Chapter 329 The Strange Min Pan'er
“Grandma, you don’t know how outrageous my father was. He clearly promised to hire a master to teach me martial arts. As a result, I followed three masters and studied kung fu for five years. I thought I was invincible.”
"Who would have thought that in the end, it was all my father's way of fooling me! All those masters he found for me were just charlatans!"
"I didn't learn any martial arts skills, but I certainly learned all the rules!"
"Tell me, how could I not run away from home and find a master on my own?"
Jiang Hongling started by honestly talking about Min Pan'er, but as she talked, the topic shifted to her dream of becoming a female knight-errant.
Madam Min looked at Jiang Hongling strangely. Logically speaking, a fourth-rank prefect was already a very high social status in the local area.
Such families typically raise their daughters to be virtuous, refined, and well-bred ladies. How could they possibly raise such an unconventional person as Jiang Hongling?
She appears spoiled, naive, and willful.
When asked about the possibility of raising someone with Jiang Hongling's personality, Madam Min Qiao could only think of one.
Methods used in the inner quarters.
Thinking of this, Madam Min Qiao said seemingly casually, "Speaking of which, you're already sixteen. Hasn't your family arranged a marriage for you? Why are you still allowed to run off on your own?"
Jiang Hongling pouted, "I did say it, it was the young master of the Min family. I didn't like him, so I gave him to my sister."
Madam Min frowned slightly. "Can the marriage be waived?"
Jiang Hongling smiled nonchalantly, "Why can't we allow it? It's just a political marriage anyway. I don't want to marry, but my sister does, so isn't that perfect?"
"Won't your father stop him?"
“Stop me! But my mother loves me and always helps me!” Jiang Hongling raised her chin, looking smug.
Madam Min frowned almost imperceptibly. "Your mother? Your biological mother?"
Jiang Hongling was about to nod, but then shook her head. "She is my stepmother and also my aunt. She married my father as his second wife after my mother passed away."
Seeing Min Qiao frown, Jiang Hongling quickly added, "Although she is not my biological mother, she is very good to me. From childhood to adulthood, she would find a way to get me whatever I wanted. She would also do her best to help me achieve my wishes."
“Every time my dad gets angry with me and wants to discipline me, it’s my mom who stops him.”
"I dare say, there is no one else in the world who spoils me like my mother does."
Madam Min smiled. It was a miracle that Jiang Hongling hadn't gone too far astray despite her stepmother's boundless indulgence and pampering.
"I bet your father prefers your stepmother's younger sister, doesn't he?"
"Yes." Jiang Hongling didn't know why Madam Min Qiao suddenly asked this, but she still answered honestly.
However, right after answering, she added proudly, "But my mother spoils me even more!"
Madam Min shook her head and smiled bitterly, "So, while your sister was learning music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and etiquette, you were reading storybooks, dreaming of roaming the martial arts world and becoming a female knight-errant, and then begging your father to give you Master Zhao to teach you martial arts?"
“Yes!” Jiang Hongling looked at Min Qiaoshi in surprise. “How do you know everything?”
"Not only do I know these things, I also know that those sketchbooks you've been looking at were given to you by your stepmother. Right?"
“No!” Jiang Hongling said with an expression that said, “So you’re not all-knowing after all.” “My sister gave it to me.”
"She said her best friend told her that those sketchbooks were really, really beautiful, but she had too many things to study every day and didn't have time to look at them."
"So, she asked me to help her read it. After I finished reading it, I told her the story."
"Then, as I kept reading, I realized that those stories were really fascinating!"
"Later, I thought that it would be great if I could travel around and do good deeds like the knights in the comic books."
This time, Madam Min was completely speechless.
A scheming stepmother and a cunning younger sister... tsk tsk.
However, these are other people's business, and it's not appropriate for her, as an outsider, to interfere.
Moreover, Jiang Hongling now believes that her stepmother is the best mother in the world. If an outsider like her were to jump out and say that her stepmother has ulterior motives, Jiang Hongling would not only not be grateful to her, but would also turn against her.
So, let nature take its course.
You are not a fish, how can you know the joy of fish?
Besides, she and Jiang Hongling were just strangers who met by chance on the street, and there was no need for her to get involved in other people's affairs.
Just as the two were talking, A-San brought over Min Pan'er, who had washed up and changed into clean clothes.
Min Pan'er walked gracefully towards them, her lotus-like steps light and her skirt swaying slightly. With her slender waist and boneless figure, she possessed a natural and captivating charm.
As she approached, she bowed, curtsied, and greeted him with graceful movements, a sight to behold.
When she raised her head, her pair of clear, bright eyes were even more captivating, making one forget the mundane world.
Even though she was a woman over fifty, Madam Min Qiao couldn't help but be captivated by Min Pan'er. If it were anyone else, especially a young and impetuous man...
The destructive power is simply unimaginable.
"This humble woman, Min Pan'er, greets the old lady."
"No need for formalities."
Even her voice is so beautiful!
This time, Madam Min was truly shocked.
Min Pan'er bowed again and sincerely thanked her, saying, "Thank you so much for saving my life, old lady."
The rules and etiquette are also excellent.
She looked even more dignified than Jiang Hongling, and there was not a trace of the arrogance and conceit that Jiang Hongling had described.
Madam Min was puzzled, but her face remained gentle and benevolent. "No need for formalities, sit down and let's talk."
"Thank you, old lady. However, I have no way to repay your life-saving grace. I am willing to sell myself into slavery and serve you for the rest of my life."
As she spoke, Min Pan'er gracefully knelt down and bowed to Min Qiao Shi.
This sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.
Min Qiaoshi gestured to A Shuang to help the person up.
Ah Shuang quickly stepped forward to help her up. Min Pan'er originally wanted to continue kneeling, but she was too weak to break free from Ah Shuang's support. She had no choice but to stand up.
"Grandma, Pan'er is speaking from the heart. I only beg you to let Pan'er stay."
Madam Min Qiao looked at Min Pan'er strangely. Before she could speak, Jiang Hongling rushed forward angrily and shoved Min Pan'er. "What kind of bad idea are you up to now? Let me tell you, Old Madam Qiao is someone I protect. If you dare to try anything funny with her, I will never let you off the hook!"
Min Pan'er was pushed back several steps by Jiang Hongling, and then fell sideways to the ground.
Hmm, even the way she fell was pleasing to the eye!
But Madam Min Qiao frowned as she looked at it.
Jiang Hongling did push her quite hard, but it was absurd that Min Pan'er floated away so weakly and softly, like a willow branch.
To say she did it on purpose doesn't seem quite right.
If it wasn't intentional, then an ordinary person could never achieve the same effect from her fall.
How should I put it? I just always felt that there was something strange about Min Pan'er.
It wasn't until Min Pan'er, lying on the ground, slowly turned her head and showed Min Qiao a pitiful look of grievance, forbearance, weakness, and helplessness that she realized that every move Min Pan'er made was alluring.
Look at the tears glistening in those eyes; they seem to have been rehearsed a thousand times beforehand, poised to fall at the perfect moment. They evoke both pity and a stirring of the heart.
How can one word describe its beauty!
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