The bone marrow transplant surgery was a great success, and Jiang Tianbao was cured of leukemia.
Jiang Jianguo and Zhang Lian were overjoyed. They thought that although they didn't manage to take advantage of Jiang Ling, that little shrew, this time, their ancestors had blessed them, and Tianbao was cured.
However, they never imagined that Jiang Tianbao's recovery would be the beginning of their family's nightmare.
A few years later, Zhang Lian, after much deliberation, chose a daughter-in-law for Jiang Tianbao whose physique seemed well-suited for childbearing.
Who would have thought that this daughter-in-law would turn out to be a modern-day "Xia Jingui"? She had the allure of a courtesan but the temperament of a tempest. She treated herself as a bodhisattva while viewing others as broken tiles and mud.
As soon as she married into the family, she revealed her true colors within days, turning the Jiang household into a scene of chaos and unrest.
Jiang Jianguo and Zhang Lian had desperately tried to have more sons, even abandoning Jiang Ling, all for the sake of having someone to support them in their old age. Little did they know that their son, after marrying, would forget his parents.
Even more critically, Jiang Tianbao had a masochistic streak in his genes. Once his wife discovered it, the more she abused him, the more comfortable he became. Being hit by her felt better than being kissed.
Jiang Jianguo and Zhang Lian, unable to bear it, insisted that Jiang Tianbao divorce his wife. However, Jiang Tianbao refused to agree, stating that he would not live without her. This infuriated the old couple.
After several years of marriage, the daughter-in-law had not conceived. When she finally became pregnant, she gave birth to a girl.
After this birth, the daughter-in-law suffered greatly and vowed never to give birth again.
Jiang Jianguo and Zhang Lian could not agree, demanding that their daughter-in-law must have more children, a third, a fifth, until they had a grandson.
The daughter-in-law, not one to be spoiled, lost her temper and slapped Zhang Lian.
Zhang Lian was filled with anger and resentment, feeling wronged. She complained to everyone she met that her daughter-in-law was unfilial.
Upon hearing this, the daughter-in-law, in front of neighbors and friends, pointed at Zhang Lian's nose and scolded her furiously, "So what if I gave birth to a daughter? The law states that men and women are equal, so why are girls considered inferior? Weren't you also born to a woman? If you don't respect yourself, you expect others to be the same as you? Bah!"
A mouthful of phlegm-filled spit landed directly on Zhang Lian's face, yet no one sympathized with her.
This was because, after the incident with Jiang Ling, almost the entire country knew how severely the village favored males over females. This had caused young people working outside to be afraid to reveal they were from this village, and no one from neighboring villages dared to arrange marriages.
The villagers hated Jiang Jianguo and Zhang Lian with a passion, resenting them for tarnishing the village's reputation. Naturally, they would not side with Zhang Lian.
As the saying goes, evil is best punished by the wicked. This pair of black-hearted, misogynistic couple deserved to be dealt with by a wicked daughter-in-law.
The villagers sided with the daughter-in-law, accusing Zhang Lian, the mother-in-law, of favoring sons, which was why she even disowned her own daughter.
Zhang Lian lost all face and dignity, wishing for death. However, she was unwilling to let the Jiang family's lineage die out.
Jiang Jianguo was also consumed by his obsession with having male heirs, clinging to life to argue with his daughter-in-law, insisting she give birth to a grandson.
The daughter-in-law, however, remained steadfast in her refusal. No matter how much they nagged, she would not conceive, insisting she only wanted one daughter.
In the past, at the Jiang family, sons were treasured like pearls and jade, while daughters were as worthless as weeds.
Now, the daughter-in-law who married in, however, disregarded the old Jiang family traditions.
She doted on and cherished her beloved daughter fiercely, treating her as if she would fly away if held too loosely and melt if held too tightly, as if to make up for all the suffering generations of Jiang women had endured.