Xie Huayin said she didn't know she had transmigrated into the book at first. She only found out after hearing her own name. But the loophole was too obvious. Whether it was the original owner or herself, not many people knew the name "Shang Shaoyan". Even if ordinary people knew her, they would only call her "Princess Heyang".
Xie Huayin's jade pendant, unique to the Cheng family and identical to Qiao Xiuyu's, along with her face that bore a striking resemblance to Qiao Xiuyu, were already enough to prove that she was Xie Erniang. However, she insisted on adding more details, saying that this body was exactly twenty-five years old this year. Just before that, she had stated that she had no memories of the "original owner" when she woke up.
At that time, Shang Shaoyan was 80% certain that he could prove Xie Huayin was not the lost Xie Erniang.
Now that she saw the "Second Sister Xie" handwriting, which was completely different from Xie Huayin's, and the marks of being torn off by brute force, she was absolutely certain.
Shang Shaoyan received a satisfactory answer, and his mood improved somewhat. He took a jade pendant from his waist, hung it on the red silk of Xie Erniang, and then smiled.
Thank you, Teacher Xie.
...
When Lin Jing returned to the inn, Shang Shaoyan had already slept for a while. Too lazy to change her clothes, she wore the half-new, half-old clothes she used for riding horses and followed Lin Jing downstairs to the inn's lobby. Then she chose a seat by the window with a screen.
Just as the two were about to order, they suddenly heard a sharp rebuke from the side: "Get out of my way! This is the seat I wanted, get out of here now!"
Shang Shaoyan looked up somewhat blankly, and then saw a pretty and delicate-looking young woman staring aggressively at her and Lin Jing. She had a riding whip at her waist, so she must have come on horseback.
Shang Shaoyan: "...?"
She hadn't seen someone so mentally challenged in a long time, and couldn't help but look at the woman with some surprise.
Behind her were several women of similar age. When they saw Shang Shaoyan looking over, they immediately started scolding him one after another.
"Who doesn't know this is the second aunt's most frequently used spot? This person has absolutely no sense of propriety."
"Looking like that, she's probably some mistress or concubine. She's just making this place dirty!"
“Our second mistress is Lord Yan’s most beloved daughter; she can have anything she wants…”
Lord Yan? Yan Xuening's father, her own uncle?
It seems that this is Yan Xuening's half-sister, and her birth mother is the concubine who once drove Cheng Shi to the brink of collapse.
Before Shang Shaoyan could speak, Lin Jing erupted in anger. His amber eyes gleamed coldly, making it impossible for anyone to meet his gaze: "Is this how your parents taught you? To bully the common people and fawn over the powerful?"
The young women were stunned for a moment, and just as they were about to speak, Yan Erniang raised her riding whip, about to strike Lin Jing. Shang Shaoyan was truly enraged this time. She stood up, kicked Yan Erniang away, and shielded Lin Jing behind her.
Yan Erniang fell to the ground in a disheveled state, seemingly still in shock, but soon she screamed, "You dare hit me? Do you know who I am? I am the prefect's most beloved daughter!"
Shang Shaoyan sneered, "Why wouldn't I dare? A wild pheasant like you think you can act like a phoenix in Hangzhou? Do you really think you're some kind of young lady? Someone like you, I could kill you and no one would dare to criticize me, believe it or not?"
The entire inn lobby immediately fell silent. The girls who had been with Yan Erniang came to their senses and tried to help her up, but she lashed them away with her whip.
There were many onlookers, and everyone present knew that Yan Erniang was in the wrong, but dared not speak out because of her power.
One of the women who hadn't been beaten, seemingly Yan Erniang's most loyal follower, advised her indirectly, "Yan Erniang, don't be impulsive. Who knows, she might be a county princess or a noblewoman—"
Yan Erniang stared fiercely at Shang Shaoyan and sneered, "Her? She looks so wretched, I'd believe she was a beggar!"
By this time, someone had already secretly informed the prefect's office. Soon after, a beautiful woman with a seductive appearance walked in with four or five guards, looking very aggressive. As soon as she saw Yan Erniang's disheveled appearance, she rushed over and hugged her. Yan Erniang immediately burst into tears, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.
"Who dares to bully my son?" The beautiful woman gritted her teeth and looked around. At this moment, Shang Shaoyan, who was standing high up with a sarcastic smile on his face, was particularly conspicuous. The beautiful woman immediately waved her hand at the guards, "Beat them! Beat them to death!"
A look of pleasure appeared in Yan Erniang's eyes.
Lin Jing looked at Shang Shaoyan with some worry, only to see the latter kick away the guards in a few moves, then walk towards the dumbfounded beauty and slap her with a smile.
The beautiful woman covered her face, somewhat incredulous—ever since she became the prefect's concubine, she had lived a life of luxury, never being beaten or even scolded by anyone.
Seeing this, Shang Shaoyan smiled slightly and slapped the beautiful woman across the face again. At this moment, she finally spoke: "Dingxiang, you were just a foot-washing maid back then. You shamelessly climbed into the prefect's bed. Did you really think you were someone important?"
Then, under the horrified and angry gaze of the beautiful woman, she casually wiped her hands with a handkerchief: "You and your daughter are both despicable. I was too lazy to bother with you, but since you've come here, don't blame me for being ruthless."
As she spoke, she pointed to one of the guards: "Go back and ask your aunt to come over. Tell her that her good-for-nothing half-sister has offended someone who is not to be trifled with and is going to cause trouble for her."
Seeing that Shang Shaoyan seemed to be familiar with the eldest young lady of the manor, and considering that Yan Xuening was much more capable than Yan Erniang and had just been engaged to an excellent marriage, with everyone in the manor fawning over her, the guard immediately dared not neglect her and scrambled back to invite Yan Xuening.
The mother and daughter finally became somewhat afraid—however, they had always looked down on Yan Xuening, or rather, were jealous of her, and didn't find this girl who suddenly appeared and knew Yan Xuening to be particularly frightening.
You can't entirely blame them for being stupid; after all, clothes make the man, and Shang Shaoyan did look a bit sloppy today.
Shang Shaoyan didn't even eat his meal. He just sat there drinking tea, humming a tune leisurely under the murderous glares of Aunt Ding and Second Aunt Yan, occasionally exchanging a few words of laughter with Lin Jing.
As more and more people gathered to watch the spectacle, Yan Xuening's voice rang out: "What's going on? Who did she offend?"
Yan Erniang and Ding Yiniang exchanged a glance, not detecting any anger in Yan Xuening's voice, and immediately became less worried—after all, they were family, would Yan Xuening help outsiders to deal with them?
Shang Shaoyan set down his teacup with a light touch, which was particularly noticeable in the silence. Yan Xuening looked over and then widened her eyes.
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