The crowd turned their gazes to Lu Ming, their eyes filled with mockery and disdain.
"To be humiliated by his fiancée like this, a man reaching such a state is truly pathetic."
"I'm starting to pity this grave keeper."
"That's why they say marriage is about matching social status; a grave keeper dreaming of eating swan meat, and he ended up falling to his death?"
The crowd chattered amongst themselves, not one of them held Lu Ming in high regard.
Only Jiang Lan persisted in her final efforts.
Although her heart was conflicted and tormented, reason and responsibility told her that Lu Ming absolutely could not leave!
Her grandfather had asked Lu Ming to protect the Jiang family.
And Lu Ming had performed admirably.
If Lu Ming left, who would protect the Jiang family? The Jiang family would be ruined!
Most importantly—
In fact, the seed of love in Jiang Lan's heart had silently taken root and blossomed. She didn't want Lu Ming to leave.
This forbidden affection could not be spoken,
but just seeing Lu Ming every day, being able to exchange a few words, made Jiang Lan happy.
Therefore, whether it was out of a sense of responsibility to the family or out of her own personal affection, she had to argue vehemently and absolutely could not let Lu Ming leave.
Jiang Lan choked out, "Sister, you can't do something foolish! Cheng Hai is not as simple as you think. He's acting, he's sowing discord, he wants to ruin the Jiang family!"
Cheng Hai smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Mengxin, you truly don't need to sacrifice so much for me. I don't deserve it."
The more he said this, the less Jiang Mengxin listened.
Jiang Mengxin said to Jiang Lan, "Little sister, I really don't understand why you've always had such a prejudice against Senior Brother. What heinous crime has Senior Brother committed to endure such unjust accusations?"
Jiang Lan was on the verge of tears.
Her sister had been poisoned by Cheng Hai, too deeply.
Jiang Lan said, "Sis, it's you who has too deep a prejudice against Lu Ming! In the past month, how much has Lu Ming done for the Jiang family, can't you see it? If you lose him, the Jiang family will be ruined!"
"Heh heh." Jiang Mengxin let out two cold laughs. "Has he done anything for the Jiang family? He's just a leech clinging to the Jiang family! Without him, the Jiang family will only become healthier and more prosperous!"
The sisters' attitudes were diametrically opposed.
The people around were confused.
Qin Tong asked, "General, why is Jiang Lan still speaking up for a mere grave keeper?"
Murong Shuang said, "Because she has a brain. Lu Ming, while useless, poses no threat to the Jiang family. Keeping him around is fine. Cheng Hai is different. Behind Cheng Hai is that hideous scarred man, and they intend to destroy the Jiang family. A useless nobody, or a dangerous individual who will ruin the Jiang family – if it were you, who would you choose to keep?"
Qin Tong seemed to understand. "Then we really should keep Lu Ming."
Regardless of what others said, Jiang Mengxin had made her decision.
She wanted to keep Cheng Hai!
Jiang Mengxin looked coldly at Lu Ming and said, "You and I merely had an engagement, we never registered our marriage, so I still have the freedom to choose my partner."
Lu Ming nodded. "No matter what decision you make, I only hope you won't regret it in the future."
Jiang Mengxin said proudly, "No regrets, I will never regret it!"
Lu Ming said, "Very well, then I respect your decision. Jiang Mengxin, our engagement is hereby nullified. From today onwards, I, Lu Ming, have no further ties with the Jiang family. The road ahead is long, perhaps we'll meet again if fate allows."
With that.
Lu Ming tightened his tie, brushed off his sleeves, and turned, striding away.
"Mentor, I am sorry."
"I cannot fulfill your dying wish and continue to protect the Jiang family."
"It's not that I don't want to protect them, but the Jiang family will not let me protect them."
"I hope you can know this in the afterlife and not blame your disciple."
Watching Lu Ming's receding back, Jiang Lan could no longer suppress her emotions and burst into tears. At that moment, she felt as if the sky had fallen.
...
After such an awkward incident, Jiang Mengxin and the others felt it inappropriate to stay any longer and drove straight home.
Jiang Mengxin went with Cheng Hai.
Jiang Lan refused to share a car with them and took a taxi home herself.
As soon as she arrived home, Jiang Mengxin saw that the house was filled with people. Besides her parents, even her grandmother Cao Chunhui, her uncle Jiang Anzhi, and her cousin Jiang Yang were all present.
Someone had already informed the family about the events at the banquet. Upon receiving the news, Cao Chunhui and the others had rushed over immediately.
Seeing Jiang Mengxin and Cheng Hai hand in hand, everyone understood.
"It seems the rumors were true," Cao Chunhui said.
With a thud, Jiang Mengxin knelt before Cao Chunhui and sobbed, "Grandmother, I'm sorry. I went against grandfather's will and disgraced the Jiang family. You can punish me however you wish, even strip me of my CEO position, your granddaughter will have no complaints!"
She had expected Cao Chunhui to be furious and use this opportunity to dismiss Jiang Mengxin.
However!
To everyone's surprise, Cao Chunhui not only wasn't angry but burst into laughter.
She said happily, "Good granddaughter, you did well, very well! You've done a tremendous favor for the Jiang family. Grandma will reward you, not blame you!"
Huh?
Everyone was stunned.
Cao Chunhui explained, "Taking Lu Ming as a son-in-law was the biggest mistake that old man made in his life! Think about it, in the little over a month Lu Ming has been here, how much trouble has he brought to our Jiang family? The Tian Long people, the Qun Hui Lu incident, weren't they all caused by this fellow's meddling? That the Jiang family has managed to hold on until now is already a testament to their resilience!"
She paused and continued, "Therefore, I've wanted to get rid of Lu Ming for a long time. It was just difficult due to the old man's will. It's you, Mengxin, who was brave and resolutely drove away that grave keeper! In this regard, you have more backbone and courage than your grandmother."
Everyone nodded in agreement and applauded Jiang Mengxin.
It was evident that everyone in the Jiang family hated Lu Ming to death.
Cao Chunhui had been forced by Lu Ming to apologize to Jiang Mengxin last time, and since then, she hadn't been able to eat or sleep properly, hating him to death.
As for Jiang Anzhi.
Every time they met, Lu Ming would reprimand him, always calling him 'good grandson'. He had the heart to kill Lu Ming.
Getting rid of Lu Ming was what everyone wished for.
Xu Qin clapped her hands in joy. "Today is truly a double celebration. The first good thing is that we've gotten rid of that trash, Lu Ming. The second good thing is that my daughter has found a suitable husband! This is truly worth celebrating."
Cao Chunhui was also very pleased with Cheng Hai.
She sized up Cheng Hai from head to toe and said, "He's quite handsome. At such a young age, starting from scratch, he's managed to build a well-established listed company. This young man is very capable. The Jiang family is fortunate to have such a talent. The future is promising, a blessing for the family!"
Cheng Hai said, "Grandmother, you flatter me. I will strive even harder in the future and achieve even greater results to repay your expectations."
He said these words, but in his heart, he thought differently.
Driving away Lu Ming and successfully infiltrating the Jiang family was the first step of his plan!
Next was the moment to annihilate the Jiang family.
The Jiang family's doomsday was not far off.