The Substitute Bride and the Cripple

Chapter 8: You Kissed Me; That Makes You Mine

Bring Feng Lu back? Tang Qiu couldn’t help stealing a nervous glance towards Jiang Shaocheng, but he remained as unmoved and silent as ever.

She felt a wry, bitter laugh bubble to her lips. She had fooled herself into thinking that Jiang Shaocheng had approved of her. Like a delusional, lovesick fool, she had even been truly fond of him, wanting to be his dutiful wife…

It wasn’t that she had truly wanted to marry Jiang Shaocheng. But the Fengs would never let this slide… to say nothing of what they would do to her grandmother… The thought sent a pang of pain through her heart, and she felt her eyes prick with tears.

Upon hearing Jiang Ming’s pronouncement, the Feng family’s faces fell. To wed Feng Lu to that sickly cripple, with his pasty, disfigured face… Feng Lu herself would never agree, but even all of Chen Man’s love for her daughter couldn’t compel her to allow Feng Lu to come back and face such a match.

“That doesn’t seem quite appropriate, Second Young Master,” she objected. “No matter how you put it, Tang Qiu already went through the rites with your brother. And after the… consummation of the marriage last night, she essentially belongs to him. If you were to send her back to us, what kind of future would she have?”

Can’t you see the weakling can’t even get up from his wheelchair? Jiang Ming wanted to scoff. Like he would even be capable of the act, with such useless legs!

“I’m telling you: if you don’t get Feng Lu back, I’ll see to it that your whole family ends up bankrupt. This is what you get for daring to make fools of the Jiang family!” If the second son of the Jiangs wanted to ruin a small company like the Fengs’, all it would take was a few words.

Feng Guo’an’s face paled, and he hurriedly stuttered out, “Second Young Master, please… please don’t. I’ll find Feng Lu and bring her back this instant.”

“Bring her back?” a furious Chen Man wailed. “Are you planning to send my daughter to her death?”

“Do you want to send our family to our deaths?” Fang Guo’an shot back. “What are we going to survive on, without the company?”

Of course Chen Man didn’t want to see the company go bankrupt. She burst into tears of rage.

Feng Yao was still calculating a plan in her head. “Second Young Master, perhaps…”

Between sips of tea, Jiang Shaocheng glanced at Feng Yao from the corner of his eye. “You don’t want your sister to come back? That’s fine. Are you planning to take her place?”

“No!” Feng Yao darted behind her mother in fear.

Jiang Shaocheng coughed once, then twice. He fixed his cold gaze on Fang Guo’an. “We don’t have to make the switch if you’re unwilling. But I have conditions.”

Fang Guo’an felt a chill shoot down his spine, and couldn’t repress a shiver. Since when was this sick weakling capable of wielding such a threatening, murderous demeanor? “What conditions? Name anything you like, Young Master. As long as it is within my power, you shall have it!”

Jiang Shaocheng had brought his brother here not as a spectator, but as a tool. The Fengs held him in contempt due to his physical frailty, but they looked at Jiang Ming with fear. If even Jiang Ming was backed into a corner with no options, however, the Fengs wouldn’t be able to leverage him to negotiate a way out.

“A bride should have a dowry. Isn’t that right?”

Feng Guo’an felt a sense of dread creeping up in him, but he made himself nod. “It is, Young Master.”

“In that case, I want you to return the ten million dollars the Jiangs gave you in exchange for your daughter’s hand… and pay an additional ten million for my wife’s dowry!”

Fang Guo’an was struck with horror. Ten million was a hefty sum as it was, but twenty? He inwardly cursed Tang Qiu for being an investment that had only sucked his money down the drain.

Tang Qiu was no less surprised. Twenty million? Was she hallucinating?

Jiang Shaocheng finished his sentence with a cough. “No?” he asked. “He Lei, get a lawyer. Tell them the Fang family cheated us!”

“Right away, Young Master!”

“No! Don’t! We’ll give you the money!” Chen Man bawled and battered her husband with her fists. “My daughter is worth more than all the money in the world! Say yes, Fang Guo’an, or I’ll never let you off!”

For his daughter, Fang Guo’an had no choice but to give in. “I’ll pay.”

The Fengs’ company was small, but they had several hundred million worth of assets. Still, coughing up a sum of money this huge was enough to make them want to vomit blood.

Fang Guo’an signed a check for twenty million dollars and passed it to He Lei, reluctant to let go. He Lei pulled the paper from him anyway and placed it in Tang Qiu’s hand. She stared at the check, unblinking. Had Fang Guo’an really just forked over such a gigantic amount? “Is this really for me?” She glanced at Jiang Shaocheng, unclear of his intent.

“You’re my wife now,” Jiang Shaocheng said coolly. “That makes you the young mistress of the Jiangs. It’s just a check. There will be more stuff to come in the future.”

Tang Qiu gripped the check and lowered her eyes. “You don’t want Feng Lu back?”

Jiang Shaocheng looked back at her blankly. Was this why she had bowed her head and stayed quiet just now? He hadn’t stopped his brother from demanding that Feng Lu come back, not simply to intimidate the Fengs, but also to ensure that they would acquiesce to hand over their money. “You kissed me at the wedding. That makes you mine.”

Tang Qiu stared at him, her eyes shining. “You mean… I’m really your wife?”

“Yes.”

She didn’t have to go back to the Fengs, and she could stop worrying about her grandmother. Tang Qiu felt a heavy burden lift from her heart. Come what may, this man had saved her from the Feng family, and for that, she was deeply grateful to him.