Volume One, Chapter 37: She Is a Longjing Tea from 1982—Aged Green Tea

Half an hour later, Jiang Yunmiao arrived at the nursing home.

Seeing her, Zhong Huiying’s miserable expression instantly dissolved into a smile. She said, acting as if nothing were wrong, "Miaomiao, why are you here?"

However, an instinctive movement betrayed her agitation; she pulled her hand back and tucked it into her pocket.

Jiang Yunmiao sighed, unable to bear it, her eyes welling up with tears in an instant. "Don't hide it, I already know everything."

Zhong Huiying cast a reproachful glance at Ms. Lin. "Didn't I tell you not to tell her?"

Jiang Yunmiao pouted, feigning blame. "You think if you didn't tell me, I wouldn't have found out? You’ve grown quite willful, haven't you? You suffer a grievance and don't say a single word about it?"

"Who said I suffered a grievance? That mother-in-law of yours didn't get off unscathed either; she had to be helped away, limping all the way." Zhong Huiying arched her brows, showing a stubborn, unyielding spirit.

"Yes, yes, you're the tough one! Give me your hand and let me see." Jiang Yunmiao held out her palm in an unquestionable gesture.

Zhong Huiying had no choice but to show her. "It’s just a little scrape, nothing serious."

The palm had already been treated with blue antiseptic, and it didn't look severe. Jiang Yunmiao breathed a slight sigh of relief. "What about elsewhere? Were you bruised or bumped anywhere else?" She truly couldn't bear to imagine her mother falling from her wheelchair. Just thinking about it caused a sharp pain in her heart. She had been holding her breath the entire way here.

"No, no, stop worrying for nothing," Zhong Huiying declared confidently. "If you don't believe me, ask Xiao Lin."

Ms. Lin had indeed said over the phone that there was nothing serious, and seeing her mother in such high spirits, Jiang Yunmiao finally felt she could relax.

"What exactly happened? What did my mother-in-law say to you?" Jiang Yunmiao sat down next to Zhong Huiying to get the full story.

Zhong Huiying’s eyes darted away, and she put on a pacifying expression. "It was nothing. Perhaps she was just anxious at the time, and we had a few sharp words. Don't worry about it, it's over."

Jiang Yunmiao saw right through her.

"Mom, do you think that, given my mother-in-law's temper, this will just blow over so easily? She has a fractured lower leg now, and the doctor says she needs six to eight weeks of recovery. Do you think she’s going to just sit still and not stir up trouble?"

"That woman!" Zhong Huiying slapped her thigh in frustration.

Zhou Manhua had so many flaws that she didn't even know where to start.

"How can such a mother-in-law exist? Sowing discord, looking for trouble, and wishing for nothing more than to see her son and daughter-in-law fall out?"

Before long, Jiang Yunmiao learned the whole story from Zhong Huiying.

Zhou Manhua’s original intention was to come and complain to Zhong Huiying, and incidentally, to flaunt her sense of superiority in front of her former neighbor.

She spoke with a silver tongue, spitting out her dissatisfaction with her daughter-in-law, Jiang Yunmiao. She claimed that ever since Jiang Yunmiao became pregnant, she had relied on her status to be arrogant and unreasonable, showing no respect or filial piety to her mother-in-law, and provoking her time and time again. She claimed that she, the mother-in-law, had visited out of the kindness of her heart, only to be met with cold stares or smashed teacups. She complained that the nanny who had served the family well was fired by Jiang Yunmiao in a very disgraceful manner—a woman who was a relative that had done them a favor—and that this was clearly a slap in her face.

Zhong Huiying didn't believe a single punctuation mark of Zhou Manhua's words. "That's not true. My daughter is not that kind of person."

Having failed to achieve her goal, Zhou Manhua was clearly dissatisfied.

"Are you saying I'm spouting nonsense? If you don't believe me, why don't you ask her yourself? Ah-Yi has already gained a firm footing at the Duan Corporation. If he weren't being held back by your daughter, his career would be even more limitless."

"What do you mean by that?" Zhong Huiying heard the overwhelming disdain in her words. "Don't forget, your son’s successful business would not have been possible without Miaomiao’s help!"

Zhou Manhua laughed arrogantly. "As you said, your daughter only played a supporting role. If it weren't for your daughter using despicable means to seduce my son, he would never have married her! If you were smart, you'd know your place and step aside voluntarily! Ah-Yi belongs with the carefully cultivated daughters of prestigious families. Your daughter is carrying a little girl, yet she really thinks she can rise in status through her child!" She had already secretly consulted experienced elders, and they were all but certain that Jiang Yunmiao was carrying a girl.

"Shut your mouth! Don't come here acting all high and mighty! You old green tea, have you forgotten that your son is an illegitimate child? Back then, when you were groveling and begging the Chen family, did they even give you the time of day? It was only because my daughter was kind-hearted and young and naive that she was fooled by your son’s facade, giving up a high-paying job at a big company to weather the hard years with him. Otherwise, do you think you’d have the good life you have now?"

"I may not have much ability, and I couldn't provide my daughter with a life of comfort or a prestigious background, but if my family were that well-off, do you think we’d even have looked at your son?"

Zhong Huiying retorted without hesitation. Although she had worked as a nanny for over a decade, she was not the type to be pushed around.

Especially when facing someone like Zhou Manhua who looked down on those she deemed inferior, if you were polite to her, she would only think you were easy to bully.

As they say, a mother becomes strong for her child. For the sake of her daughter, she had to stand her ground against Zhou Manhua.

"You! Very well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! I bet you taught your daughter all those cheap tricks!" Zhou Manhua’s expression twisted, her twitching eyelids threatening to shake off the thick layers of powder.

"Bah! I don't know who’s the cheap one here! My daughter didn't have an illegitimate child for someone else!" Zhong Huiying never took a loss.

This remark hit a nerve with Zhou Manhua. She was driven mad with rage, stood up, and pointed down at Zhong Huiying. "Say that again!"

Though Zhong Huiying was in a wheelchair, she refused to lose her momentum. "Everyone knows your son is an illegitimate child!"

Out of her mind with fury, Zhou Manhua reached out with glaring eyes. In the ensuing struggle, she dragged Zhong Huiying out of the wheelchair.

Zhong Huiying, not to be outdone, grabbed a teacup from the coffee table and hurled it at Zhou Manhua.

Though it missed, Zhou Manhua lost her footing in her attempt to dodge, twisted her ankle in her high heels, and fell, resulting in a fracture.

Just hearing it, and imagining the scene of the two women embroiled in such a fierce, turbulent, and unrelenting conflict, Jiang Yunmiao felt a thrill of shock.

"Mom, I never expected you to have such combat power! When did you learn this?" Jiang Yunmiao looked at her with admiration and gave her a thumbs-up.

"All those years of watching dramas weren't for nothing. So, you see, you were just worrying for nothing," Zhong Huiying said with an air of nonchalance.

"Mm. I suppose I did overthink it. I thought you would endure it and give way to her," Jiang Yunmiao said, knowing that, given Zhou Manhua’s character, she likely had said even nastier things and acted even more aggressively.

Zhong Huiying gave a "humph." "Then you don't know your mother at all. We’re all living for the first time; why should I give way to her? I’ve long found her eyesore! My daughter married her son; they should be burning incense and bowing in gratitude, yet she comes here to talk nonsense in front of me. Let’s see if she dares to do it again!"