Chapter 81 - Just for the fact that he had been Jiang YaGe's enemy, she must save him (3)
He JianBing put on a more solemn look and said, "I am glad you gave us the heads up earlier, otherwise we will be in a very bad position right now." Her niece, He ShuHua, was such an idiot. She had bugged their study, and her father and brother had the habit of having their discussions there. Some of the family's confidential information was almost leaked to Wang Xiao by her niece. She had no idea what Wang Xiao had given her niece to make her willing to betray her family.
But once they had figured that out, they used the same method to trick Wang Xiao instead. The marriage alliance between the He's and the Wang's existed because they had high hopes in Wang Xiao. But, even with high hopes, no family would want to keep a white-eyed wolf around.
The He's wanted to call off the alliance, but He ShuHua absolutely refused. Her father, fed up with how spoiled the girl was, finally lost all his patience with her and kicked her out.
He JianBing did not elaborate too much on He ShuHua as that was considered a private family matter. She did, however, tell Fang JunRong that they had already started plotting against Wang Xiao.
"That ex-husband of yours was so useless ever since he has left you. He hired someone to look into Wang Xiao and was almost fooled by him instead. Finally, we couldn't stand it anymore and lent him a hand. Granted, we've decided to make some money off of him along the way." The private eye hired by Li WangJin were sent by the He's as no regular private eye would be able to find dirt on Wang Xiao.
Fang JunRong paused for a little and busted out laughing. "And here I thought he was lucky to have found someone competent."
She figured that the He's would like to see Li WangJin and Wang Xiao get at each other and was excited to see how this all had turned out.
He JianBing was much more in the knows than Fang JunRong when it came to stuff like this, so she shared with Fang JunRong that Li WangJin had already submitted the evidence that he had collected. The evidence was so solid that Wang Xiao had been pretty frantic as of late. He wanted to push someone below him out to take all the blame and clear himself, but with the He's operating behind the scene, it wouldn't be easy for him to get away scot-free.
"Many of his other crimes had come into the light as well. He'd at least be put away for some ten years."
When Fang JunRong heard that, she vaguely remembered what happened to her daughter in her previous life and finally felt a little bit better. Knowing that he would pay for his crimes, she was much happier now.
In addition to talking about Wang Xiao, the other subject that He JianBing wanted to talk to her about was the Beautify Pills.
"Your Beautify Pills worked so well. My mom was like a bandit and took whatever that I had left. When are you going to start selling them?"
Fang JunRong's smile deepened. Countless friends had asked her about Beautify Pills recently. "They will be on the market next month. I will have someone send you a few more boxes tomorrow."
"That's great. Don't worry. I will make sure to have stars from my company advertise for you then. He JianBing owned a studio under her name and has a few stars on contract. Two of them were quite popular.
Naturally, Fang JunRong would not turn that down. The two of them went to the hot spring for a little bit, had a massage, had dinner, and finally parted ways, completely pleased. The food at the club was surprisingly good, especially the cabbage in broth. It was Fang JunRong's favorite.
As Fang JunRong had eaten a bit much over dinner, she was a little bit stuffed, so she decided to go for a walk before heading home to help with digestion after she took off from the club. Her two bodyguards followed from a distance behind her.
"Hey! Don't sleep here! This is my turf!" Noises of people fighting came from below a bridge not too far from them; most likely beggars fighting over their turfs. As much as City S was a bustling city, it couldn't all be rainbow and sunshine. Naturally, it has dark corners where the sun wouldn't shine.
One of the men whose territory was taken over shoved the man sitting on the ground angrily. The person leaned and fell directly on the ground.
"Hey! Hey! Are you alright?! Don't try to scam me!"
"Psst! So unlucky. Guess I will go somewhere else."
The man, obviously not wanting to get involved, left angrily.
Fang JunRong, too, had assumed that the person on the ground was scamming the one who left. But, she watched for a little while, and the man on the ground still didn't stir.
It would have been fine had she not seen it at all, but now that she had witnessed it, she couldn't pretend that she didn't.
Fang JunRong turned to her bodyguards and said, "Let's go take a look."
She walked over and could tell from the body shape that it was a man, a skinny one at that. His skin was an abnormal green color with a hint of purple. Under the moonlight, half of his face was rotten and he looked vicious. He had a yellow buddha necklace around his neck. The buddha's smile was somewhat crooked, it looked both casual and also somewhat odd.
Through that buddha, however, Fang JunRong was able to figure out who he was – Jiang WenYu. In the novel that she had read, he had caused Jiang YaGe somewhat of a headache. He could be considered a boss villain of sorts.
Just for the fact that he had been Jiang YaGe's enemy, she must save him.
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Chapter 82 - She Couldn't Help But Feel Pity For Herself. How Did She End Up With Such An Evil Mother-In-Law? (1)
Fang JunRong had never crossed paths with Jiang WenYu in her previous life. To be precise, she and her daughter were mostly in the first half of the book and Jiang WenYu was in the second half.
It was only mentioned in the book that Jiang WenYu and Zhang Bi, a suitor of Jiang YaGe's, were twins. Jiang WenYu got separated from his parents when he was a child and was kidnapped. The Zhang's were able to reunite with him again after he had grown up and brought him back. Jiang WenYu had a lot of hatred for the Zhang's and that hatred also extended onto Jiang YaGe.
Jiang WenYu was very talented in the medical field and every bit as good as the miracle doctor Zhang Bi. After rejoining the Zhang's, his knowledge increased like a sponge soaking up water. In particular, he was arguably a genius when it came to pharmaceuticals. He was extremely sensitive in the area of taste and olfactory and could figure out ingredients from medicines.
He had caused trouble for Jiang YaGe over and over again. If it wasn't for Jiang YaGe's Detoxification Pills, he probably would have wiped out the entire Zhang's. In the end, Jiang WenYu was no match for the Zhang's and Jiang YaGe's cheat and died from being poisoned. Zhang Bi, who "couldn't take it anymore" was the one who did it.
From the perspective of Jiang YaGe and the Zhang's, Jiang WenYu had it coming and only got what he deserved.
He was exhibiting all the symptoms described in the book after he was poisoned. Meaning, even if Jiang WenYu wasn't poisoned by Zhang Bi, it would have been someone from the Zhang's. However, according to the book, Jiang WenYu was only discovered by the Zhang's and rejoined them after he received a medical award overseas a year from now. Right now, he should just be a professor in a university.
Fang JunRong turned her attention back onto the buddha that was around Jiang WenYu's neck. It gave her a familiar feeling, somewhat similar to what she felt from her jade.
Jiang WenYu was collapsed on the ground, his blood, black, came out of him and dripped onto the buddha.
Nothing happened.
Fang JunRong turned to her body guards and said, "Take him with us. We should at least try to save him."
The bodyguards came up, picked him up, and shoved him into the backseat of the car.
Fang JunRong did not bring him back to her place but to another residence under her name that was close by. Jiang WenYu was unconscious the entire time, his brows furrowed deeply.
Once they had arrived, Fang JunRong gave him a Detoxification Pill, had the bodyguards watched over him, and turned in.
***
When Jiang WenYu opened up his eyes, the very first thing he did was to reach for the buddha around his neck. He was glad that it was still there. He had been wearing this buddha around his neck since he was a child. It was gold colored initially. Over time, Jiang WenYu noticed that the statue would heal him every time he was injured. Each time he was healed, its color would fade a little more. It had turned almost all white now.
He looked around the room. As much as there weren't a lot of furniture in the room – just a bed and a desk, it was obvious that they were very pricey from the way they looked.
He had walked outside the campus to mail something to his mother when he was attacked and forced to swallow a pill before being tossed under the bridge. Since then, he had experienced the pain of his life leaving his body bit by bit.
His face felt as if it was rotting, and his limbs felt weak. He didn't even know who he had offended that would want him dead. He struggled to remember the ingredients that were inside the pill that he was forced to swallow.
When he was fading in and out of consciousness, he heard a pleasant and majestic voice, "Take him with us. We should at least try to save him."
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Chapter 83 - She Couldn't Help But Feel Pity For Herself. How Did She End Up With Such An Evil Mother-In-Law? (2)
So, was that the person who had saved him? He wasn't feeling as awful as he did before he lost consciousness and had regained a little bit of strength. One of the bodyguards not too far away noticed that his eyes were opened, nodded at him, and left.
After a little while, Jiang WenYu saw a woman in a black dress walking over to him. The black dress contrasted greatly with her pale skin and made her look surreal. The woman was beautiful and graceful, her temperament was elegant, and the way she looked at him nonchalantly seemed to have a hint of a smile in it.
"Thank you," said Jiang WenYu with his hoarse voice. He was gone so far this time that he wasn't even sure if his buddha statue would have been able to save him. He very likely would have just died in that filthy corner without anyone even knowing about it.
"I just happened to be there at the right time," said Fang JunRong. She asked about his identity as there shouldn't be any reasons why she'd know who he was.
Out of his appreciation for her, Jiang WenYu did not hide anything from her. Fang JunRong had therefore learned that he was 29 years old and was a professor at a college.
"Do you need me to take you back to your place?" asked Fang JunRong.
Jiang WenYu paused for a bit and shook his head. "No, not yet." He didn't know who it was, but they obviously wanted him dead. Returning to his place before he found out what was going on would be a very bad idea.
Fang JunRong thought about it for a bit. As much as Jiang WenYu was portrayed as the villain in the book, looking back at everything that he had done, he had never hurt any innocent people. He had always aimed his ammunition at the Zhang's. Plus, he was very loyal to those who had helped him in the past.
She produced an azure porcelain bottle, put it on the nightstand next to his bed, and said, "This is the medicine that you've had last night. It works for the poison that's in your body. You can give it a try. If you are able to make this from scratch, you would be doing me a huge favor."
Two of the ingredients used to make the detoxification pills – phymatopsis trisecta and qingxia – could not be found in this world. She had tried to plant them in the real world, but they both died within a couple of days. If Jiang WenYu could figure out what ingredients could be used to replace those two, even if the effect wasn't as good as the original, it could still be used by others and would be a contribution to the world.
She picked up a notebook nearby and scribbled the formula on there. Granted, she left out phymatopsis trisecta and qingxia, as they did not exist in this world.
Jiang WenYu cleared his throat and there seemed to be sparks in his eyes. In a very definitive tone, he said, "I will be able to create them." He had no idea why she had such faith in his ability, but he was willing to give it a try.
Fang JunRong nodded satisfactorily and added. "Don't worry, I will compensate you fairly for your work."
She contacted her lawyer and had him come over to draft a contract. His base pay would start at 50,000 yuan. For every world-wide publication that he has published, he'd receive a 10% raise. Jiang WenYu would need to quit his current job before he could sign the contract.
Fang JunRong wasn't in any hurry. She has time. She could wait.
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Chapter 84 - She Couldn't Help But Feel Pity For Herself. How Did She End Up With Such An Evil Mother-In-Law? (3)
On the other end, Jiang YaGe was staring at the portrait of traditional women laid out in front of her. This painting was given to her by Fang JunRong when she first came to the Li's. Jiang YaGe was very appreciative of it at the time and felt that her adopted mother was truly nice to her. No, she couldn't call her her adoptive mother anymore.
She never would have thought that it was a counterfeit!
Fang JunRong used a counterfeit painting to trick her for her affection? Or that, she herself was a counterfeit as far as Fang JunRong was concerned? What she gave Zhong Yi was expensive jewelry!
Her eyes reddened. She had already spent the remainder of her money hiring appraisers to appraise the painting. She refused to believe it when the first appraisal result came. She had subsequently hired a few other appraisers and each and every single one of them told her definitely that it was a counterfeit and that it was done within the last five years.
Thinking about the look of disgust that she had received from all the others, her hatred from Fang JunRong started to rise. Why did Fang JunRong have to insult her so?
She wanted to tear the painting that had caused her such pain into pieces, but she also didn't want to let Fang JunRong get away with it just like that. But the gap between herself and Fang JunRong was too big, plus Fang JunRong was ShiZe's mother. If she didn't handle it delicately, it might negatively affect her relationship with ShiZe.
Li ShiZe was the most elite person that Jiang YaGe has ever met in her life, and he happened to be fond of her. Especially after they had inadvertently become a couple, the two of them had been very close with each other. She already saw Li ShiZe as her husband in her mind, which means Fang JunRong would be her future mother-in-law.
All of a sudden, Jiang YaGe became very torn.
That turned into self-pity shortly. Why did she have to run into such an evil mother-in-law?
"YaGe, what's the matter?"
Jiang YaGe saw Li WangJin standing in front of her with a look of concern after she had recollected herself. She wiped away her tears and held herself back. "Nothing. Nobody has mistreated me."
Li WangJin had been having a series of bad luck lately and his company has lost a few big orders. He had swarmed himself and didn't really have that much time to comfort Jiang YaGe. He loosened his tie and said, "Good. We wouldn't want anyone to mistreat you."
Jiang YaGe tried and tried, but she finally couldn't help herself. Feeling unjust, she said, "Dad, this painting that Mom gave me seems to be a counterfeit."
"Why would she do that to me? Did she hate me from the very beginning?" The more she thought about it, the more unjust she felt and she started crying all over again.
Li WangJin froze and looked over at the painting in question. His voice became louder. "That's not possible! JunRong isn't that kind of a person. Must be the appraisers that you have hired. All they want is to trick you for money. You shouldn't fall for them!
"And why did you have the painting appraised for no reasons? Do you not trust us?" Thinking that his reputation would be ruined should it ever come to light, Li WangJin couldn't think about anything else and his voice became very severe.
Jiang YaGe was startled by him and was dumbfounded. After she had recollected herself, she felt even more unjust. Why did her adopted father got angry at her? She was the victim here!
But she knew very well that she was only able to be a wealthy girl because of her adopted father. She sniffled and gave him her usual delicate smile. "Yes, I understand. It's my fault. I shouldn't have misunderstood Mom."
Even though she had said that, Li WangJin was still worried. With a solemn look, he said, "School is about to start soon. If you have time to goof around, you might as well do some studying at home. Did you say you wanted to pick up piano before? How's that coming along?
"What about your calligraphy and painting? Maybe I can sign you up to a few classes."
Perhaps it was precisely because Jiang YaGe had too much free time that she'd be messing around with this. He needed to fill up her schedule so she would stop thinking about all kinds of things. His heart almost popped out of his chest earlier.
Jiang YaGe reacted like she was struck by lightning. Stuttering, she said, "No, no. That would not be necessary. I need to help ShiZe. I am now his assistant." She quickly threw out Li ShiZe as her excuse.
Li WangJin was no fool. "Yeah right. You are not a professional. What could you do around him? Make him tea? You'd just distract him! I will hire a few tutors for you tomorrow."
He was the one who suggested for Jiang YaGe to become Li ShiZe's assistant and now he was the one who said it was a bad idea.
In the half an hour that followed, Jiang YaGe was bombarded with all sorts of classes. She was very unhappy. Finally, she walked back to her room, dazed. What had just happened? This was all Fang JunRong's fault!
She happened to see the painting that she had brought back with her and got an idea. There was a very hot show lately that would appraise antiques live on the show. She could go on the show.
When the expert announced that this was a counterfeit, then it would have nothing to do with her. She wasn't the one who gave it away as a gift; it was Fang JunRong who did that!
She might be a mild-tempered person normally, but she couldn't just let this go. It's now time to find justice for herself! Her aunty was right, she shouldn't be a pushover. She needed to change.
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Chapter 85 - Fang JunRong was very curious to see whether Li ShiZe would still be able to achieve the same level of success as he did in her previous life. (1)
Fang JunRong had no idea that Jiang YaGe was plotting against her. She had been busy with work lately and also checking on Jiang WenYu when she has free time in between.
After having the detoxification pills from Fang JunRong, the poison was cleared from Jiang WenYu's body quickly and his pretty face has returned. His look leaned more toward those from the old days, elegant with a hint of softness. If he'd picked up a folding fan, he'd look like a scholar that just walked straight out of a book. Look wise, he resembled Zhang Bi, his twin brother. Except that Zhang Bi has more of a masculine look to him. Fang JunRong speculated that they were fraternal twins.
His eyes were very bright. As her daughter would put it, there's a galaxy in his eyes.
He had planned to return to the campus to resign, but he had since found out that someone had already put in the resignation for him. A process that should be done by him in person had, somehow, been taken care of.
Naturally, Jiang WenYu could smell that something wasn't right at all. More likely than not, it has to do with whoever tried to kill him. He had always thought of himself as an everyday Joe and had no idea who he had offended to a point that they wanted him dead.
Without status or power, he had no choice but to rely on Fang JunRong for help.
Fang JunRong, on the other hand, had a pretty good idea that it was the handy work of the Zhang's. After all, when she saw Jiang WenYu, the effects of the poison that he had exhibited matched that of the kind that belonged uniquely to the Zhang's according to the book. The process of making it was quite complicated. What she couldn't figure out was since his existence had already been brought to the Zhang's attention, shouldn't they have already welcomed him home? After all, Jiang WenYu and Zhang Bi were twins and Zhang Bi grew up at the Zhang's. There was no reason why the existence of Jiang WenYu would threaten Zhang Bi's status within the Zhang's.
There was something hazy about the Zhang's that she couldn't quite figure out. Perhaps Jiang WenYu had found out something about the Zhang's in her previous life, which was why he targeted them before.
She agreed to help him out and also spent a large amount of money on building a laboratory for him, dropping tens of millions just like that. She did that because she had faith in Jiang WenYu's ability and wanted to provide the opportunity for him to shine. Nevertheless, from an outsider's perspective, Jiang WenYu was only a regular college professor. He had no outstanding achievements besides his good looks.
Therefore, Fang JunRong's behavior could only be explained as her being dazzled by his good looks. That was the only reasonable explanation for her behavior.
Even Xu WeiWei made a special trip to go and check out Jiang WenYu. She seemed to have let out a sigh of relief after she had checked him out.
Baffled, Fang JunRong asked her, "What's the matter?"
Xu WeiWei hesitated for a little and said, "I thought you had a change of heart and decided to keep a little fresh meat but realized that I was wrong after meeting Jiang WenYu. He didn't look like that kind of a person."
There was definitely more passion in his eyes when he was looking at the cans and bottles in his laboratory than when he was looking at women.
Hearing that, Fang JunRong busted out laughing. What the heck...
"Our Beautify Pills are more or less complete. We can begin pre-sale in a few days and launch it officially on 9/8," said Xu WeiWei.
"Awesome. Let's push out 50,000 for our first batch."
Xu WeiWei brought up another incident. "By the way, Jiang YaGe is really a character."
Fang JunRong's face dropped when she heard the name. "What did she do now?"