章 10: Who Did It?
編集者: EndlessFantasy Translation
Qiao Weimin had not held back when he slapped Jing Yunzhao. She could handle it because she had been treated like this since she was young, and she chose not to do anything to relieve the swelling just so that she could show it to the teachers at school.
By staying in the space within the jade bottle, the pain on her face subsided but not the swelling. As such, the swelling on her face was still shocking even though her face actually didn't hurt much anymore.
"I was stopped by some gangsters after school last Friday, Ms. Kim. They trapped me and refused to let me go while pretending to be close to me. They even dragged me into an alley, and I can't imagine what would have happened if the police hadn't passed by. I was unfortunate that the gangsters chose to pick on me and I don't blame anyone but those gangsters, but I don't know why someone spread false rumours about me mingling with gangsters…"
"Were they why your face is swollen?" Ms. Kim asked, frowning.
The swelling on Jing Yunzhao's face was actually quite serious considering it hadn't gone down even after a few days. There were also bruises on Jing Yunzhao's face, showing just how bad of a hit Jing Yunzhao took.
"No… Those gangsters were threatening me and I ended up passing out. My— My face," Jing Yunzhao stammered pitifully, "it was my father who did it…"
Almost all the teachers in the office gasped when they heard what Jing Yunzhao said.
As the top student in her year, Jing Yunzhao's family situation was known to the teachers, and they knew that she had a stepfather named Qiao Weimin.
Would Qiao Weimin have done it if he was Jing Yunzhao's real father?
"He did it? Why? Tell me what happened, Jing Yunzhao. Did you do something that made your father angry?" Ms. Kim asked, jumping up from her chair.
"I did nothing. It was because of a bowl of porridge. I was worried about getting an upset stomach and not being able to take the test today if I ate cold porridge, so I got myself a hot bowl of porridge from the pot. My father got angry and slapped me, then forced me to finish the cold porridge," said Jing Yunzhao casually as if she was just discussing the weather.
It sounded different to some of the teachers in the office.
What kind of father let their child have cold porridge? Was this how Jing Yunzhao was treated at home—not even given hot meals?
"If… if that was the case, Jing Yunzhao, why didn't your mother stop him? Or your siblings?" Ms. Kim asked doubtfully.
"My mother is ill and too weak to be taking care of the family, not to mention that it was just a bowl of porridge that wouldn't kill me even if I ate it. My mother would not interfere even if she knew about it… I am already used to how I get treated at home, Ms. Kim, it doesn't really bother me anymore. It's just about those gangsters… would the school be able to lodge a police report so it doesn't happen again?"
Jing Yunzhao was only fifteen this year, but knew very well that the school was the only place that she could rely on. It would be naïve of her to think that she could lodge the police report in her own name, and she would only make a fool of herself if she did.
Ms. Kim felt her heart clench when she looked into Jing Yunzhao's sparkling eyes.
Jing Yunzhao had always been a quiet girl at school but strangely, she wasn't that popular amongst the students and had always been deemed arrogant.
The teachers, on the other hand, were fond of Jing Yunzhao.
She was quiet, hardworking, and never bullied or looked down on anyone. If not for her outstanding results, her presence would hardly be noticeable.
"Don't worry, the school will not sit on something as serious as this. You may go now to prepare for the test later. I will discuss this with the principal and make sure to lodge a police report to avoid this happening again."
章 11: Nonsense
編集者: EndlessFantasy Translation
Jing Yunzhao quickly nodded but before she could leave the office, Ms. Kim's phone started to ring.
Ms. Kim answered the call and her face fell when she heard what the person on the other end of the line said.
"Forget about the test, Jing Yunzhao. Take your sister and go to the hospital now, your mother's condition is critical," said Ms. Kim quietly after ending the call.
Not expecting Ye Qin's condition to worsen so quickly, Jing Yunzhao stood there stunned.
The Jing Yunzhao in her previous life did not get to come to school on this day, so the school had only informed Qiao Hongye about Ye Qin's condition. On this day in Jing Yunzhao's previous life, she had come down with a fever and was so sick that she had to stay at home. Jing Yunzhao was not so sure about what happened exactly during this period in her previous life, and had expected Ye Qin to pass away only tomorrow. It seemed like Ye Qin did not pass away immediately after she was sent to the hospital.
Jing Yunzhao had mixed feelings whenever she thought about Ye Qin.
While Ye Qin might have adopted her for ulterior motives, it was undeniable that she had raised Jing Yunzhao for years. Besides, Jing Yunzhao had been under the impression that Ye Qin was her real mother throughout her previous life, and she had been fond of Ye Qin for that reason.
In the whole Qiao Family, Ye Qin was the only one she blamed but did not hate.
Jing Yunzhao did not wait any longer and went straight to Qiao Hongye's classroom.
Looking at Qiao Hongye, it reminded Jing Yunzhao of her previous life when Qiao Hongye was so excited to take the test thinking that she would definitely get first place since Jing Yunzhao couldn't take it. However, fate had decided that she would not sit for the test as well, and she had sulked about it for quite some time.
The hospital Ye Qin was admitted to was not far from the school. By the time Jing Yunzhao and Qiao Hongye arrived at Ye Qin's ward, Ye Qin looked so weak it was as if she would go anytime soon.
Qiao Weimin who was standing aside solemnly glanced speculatively at Jing Yunzhao when she showed up in the hospital.
"Your mother might not make it this time, Hongye…" said Qiao Weimin softly.
Jing Yunzhao nearly scoffed. Ye Qin had been ill for some time. Because of her condition, not only had her treatment used up a lot of money, she had also troubled almost everyone in the family. For those reasons, Jing Yunzhao was certain that the Qiao Family would not grieve at Ye Qin's passing. In fact, she suspected they would be relieved.
"I know a prescription that might ease mother's condition, Father," said Jing Yunzhao after much hesitation.
When Jing Yunzhao was in the space within the jade bottle, she had spent a lot of time and effort looking for a prescription in the first Naling Jade that would cure her mother entirely but to no avail. From the information in the first Naling Jade, Jing Yunzhao only managed to find the causes of illness and the most that she could do was to ease her mother's suffering so that she could live longer.
While easing her mother's condition was not curing her per se, Jing Yunzhao was confident that with her fast progress, she would find a cure for Ye Qin soon.
After all, her ancestor did not only learn medicine from a foreign land, but also had practiced medicine for three hundred years. Jing Yunzhao could tell from the information in the Naling Jade that her ancestor was way more capable than any other medical practitioner.
"You? What do you know? Stop messing with this family!" Qiao Weimin snarled, raising his hand to slap Jing Yunzhao again.
"Stop it!" A familiar voice cried out from the doorway of the ward. It was Ms. Kim, who hurried over and pulled Jing Yunzhao behind her protectively.
"You are a father, Mr. Qiao. How can you hit your child for no reason?" Ms. Kim demanded. She had been worried about Jing Yunzhao and followed her to the ward only to see that Qiao Weimin was indeed as violent as she thought.
While what Jing Yunzhao suggested might not be completely workable, she was only trying to find a way to get her mother cured. Why would anyone hit a child who was just trying to help her mother?
"She is a girl who talks nonsense, Ms. Kim. She won't learn her lesson without a beating," Qiao Weimin sneered. Not wanting to make a scene, he had lowered his hand as soon as Ms. Kim came over.
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