My younger brother, Jiang Youfu, had just arrived in this world not long ago. As to what exactly incensed her, my memory fails to grasp clearly now, I only remember being forcibly plunged into the icy water vat, with the flame of life nearly extinguished. It was thanks to my elder brother's timely arrival that he pulled me back from the brink of death—he too was just a child of seven or eight years at the time. For that, he suffered considerable punishment; the lash marks on his body are faintly visible to this day..."
The voice of Jiang Ziling took on a slightly deeper tone as he continued, "From that moment on, an indelible fear of her was born in me, and from then on, my elder brother dared not leave me alone at home ever again. No matter where we went, he would tightly hold my hand."
