The demon soldiers were already terrified by An Ge's strength, so they spoke frankly and without reservation, "Sir, we were just following orders. We heard it was the fiancée of a second-class demon soldier in this town who told the demon general what he said."
Upon hearing this, Shi Ying immediately thought of someone. "It's her? What deep-seated hatred do I have for her that would make her treat me like this?"
Seeing An Ge's puzzled look, the village chief walked out shakily with his cane and explained, "Shi Juan is Yingzi's distant cousin, but her family moved to town many years ago and they haven't had much contact over the years. They didn't even show up when Yingzi's elders passed away. I never expected Shi Juan to implicate Yingzi."
Seeing Shi Ying's indignant look, An Ge guessed there must be something else going on. But now was not the time to talk about that. No matter what Shi Juan's reasons were, she wouldn't let her get away with bullying someone she protected so easily.
"Do you know what to say when we get back?"
The demon soldiers quickly nodded and bowed, "Sir, we know. We just said that this man named Quartz has an ordinary appearance, and that you, the Demon General, have been deceived."
Ange nodded in satisfaction. "You guys are quite perceptive. But I should add one more thing: say that another beautiful witch was discovered in the village, so the quartz was replaced with her."
"Huh?" The demon soldiers thought they had misheard.
"What? Didn't you say the imperial concubines would be sent to the capital in five days? I'll go with you then."
"An Ge!"
"Sister An!"
An Ge gave a reassuring smile, "However, there's one condition: this woman named Shi Juan has to come along, or I'll destroy the Demon General's Mansion!"
The demon soldiers didn't know what An Ge was thinking, but since they had successfully found someone who met the criteria, how could they dare not refuse? As for Shi Juan, she was just the fiancée of a second-class demon soldier. Anyway, they weren't married yet, and the demon race didn't care about that.
After the demon soldiers left, the villagers looked at An Ge, somewhat hesitant to speak. This was the woman who had scared away even the demon soldiers; judging from her words, it seemed that even the demon generals might not be a match for her.
The most powerful demon soldiers they had ever seen in their lives were only third-class demon soldiers, so they were naturally reserved in the face of An Ge, whose strength was unknown. Thinking back to the times they had chatted and laughed with An Ge before, some villagers were almost in tears.
An Ge sighed; she knew this would happen. The demons revered strength, and even if she showed kindness, they wouldn't treat her the same way as before.
"You can all go home now. Don't worry, with me here, nothing will happen to the village." After saying that, he nodded to the village chief and led Shi Ying and her brother back to the courtyard.
Shi Jun looked at An Ge with admiration. This was the person who had saved his sister. Others might be afraid, but he wasn't.
"Isn't Sister An a cultivator? How did she become a demon?"
"That's because I used to disguise myself a little when I was traveling among humans," Ange explained.
Shi Jun had no doubts. In the eyes of a child, An Ge was powerful, and his sister wouldn't be taken away. With the crisis averted, Shi Jun immediately cheered and soon went to the village to show off to his friends.
Quartz isn't so easily fooled. If she really was faking a cultivator, why would her spiritual power cause the tree in the courtyard to bloom and bear fruit? Don't tell her that spiritual power can be faked!
"It really works! Don't worry, I'm a real little witch now, no one can tell the difference."
"But why do you want to become a concubine? With your abilities, no one can make things difficult for you."
An Ge smiled and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, my friend will be going to the capital. Rather than me going to the capital alone, I'd rather be sent there and save on travel expenses."
Shi Ying was genuinely surprised by this reason. She knew An Ge wasn't an impulsive person, and there must be a reason for her actions. "You know what's going on. But if things don't go well, you must prioritize your own safety. Shi Juan and I have never gotten along since childhood, and if it were a good thing, she wouldn't have pushed me into it."
"You two have a conflict?"
Shi Ying shook her head. "From my perspective, we don't have any conflicts. We didn't interact much when we were in the village, and after their branch of the family became successful, they had even less contact with our branch. However, I can sense that Shi Juan has always disliked me, probably because of her fiancé."
After hearing Shi Ying's words, An Ge was speechless. The whole matter was actually quite simple: Shi Ying's great-grandfather had a very good relationship with a friend, and they had even arranged a marriage between their descendants.
As a result, Shi Juan's family discovered that the family with whom she had a marriage agreement had become successful, and that their only son was even a second-class demon soldier, so they decided to arrange the marriage. However, this marriage agreement not only concerned the first wife's family, but also the second wife's family.
The eldest son's wife was powerful and snatched the engagement away. However, Shi Juan regarded Shi Ying as a rival, believing that the other party would covet her fiancé.
"What's there to worry about? I haven't even met her yet. Besides, I should thank Shi Juan for stealing the engagement. I'm just an ordinary demon, and I know my place. I only want to find an ordinary demon in the future. Marrying someone of equal social standing is the right thing to do."
An Ge had always thought Shi Ying was very rational, and hearing her words made her admire her even more. The story of the prince and Cinderella mostly exists only in fairy tales or novels; reality is often not so beautiful.
The difference between ordinary demons and demon cultivators, in particular, is beyond what family background can compensate for. Of course, it's not uncommon for demon cultivators to marry ordinary demons, but these are ultimately rare, and Shi Ying dares not gamble on it.
"Don't worry, if she dares to bully you, I definitely won't let her get away with it. Don't worry about me, I'm leaving in a few days, and I'm going to use these few days to recover my strength."
Seeing that An Ge had made up her mind, Shi Ying could only sigh, "Then you should recover well. I dug up a magic herb yesterday, but I didn't dare to give it to you. Now that you are a demon, it should be fine."
"Uh, no need, you can keep it and sell it for money. I'm not injured, so the potion won't work for me." Of course, more importantly, she wasn't a real demon.
Blocking out the storms of the outside world, An Ge calmed herself down and quickly soothed her agitated state. Unbeknownst to her, her decision had already caused a huge uproar among some people.
Shi Juan successfully pushed her jealous cousin out of the marriage, thinking she could finally relax. Her fiancé's family had no intention of getting married; they only agreed to the marriage out of consideration for their ancestors.
Although she thought she was pretty, she had to admit she was still far inferior to Shi Ying. Fortunately, the other party hadn't seen Shi Ying's appearance, which allowed her to successfully secure her place. However, Shi Ying's existence remained a major threat, and upon hearing the news of the talent show, she pushed Shi Ying forward.
But her triumph was short-lived; she soon heard that her name was on the list of candidates for the talent show.
Shi Juan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Father, you must be joking. I'm already engaged, how could I possibly be selected?"
The smile on Mr. Shi's face had not yet faded. "This is absolutely true, my dear daughter. Don't forget us when you become successful in the future."
In Shi's father's view, wouldn't becoming a concubine be better than marrying a second-class demon soldier? This wave of wealth and honor has finally come their way!
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