Jiang Li knew well what kind of person Jiang Zhou was, but she hadn’t expected Qin Zheng to choose to inform her. However, this seemed like something the male lead would do. After ‘Jiang Li’ and Jiang Ruo were matched for a kidney transplant, Jiang Zhou and Jiang Huai began to coerce her to donate her kidney to Jiang Ruo, using both persuasion and emotional blackmail. As for Feng Yun, all she could do was cry and be indecisive throughout.
The male lead Qin Zheng remained silent from beginning to end. After ‘Jiang Li’ agreed to donate a kidney, Qin Zheng thanked her. He had also offered a sum of money and promised to arrange for her to go abroad after the surgery, giving her a chance to leave this family.
At that time, Qin Zheng was Jiang Ruo’s boyfriend, and with Jiang Ruo critically ill, he naturally couldn’t refuse the kidney donation. But everything was different now. Due to the butterfly effect of Jiang Li’s transmigration, Jiang Ruo kept her true parentage from Qin Zheng, causing him to have reservations once he found out.
After that, the two gradually drifted apart. Qin Zheng might still have feelings for Jiang Ruo, but those lingering emotions weren’t as strong as in the original novel. Now, revealing Jiang Zhou and Jiang Ruo’s plans to her, which gave her a chance to prepare in advance, was probably his way of following his conscience.
Understanding his position, Jiang Li sincerely thanked him, “Qin Zheng, thank you for telling me this. I’ll take precautions in advance.”
Qin Zheng’s voice was serious: “It’s nothing. This is what I should do, and you’ve said it yourself, we’re friends, aren’t we?”
Jiang Li smiled and replied, “Yes, we are friends, but I still want to thank you.” Now that she was aware of Jiang Zhou’s plans, she could prepare accordingly and wouldn’t be caught off guard.
After hanging up, Jiang Li promptly made up her mind to inform Feng Qi about this matter and seek his advice.
While Jiang Li was on the phone, Tong Yi’s expression gradually turned cold. He really hadn’t expected Jiang Zhou and Jiang Ruo to be so shameless. Did they really think they were entitled to Jiang Xiao Li’s kidney?
“We need to tell Third Master Feng about this,” Tong Yi said, both his face and tone were icy. Although Jiang Zhou hadn’t made a move yet, the fact that he had taken Jiang Xiao Li’s blood for compatibility testing meant he definitely would. “Let him keep an eye on those dogs in the Jiang family and see what dirty tricks they plan to use.”
“I think so too,” Jiang Li nodded in agreement.
Seeing her furrowed brows, Tong Yi continued, “Jiang Zhou has just received the test result and shouldn’t have the chance to act yet, but I guess his initial plan is probably to make you donate a kidney voluntarily.”
Jiang Li’s expression was mocking, “I’m actually quite curious, what methods does he plan to use to make me donate voluntarily?”
In the novel, the father and son duo of the Jiang family employed the good cop and bad cop tactic to coerce ‘Jiang Li’ to donate her kidney to Jiang Ruo. Jiang Zhou would threaten and intimidate, while Jiang Huai used emotion and reason to manipulate her, promising to compensate her well.
At that time, ‘Jiang Li’ was only nineteen. Naïve about the evil nature of people, she was quickly overwhelmed by their persistent persuasion. She even harbored a faint hope that after donating one of her kidneys to Jiang Ruo, her parents would feel guilty and truly make it up to her.
But the current Jiang Li was different from her novel counterpart. She had long severed ties with the Jiang family, so any emotional blackmail would be useless on her. As for a direct, more forceful approach, they probably wouldn’t dare, thanks to the Feng family’s strong protection. The Jiang family definitely couldn’t stand any retaliation.
Noticing Jiang Li’s curiosity about Jiang Zhou’s methods, Tong Yi stated, “Actually, there’s nothing to be curious about. The methods he can use are really only three kinds.”
“Three?” Jiang Li looked surprised.
Tong Yi nodded, “The first, and the dumbest, is to leak the kidney compatibility report online to morally blackmail you with public opinion, forcing you to donate a kidney to Jiang Ruo.”
Jiang Li felt that the first method was utterly unreliable. “That’s indeed pretty dumb. Not to mention that I wouldn’t be swayed by online moral blackmail, even if I were the type to be influenced by public opinion, my grandfather and uncles wouldn’t let it escalate.”
Tong Yi nodded, “Yes, it’s dumb, but Jiang Zhou is quite desperate, so it’s still possible.”
“You just said there are two more methods, what are they?” Jiang Li asked.
Tong Yi clicked his tongue, “If Jiang Zhou really dotes on Jiang Ruo to the extreme, he might go home and press his mother to plead with your grandfather. Your grandfather only has this one daughter; what if he momentarily softens under her tearful plea and agrees?”
“Even if he goes to cry, Ms. Feng might not agree.” Jiang Li slowly shook her head. Whether it was Ms. Feng in the book or the Ms. Feng she knew after transmigrating, both had only passively ignored ‘Jiang Li’ and hadn’t done anything too outrageous. The likelihood of her pressuring her biological daughter to donate a kidney for Jiang Ruo seemed miniscule.
“Mrs. Feng certainly wouldn’t agree, but what if her son threatened her with suicide? On one side is the life of her biological son and adopted daughter, and on the other is a biological daughter who can still live after donating a kidney. What do you think she would choose?” Tong Yi argued.
Jiang Li frowned, “Do you really think Jiang Zhou could go that far?”
Tong Yi shook his head, “I don’t know. I’m just laying out the darkest aspects of human nature for you to see, so you can prepare in advance.”
In Tong Yi’s view, Jiang Li was highly intelligent and emotionally savvy, but she had grown up in an orphanage in her early years and was then doted on and protected closely by the Feng family for the last three. In such circumstances, it’s natural for her not to assume the worst in people.
What Tong Yi didn’t know was that the Jiang Li before him was not the one who grew up in an orphanage. In her real life, although Jiang Li’s parents passed away early when she was young, she was raised by her family’s elderly housekeeper, whom she had regarded as her own grandfather. After transmigrating into the book, she did experience neglect from the Jiang family, but it only lasted less than a month.
Indeed, Jiang Li hadn’t considered the second method Tong Yi mentioned, but once he brought it up, she immediately understood. Someone as obsessive as Jiang Zhou could certainly resort to such measures—although he wouldn’t plan to really kill himself, he would make his threat real enough to completely force his mother.
If that were the case, what choice would Ms. Feng make?
Looking at Tong Yi, Jiang Li didn’t hesitate to praise him, “Good thinking, big nephew. I wouldn’t have thought of that myself.”
Tong Yi’s heart skipped a beat, “Jiang Xiao Li, do you think I’m too scheming?”
Given her peaceful upbringing, Jiang Xiao Li might be afraid of him now after he brought up such a sinister subject…
Jiang Li playfully punched Tong Yi’s shoulder, “Don’t be silly. I don’t see you as overly scheming, and even if you were, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
“Really?” Tong Yi pressed on.
Jiang Li nodded, “Of course! As long as you don’t harm others intentionally, being scheming can be a good thing. It means you can protect yourself when it matters!”
The ‘Jiang Li’ in the novel was too naïve and pure, which led her to be easily manipulated. If only she had been a bit more cunning!
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Translator’s note:
I have added a new novel, Three Years After Falling Off A Cliff. This is a historical romance novel similar to Greetings Ninth Uncle, by the same author of Eight Treasures Trousseau and To Be a Virtuous Wife. The release schedule follows Daughter of the Dao and Devil Venerable (Monday and Wednesday). Hope you will enjoy it!
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I know what the third method is! Following novel logic, murder is the last option Trash Zhou would choose for his beloved half, I mean Adopted sister.