Qiao Zhiqin nodded vigorously in agreement, glanced at her own clothes, tugged at her sleeves, and looked at her with admiration.
"Oh, right, Zhili-ge, you just realized that? I've known for a while that this little cousin is amazing."
Look at my clothes. She even knows my size, especially since they're made of brocade. I've never worn such fine material or such beautiful clothes before.
This little cousin is so generous to us. Living here is so much better than living at our own home.
Since I came to my aunt's house, I feel like I'm living like a god, with good food, good drink, good clothes, and a good place to live.
What I find most satisfying is my little cousin's fearless attitude towards her grandfather. Every time she faces him, she doesn't show any fear or trepidation. She eats and drinks as usual, does whatever she wants, and doesn't take him seriously at all.
Seeing my grandfather so angry, his beard bristling and eyes wide with rage, so frustrated yet so helpless, I just wanted to laugh, ahahaha—”
Halfway through her laughter, the unusually quiet atmosphere made her realize that she had gone a bit too far. She quickly covered her mouth, glanced at her two cousins who were staring at her with stiff expressions, coughed awkwardly, scratched her ear, and made an excuse to slip away.
"Ahem... um, I, I'm going to help in the kitchen... hey... help..." After saying that, he slunk away with his tail between his legs.
Two brothers stood facing each other in the pavilion.
The air in the pavilion seemed to freeze for five seconds, then they exchanged a silent smile without prior arrangement.
Settling down here brings joy and a relaxed atmosphere.
The atmosphere in the shops in front was not so relaxed; there was a sense of tension, as if a fight was about to break out.
Anle glanced leisurely at the four burly men standing inside her Paradise Dessert Shop—
At this moment, the four men were in a stalemate with He Yusheng. He Yusheng pursed his lips and remained silent, his face showing obvious coldness.
"He Yusheng, I'm asking you, do you want to go with these people? Do you want to go back to the Cui family?"
He Yusheng paused in wiping the table, looked up at An Le, and remained expressionless.
“I have no connection with the Cui family anymore.”
Anle nodded, her expression quite indifferent.
"Alright, Second Brother, go report this to the authorities. Someone forcibly entered our house and is staying in our shop, refusing to leave, and is trying to forcibly abduct our workers."
The four men all turned and stared at Anle, stunned for two seconds—
I never expected things to turn out so quickly, and I never expected such words to come out of this girl's mouth.
After a moment of stunned silence, he forced himself to remain calm and continued to put on a show.
"You little brat, you've got it backwards. If anyone should be reporting to the authorities, it should be the Cui family, not the ones reporting it."
"That's right. They brought my Cui family members here to work as laborers and don't even plan to hand them over. The Cui family will definitely make your whole family suffer."
"Hmph, reporting to the authorities? Perfect! Let's have a proper discussion in court about how you people forced my young master, the Cui family's son, to work as a laborer here." One of the men threatened An Le with a menacing expression, slamming his hand on the table so hard that it broke a table leg on the spot.
Anle remained calm and composed, glancing unhurriedly at the table with its broken leg, her expression gradually turning cold.
"Second brother, this table costs two hundred coins. Also, write down the price of any damaged items and report it to the authorities, and charge the Cui family for it."
Anle looked at An Ding, who was standing there blankly, with a deep gaze.
"Second Brother, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and go!"
"Uh... okay, I'll go right away." Report to the authorities?
I never imagined things would escalate to this extent.
Jincheng has changed hands, and the current government officials are sent from a neighboring country. Will they take care of this matter?
An Ding felt a little uneasy.
The man who slammed the table was dumbfounded. He never expected that Anle could look at him so calmly and make eye contact with him, and could so calmly give orders.
In his imagination, this little kid should have been terrified and crying after that slap, so how could he be so calm and give him such a sharp look?
The piercing gaze, sharp as a knife, was relentlessly on him, leaving him feeling somewhat lost and uneasy.
He wasn't a thug for the Cui family; their thugs had long been dismissed. He was just a servant in the Cui household, with no real skills. He usually did odd jobs, and all sorts of dirty and tiring work was done by people like him.
Upon hearing that he had been assigned such an easy task, he didn't think much of it or ask any questions before coming to pick him up.
The butler's instructions to them were simply to come here to make a show of things and intimidate people.
He was thinking of scaring people, but what's the big deal?
He thought he could scare them a little and they'd be able to come back, but he never expected them to stand up to him and be so defiant.
And it was a child who looked only five or six years old.
Especially here, he didn't see a single adult; it was all just a few children holding things together.
He was a little embarrassed, but he was also a little panicked inside.
All of this is just a show of bravado; how could he possibly have the guts to actually go to court?
If this matter goes to court, it will escalate significantly, and he won't be able to explain it to the Cui family.
Of course, if the Cui family wants to go to court, that's a different story.
If he takes this to court without authorization and angers the steward, who might kick him out of the Cui family for his poor performance, then he'll be finished.
"Wait, wait, we're not here to kidnap anyone, we just want to take our young master back home."
His voice immediately softened considerably, losing its previous assertiveness.
Anle leaned against the wall, crossed her arms, and chuckled.
"Oh, is this how you treat people when you hire them?" He glanced at the table and nodded.
"Also, how do I pay for this table?"
The man gritted his teeth and said through gritted teeth, "I'll pay, I'll pay."
The other three men glanced at the man and immediately lost their composure, unable to maintain their facade any longer.
In the mansion, they were just sedan chair bearers, or they would take care of horses and do other tiring and miscellaneous work.
When have I ever encountered something like this, where it feels like I'm playing the role of a robber?
"Well... young master, why don't you come back to the manor with us? The old lady is waiting for you to return. It's not appropriate for you to stay here, since you have no relatives or friends here."
"Yes, yes, the old lady is thinking of you. Otherwise, she wouldn't have sent us to invite you back."
"If we went back to the manor, wouldn't we be living a life of luxury and privilege? Why would we stay here as laborers?"
Someone of your status is not suited to do such menial work here. If word gets out, it won't sound good for the Cui family's reputation.
"Once you return to the Cui residence, you will be a young master of a prominent family."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
