Jinqiao felt a little awkward. She followed beside An Xin, stealing glances at the man. In her entire life, she had never seen such an outstanding person. Even her Fu Lin was nowhere near a tenth as good as the man before her. Some people seem to be born with extraordinary favor from heaven, so much so that they inspire envy.
An Xin's cooking skills are mediocre. She spends most of her time alone and learned to cook at a young age, but someone with low emotional intelligence like her doesn't seem to have much of an understanding of cooking either. Even though she has been learning to cook on her own for many years, she has only managed to make the food more palatable than unpalatable.
Thinking about the meager meals her family had, Anxin wanted to take this opportunity to improve her parents' diet, so that buying something might not seem so out of place.
When buying fish, the man wanted an extremely expensive one. Jinqiao timidly asked if it could be cheaper, but the man firmly said no.
An Xin pushed Yan Zhen forward and said, "Bargain with him."
Yan Zhen paused for a moment and said, "I don't know how..." For the Right Chancellor, negotiating prices is much more difficult than handling national affairs.
An Xin earnestly advised from the side, "Tell him to give you a discount."
The pampered Prime Minister, who had been spoiled since childhood, stared stiffly at the man and said in a commanding tone, "Make it cheaper!"
The man tossed the big fish around and said, "You can have this for free!"
An Xin's lips twitched, thinking to herself: Your mother is the idiot!
Jinqiao was dumbfounded.
The Right Prime Minister clearly lacked confidence in his bargaining skills; it wasn't as difficult as he'd imagined. Half-concealing his face, he watched as An Xin confidently caught the fish and tossed it into the bamboo basket, and unconsciously waved his fan, asking, "Is there anything else you need?"
An Xin said, "Chicken, meat, eggs, vegetables...you buy them."
"I'll buy it?" she asked, surprised.
"save money!"
"..."
Chapter Twenty-Four: Sparring
Shen Zhuo followed from a distance as if he had seen a ghost. The Right Prime Minister, who was used to being waited on hand and foot, was actually following a poor girl and haggling with people in the market!
If this matter were to reach the imperial court, people would laugh their heads off!
My lord, my lord, where is your temper?
Tell me, who in the world, upon hearing the name of the Right Chancellor, would not tremble with fear? Who would not be terrified? Who would not bow down and fawn upon him?
Even the usually composed Shen Zhuo could no longer remain calm!
Even if you can't stay calm, you have to stay calm!
Anxin bought a lot of things, and her bamboo basket gradually became heavy. Jinqiao kept offering to help Anxin carry the load, but Anxin refused. This weight was nothing to her. When she used to practice karate, she used to run back and forth with ten-pound sandbags tied to her legs, which was much heavier than this.
Yan Zhen stopped, then glanced back. Immediately, a servant rushed over, snatched An Xin's bamboo basket, but An Xin grabbed his wrist and shouted, "What are you doing?!"
The man grimaced in pain and said, "I'll carry you..." What a load of rubbish!
“My people,” Yan Zhen said.
An Xin glanced at him before tossing the bamboo basket to the servant and looking at Yan Zhen, saying, "Your person's identity is not simple."
Yan Zhen raised an eyebrow slightly: "What do you mean?"
An Xin said, "He's just a servant, yet he managed to slightly shift the pressure point on my wrist the instant I grabbed it. His skill is extraordinary!" Such a master is willing to be his servant, so how could this person's identity be simple!?
Furthermore, the sudden appearance of Xu Huai'an's double during the investigation of Shui Yue Rou's case deepened her suspicions.
Could the person before me be one of the Right Chancellor's men?! Or is he actually the Right Chancellor himself?!
If it were the Right Chancellor himself, An Youwei would surely recognize him, and his identity would be exposed without a doubt. If that were the case, should she consider putting rat poison in his bowl?
An Xin's mind raced with thoughts, but her gaze remained calm and serene as she stared at his composed expression.
"His name is Groundhog. He's short, agile, and quite skilled. He's served my family for generations," he admitted with a smile, making An Xin seem overly suspicious.
An Xin raised an eyebrow and said, "Such a master, yet you only call him 'not bad'? Then your skills must be quite impressive?"
He paused with his folding fan, then glanced at her with a smile: "Why don't we have a little sparring session?"
An Xin smiled kindly, then suddenly made a move. It was just a feint; the next moment, her foot suddenly shot out with tremendous force, aiming mercilessly at his face. The powerful kick could have shattered everything in sight, but just as it reached his face, he nimbly grabbed her ankle and said softly, "How can you enter my arms in this position?"
An Xin suddenly lowered her stance, raised her hand to throw a punch, but it was aimed directly at his beautiful nose. Just as it was about to reach his face, he grabbed it, pressed it down gently, and pulled her into his arms: "That's a good girl."
"Bang!"
"Hiss—" This long gasp came from Chen Zhuo, who was extremely far away. What had he just seen?! He suddenly felt a sharp pain somewhere inside him...
"Ouch—" It was the burrowing rat who cried out in pain, clutching a certain spot below, his large front teeth gleaming in the sunlight. Yan Zhen casually pushed him away, but his face remained as serene as a smile that never faded, saying, "Be gentler next time you kick me."
An Xin took a step back, covering the back of her head with her hands, as if the force of the push hadn't come from her own leg at all, and said lazily, "Next time, dodge slower."
Jinqiao was already frozen in shock. Just thinking about An Xin's move made her blush, and she hadn't even seen how the man dodged it.
When they arrived at Huanan Village, An Xin stopped and pulled Jin Qiao aside, saying, "Let's have dinner together."
Jinqiao declined apologetically, saying, "No, Xin'er, I have other things to do."
“Let’s eat together.” An Xin pursed her lips, but the words she uttered were firm. She simply wanted her to know that there were still people in this world who cared about her, even though An Xin was really not good at caring for people.
Jinqiao paused for a moment, then nodded.
****
An Xiaoyue's eyes widened. Was this bruised and swollen man really her brother, An Daming?! Although she knew her brother was usually a troublemaker, he had never been beaten up like this before!?
An Daming spat and gritted his teeth, saying, "It's all because of that little bitch An Xin!"
An Xiaoyue's expression changed drastically: "An Xin!? Brother, how could you let her hit you!?" Remembering how An Xin had single-handedly fought off four men from the village, An Xiaoyue was horrified. When did she learn kung fu?! And now she wasn't even sparing her own brother!?
"Da Ming, how did you get beaten up like this?!" Liu Yuemei rushed over and cried out in alarm. This was her most beloved son, whom she had never dared to touch since he was a child. How could she not be anxious when she found him beaten up like this?
An Xiaoyue frowned. She always had complicated feelings towards An Xin. Shouldn't a down-on-her-luck abandoned woman be ridiculed to the point of being afraid to go out? She was no longer a rich lady, but a peasant woman through and through. She even fantasized that when An Xin was bullied, she would stand up and say a word of justice in her defense.
But An Xin showed no remorse for being abandoned; instead of restraining herself, she became even more arrogant and domineering!
How can anyone tolerate this?!
"Mother, it's all because An Xin, relying on her martial arts skills, beat up my older brother without even asking what happened! She went too far!" An Xiaoyue said with mixed feelings.
Liu Yuemei immediately shrieked, "It's that bitch An Xin again! I'm going to settle the score with her!"
An Xiaoyue hurriedly grabbed Liu Yuemei and said, "Mother, she knows kung fu now, you'll only suffer if you go!"
Liu Yuemei felt sorry for An Daming and couldn't help but scold An Xin. An Xiaoyue pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Mother, I have a way to get justice for my elder brother..."
Liu Yuemei was taken aback and looked at her, asking, "What method?"
An Xiaoyue blinked, then leaned close to Liu Yuemei's ear and whispered a few words. The resentment on Liu Yuemei's face gradually turned into a sneer: "It's time to teach this little bitch a lesson. Does she really think she's still the young mistress of the Ling family?!"
Chapter Twenty-Five: Extortion
An Youwei spread out the wet firewood. He had accidentally fallen into the water on his way back from chopping firewood. His few acres of barren land were still not enough to produce rice and flour, and he could only barely make ends meet by selling firewood for a few coins. Now that the firewood was wet, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to sell it tomorrow.
Thinking of this, An Youwei's wrinkles deepened even further.
Xu Ruolan comforted her from the side, saying, "It can still be used after drying in the sun. But your foot is injured, so you should rest for a while."
An Youwei remained silent and continued drying the food.
"I can't live like this anymore! You can't extort money like this!" A loud cry came from outside the door. Xu Ruolan was startled and stood up. Luzhu hurriedly went forward to help her.
An Youwei then stopped and limped over to look outside the door.
They were surprised to see Liu Yuemei sitting outside the door, crying and wailing. An Youwei and Xu Ruolan hurriedly went outside.
"My son Daming has always been sensible, I never thought he would be beaten like this! God, I don't want to live anymore!"
There are rarely any exciting events in the village, but whenever there is, every household will flock out to watch. When everyone saw An Daming standing to the side with a bruised and swollen face, they all gasped in shock.
Wang Yi, who was passing by, hurriedly squeezed through and looked at An Daming in surprise, asking, "How did you get beaten up like this? Who did it?"
Liu Yuemei burst into tears: "I want to find the village chief to judge this! What did my son Daming do to deserve this? His beautiful face has been slapped like this! Is there no law in this world?!"
An Youwei also realized the seriousness of the problem, and limped forward to say, "Sister-in-law, who beat up Daming? Tell us so we can ask him to judge the matter."
Liu Yuemei cried even more miserably, while An Xiaoyue stood to the side wiping away her tears and said, "Uncle, why don't you ask my brother instead..."
An Youwei was taken aback and looked at An Daming.
An Daming snorted and said, "Isn't it all because of your divorced daughter!"
Upon hearing this, everyone was astonished.
An Youwei asked incredulously, "You said...you said it was Xin'er?"
Dewdrop's face changed instantly. As soon as she saw An Daming, she knew something was wrong. Logically speaking, it had been several days since Miss had beaten An Daming, so there was no reason why his face was still so swollen!
Dewdrop took a small step back, and then, taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, quietly ran outside. She wanted to find her mistress as soon as possible and ask her to hide.
Xu Ruolan trembled slightly: "Sister-in-law, Xin'er... how can Xin'er possibly defeat the Ming Dynasty?"
Liu Yuemei shrieked, "Everyone saw it that day! That girl knows kung fu! My Da Ming is completely weak, and she's using her kung fu skills to extort money from us!"
The crowd immediately began to murmur amongst themselves. After all, everyone had been there when An Xin made her move that day, and that girl had intimidated even with her mere presence. What else wouldn't she dare to do?
She's been divorced but she's still so arrogant... What a disgrace!
The villagers looked at An Youwei with a mixture of schadenfreude, mockery, and disdain.
Does he really think he's still an official? Allowing his daughter to bully innocent people like this, does he want to become a local tyrant?!
Xu Ruolan's face paled, and she couldn't help but take a step back.
Liu Yuemei shouted in a shrill voice, "Da Ming has been beaten like this, An Youwei, if you don't give me an explanation, I'm not done with you!"
An Daming seized the opportunity and said, "Yes, Uncle, you were once an official and must have amassed quite a bit of money, right? Give me a hundred or eighty taels as compensation, and I won't hold this against you."
One hundred and eighty taels!?