

"Driving him away is too much trouble. Why not just strike him from our records? Then no one will know the Jiang family had such an absurd affair."

"Forget it. After all, he did provide assistance in saving the old man, so he has some merit. Striking him from the records is too extreme. Just send him packing."

"Just as the old man said, give him some money and power to brush him off, and then let him get lost."

"Boy, if you know what's good for you, get out now."

Sharp, predatory gazes fixed upon Chu Lingtian.

"If you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, you follow the dog."

"If we leave, I am leaving with him."

"Is that acceptable?"

Jiang Wan could not bear it anymore. How could these people be so wicked?

"Leave? Leave for where?"

Chu Lingtian laughed. But in his smiling eyes, a chilling, heart-stopping coldness erupted.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave."

"Wait until I am done with my business."

Chu Lingtian cracked his neck.