Li Jifan vigorously shook his head inwardly, feeling that he was perhaps overthinking.
However impressive the man may be, he was ultimately a mere farmer, and unlikely to claim his life like the Death God would.
Thinking of Xiao Changyi as a mere farmer, Li Jifan couldn’t help but feel a surge of schadenfreude and a sense of superiority, believing himself to be of much higher status than Xiao, who couldn’t compare to him at all.
An Jing didn’t pay much attention to Li Jifan, so she failed to notice the added affection in his gaze towards her. She simply clasped her hands together and said to the four officials who bet with her, "Master Zhou, Official Zhao, Official Qian, Official Sun, now that the seedlings have survived, how do you see this...?"
Zhou, Zhao, Qian, and Sun weren’t the type to welch on a bet; even if they felt washing their wives’ and concubines’ feet was beneath their dignity, they still said, "A bet is a bet, and we will wash our wives’ and concubines’ feet once!"
"That’s good." After a pause, An Jing asked further, "So, when will you wash your wives’ and concubines’ feet?"
"We will definitely do it; there’s no need for you to concern yourself with the rest!" Master Zhou, at fifty, found it shameful to wash his wife’s and concubines’ feet at his age. Annoyed by An Jing’s repeated questioning, he retorted irritably.
An Jing was not upset and replied slowly, "I wouldn’t want to bother either, but if you don’t wash their feet in front of me, how would I know if you’ve actually done it?"
Zhou, Zhao, Qian, and Sun had all intended to stealthily wash their wives’ and concubines’ feet at home and even tell them not to speak of it to anyone. But now they were faced with An Jing wanting to see them do it?
What about their pride...
Zhao, Qian, and Sun’s faces instantly turned an ashen hue from anger.
Master Zhou was so furious that he puffed up his beard and glared, even going as far as to loudly question, "If I say I’ve washed them, I’ve washed them. Are you suggesting I’d lie to you?"
An Jing sighed and said out loud, "It’s hard to truly know someone, who can tell if Master Zhou and the rest are deceiving me."
But inwardly she thought, I’m not so easily fooled! You dare to treat women as less than people, as mere accessories to you, if you hadn’t crossed my path, I wouldn’t be able to do a thing. But now that you have, I will certainly make sure to deal with you properly!
"You!" Master Zhou was choking with rage.
The expressions on the faces of Zhao, Qian, and Sun were even uglier.
Official Liu stayed out of it, hanging back on the sidelines, neither interjecting nor taking a stance, letting them sort it out themselves. It was, after all, their bet—a private matter. By keeping silent, no one could fault him.
At this moment, Li Jifan felt relieved that he hadn’t taken part in the bet, as he too would be unable to humble himself to wash his wives’ and concubines’ feet. If he had lost the bet, he certainly would have washed their feet in secret and strictly forbidden his wives and concubines from mentioning a word of it.
Now, he could empathize with Master Zhou and the others.
Therefore, Li Jifan kindly suggested, "How about this, Master Zhou and the others supervise each other while washing their wives’ and concubines’ feet?"
All of them needed to wash their wives’ and concubines’ feet, and none would laugh at the other; for Zhou, Zhao, Qian, and Sun, it was indeed a good suggestion.
Thus, as soon as Li Jifan made his suggestion, Master Zhou and the others immediately nodded in agreement, "That’s a good idea. We four will supervise each other. Surely you will believe us then?"
Unexpectedly, An Jing countered deliberately, "I’m not acquainted with you all, so what if you collude to deceive me, claiming that you’ve all washed their feet, what then?"