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“Miss, the people from the Jiang Family are here!” Xiao Xi always paid attention to the movements of the Jiang family members and hurriedly reported their arrival.

Su Wenyue had already gotten up and groomed herself by this time. Hearing Xiao Xi say that the Jiang family members had come, she remained calm and seated, which in Xiao Xi’s eyes, appeared too composed.

“Han Yu’s wife, come out here, you heartless woman! What has our Chunlan ever done to you? It was bad enough that you stole her ‘husband’, but now you’ve also left her in such a state. If you don’t give us an explanation, don’t blame us for being rude!” Yang Juxiang shouted from outside, feeling very confident with so many people backing her up, she bellowed her accusations.

“Xiao Xi, go see which shameless woman outside is making those ghastly noises,” Su Wenyue said, her voice not very loud, but just enough for the people outside to hear.

Mrs. Yang was already irritable and got even more agitated after hearing Su Wenyue’s remark: “Su Wenyue, what did you say? How dare you call me a shameless woman? After all, I am one of your elders, you ungrateful thing. Don’t you have any respect for your elders?”

By this time, Xiao Xi had already opened the door, and there stood Su Wenyue, face to face with the Jiang family members.

“Oh, it’s Auntie! I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t realize it was you. The shouting outside sounded just like the senseless rantings of those shameless women in the village. Having lived in the Han Family for some time, I do know Auntie quite well. You always talk reasonably and I couldn’t associate you with those women just by the yelling, so I didn’t recognize your voice. Please, don’t take offense!” Su Wenyue said with a light chuckle, her explanation clearly a jab at Yang Juxiang’s nerves, making her face grow even uglier.

She was obviously being mocked. If Yang Juxiang couldn’t recognize that, she might as well be dead. She glared hatefully at Su Wenyue but couldn’t find any words to rebut. Su Wenyue was too cunning and deceitful, plus her sophisticated manner was something Yang Juxiang just couldn’t handle as a woman from the countryside.

“What’s wrong, Auntie? You don’t look too well. Have you not been resting properly these past few days? That’s understandable though, considering the shame and worry Cousin Chunlan’s actions must be causing her family. No wonder you can’t sleep well. After all, a girl as bold and careless about her reputation as Cousin Chunlan is quite rare to see. But Auntie, you must take care of your health and not let Cousin Chunlan’s situation make you ill; that would be too much of a loss!”

Su Wenyue’s words were ostensibly comforting, but Mrs. Yang was beyond annoyed; she felt as if her heart and lungs were aching with rage. She came to seek justice for her daughter, expecting Su Wenyue to show weakness or even shirk responsibility, having braced herself for any response. But Su Wenyue didn’t follow the expected script, even boldly mentioning Chunlan’s issue without showing any signs of guilt.

Not only Yang Juxiang but also the Jiang family members who accompanied her felt infuriated by Su Wenyue’s ‘arrogance’. Among them were Chunlan’s elder brother and sister-in-law, who normally didn’t care much for their relative. However, Chunlan was a member of the Jiang Family, and feeling protective was a natural response; Su Wenyue’s attitude felt like a slap to the entire Jiang Family’s face, inflaming their anger.

Xiao Xi hadn’t foreseen her mistress’s impressive performance. She thought they would only respond to the Jiang family bringing up Chunlan. Yet, her mistress took the initiative to do so herself, leaving the Jiang family speechless with her words. The maid found herself even more in awe of her mistress, but also knew that she had gravely offended the Jiang family. To be cautious in case the Jiangs lashed out, Xiao Xi was even more vigilant in protecting Su Wenyue.

“Su Wenyue, don’t push us too far. I know my daughter better than anyone, and she’s not the type of person you describe. You must have set a trap for my Chunlan. Don’t think you can absolve yourself with just a few words. We’ve come to your doorstep today, and you won’t be able to send us away so easily!” Mrs. Yang declared.

“Oh? And what do you propose?” Su Wenyue raised her eyebrows.

“Considering we’re relatives, I’ll overlook the things you’ve done. Just go to the county magistrate and tell him to release Chunlan, and then compensate us with fifty taels of silver. Let’s put this matter to rest, we can forgive and forget. Otherwise, don’t think the Jiang family is so easily bullied,” Yang Juxiang stated, her head held high, as if she was doing Su Wenyue a favor.

Su Wenyue wasn’t surprised at all. She had expected the Jiang family to come with such a grand gesture, leaving their farm work behind. Naturally, they wouldn’t come just on behalf of Chunlan. They were here to take advantage of the situation, demanding fifty taels of silver with quite the appetite. Even wealthy village families might not earn five taels of silver in a year.

Xiao Xi was infuriated by the Jiang family’s brazenness. It was Chunlan who was at fault, yet the Jiang family had the gall to demand benefits, the likes of which she’d never seen or heard of before.

“Fifty taels of silver? Do you even know how much that is, to make such a brazen demand? I bet you haven’t seen that much silver in your entire lives!” Xiao Xi snorted disdainfully.

Mrs. Yang simply thought that since Su Wenyue was the daughter of the Su Family, she would have excessive wealth, and therefore she shouldn’t ask for less. Of course, a wealthy family’s daughter wouldn’t care about a bit of silver, so she casually demanded fifty taels. Even if Su Wenyue disagreed, they could still haggle down to thirty taels. Hearing Xiao Xi’s response made her a bit guilty, but she couldn’t show weakness.

“You little wench, your mistress hasn’t even spoken yet, and you dares to be so insolent! What’s wrong with demanding fifty taels? My beautiful daughter was sent to the county government by you, and you’ve ruined her life. Isn’t she worth fifty taels?” she retorted.

“Of course not. Buying a decent servant girl only costs about ten taels. Your daughter from the countryside, lacking in both appearance and brains, would at the most fetch seven or eight taels. Even selling your entire family might not get you that much money. You really think too highly of yourselves,” Xiao Xi was merciless with her words.

“Damn it, listen to how she talks! You dead little girl, daring to be so arrogant in front of so many of us. Mother, there’s no use arguing with them. Let’s just beat them till they fall in line,” Han Hu, the Jiang family’s rough and hot-tempered oldest child, who had been listening in impatience, proposed a straightforward solution.

The Jiang family members, already upset after being ridiculed by Su Wenyue and her maidservant, felt the eldest’s suggestion made sense. Each of them was eager to try as they faced two unarmed weak women, and even the Jiang family’s daughters-in-law felt confident they could overpower them.

Seeing their intention to get physical, Xiao Xi stepped in front of Su Wenyue, her disdain for the shamelessness of the Jiang family growing even stronger.

At that moment, Han Hu and Han Quan, hearing that the Jiang family members had come to cause trouble, had also rushed back from the fields, arriving to find a large group of Jiang family members crowding around the fourth child’s house.