Chapter 371

Mrs. Liao went mad. This result was expected, yet unexpected.

She was too stubbornly convinced that Jiang Sheng was her enemy. Upon hastily finding out about the betrayal from her loved one, she was especially clear about the silly things she had done before.

Unable to forgive the past or let go of the present, going insane was another kind of self-salvaging relief.

It seemed very hateful, it also seemed very pitiful. But in this grand drama, she was not the only one getting hurt.

Jiang Sheng witnessed all the truths with her own eyes. Although she had never admitted in her heart that Mrs. Liao was her mother, she still had mixed feelings, like something stuffy in her chest that she could neither spit out nor swallow.

She had always thought she was an abandoned child, and was used to not having the care of parents. Suddenly she found out that she was loved by her father, and also loved by her mother.

It was just a pity that the deception went too deep, the time was too late, and the scene was too embarrassing.

The extreme reversal that turned Mrs. Liao from vicious to pitiful, and the previous disregard and harm that truly existed, made forgiveness or not an extremely difficult question.

And Jiang Sheng had retreated that one step, while Mrs. Liao went insane.

So more and more regrets lingered in her heart. Jiang Sheng asked herself more than once: If I hadn't taken that one step back, would it have been better?

No one had the answer.

Jiang Jizu walked over at some point, hesitantly asking, "My dear, do you...have any thoughts?"

The decisive general felt tricky for the first time.

Jiang Sheng understood that after all, Mrs. Liao was her birth mother. Her father was afraid to handle it without asking her, making it hard on her mind.

But Mrs. Liao had never fulfilled a mother's responsibility towards her. There was not even any emotion between the two. To seriously ask was to force her to make a decision.

At this point, whether to ask or not was wrong.

Being cold or gentle was not appropriate either.

But Mrs. Liao had already gone mad. The Jiang family had to deal with this Lady Jiang after all, had to arrange where she would go. They couldn't just let her wander around.

Jiang Sheng looked up with her bright big eyes. She thought again and again, "Father, you should just take good care of her. I think my brother would definitely not want his mother to be bullied and displaced."

Whether it was love or hate, Mrs. Liao's feelings in her heart were towards her own flesh and blood daughter, it could be said it was Jiang Sheng, it could also be said it was not.

Since the mother and daughter had no affinity in this lifetime, just treating each other as strangers passing by would be good enough.

Those pitiful and sigh-inducing pasts, the bloody painful hurts would all be sealed away with Mrs. Liao's insanity.

Just let Mrs. Liao be forever a little girl who harbored fantasies about her mother. Jiang Sheng looked up, her eyes as clear as ever, yet with a penetrating comprehension. It seemed that nothing in the world could make life difficult for her, nor confine her.

Jiang Jizu's mind settled back into place. He sighed complicatedly, "Alright."

Someone quickly came up to stop the insane Mrs. Liao.

Someone bent over to pick up the seven meat eight vegetable Liao family members.

While Jiang Sheng was slightly distracted, her brothers rushed over first, surrounding her all around.

"You must have been so scared just now. After going home you'll have to eat a few pork elbows to get over the shock!" Zheng Ruqian joked, obviously trying to cheer her up.

"Jiang Sheng is not afraid, third brother is here." Fang Heng's words were still so simple.

"Fourth brother is here too, fourth brother has been here even longer than third brother." Wen Zhiyun quietly emphasized his own importance.

"Then the fifth brother can't be absent either." Chang Yan spread his hands.

It was so nice. Although she had lost her mother, her brothers had always been there.

Jiang Sheng pushed away the last bit of loss in her heart, a smile on her little round face.

"Uh, uh, I'm here too." Jiang Chengyu bashfully came over at some point and took Jiang Sheng's hand. "I'm your only little sister."

Jiang Chengfeng scratched his head. He was too old to join in the lively fun, he could only cough twice to indicate his presence.

These kids were so lovely.

Old Lady Jiang had a smile on her face, her gaze falling on Mrs. Liao's struggling back. She wondered if Mrs. Liao had wavered at all during the past half year, if she had ever doubted that Jiang Sheng was her daughter. She must have, but the hatred supported her life, the heart set on revenge made her as hard as iron. So that she would rather ignore countless details and firmly hate Jiang Sheng and the Yao family.

To end up in this outcome now, she really had no one to blame.

Luckily her little granddaughter had come back.

Jiang Sheng had lost too much in the first half of her life. Her life afterwards would be increasingly joyful.

On the other hand, some people had satisfying achievements in the first half of life, but would eventually crash hard into the mud.

Jiang Chenghua maintained her fallen posture. The pain from being pushed away by Mrs. Liao was still in her heart. The loss of the last relative overwhelmed her. And when she looked up, she saw Jiang Sheng surrounded and adored.

Some fragments seemed to awaken in her mind.

It was as if many years ago, they had met somewhere. One was also surrounded and adored while the other had fallen to the ground.

The passage of time, the marching of years!

The little beggar back then who would not cry out even with scraped palms, and the noble and indifferent third young miss, finally lived into each other's roles.

And she...

Lost the care of her elder brother, lost the love of her father, and was disgusted by her mother in the end.

Her heart ached so much that she needed to take deep breaths. The trickling tears seemed to remind her that everything she once tried hard to grasp had leaked through her fingers.

Not only was she a fake rich daughter, but also the child of the Jiang family's enemy. Her existence originated from her mother's schemes. Her wealth and nobility was snatched from an innocent girl.

How would the Jiang family deal with her?

Go insane like her mother? Family destroyed and displaced? Or follow her alcoholic father?

No matter what, the beautiful and noble past would shatter like fireworks. What awaited her was only endless misery and atonement.

No one would forgive her. No one would sympathize with her. No one would comfort her either.

It was so cold. How could it be so cold?

Jiang Chenghua hugged herself tightly, like countless nights before, curling up and sobbing softly. There were moving figures around her, footsteps, voices, conversations, yet no one called her to get up.

Until the young maid Xiaohuang rushed over, "Miss are you alright, get up miss, the ground is cold."

So there was still someone who cared about her in this world.

Jiang Chenghua looked up. Through her blurred teary eyes she saw someone stop in front of her. She thought it was her father and quickly wiped her eyes clear, but she saw the face that had always been at odds with her.

"What are you crying about here again?" Jiang Chengyu was not pleased. "Your mother schemed and snatched someone else's wealth and nobility, yet still shamelessly refuses to leave. I've never seen such shameless people."

Jiang Chenghua wanted to deny but couldn't open her mouth again.

"Don't pretend to be so pitiful. And don't think about sinister plans like your mother to harm people!" Jiang Chengyu was even angrier. "Moreover, supporting characters like you in story books are most likely to develop malicious intents at this time!"

"If you really have a conscience, you should atone for your mistakes! You should do your utmost to compensate Jiang Sheng!"

She said angrily and turned away.

Leaving Jiang Chenghua stunned in place, nails digging viciously into her flesh.

"Miss, get up." Xiaohuang said in tears, "Be careful of the cold getting into your body. Your health has always been poor."

Ha, she didn't even have parents left. What would she need good health for?

She was nothing now. She had already been crushed into dust.

"Xiaohuang." Jiang Chenghua choked out in sobs, "What have I done that makes them determine I harbor malicious intent? That I want to harm Jiang Sheng? That I'm a bad person?"

The maid lowered her head not daring to speak.

Perhaps her existence itself was a mistake.

How could she atone? How to compensate? What could she do?

Jiang Chenghua staggered up to Jiang Chengyu, "Little sister, may I ask why you can play with Jiang Sheng yet always dislike me?"

Was it incompatible personalities? The true and false identities? Or competing for attention?

"Because you're hypocritical, stubborn, not frank enough." Jiang Chengyu looked at her strangely. "What's with the questions?"

"Nothing." Jiang Chenghua shook her head, laughing bitterly twice.