Chapter 4 Getting the Marriage Certificate and Running into an Ex-Girlfriend

“Old Li, it’s been a long time!”

Jiang Chen and Li Xuanming locked eyes, greeting each other with the warm familiarity of old friends.

“How dare you! Who do you think you are, addressing Divine Doctor Li so casually? If you want to die, don’t drag the Chu family down with you!” Chu Lihan barked furiously at Jiang Chen, convinced this troublemaker meant to offend Divine Doctor Li and bring disaster upon them.

“Chu Yan, why aren’t you making this brat kneel and apologize? He needs to kowtow to Divine Doctor Li and beg for forgiveness!”

“What are you waiting for? Chu Yan, do you really want this fool to destroy us?” Zheng Lijuan and Chu Yuting, mother and daughter, joined in, pressuring Chu Yan to put Jiang Chen in his place.

“Kneel and apologize? And kowtow?” Jiang Chen chuckled, then turned to Li Xuanming. “Old Li, are you sure you want me to do that?”

“Enough with the nonsense! Do as you’re told!” Chu Lihan glared and ordered Jiang Chen.

“Be silent!” Li Xuanming thundered.

He had just been swept up in the joy of reuniting with the village chief, and now Chu Lihan dared to sow discord. Li Xuanming wanted nothing more than to slap this fool.

“Did you hear that? Divine Doctor Li told you to shut up!” Chu Lihan pointed at Jiang Chen.

“I was telling you to shut up!” Li Xuanming jabbed a finger at Chu Lihan’s nose, livid.

“Me? No, Divine Doctor Li, I was just helping you put this brat in his place!” Chu Lihan stammered, utterly bewildered.

“And who do you think you are? Do I need your help? The village chief has shown me immense kindness, like a master bestowing his art. If you dare disrespect him, you disrespect me, Li Xuanming!” Li Xuanming berated Chu Lihan mercilessly, announcing before everyone, “From now on, I won’t treat anyone from the Chu family!”

Chu Lihan was terrified. With Li Xuanming’s reputation and connections in the medical world, if he blacklisted the Chu family, all other divine doctors would avoid them too—they would be finished.

Only then did he realize Jiang Chen had been telling the truth all along! Li Xuanming really was a fellow villager of Jiang Chen’s, and Jiang Chen truly had taught him medicine!

“Old Li, that’s too harsh. Just refuse to treat these three; don’t punish the innocent members of the Chu family,” Jiang Chen said, pointing at Chu Lihan, Zheng Lijuan, and Chu Yuting.

“Yes, I will remember your teachings, Village Chief!” Li Xuanming bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle in deference.

“Jiang Chen—no, Divine Doctor Jiang, we’re sorry, truly! Please, rescind your decree!” Chu Lihan pleaded.

“Yes, dear nephew-in-law, you’re magnanimous, don’t stoop to our level!” Zheng Lijuan chimed in, her tone suddenly honeyed.

“That’s right, brother-in-law—we’re family!” Chu Yuting added, all three dropping to their knees, apologizing and trying to play on Jiang Chen’s feelings, their faces changing faster than the flipping of a page.

Jiang Chen turned to Chu Yan, seeking her opinion. “What do you think?”

Chu Yan was stunned by Jiang Chen’s prowess—could he be the chief of some legendary medical village? Even someone as revered as Li Xuanming treated him with utmost respect.

“Please save my grandfather first. Everything else can wait,” Chu Yan said, her heart focused on her grandfather’s safety. Letting the three kneel might help them learn their lesson.

“I’m already detoxifying him; it’ll be done soon,” Jiang Chen replied, his hands never pausing as he worked the needles. The old master’s color was visibly improving.

Once the detoxification was complete, Jiang Chen removed the needles, placed a trash bin by the bed, and helped the old master sit up, gently patting his back.

“Ugh… cough, cough!” The old master, now awake, vomited the poisonous black blood into the bin. When he finished, his complexion was rosy once more.

Chu Yan quickly brought water for her grandfather to rinse his mouth, then had someone take away the bin.

“Ah… I feel much better!” The old master let out a long, relieved breath, gripping Jiang Chen’s hands tightly. “My dear grandson-in-law, thank you for saving my life!”

“I heard everything just now. As for these three unfilial ones, do with them as you see fit—you needn’t spare their feelings,” he said, pointing at Chu Lihan, Zheng Lijuan, and Chu Yuting. Though poisoned and unconscious, he’d remained aware, and was furious that their actions had nearly cost him such a remarkable grandson-in-law. Thankfully, his precious granddaughter had trusted Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen felt a bit awkward. “Old Master Chu…”

“There’s no need to be so formal. Call me Grandpa. Later, you and Xiao Yan should get your marriage certificate, and we’ll pick an auspicious day for the wedding!” The old master clapped Jiang Chen on the shoulder, grinning as he arranged the marriage on the spot.

“Um… Grandpa Chu, shouldn’t you ask Chu Yan how she feels about this?” Jiang Chen was caught off guard, glancing at Chu Yan.

“I’ll follow Grandpa’s wishes,” Chu Yan replied readily. She had already agreed with Jiang Chen—if he could cure her grandfather, she would marry him.

“Hahaha, excellent! No time like the present—off to the Civil Affairs Bureau you go!” The old master could not stop grinning, urging them forward.

“Congratulations to the Village Chief and Miss Chu on your union. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness and many children!” Li Xuanming was the first to offer his heartfelt congratulations. If word of this reached Peach Blossom Village, he mused, countless influential families would be crestfallen. Everyone wanted their granddaughter to marry the village chief, but Old Master Chu had beaten them to it!

Jiang Chen was not one for sentimentality. Since Chu Yan agreed to marry him and would become the Jiang family’s daughter-in-law, he now had even more reason to tell her the truth about the Jiang family’s demise.

Chu Yan drove a Rolls-Royce Phantom worth over ten million to the mall, where she bought Jiang Chen an Armani suit for several hundred thousand, before heading to the Civil Affairs Bureau.

As they parked, Chu Yan received a call. She didn’t answer until she’d parked the car.

“Wait for me at the entrance. I’ll join you after I take this call,” she told Jiang Chen.

He nodded and got out, waiting by the bureau’s entrance.

Just then, a newlywed couple exited the building, beaming with joy.

“Jiang Chen?! You’re still alive?!” The young woman gasped as if she’d seen a ghost.

Jiang Chen recognized her as well—his childhood sweetheart and ex-girlfriend, Du Yalan. After his family’s massacre, she had cut all ties and found a new boyfriend, the young man standing beside her.

“Well, aren’t you hard to kill? Even after your family was wiped out, you managed to survive—impressive!” Du Yalan sneered. “What, did you come here risking your life just to see me, knowing I was getting married?”

“Too bad. We’re not from the same world. Even if you’re still alive, a wild pheasant like you could never match a golden phoenix!”

“Let me introduce you—this is my husband, Feng Junwei, eldest son of the Feng family. The Fengs are Linzhou’s rising stars, second only to the five great families!”

Jiang Chen looked at the self-important Du Yalan with a calm expression. His wife was the eldest daughter of the Chu family, one of Linzhou’s five great families, more beautiful than Du Yalan could ever hope to be. What was there to miss?

“Armani? Still trying to keep up appearances, I see. You can’t afford the real thing, so you put on a knock-off. Shall I pity you and give you a few thousand to buy a genuine one?” Du Yalan glanced at Jiang Chen’s suit with a look of disdain.

“If you don’t need your eyes, you should donate them. Looking down on others is all they’re good for—useless as trash,” came a commanding voice.

Chu Yan had just finished her call and walked over, exuding an air of authority.