Seeing that Zhang Susu's five older brothers were really going to forcefully cut off his finger, Jiang Yangxu had no other choice. After asking his wife, Qin Yulian, to call the family doctor over, he picked up the blunt knife next to him, aimed it at his pinky finger, gritted his teeth, and slashed down hard.
"Hiss..."
Because the knife was so blunt, Jiang Yangxu's first cut didn't go very deep at all; it merely broke the skin and flesh.
Even so, the pain was so excruciating that he gasped sharply, almost fainting, and the hand holding the knife loosened its grip.
Qin Yulian couldn't bear to watch anymore. With tears in her eyes, she shook her head and said, "Yangxu, don't cut it anymore..."
Old Madam Zhang sneered, "If he won't cut it, then you can do it for him! You are husband and wife, birds of a feather, you can share the burden of hardship together!"
Hearing this, Qin Yulian instantly choked up. She looked at the blunt knife in her husband's hand, unable to imagine how much it would hurt to cut her own hand.
She loved her husband and hated seeing him in such agony, but she didn't have the courage to take his place and suffer this torment!
Jiang Xing originally wanted to step forward and offer to cut off his own finger in his father's place, but when he tried to lift his leg, he remembered that one of his legs was already crippled.
If he lost another finger, his body would truly be ruined beyond repair!
He ultimately dismissed the thought.
Qin Yulian suddenly thought of something. She looked up at Jiang Yonghe, who had been standing silently next to Jiang Xing, and asked with urgent eyes, "Yonghe, how about you cut off a finger in your dad's place?"
Jiang Yonghe's body instantly stiffened. If it weren't for the mask covering her face, everyone present would have seen just how incredibly awful her expression was right now.
How about it?
What did she mean, how about it?
Did this old woman even know what she was saying?! She actually wanted her to take Jiang Yangxu's place and cut off one of her fingers!
Jiang Youli scoffed but remained silent. It was just cutting off one of Jiang Yangxu's fingers, yet their family was already falling apart so quickly.
How ridiculous.
Qi An'an couldn't help but complain: "Damn, didn't I hear that you guys dote on your adopted daughter Jiang Yonghe? Otherwise, you wouldn't have abandoned your biological daughter for her! Now it's just asking for one of your husband's fingers, why do you want your adopted daughter Jiang Yonghe to take his place? Jiang Yonghe is so young, while your husband is already a middle-aged old man. Letting the young suffer for the old doesn't seem like a good deal no matter how you look at it!"
Jiang Youli burst into laughter and commented, "Those words are definitely aggravating enough."
Qi Huan also smiled and said, "An'an, if you know how to talk, say a bit more."
"No problem! Brother Huan!" Qi An'an proudly made an OK gesture. Her purpose here was to help her cousin-in-law aggravate Jiang Yangxu's family, so of course she had to prove her worth!
Qin Yulian, with tears in her eyes, glared fiercely at Qi An'an. "Our family matters do not need your commentary!"
Qi An'an said shamelessly, "So what if I comment? It's none of your business."
Qin Yulian was so angry that her chest felt tight.
Seeing that Jiang Yonghe didn't respond, Qin Yulian ignored Qi An'an and continued urgently, "Yonghe, your dad and I have raised you for so long, isn't it time you repaid your dad? It's just one finger, it won't affect you much..."
Crazy!
What did she mean 'it's just one finger, it won't affect you much'!
For a young and beautiful girl like her, the impact would be huge!
Unlike Jiang Yangxu, a middle-aged old man, losing a finger really wouldn't affect him much!
At this moment, Jiang Yonghe struggled with whether she should use her usual tactic of retreating to advance in order to win their pity. She was worried that if she actually volunteered to take her adoptive father Jiang Yangxu's place and cut her own finger, Jiang Yangxu might actually agree to it, and then she would have no room for regret.
She forced a smile, "Mom, I..."
Before Jiang Yonghe could finish, Jiang Xing said, "Mom, Little He is already miserable enough. Because of the poison in her body, her ruined appearance hasn't even recovered yet. How can you bear to let her suffer the pain of a severed finger..."
Hearing Jiang Xing speak up for her, Jiang Yonghe secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Qin Yulian hadn't expected her eldest son to side with their adopted daughter Jiang Yonghe on this matter. She said in disbelief, "Xing'er, then you have the heart to let your dad suffer?"
Jiang Xing was rendered speechless.
He genuinely felt that letting his adopted sister take the fall wasn't worth it!
Terrified that she would really be forced to cut off one of her fingers for Jiang Yangxu, Jiang Yonghe could only take a gamble. Thus, she spoke up, "Mom, I can exchange one of my fingers for Dad, but... Old Madam Zhang and the others probably won't accept it..."
Saying this, she looked at Old Master Zhang, Old Madam Zhang, and their five sons, hoping they only wanted to seek revenge on the person who truly kidnapped Zhang Susu, rather than wasting their energy on her.
Old Madam Zhang looked at her daughter Zhang Susu, asking for her thoughts.
Zhang Susu then looked at Jiang Youli to ask for her opinion.
Jiang Youli shook her head. She didn't plan on letting Jiang Yonghe take the punishment for Jiang Yangxu. Dealing with Jiang Yonghe could wait until Jiang Zhao woke up.
Once they learned of Jiang Yonghe's true colors from Jiang Zhao, Jiang Yangxu's family would definitely regret their original choice deeply. They would certainly blame today's situation on Jiang Yonghe, and then, out of anger, they would deal with Jiang Yonghe themselves for causing their current predicament.
When that time came, I'm afraid Jiang Yonghe would suffer far more than just losing a single finger.
Old Madam Zhang understood the implication and refused directly, "That's right, we want the finger of either you or your husband. Don't even think about letting an adopted daughter take your place! Her finger won't satisfy our hatred!"
"Stop dawdling. If you don't cut off the finger soon, we brothers will do it for you!" the eldest of the Zhang family, Zhang Jingwei, urged impatiently.
The second brother, Zhang Jingzhi, also said, "Hurry up! We don't have the patience to watch you bite each other like dogs here! If you want to bite, wait until we leave and do it yourselves!"
Left with no choice, Qin Yulian looked at her husband with heartache and stopped talking.
Jiang Yangxu no longer had the courage to do it himself, so he held out the knife toward his son. "Jiang Xing, help me cut it."
Jiang Xing froze for a moment. After snapping back to reality, he stepped forward and hesitantly took the bloodstained knife. Aiming at the spot that had already been sliced open, he hesitated for a long time. Finally, under the constant urging of the Zhang family, he steeled his heart and slashed down.
Qin Yulian turned her face away, unable to bear watching the scene.
However, because the knife was simply too blunt, this strike still failed to sever Jiang Yangxu's finger, and Jiang Yangxu was already in so much pain that his face was twisted, covered in cold sweat.
Qi An'an said in disgust, "Oh my, are you two grown men capable or not? You don't even have the strength to cut off a finger!"
Unable to help, Qin Yulian could only roar in anger, "Can you just shut up!"
Qi An'an shook her head, "No, you can't control me anyway."
Qin Yulian trembled with rage.
At this moment, Jiang Youli suggested, "If you really can't cut it off, then just smash it with something."
Qi Huan praised, "Little Li'er is so considerate!"
Jiang Youli mocked with a wicked smile, "Of course, he is my second uncle, after all."
Is this being considerate?! This is clearly gloating! Qin Yulian's chest felt tighter and tighter, but she truly couldn't do anything about Qi An'an right now, let alone handle Qi Huan and Jiang Youli. She had no choice but to swallow her anger.
Jiang Xing could no longer bear to see his father in such agony. Following Jiang Youli's advice, he turned back to find a small hammer in the drawer of the TV cabinet. Taking a deep breath, he brought it down hard right onto the knife.
"Ahhh!"
A shriek filled with endless fear and agony echoed through the entire living room.
With a crisp crunch, Jiang Yangxu's little finger was brutally severed from his hand, accompanied by his heart-wrenching, agonizing screams.
Blood instantly gushed out, staining the tabletop red.
