“Don’t recognize you? We do recognize you though. Isn’t that the ‘Spicy Beauty’ they’re talking about? Tsk, your face is a bit dark, but it’s not bad!” one of the men, who had a lewd appearance, said to Jiang Ling.

"Gentlemen, if you're here for a meal, you're welcome. If not, I'm sorry, I can't chat with you!" Jiang Ling said, trying to appear calm as she prepared to set out the vegetables.

"Oh ho, you've got a sharp tongue. Alright, everyone's watching. It's not like it's a good thing for the two of us to bully a weak woman like you. So I'll get straight to the point! This place is guarded by my brother and me. If you do business here, you have to give us kickbacks! I see your business is doing quite well. I don't ask for much, just one or two taels of silver a month will do!" The lewd-looking man said, stretching his palm out in front of Jiang Ling.

"Oh? This is your jurisdiction? I'd like to ask you two what evidence you have? Like a land deed or official documents?" Jiang Ling stopped what she was doing and looked at them.

"Little girl, don't be so stubborn! Don't think I won't hit you just because you're a woman!" The man, who had been holding out his hand, immediately clenched it into a fist and threatened Jiang Ling.

"Stop! What are you doing! Who gave you permission to bully my mother!" Jiang Yaojie, who had just returned from delivering goods, sensed something was wrong when he saw the crowd gathered there and immediately pushed through the crowd and ran in.

When he saw two burly men threatening Jiang Ling, he disregarded the danger and stood in front of Jiang Ling.

"Yaojie! Go to Uncle Lu's!" Jiang Ling whispered anxiously, worried that Jiang Yaojie might get hurt.

"No! I must protect my mother!" Jiang Yaojie shook his head stubbornly, glaring angrily at the two men in front of him.

"Heh! You little brat, you've got a tough mouth! Well then, I'll show you whether my fist is tougher or your mouth is tougher!" With a wicked grin, he swung his fist at Jiang Yaojie.

In that instant, Jiang Ling even heard the sound of a fist slicing through the air. He grabbed Jiang Yaojie and instinctively shielded him with his body. The fist struck his back with a dull thud, and Jiang Ling felt a heart-wrenching pain in his back. If Jiang Ling hadn't been able to move, he probably would have felt that his spine had been broken by the man.

"Mother!" Jiang Yaojie shouted to Jiang Lingdi.

Despite the pain, Jiang Ling comforted her, "It's alright, Mother isn't in pain! Go to Uncle Lu's place! Mother will take care of things here!"

Jiang Yaojie frowned, glaring angrily at the man who had already attacked him. The man, however, nonchalantly provoked, "What? You're not convinced? Come and hit me if you're not convinced!"

"You!!" Jiang Yaojie was so angry he almost rushed over, but Jiang Ling stopped him and scolded him sternly, "Listen to your mother! Go to Uncle Lu's!"

Jiang Yaojie glanced at Jiang Ling, then at the man in front of him, and finally clenched his fists, walking angrily to Lu Bo's side.

"Little wench, I already told you just give me an ounce of silver, but you insisted on suffering this pain!" The man looked at Jiang Ling smugly.

Jiang Ling knew that if she really started a fight, she would definitely be at a disadvantage. While thinking about it, Jiang Ling looked around and finally her gaze fell on Uncle Lu's oxcart.

Jiang Ling steadied herself and said to the two men in front of her, "You two probably haven't eaten breakfast this morning! Why don't you sit down and try my special spicy hot pot? I'll pay you later!"

Seeing that Jiang Ling's attitude had softened, the two men immediately showed smug expressions. They strode into their chairs and pointed at the meat Jiang Ling had brought, saying, "Hurry up and cook all of this for us! If you're satisfied, I'll charge you one less copper coin later!"

Jiang Ling smiled coldly, but her face still showed fear. She nodded repeatedly and timidly carried the pot out and placed it on the hot charcoal.

"Hurry up, hurry up, why are you so slow!" the two men urged impatiently.

"Please wait a moment, gentlemen. This pot needs to be heated up, otherwise the meat won't cook through and you might get an upset stomach!"

Jiang Ling's address of "you two gentlemen" immediately made the two sleazy guys in front of her even more smug. One of them flattered the man who had just beaten Jiang Ling, saying, "Big brother, you're still the best!"

"Of course! With this, I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury from now on!" The man said, waving his fist again.

Jiang Ling stood to the side, observing the two people discreetly, her eyes occasionally glancing at the water in the pot, which gradually boiled under the heat of the charcoal.

The spicy and savory aroma gradually wafted out of the pot.

The two men sniffed hard and yelled impatiently at Jiang Ling, "Why are you dawdling like this? Believe me or not, I'll tear this down..."

"ah!"

"ah!!"

Before he could finish speaking, the two men let out a shrill scream and fell heavily from their chairs to the ground, rolling around on the floor.

Jiang Ling stood not far away, holding a pot, watching the two people rolling on the ground in a disheveled state with resentment in her eyes.

A second ago, Jiang Ling poured a pot of bright red broth, thick with spices and dried chili peppers, directly onto the two of them.

These two guys never expected Jiang Ling to pull such a move. The boiling water at 100 degrees Celsius instantly caused numerous blisters to form on their skin, and the excruciating pain rendered them completely powerless.

Jiang Ling picked up the tray and started hitting the man who had just beaten her, yelling viciously as she did so, "I'll teach you to hit me! I'll teach you to hit me! I'll beat you to death today!"

Things changed so fast that everyone around was stunned and stood there dumbfounded, including Uncle Lu and Jiang Yaojie.

Jiang Ling went berserk, relentlessly smashing the man with a square plate. As soon as one plate broke, she would grab another and smash it, repeatedly breaking countless plates in the process.

Finally, someone around him came to his senses. He glanced at Jiang Ling's almost frantic behavior and scrambled to the magistrate's office.

Upon hearing that there was trouble at the dock, Magistrate Duan immediately ordered his constables to go and investigate.

When the constables pushed the crowd aside, they saw Jiang Ling, disheveled and like a madwoman, kicking a man who was wailing incessantly. Chili peppers, spices, vegetables and other things were scattered all over the ground, making the scene extremely messy!

The constables didn't get a clear look at Jiang Ling's face and initially thought she was just a troublemaker, so they quickly tied her up along with the two men on the ground and took them back to the yamen.

Jiang Yaojie, who was standing nearby, immediately panicked and ran to the constable, tugging at his sleeve and pleading, "Don't arrest my mother! They were the ones who did the wrong thing first!"

"Jiang Yaojie, how come it's you?" The constable recognized Jiang Yaojie and couldn't help but stop and ask curiously.

"My mother! Why are you arresting my mother! It's them! It's them!" Jiang Yaojie's words were incoherent, and even the yamen runners were somewhat confused.

This was, after all, in public. The constable hesitated for a moment and finally took Jiang Yaojie with him, leaving only Uncle Lu anxiously pacing around.

"Yaojie, you... what are you doing here?"