Chapter 23: Chapter 23: What, Do You Think My Xiao Changyi Is Easy to Bully?_1 Chapter 23: Chapter 23: What, Do You Think My Xiao Changyi Is Easy to Bully?_1 “An Jing,” Lin Ming said, “Your parents gave birth to you and raised you all these years; even if they did not accomplish much, they still exerted great effort. When such a grown person like you leaves home, you should at least repay your parents.”
An Jing said nothing, just sneered at Lin Ming.
Lin Ming felt like he was talking to himself.
Seeing An Jing without a young lady’s proper posture, with her arms crossed and leaning against the doorframe, he felt even more that she had no respect for her elders. Even if she had been sold and her heart had grown cold towards her parents, her attitude towards them and other elders shouldn’t have changed this much. After all, she used to be an obedient child, even if her timidity had been somewhat irritating.
Suppressing the anger that was rising within him, Lin Ming spoke again with earnest concern, “The debt of birth is greater than any other, and the grace of upbringing is higher than heaven. Filial piety comes before all virtues. You cannot be so utterly unfilial and make your parents’ efforts in raising you go in vain.”
“What’s the use of such fine-sounding words? Aren’t you just shamelessly demanding ten taels of silver from me?” An Jing’s light remark sent Lin Ming reeling again.
Seeing that she had angered Lin Ming, An Jing felt very pleased until he looked at her again, and she spread her hands, saying, “If you want money, there is none; if you want a person, there’s one. Alas, I already belong to Xiao Changyi.”
Lin Ming reeled once more, thinking An Jing had no shame. A maiden who wasn’t even married yet had no embarrassment in claiming to belong to a man.
“You have no shame! No shame!” Father Lin Lin Daqiang finally spoke up, pointing at An Jing and shaking with anger.
An Jing raised her eyebrows in interest, “Lin Daqiang, how am I shameless?”
Being called by his name by his own daughter, Lin Daqiang trembled with fury.
“My servitude contract is in Xiao Changyi’s hands,” An Jing continued, “So naturally, I belong to Xiao Changyi. It is only right that I go home with Xiao Changyi.”
The logic was indeed correct, but having his daughter become someone else’s for nothing, Lin Daqiang and the rest couldn’t accept it.
Then they saw Lin’s mother throwing a tantrum just like the day before, sitting on the ground, “If you don’t give me ten taels of silver today, I’m not leaving!”
Lin An Dong also said, “Uncle Ming, in this world, which parents give away their daughter for nothing in return? This matter, you must resolve it for us.”
At this point, Lin Ming also got angry, saying sternly, “I will have a good talk with that lad Xiao Changyi and make him give you the ten taels of silver.”
An Jing’s face was full of contempt, “What, do you think our Xiao Changyi is easy to bully? Why don’t you go demand the ten taels of silver from Landlord Wang? Our Xiao family never took that silver, and I never touched it either. It was you who returned it to Landlord Wang. Yet now you come to us wanting it… I’ve seen ugly demands, but I’ve never seen demands as ugly as yours!”
The latter part was just like calling them shameless. Lin Ming had never been scolded and immediately began to tremble with rage.
“If it wasn’t for you brandishing a knife and looking like you’d kill Ming Ye, would we have ever taken out those ten taels of silver?!” Lin’s mother snapped back through clenched teeth.
“Committing murder is my issue; it’s my life that would pay the price. It was you who were afraid, afraid of offending Landlord Wang, afraid you wouldn’t be able to rent his land for farming. You didn’t actually want to save my life; that’s why you took out those ten taels of silver to repay the debt.”
Lin’s mother’s face turned red with embarrassment and she was left speechless because An Jing had hit the nail on the head.
“You’re afraid to provoke Landlord Wang, so you come to slaughter our Xiao Changyi instead? You really think our Xiao Changyi is an easy mark?” An Jing’s eyes hardened, “I’ll tell you, as long as I’m alive, don’t even think about extorting money from us! This so-called debt of upbringing?”