C12 12
Jiang Yining gave a soft "Mm" in response. Sidney pressed on, "What's the deal? This whole situation seems unreasonable!" "The Ming family is fond of her, and she's not keen on leaving them," Jiang Yining replied, holding back the full truth to avoid setting Sidney off. But even without knowing everything, Sidney was nearly fuming with frustration. "So they think they can just force you out of your own home? What, are they hypocrites?" Jiang Yining's thoughts drifted to the day the Ming family had come to fetch her and the gossip that had swirled at tonight's banquet. After a pause, she spoke calmly, "Perhaps they believe I'm eager to leave my grandmother and return with them." Sidney was taken aback for a moment, making sure she hadn't misheard. "Why? Where do they get that kind of confidence?" "Because they think my grandmother is very poor." Sidney was incredulous. "Our grandmother, the most formidable reclusive healer in C Country, poor? They must be out of their minds." After her initial outburst, Sidney realized something. "Don't tell me they saw Grandma living in the countryside with you and jumped to the conclusion that Mrs. Jiang is poor without any investigation. Wow, that family has some nerve." Jiang Yining had been frail since birth, with hypersensitive senses that couldn't tolerate even the slightest irritation. She had come close to death on several occasions. To ensure her survival, Mrs. Jiang had searched for many suitable places for recuperation, eventually settling in a small southern mountain village for seventeen years. And now, superficial judgments had been cast. Could such relatives truly have Jiang Yining's best interests at heart? Yining remained noncommittal to Sidney's remarks. Unable to contain her curiosity, Sidney asked, "Then does Grandma know about these people, how they scorn the poor and court the rich?" "She doesn't know."
After a while, she hesitantly asked, "So you didn't reveal your identity to those people?" If they knew Ning's true identity, they would surely treat her with the utmost care. "Why should I have told them?" Jiang Yining replied with a smile. She was a person, too. From the moment those people arrived, they disregarded her wishes, coercing her grandmother with the phrase "a child needs parents" to relinquish her. "What are you planning to do?" Snowy inquired. Jiang Yining paused before answering, "I'll wait until I'm 18." Her guardianship had been transferred to Ming Chengkang and his wife, and the constraints on minors were always more stringent. "Is it okay if I come to visit you sometime?" "Of course." Jiang Yining didn't refuse. "Thank you for bringing my zither back from C Country. I'll take you out for a meal next time we meet." "Sounds good." Snowy was about to end the call when the mention of the zither jogged her memory. "Hold on, I almost forgot. I ran into your teacher at the auction. He was interested in the zither, too, but when he found out you wanted it, he backed off on one condition: you and the zither must take part in the national banquet performance at the end of the year." "I understand," Jiang Yining said, massaging her temples. "Also, could you help me look into something?" "OK. I've got it covered."
