Bai Mei couldn't possibly ruin her great situation just because of a child.
She barely hesitated before deciding to keep the matter a secret.
At the same time, she used her pregnancy as leverage to force Jiang Yinzhu into marriage.
Although Jiang Yinzhu had a quick change of heart, he didn't want to get married in such a hurry. He needed to cover things up a bit and put on a show for Jiang Jinzhu and the Su family.
Playing hard to get, Bai Mei suggested that perhaps she should just abort the baby first.
They could always have a child later after they got married.
When Jiang Yinzhu had Chengzhou, he was already in his thirties.
In this era, that was considered having a child late in life.
He vehemently disagreed with Bai Mei's idea of aborting the child.
And so, carrying Xiang Tao's child, Bai Mei married Jiang Yinzhu.
Over eight months into the marriage, Bai Mei "took a fall" and gave birth prematurely.
Jiang Yinzhu didn't suspect a thing, doting on Little Jiangbao as if he were his most precious treasure.
Bai Mei deliberately had him order Chengzhou to wash the diapers.
Surprisingly, Jiang Yinzhu agreed.
Bai Mei thought she had successfully covered it up and that no one else would ever find out.
But now, Su Lang had dragged it all out into the open.
Jiang Yinzhu stood rooted to the spot, his mind buzzing.
All the little details regarding Xiaobao over the years flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
Once doubt took root, the more he thought about it, the more wrong things seemed.
The premature birth, the blood type, the looks, the personality...
None of it seemed right anymore.
"So that's how it is..." Jiang Yinzhu muttered to himself, his eyes losing focus.
Bai Mei lunged forward and grabbed his arm. "Yinzhu, listen to me. Xiaobao is your son, don't listen to their nonsense!"
Jiang Yinzhu looked down at her.
The woman who had shared his bed for the past few years suddenly felt like a stranger.
"Xiaobao is my child?" His voice trembled. "Then tell me, why don't our blood types match?"
Bai Mei wasn't very educated and had no idea about blood types.
She opened her mouth. "Maybe, maybe the hospital made a mistake!"
Jiang Yinzhu stared at her. "Then let's go to the hospital and check again."
Bai Mei was left speechless.
Jiang Yinzhu violently shook off her hand.
"Bitch!"
He raised his hand to slap her across the face.
Bai Mei screamed and squeezed her eyes shut.
The hand never fell.
Su Lang had grabbed Jiang Yinzhu's wrist. "Don't hit people in my house. It dirties my floor."
Luo Hua also stepped forward. "Comrade Jiang Yinzhu, what's done is done. Talk it out properly. Resorting to violence won't solve the problem."
With bloodshot eyes, Jiang Yinzhu desperately tried to break free from Su Lang's grip.
"Let go of me! I'm going to beat this bitch to death! Su Lang, she took your sister's place, and you dare to stop me?"
Su Lang sneered and pinned him to the ground.
"Do you really think my sister cares about the position of a daughter-in-law in the Jiang family?"
Jiang Jinzhu sat on the sofa, watching the farce unfold before him.
His lips trembled, and his face was ashen.
With a fight nearly breaking out over there, no one paid much attention to him.
Suddenly, his body slumped to the side, and he collapsed straight onto the sofa.
"Old Jiang!" Xu Yueyun cried out, jumping to her feet. "Zhilan, quickly, come take a look."
Lin Zhilan hurried over.
Jiang Jinzhu had passed out against the sofa, his jaw clenched tight and his limbs stiff.
Lin Zhilan quickly laid Jiang Jinzhu flat on the sofa, unbuttoned his collar, checked his eyelids, and swiftly took his pulse.
The pulse was tight, wiry, and forceful. It was a stroke.
Not daring to delay, Lin Zhilan took out her silver needles and first pierced his Renzhong acupoint.
Then, she pricked the tips of his ten fingers to let out some blood, clearing the heat and opening the orifices.
Jiang Jinzhu slowly regained consciousness. His eyes shifted, his mouth and eyes were crooked, half of his body was paralyzed, and his speech was heavily slurred.
"Don't try to speak just yet. We won't be able to understand you anyway."
Lin Zhilan's fingers moved rapidly, inserting needles into his Fengchi, Hegu, and other acupoints.
Her movements were as smooth as flowing water.
After a few needles, Jiang Jinzhu's breathing steadied a bit.
His mouth seemed less crooked than before.
Jiang Yinzhu and Bai Mei were already scared silly.
Su Lang went outside to call a car before turning back.
"Don't pull the needles out yet, let's take him to the hospital first... Never mind, I'll go with you."
Halfway through her sentence, Lin Zhilan looked apologetically at Qian Changling and Luo Hua.
"I'm sorry, today is just..."
Luo Hua waved his hand. "It's fine, no one saw this coming. The old man's health is the most important thing. Hurry up and go, I'll come look for you later."
"Thank you for understanding." Lin Zhilan and Qian Changling nodded, hurriedly following Su Lang outside.
Seeing them leave, Jiang Yinzhu blankly followed behind.
By the time he got outside, the car had already left.
He hopped on a bicycle and chased after them.
The events of today had completely exceeded his expectations.
If something happened to his father on top of everything else, Jiang Yinzhu truly wouldn't know what to do.
Bai Mei was also panicking.
She wanted to run but had nowhere to go. After thinking it over, she realized her only option was to find Xiang Tao and discuss it with him.
Meanwhile, Su Lang and Lin Zhilan arrived at the hospital.
The emergency doctors and nurses rushed over, pausing in surprise when they saw the silver needles on Jiang Jinzhu's body.
Lin Zhilan quickly explained the condition and the measures she had already taken.
Then she helped them lift Jiang Jinzhu onto a stretcher and rush him into the emergency room.
The emergency doctors didn't understand traditional Chinese medicine, so they had no choice but to call Lin Zhilan inside.
Lin Zhilan's first aid had been timely. After the needles were removed, Jiang Jinzhu's mind was much clearer.
Aside from one side of his body being limp and weak.
His speech was also clearer than before.
"Comrade Lin, you... you have someone call Su Lang... in. If that animal is here, call him in too."
"What's the rush?" Lin Zhilan glanced at him. "You're not going to die just yet, old man."
"..."
The doctor performed a basic physical examination on Jiang Jinzhu.
It was confirmed that he was in no immediate mortal danger.
They also generally agreed with Lin Zhilan's diagnosis of a stroke caused by cerebral infarction.
Medical conditions were quite limited at the time, and for stroke patients, treatment was mostly conservative.
The emergency doctor quickly prescribed medication and had a nurse set up an IV drip.
Of course, before prescribing the medication, he had asked for Lin Zhilan's opinion.
He had no choice; she was the one who had performed the first aid.
And she had done it exceptionally well, flawlessly even.
The transfer to the hospital was also timely, not delaying his treatment at all.
Once they were certain his life wasn't in danger, the doctor had Jiang Jinzhu moved to a private ward.
Jiang Jinzhu was a veteran cadre.
He received preferential medical treatment.
Upon entering the ward, Jiang Yinzhu walked in sobbing, crying as if his father had already died.
Jiang Jinzhu scolded him, "Your father isn't dead yet, what are you wailing for?!"
"Dad..."
As Jiang Jinzhu was about to scold him again, Lin Zhilan calmly reminded him, "Calm down. I could save you once, but not necessarily a second time."
Jiang Jinzhu had suffered a cerebral infarction. If his anger caused a spike in blood pressure, it could dislodge the unstable thrombus, causing further blockages.
It could even lead to a cerebral hemorrhage, directly threatening his life.
