It was just around sunset. A gentle breeze drifted at the foot of the mountain. In the quiet pavilion, Gu Meiting held her son in her arms, reaching over now and then to feel his forehead, worry written all over her face. Jiang Chen stood off to the side with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing up at the little path winding up from the foot of the mountain, as though waiting for someone to arrive.

Jiang Yuan, who was always full of energy and could never sit still even for a moment, now looked like a wilted flower drooping in his mother’s arms. His chubby little face was flushed hot, his eyelids drooping. He was still faintly conscious, but utterly listless.

“Have they come yet?!”

Finally, Gu Meiting burst out in irritation. In truth, this “quarrel” between husband and wife was nothing more than the two of them conspiring together to manufacture a reason to stay!

No matter what Han Ziqing did, Madam Gu and the Gu family head would never simply stand by and let their precious grandson’s illness go untreated!

They had come this time by invitation. Given the unpleasantness before, the fact that Jiang Chen had even agreed to come at all was already an enormous show of face toward the Gu family!

They were no longer the young lady and son-in-law who had once shamelessly clung to the Gu family—this time, they were honored guests!

And now, with Yuan’er falling ill, and the departure for Qinse Valley set for the day after tomorrow, surely it wouldn’t be too much for them to stay a day or two at the Gu residence!

Except—Jiang Chen had made it clear that even if they did stay, Han Ziqing herself would have to be the one to say the words.

Hadn’t Han Ziqing been putting on quite the performance in the east wing earlier? So composed, so magnanimous, acting as though she bore no grudges at all!

Well, they wanted to see exactly how magnanimous she really was.

“They’re here!”

Suddenly Jiang Chen spoke, his voice serious. He’d spotted figures hurrying down from the mountainside in the distance. He immediately sat back down and turned his head toward the gate.

Gu Meiting held Jiang Yuan and murmured softly, “Endure it a little longer, my son. Once we get through this, we’ll stay in the east wing tonight, and you can sleep with your grandmother. We’ll stay here and not leave!”

Jiang Yuan’s consciousness was growing hazier and hazier. Never mind answering—he could barely make out what his parents were saying at all. All he felt was his whole body burning, and the hotter it got, the weaker he became.

Finally, Ziqing and the others arrived. Madam Gu rushed ahead of everyone, practically flying straight to the pavilion.

The moment she saw Gu Meiting and Jiang Yuan looking so sullen, she snapped angrily, “What on earth are you two still arguing about? Can’t you see Yuan’er is sick?!”

“Mother-in-law, please talk some sense into her. If she’d listened to me, we’d have already gone back and already seen a doctor. She insisted on dragging it out until now!” Jiang Chen said, displeased.

“Go back? Go back where? There’s a doctor right here, medicine right here—what’s there to go back for? If Yuan’er’s condition is delayed because of you, can you bear that responsibility?”

“Bear it? Since when is Yuan’er not my son too? Is he yours alone? Who exactly is the one delaying Yuan’er’s treatment? Father-in-law, please judge for yourself!” Jiang Chen said coldly.

Counting the incident at the main hall on the mountaintop before, this was probably only the second time in six years that he had lost his temper at the Gu residence.

“Enough arguing! Doctor Hua, hurry up and examine him!” the Gu family head barked.

Doctor Hua had already been waiting beside Gu Meiting, and he stepped forward at once. Gu Meiting quickly handed her son over.

Doctor Hua felt the boy’s forehead, then took his pulse, his brow furrowing. “He’s indeed running a fever—a low fever, but Eldest Miss, this is no light matter. Medicine and acupuncture must be administered right away. If this is delayed any further, the condition could turn serious very quickly!”

The moment those words were spoken, before Gu Meiting could even react, Madam Gu grew frantic. “Quickly, quickly, to the east wing! Doctor Hua, go prepare the medicine right now.”

Ziqing watched coldly from the side, her gaze drifting more than once, without meaning to, toward the Second Miss Gu’s face. She could see that the girl was genuinely tense too—after all, she was the one who had raised this child for the past six years, so it was hardly surprising she’d feel for him.

“Yes!” Doctor Hua was about to withdraw.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Chen suddenly stopped him.

“No need. I’ve already had people prepare medicine at the Jiang residence, and a doctor is waiting there too. We’re heading straight back to the Jiang family now!” Jiang Chen said, his expression deadly serious.

“Can’t we go back after he’s cured?” Gu Meiting suddenly slammed the table and stood, nearly dropping Jiang Yuan from her arms. Madam Gu went pale with fright and rushed forward to take the child, but Gu Meiting refused to let go, saying coldly, “Jiang Chen, I’m telling you now, I am not leaving today. Until Yuan’er’s illness is cured, I am not leaving!”

This couple was truly unreasonable. It turned out that being unreasonable with other people was one thing, but being unreasonable with each other was even more absurd.

“Not leaving? Then stay yourself! It’s just a low fever—don’t use it as an excuse to stay. I’m telling you, my Jiang family hasn’t held it against your Gu family, hasn’t come demanding to know what it means to marry into a household as a live-in son-in-law—that’s my parents’ broad-mindedness. But broad-mindedness doesn’t mean you’re free to trample on me however you like. No matter what, I, Jiang Chen, and the descendants of my Jiang family, will absolutely not spend a night in the Gu residence under such an unclear arrangement—not even a single night, not ever! That is my bottom line!” Jiang Chen said, each word deliberate and serious.

The moment those words left his mouth, the amused look on Ziqing’s face instantly sank. These words weren’t really meant for Gu Meiting at all—they were clearly aimed at the Gu couple, and at her.

“I don’t care about any of that. I’m telling you, I’m simply not leaving. Until Yuan’er is better, I’m not leaving!” Gu Meiting bellowed like a shrew. “Jiang Chen, how dare you shout like this here! Have you even considered—Yuan’er and I have only stayed at your Jiang family for a few days, and mother and son have both lost so much weight! In your household, what we eat in an entire day doesn’t come close to a single meal here! I am the proper eldest young lady of the Gu Shi, and Yuan’er is a proper young master, yet your mother had him fetching tea and pouring water for her! I’m telling you, I’ve had enough!”

As she spoke, Gu Meiting clutched Jiang Yuan tightly and backed away toward Madam Gu, sneering, “Can that so-called doctor of your Jiang family even be called a doctor? Can that medicine of yours even be trusted?”

“You—!” Jiang Chen choked with anger. “Gu Meiting, are you going back or not?”

“No!” Gu Meiting was utterly resolute.

Madam Gu and the Gu family head anxiously tried to mediate, but couldn’t get a word in.

“I’m telling you, whether you like it or not, you’re going back with me today!” Jiang Chen’s temper flared fully now, and he turned to confront the Gu family head directly. “Father-in-law, is this the eldest daughter you raised? Doesn’t she even understand the principle that a wife follows her husband through thick and thin? When we married, my Jiang family never forced the eldest young lady into anything—she came to me willingly, showing up at my door every single day! And now she picks and complains about everything—is this how a proper wife behaves?”

Gu Jun was about to speak, but Gu Meiting shouted again, “Don’t lecture me with all your fine principles! I’ll say it plainly—today, even if it means dying, my son and I will die right here in the Gu residence. I absolutely will not take him back to suffer while he’s sick!”

“Then let me tell you something too—today, unless Jiang Yuan dies, I will absolutely not let him stay in the Gu household!” Jiang Chen was even more resolute.

Finally, Madam Gu couldn’t take it anymore and suddenly roared, “Enough, both of you! Shut up! Just shut up, all of you!”

Gu Meiting and Jiang Chen both froze for a moment, and the argument finally, temporarily, stopped.

“Doctor Hua, take the child away, now!” Madam Gu’s voice turned icy, her elegant, refined face cold enough to be frightening.

But at that moment, timid, cowardly Jiang Chen unprecedentedly found some courage and insisted, “Mother-in-law, you have no right to do that!”