Chapter 707 - 245: I’m Afraid I Can’t Help But Punch You

"Miss Jiali’s stomach problems started from being starved at the Xu family’s home. After Miss Jiali’s mother passed away, her father married a stepmother. The stepmother mistreated Miss Jiali, refusing to feed or clothe her and forcing her to do chores. If the Old Madam hadn’t brought Miss Jiali back to the Qiao family, she would have been abused to death by her stepmother long ago," the servant said, a little indignantly.

When there’s a stepmother, the father often becomes just as cruel. It’s all too common. And with the deep-seated preference for boys over girls, a son might still have been valued by his father or grandparents. But for a girl whose own mother is dead, whose father doesn’t love her, and whose grandparents ignore her, surviving under a stepmother’s thumb depends on just how tenacious you are.

If you’re tenacious, you can endure all the stepmother’s torment and remain rock-solid. If you’re fragile, you won’t withstand the abuse and will simply pass away.

The servant continued, "I heard from the nanny that when the Old Madam brought Miss Jiali back, she was already eight years old but was nothing but skin and bones. She was on the verge of death, and it was heartbreaking to see. Everyone thought Miss Jiali couldn’t be saved. The doctor even told the Old Madam to give up, but she refused. She watched over Miss Jiali tirelessly. Thankfully, the heavens were watching and didn’t take her life. Under the Old Madam’s meticulous care, Miss Jiali’s health slowly recovered, and she finally regained her vitality."

"Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law." Jie Jingshan came down from upstairs.

Seeing this, the servant tactfully picked up the tray and headed for the kitchen.

With her maternal grandparents not at home, Jie Jingshan dared to call them ’Fourth Brother’ and ’Fourth Sister-in-law’. If the two elders heard her, they would surely have something to say about it.

Jie Jingchen was the fourth-born in the Jie family. The Qiao elders didn’t care what the Jie family called him, but in the Qiao family, Jie Jingchen was the eldest. Outsiders all called him Young Master Qiao.

Jie Jingshan sat down next to Qin Mei, looped her arm through Qin Mei’s, and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Fourth Sister-in-law, what if... I lend the money to Auntie?"

’Jie Jingshan is young and kind-hearted,’ Qin Mei thought. They had already talked about it: when Xu Jiali asked to borrow money, Qin Mei would refuse directly. But with Xu Jiali on a hunger strike and with her stomach condition, Jie Jingshan was worried. She would agree to anything, not just lending the money—she’d probably even offer to pay the bride price for Xu Jiali herself.

’Paying the bride price for Xu Jiali would offend Fourth Brother, so I’ll just add to her dowry instead.’

Jie Jingshan’s way of thinking wasn’t that complicated, nor did she worry about planning for the future. If someone was determined to get married, then they should just get married. Who cares if the man was worthy of a lifelong commitment? Get married first and figure out the rest later.

In fact, she had tried to talk Xu Jiali out of it, but it was no use. Since Xu Jiali was insistent on getting married, and persuasion didn’t work, then the only thing left was to support her.

"Jing Qi, don’t ask me. Ask your Fourth Brother." Qin Mei didn’t dare say the wrong thing. Jing Qi hung on her every word.

’Whether Xu Jiali would pay the money back was a secondary concern. It was what she planned to use it for that would truly infuriate Jie Jingchen.’

Jie Jingshan glanced at Jie Jingchen. All the pressure was on her Fourth Brother now. But Xu Jiali was on a hunger strike, and the reason was that Qin Mei refused to lend her money. If Xu Jiali starved herself into a bad state over money, Qin Mei would be the one to blame. "Fourth Brother, what if..."

"Hm?" Jie Jingchen cut Jie Jingshan off with a nasal grunt, his thin lips pressing into an authoritative line.

"Don’t worry. With me here, she won’t starve to death." Qin Mei patted Jie Jingshan’s shoulder. ’From yesterday to today, it’s only been one full day of striking. It’s not enough to kill someone.’ As for Xu Jiali’s stomach problems, that gave Qin Mei a bit of a headache.

’If Xu Jiali was on a hunger strike just to marry Gao Qiang, they could still lecture her a little. But with the issue being their refusal to lend her money, *they* were the ones being cast as the villains.’

’Isn’t lending money supposed to be voluntary? How did it turn into being forced?’

"Fourth Sister-in-law, Auntie’s stomach condition is quite serious," Jie Jingshan reminded her worriedly.

"It’s fine. I’ll go check her pulse in a little while," Qin Mei said soothingly.

"Can’t you go now?" Jie Jingshan asked.

Qin Mei glanced at Jie Jingchen and said, "We’re waiting for someone."

"Waiting for who?" Jie Jingshan asked curiously.

Qin Mei pointed at Jie Jingchen. "Ask your Fourth Brother."

’It wasn’t that she was trying to be mysterious; she genuinely had no idea who they were waiting for. All she knew was that it was a beautiful woman Jie Jingchen had found to tempt Gao Qiang.’

Jie Jingshan decisively gave up on asking Jie Jingchen and said to Qin Mei, "Fourth Sister-in-law, I’ll go upstairs and try to talk to Auntie."

"Okay, go on." Qin Mei nodded and patted Jie Jingshan’s shoulder. "Don’t let your aunt trick you into foolishly lending her the money."

"Don’t worry, I won’t," Jie Jingshan said before heading toward the stairs.

"SIGH!" Qin Mei let out a breath and said to Jie Jingchen, "Your aunt’s hunger strike tactic is very effective on Jing Qi."

"Jing Qi is kind-hearted," Jie Jingchen said, his gaze distant. ’For Jing Qi, being too kind isn’t necessarily a good thing.’