"And now that people can afford to open rice shops in the county town," Mrs. Gong continued sarcastically, "their family surely has plenty of Silver Coin, and their airs have become larger. They are not afraid of offending our family anymore. With you gossiping with her, she naturally forced my husband to resign from his job at her rice shop because he couldn’t stand working there."
It was bad enough that she was wronged, but Shi Xiaolan also became even more anxious when she realized that her reputation had been tarnished as well. Just as she was about to retort to Mrs. Gong, Ke Anjing had already loudly spoken up before her.
"Mrs. Gong, you seem quite happy making baseless accusations," An Jing said with a loud laugh. "If you are willing to fetch your husband An Fu and he himself states that I forced him to leave his job at my rice shop, then I’ll accept the accusation. Go on, call him."
Hearing An Jing’s voice, both Shi Xiaolan and Mrs. Gong realized that An Jing had arrived, as they had not noticed her before.
Mrs. Gong, feeling flustered, retorted with defiance, "My husband is honest and kind-hearted. Even if you treat him poorly, he wouldn’t hold it against you. He certainly wouldn’t embarrass you in front of so many people."
"Nice words," An Jing replied with a calm and leisurely smile. "I think it’s because your husband doesn’t have the same thick skin as you to make a scene here. Don’t think I don’t know you’re upset because you’re poor, hoping your husband could return to work at my rice shop. But since we didn’t want him back, you harbored resentment against me, and now that you’re even poorer, you hate me even more. But since you can’t do anything about me, you can only come and cause trouble for Xiao Lan, who you think is an easy target."
An Jing laid bare all of this in front of so many people, causing Mrs. Gong’s face to turn red with anger and embarrassment, and she loudly cursed, "You’re talking nonsense!"
Still unruffled, An Jing continued, "Whether I’m talking nonsense or not, you know better than anyone else in your heart, and everyone else can see it clearly too. If you smear people without weighing your own worth, don’t blame me for not sparing your feelings."
Mrs. Gong, fuming with rage, exclaimed, "You accuse me of making unfounded claims, but it seems to me that you are the one really doing so! Clearly, it was because of Shi Xiaolan that you forced my husband to resign!"
"Really..." An Jing replied, still calm and composed, but before she could counterattack, An Fu came running over in a hurry, calling out Mrs. Gong’s name as he approached.
Seeing An Fu, Mrs. Gong was overcome with guilt.
An Fu reached Mrs. Gong’s side, and before he had a chance to speak with her, An Jing said to him with a smile, "An Fu, your timing is perfect. Your wife claims that I forced you to resign from your job at my rice shop last year on account of Xiao Lan. Now that you are here, while everyone is present, please tell us if that’s true. If it is, let everyone sympathize with you and scorn me."
An Fu, who had always been thin-skinned, felt ashamed to face anyone after what An Jing said.
Mrs. Gong hadn’t expected the matter to escalate , but she had no choice but to press on insistently, "Husband, tell everyone quickly, that job at the rice shop was something I was forced to give up because of Shi Xiaolan."
Mrs. Gong thought to herself that her own husband couldn’t possibly let her lose face in front of others.
An Jing smiled faintly.
Xiao Changyi remained expressionless.
However, it was Shi Xiaolan who, seeing Mrs. Gong in this state, felt that she had brought trouble upon An Jing, and she became angry, saying, "An Fu, you must have a conscience! An Jing helped your family so much before, and now that your own times are tough, you’ve come to cast the blame on her?!"