Chapter 323: Side Story: The Tough Neighbor Chapter 8

Side Story: The Tough Neighbor Chapter 8

Although Yin Fengxuan is out of line, he still believes that only women can be played with, but a daughter‑in‑law cannot be taken lightly. So it's not that he's so angry at Jin Jingwen that he wants to scratch the wall day and night; Yin Fengxuan would never think of taking Jin Jingwen as a wife!

From Yin Fengxuan's point of view, Jin Jingwen is indeed beautiful, but not stunningly so. Moreover, more importantly, this little girl has an infuriating temperament, a vicious mind, and is damn ruthless… she looks left and right, up and down, without a trace of feminine delicacy or charm; she is nothing but a textbook vicious tomboy!

Thus Yin Fengxuan is very dissatisfied. But to completely crush his hatred and press Jin Jingwen under his heel, he reluctantly thought of this cheap trick!

So, in the end Yin Fengxuan feels he's been shortchanged. But no matter what, just thinking of that neighboring Jin little girl being humbled before him makes Yin Fengxuan feel his whole body surge with energy, a feeling more exciting than the first time he ever toured the kiln.

And Lin Quan can become Yin Fengxuan's number‑one favorite and lackey as well as his dog‑headed strategist because his brain works well, his belly is full of bad water, and more importantly, he has a standard servant temperament.

In other words, no matter how reckless and foolish Yin Fengxuan's actions are, if Lin Quan thinks something is wrong, he will only give a proper reminder, and after the reminder, if Yin Fengxuan still goes down the wrong path, Lin Quan, knowing the aftermath will be miserable, will still help Yin Fengxuan struggle together!

Therefore, unlike those who are always pointing fingers at Yin Fengxuan and, as soon as his method errs, start lecturing him, hoping to make Yin Fengxuan feel that if he doesn't follow their advice he's a ten‑evil‑unforgivable monster, worse than a sonless bastard, Yin Fengxuan naturally prefers Lin Quan's style.

At this moment it's the same: upon hearing that Yin Fengxuan wants to marry Jin Jingwen, Lin Quan instantly knows with his feet that the days ahead will be full of wailing and howling, but seeing Yin Fengxuan so obsessed that even his eyes emit green light, Lin Quan can only grit his teeth and go along!

Thus, that night, Yin Fengxuan and Lin Quan huddled in a room, brain‑to‑brain wrestling all night, finally drafting a plan, after which Yin Fengxuan finally nodded in satisfaction and sent Lin Quan away.

……

With the plan in hand, Yin Fengxuan began to implement it.

Yin Fengxuan's first plan wasn't high‑falutin at all; in fact, it was just the old trick Uncle Black Soil used to court Aunt Baiyun back in the day—

Take the initiative to talk to her, to chatter, sending flirtatious glances whether there's a reason or not!

Of course, this idea came from Lin Quan. According to Yin Fengxuan, the first step is to resolve the conflict and ease the atmosphere. But as soon as he said that, Lin Quan rejected it! At the same time he gave a very persuasive reason:

Boss, you still know you have a bad relationship with the neighbor, right?! But have you thought that the neighbor is a hard‑bone; if you try to smooth things over, it could take a long time! Moreover, when the time comes, the neighbor will definitely demand that you properly manage your own Houyuaner… So tell me, Boss, are you sure you can manage your own Houyuaner?

Yin Fengxuan stammered: Uh… can't!

That settles it! So instead, why not just boost daily exposure, wander in front of the neighbor for no reason—women are like that! No matter the relationship, just increase your visibility so the other party constantly remembers you, that's success!

Lin Quan's words made sense, and Yin Fengxuan thought the same. Immediately the next morning, Yin Fengxuan got up unusually early, and without even having breakfast, he dashed off with his lackey Lin Quan to the neighboring Jin family.

The Jin family is different from Gong Wangfu; because Yin Fengxuan usually idles among flowers and willows, with no proper conduct, the whole palace is full of crooked winds, and the servants only lazily rise after the hour of Chen (around 5 pm). But the Jin family is different: Jin Jingwen, to cultivate good habits in her nephew Pei Yaoguang's little nephew Jin Liangyu from childhood, makes him rise promptly at the hour of Mao (around 5 am), and the Jin household servants, to accommodate the two young masters, must get up at the early hour of Mao, even at the hour of Yin (around 3 am), then start preparing for the day.

So Yin Fengxuan thought he had gotten up early, but who could have known that upon arriving at the Jin family, the aunt and niece had already finished washing up, even completed their morning exercises, and were already having breakfast!

Yin Fengxuan arrived at that moment. Upon hearing that the stupid one from next door had come, Jin Jingwen instantly frowned, then looked puzzled at the reporting gatekeeper Huzi.

"How did he get here?"

"Uh… I don't know."

Huzi is only in his teens this year, originally a city beggar. Once, when Jin Liangyu got lost on the street, Jin Jingwen was frantic; she happened to meet Huzi, who remembered Jin Liangyu and took Jin Jingwen to look for him. They finally found him. Jin Jingwen thought Huzi was a good person; though a beggar, he wasn't greedy, so she brought him back to the Jin family.

Huzi is illiterate, but clever; after years of begging, he knows how to read people's expressions. So later Huzi said another line

"But, I see he's quite happy, all cheerful…"

At this point, Jin Jingwen stopped her chopsticks, and her eyes twitched.

Cheerful?!

Damn, it's early morning, what's there to be cheerful about?!

Besides, that idiot was half‑dead from being angry in the palace yesterday, how could he…

Thinking that, Jin Jingwen felt something was odd; she originally wanted to kick him out, but after a change of mind, she said to Huzi

"Let him in."

"Yes."

He answered respectfully, then turned and left. Jin Jingwen, after having eaten with her little nephew, went to the front hall to look around, but after only a short while, she heard footsteps outside; looking up, she saw Yin Fengxuan had barged right in!

At once, Jin Jingwen was stunned, then completely lost it!

Damn!

This guy must be sick!

Do I even know you? You didn't sit in the front hall, you just barged in? Uh… could this idiot be here to mooch meals?!

Jin Jingwen was first stunned, then quietly angry, finally suspicious. On the surface she only gave Yin Fengxuan a cold stare, revealing nothing. At that moment, seeing Jin Jingwen staring at him, Yin Fengxuan automatically put on what he thought was his most charming smile, and while walking inside, raised his eyebrows and said

"Yo~, eating? ~! What a coincidence, I haven't eaten either~!"

Embarrassed!

Damn, he really is here to mooch meals!

Jin Jingwen's unnamed fury rose, and she slapped the chopsticks onto the table with a 'Snap!'

"What's this? Prince Gong's Highness, coming here at the crack of dawn to mooch a meal at my Jin family? Considering the massive Gong Wangfu, you can't even make a single bowl of rice?"

Jin Jingwen only knew that the Houyuaner of the Gong Wangfu was in chaos, but she didn't know the entire palace was a mess.

Hearing Jin Jingwen's mocking words, Yin Fengxuan didn't mind; he just curled his lips and said

"Isn't there a saying that home flowers lack the scent of wildflowers, so home‑cooked meals are never as tasty as outside ones~!"

Everyone says a dog's mouth can't spit ivory! Yin Fengxuan, is this more than a dog's mouth?!

Everyone says a dog's mouth can't spit ivory! Yin Fengxuan's mouth is more than a dog's!

So, as soon as he finished that line, not only Jin Jingwen but also his lackey Lin Quan, whose face turned green!

This is the Jin family; whatever you said isn't good, why bring up the family's cultivated and wild flowers?! Are you thinking you're comparing the outside "BEEP—" with the Jin family?

"This is the Jin family, what you say is bad, why bring up home flowers vs wildflowers?! Are you comparing the 'beep—' outside with the Jin family?"

"Looking for death like this is the best way to die!"

Lin Quan was completely speechless. He wanted to crawl into a crack right there and never come out!

Unfortunately, the floor of the Jin family dining hall had no crack, so Lin Quan could only pretend to be air as much as possible! While Lin Quan was trembling, Yin Fengxuan was completely unaware he'd made a mistake, still smiling brightly waiting for Jin Jingwen's praise

"Look, I said your family's food is delicious!"

Yin Fengxuan can't hide it; the three characters for "praise" are just a bright stroke away from being written on his face. Unfortunately, not even praise—once Jin Jingwen heard Yin Fengxuan's words, her whole face turned black!

Yin Fengxuan couldn't hide it; the three characters for 'praise' were written on his face in bold strokes. Unfortunately, not only was there no praise, but as soon as Jin Jingwen heard his words, her whole face turned black!

Jin Jingwen is about to die of anger! She wishes she could grab the bowls and chopsticks from the table and slam them onto the head of the idiot in front of her!

But thinking that her little nephew was still beside her, Jin Jingwen forced herself to suppress her mood, narrowed her eyes and did not look at Yin Fengxuan, then picked up her chopsticks again, helping her nephew Jin Liangyu pick up food!

Jin Jingwen moved gracefully, completely ignoring Yin Fengxuan! After watching her nephew finish most of the food, she asked softly

"Yu'er, have you finished eating?"

Jin Liangyu had been fostered at a temple in the mountains outside the city, and only when he was a little over three years old was he taken back by Jin Jingwen. Though he was very young then and doesn't remember much, the simple and pure daily life in the temple still gave him a blank, paper‑like temperament.

As for Jin Jingwen, who was like a motherly aunt, Jin Liangyu also respected and felt close to her. Though the little fellow was curious about the sudden intruder Yin Fengxuan, constantly staring at him with big eyes, he still obediently nodded when his aunt spoke.

"Hmm, I've finished, Aunt!"

"Alright, since you've finished, let's take a walk in the courtyard and rest a bit~!"

Saying that, Jin Jingwen ordered the nearby maid Qiu Lan, who immediately led Jin Liangyu out. While leaving, Jin Liangyu still glanced at Yin Fengxuan, prompting Yin Fengxuan to raise an untimely eyebrow and give a teasing smile!

Yin Fengxuan's smile was as low as it could be! At that moment Jin Jingwen could no longer hold back and lifted her leg, kicking at his lower back!

Fortunately Jin Jingwen was not Shui Yun, she had no martial skill, and there was some distance; she was seated, so the kick was light. Still, it made Yin Fengxuan stagger wildly!

"Ya! You…"

Yin Fengxuan reflexively wanted to curse his mother! But when he turned his head and met Jin Jingwen's eyes, he realized he still had proper business to attend to. He quickly adjusted his expression, then while rubbing his old back, grinned at Jin Jingwen and said

"Hehe~, if you're just talking, why kick? ~! If you accidentally hurt yourself, what will you do then?"

When Yin Fengxuan said that, his tone was exactly the same as when he talks to women*, making Lin Quan, who was already hiding in a corner, shiver all over! Jin Jingwen, who had been holding back anger for a while, trembled with fury and immediately lifted her leg again, delivering two more kicks!

At this point Jin Jingwen was so angry she could barely speak. Seeing her kick again and again, Yin Fengxuan also got a bit heated, but when he saw Jin Jingwen's resentful short kicks… Pfft, Yin Fengxuan laughed again!

……

Actually, Jin Jingwen wasn't that short, but she was still a bit shorter than the tall and slender Shui Yun, belonging to the petite‑cute type. Now, seated, her legs under the flowing robe looked even shorter!

Although Yin Fengxuan's teasing was out of place, he was strikingly good‑looking. He couldn't compare to the near‑perfect Yin Fengzhan, but he was still handsome, with a graceful bearing! So, by this comparison, Yin Fengxuan found it even more amusing!

Fortunately, this time Yin Fengxuan held back! He pursed his lips for a while, suppressing the urge to burst out laughing. Then he looked up at Jin Jingwen, his eyes flickered, and he said with a grin

"Hehe~, don't be like that~! Why are you still angry? I'm just caring about you~!"

Yin Fengxuan never thought his tone was problematic. When those words left his mouth, Jin Jingwen didn't strike again; she only glared at him fiercely

"Immediately, get— out!!!"

Jin Jingwen was trembling all over with anger. Seeing her signature line ineffective, Yin Fengxuan was stunned at first, then grinned and leaned in again

"Don't be like that~! It's hard to come all the way here… Ah, are you still nitpicking what just happened? I forgot~! Anyway, fighting is love, scolding is affection~! I understand…"

The nearby Lin Quan had already covered his face completely. At that moment, before Yin Fengxuan could finish, Jin Jingwen's face turned as black as a pot bottom, and without thinking she cut him off

"You understand what the heck! Get out!"

Saying that, Jin Jingwen 'scraped' up, stood, grabbed an empty bowl nearby, and smashed it toward him!

In the end, Yin Fengxuan was hit by a series of eighteen throws from Jin Jingwen, each harder than the last!

Although Yin Fengxuan's footwork was decent, swift, and his dodging was good, he was still splashed by a torrent of soup, staining his clothes!

So now standing at the gate of the Jin family mansion, watching the vermilion main door slam shut with a 'Bang—' sound, then glancing down at his disheveled embroidered gold brocade robe, Yin Fengxuan immediately frowned.

"Zeh~! What's going on?"

"Damn, I felt pretty good today! How did I end up getting smashed like this?"

Yin Fengxuan was a bit puzzled; he thought, with his looks and eloquence, why didn't that little girl bite the hook right away!

Yin Fengxuan wasn't one to overthink; unable to figure it out, he grabbed the nearby sycophant Lin Quan by the throat!

"Lin Quan, come here! What do you think of that Jin girl's plan? I think she performed well today, why didn't she bite the hook?"

As his close henchman, Yin Fengxuan had nothing to hide from him. Hearing that, the air‑filled Lin Quan, who had been acting empty all morning, slowly returned to his human form, then stiffly looked up at his master

"Nima!"

"Boss, are you asking me?! Don't say she didn't bite the hook; if it were me, I'd never let you run, I'd just hold you down and smash your head till you die, you know?!"

"So now you still ask me… Boss, are you forcing me to spray *you on the street?"

Lin Quan's inner monologue ranted! Yet he finally held back, his mouth twitched, and finally he opened his mouth and said

"Um… Prince, perhaps we should discuss this back at the residence?"

Lin Quan truly didn't know what to say! Hearing that, Yin Fengxuan was taken aback

"Hm?! Go back and talk?!"

"Damn, why does it feel like an endless story?!"

Yin Fengxuan mulled it over, then thought, one failure means a lesson; going back to summarize would be good! With that thought, he nodded, then turned and returned to his Prince's residence.

……