Chapter 26: Truly Thick Skin

"Watch how you talk!" The man beside the old lady shoved Chi Zhiqiu. "My mother is lying on the ground—how is that extorting you? Everyone, judge for us—whose fault is it really?" He pointed at Chi Zhiqiu and said, "Let me tell you, without twenty taels of silver today, you're not leaving this place!"

Chi Nan Yi watched this scene unfold and couldn't help but sneer. So there were scam artists everywhere—from ancient times to now, there had always been people who wanted to get something for nothing this way.

Since that was the case, she would just have to teach her a lesson.

"My mother was knocked down by your carriage and can't even get up—say something! What are you going to do about it?" The man's eyes darted around. "Report to the authorities! I'm reporting this! Let the officials sort it out for us!"

The Chi father and son paled at these words.

If they had no witnesses and the authorities were called, they would be the ones at a disadvantage.

What were they to do?

The man and the old lady on the ground exchanged a glance, both wearing gloating smiles.

Chi Nan Yi took in every detail of this scene, a cold sneer curling at her lips. She stepped forward slowly and pricked the horse with a Silver Needle. The horse flinched in pain and instantly grew agitated.

"The horse is spooked!" someone shouted. The old lady on the ground scrambled to her feet and stumbled several steps back.

Chi Nan Yi reined in the horse and said with a smile, "My, old lady, weren't you knocked unconscious? Weren't you in so much pain you couldn't get up? How is it I see you moving so nimbly? I'd say you walk faster than someone who hadn't fallen at all."

The old lady stood there, looking around. The crowd nearby was pointing and whispering.

"How does this old woman look injured at all?"

"Exactly. She's clearly trying to scam them. If she'd really been hit by a carriage, she'd have been flung far away—how would she still be alive to wail here?"

The old lady shouted in a fit of rage, "What nonsense are you people spouting? What does it have to do with you? They hit me! They did hit me!" She pointed at Chi Nan Yi. "You little tramp, you're in cahoots with them, aren't you!"

"Whether I'm in cahoots with them or not, what does that have to do with you? You said you were hit, didn't you? Let me see—where were you hit?" Chi Nan Yi looked her up and down. "You want to report to the authorities? I want to report too! Let the officials examine your injuries and see whether they were actually caused by a carriage."

"You—!"

When the old lady couldn't out-argue her, the middle-aged man beside her stepped forward and stopped not far from Chi Nan Yi. "You little bitch, I'll—"

Slap!

Before he could finish, a slap landed, and the man's face was knocked sideways.

As though he hadn't expected Chi Nan Yi to strike, the man failed to react for a moment.

In truth, it wasn't that he hadn't reacted—it was that Chi Nan Yi moved so fast he had no time to dodge, and her hand was so powerful that even after all this time, his head was still buzzing.

The man shook his head and glared at Chi Nan Yi. "You dare hit me?"

Slap!

Another slap.

Chi Nan Yi flexed her wrist and said with some distaste, "Such thick skin—my hand hurts from hitting him."

She walked over to the dumbfounded Chi father and son and held out her palm. Chi Zhiqiu looked at her slightly reddened palm and instinctively blew on it a few times.

"You! You! You go too far!" The old lady supported her son, who had been slapped senseless. "You strike someone in broad daylight!"

"He deserved it. He spoke insolently, called me a little bitch, and called himself 'your old man.' My old man is right here! Whose old man is he? Don't tell me he wants to be my stepfather?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

"If it's nonsense, then don't go throwing 'old man' around. If you must throw it, throw it on the wall!" Chi Nan Yi turned to look at the old lady and said with a half-smile, "Old woman, it seems you still don't know what it feels like to be hit by a carriage. It's only twenty taels of silver—I can afford it. I've grown up and never once seen someone sent flying by a carriage. Today I'll use you to broaden my horizons!"

As she spoke, she made as if to grab the horsewhip.

Seeing this, the two of them recoiled in fright, stumbling back a dozen paces.

"You—you—you're nothing but a shrew!" The man's face was swollen like a pig's head, his head spinning dizzily.

"When dealing with the likes of you, how can I not be fierce?"

With that, she swung onto the carriage and raised the horsewhip as if to bring it down on the horse. Seeing this, the two dared not stand their ground—they fled in panic, tripping and falling several times as they ran.

The man's forehead was scraped open, but even so, they didn't dare stop.

They were terrified that Chi Nan Yi's carriage would come bearing down on them.

Watching their wretched retreat, Chi Nan Yi gave a cold laugh and, under the shocked gazes of the Chi father and son, returned the horsewhip to Chi Zhiqiu.

"Big Brother, are you dumbstruck?"

"Little sister!" Chi Zhiqiu gave her a thumbs-up, a trace of admiration in his eyes. The Chi family were honest and upright people, but it was precisely this nature that made them frequent targets of bullying.

It wasn't that they hadn't considered standing firm, but the whole family were pushovers—no one could hold their ground—and over time, anyone and everyone could push them around.

But today, the Chi father and son saw hope in Chi Nan Yi.

"Yi'er, our family is in your hands from now on." Father Chi patted Chi Nan Yi's shoulder. "Once we're back at the Chi Family, your father will have you give your three blockhead brothers a good lecture."

"Lecture about what?"

"Your father means for you to teach us how to be shrews."

Chi Nan Yi: "..."

Alright, you can shut up now.

Chi Nan Yi shot Chi Zhiqiu a glare and turned to board the carriage.

She took out steamed buns and handed them to the Chi father and son.

"Meat buns!"

It had been who knows how long since they'd last tasted meat. Smelling the aroma of the meat buns, Chi Zhiqiu nearly drooled.

Watching them wolf down the food, Chi Nan Yi frowned deeply.

In her previous life, under the famine, how had they made it all the way to Jingcheng?

How much suffering had they endured?

"Little sister, after two more towns we'll reach our village. If nothing goes wrong, we'll be home before dark. Mother still doesn't know what happened these past days. If she finds out that Qinghe did such a thing, who knows how heartbroken she'll be—after all, among all the children, she dotes on Qinghe the most."

"Never mind, why bring her up?" Father Chi waved his hand. "Let's hurry! Any more delays and we won't make it before dark."

With a bun still clamped in his mouth, Chi Zhiqiu tucked the remaining buns inside his clothes to keep them warm.

"This fool—he's surely saving them for your sister-in-law."

Sister-in-law?

Right!

According to the timeline of my previous life, my elder brother has already started a family, and my sister-in-law is already pregnant.

In the previous life, the sister-in-law's child died before birth; in this life, she will definitely not let these things happen.

Their carriage headed toward the city gate; at that moment, a man wearing a treasure-blue cross-collared long robe stood on the second floor of a teahouse, watching the carriage depart, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.