Chapter 34: Resistance

"Who! Who!" Hou Qinian's face turned green, and the servants following him hurried forward, at which point Chi Nan Yi finally let go.

Hou Qinian clutched his nearly broken arm, pointed at Chi Nan Yi, and said furiously, "You! Who are you? You wretched girl, you dare lay hands on me, the Town Mayor! Men! Beat her to death!"

Hearing this, the Chi Family members hurried forward and shielded Chi Nan Yi behind them. Chi Ting Song dropped to his knees with a thud: "Town Mayor Hou, my daughter was just brought back from outside. She doesn't understand many things yet. I beg you not to stoop to her level. This humble commoner kowtows to you—please, let her go."

"Hmph! Lowborn wretch!" Hou Qinian's gaze fell on Chi Nan Yi's face. His brow lifted slightly, and the ugly words he was about to say were swallowed back. His lecherous eyes roamed over her: "What a delicate, exquisite little beauty!"

He took a few steps forward, not forgetting to lift the arm that Chi Nan Yi had injured, and reached out to touch her face.

Chi Nan Yi frowned deeply and said in a low voice, "Does the Town Mayor not want his other hand either?"

Hearing her say this, Hou Qinian's hand stopped in midair, then he burst into laughter: "Hahahahaha! Spicy! Full of fire! I, the Town Mayor, like that." His words made the hearts of everyone in the Chi Family sink to rock bottom.

What the Town Mayor meant by this—anyone could figure it out with half a brain.

He had clearly taken a fancy to Chi Nan Yi.

Wen Zhilan's hand gripping Chi Nan Yi's trembled slightly. Chi Nan Yi sensed her fear and smiled to comfort her.

That one smile made Hou Qinian stare, utterly transfixed.

He had lived for decades and taken over a dozen concubines, yet he had never seen a girl this beautiful.

"This one of yours seems to look a bit different from before."

"To answer the Town Mayor, Yi'er was switched with Qinghe by mistake, and has only just been swapped back."

"Oh, so they were switched by mistake!" Hou Qinian said with a smile. "A mistake is good, a mistake is good!"

Just then, the servant beside him reminded him softly, "Town Mayor, it's not that the mistake was good—it's that getting her back is good."

"Ah, right, right, right, getting her back is good!" Hou Qinian walked up to Chi Ting Song, patted his shoulder, and spoke with warm, amiable words: "To tell the truth, I, the Town Mayor, have taken a fancy to your newly returned daughter. Here's what we'll do—you dress her up nicely, and I, the Town Mayor, will give you ten taels of silver as a betrothal gift. In a couple of days I'll send people to carry her into my residence to be my concubine, and your Chi Family's tax grain this year will also be waived."

"What?"

In Hou Qinian's view, the Chi Family's look of shock was due to surprise and excitement—after all, ten taels of silver was already no small amount, not to mention the waiver of this year's tax grain. Combined, that was no trifling sum.

Besides, becoming his concubine—wasn't that something to be proud of!

The villagers of Yuping Village all looked at Chi Nan Yi with expressions of pity.

Such a beautiful girl, married off to a man older than her own father—her life was ruined.

What a pity, truly such a pity.

Hou Qinian had already begun imagining carrying Chi Nan Yi into his residence, but before his fantasy could end, he heard Chi Nan Yi beside him give a cold laugh: "You want to marry me? You?"

The smile on Hou Qinian's face froze. He looked at her with ill intent: "What did you say? Say that to me, the Town Mayor, again!"

"I said, you want to marry me—go take a piss and look at your own reflection."

"You! You wretched girl! You dare speak to me, the Town Mayor, like that! Do you have a death wish!"

"Town Mayor?" Chi Nan Yi gave a cold laugh. "Is Town Mayor some incredibly grand official? Those who don't know better would think you're the County Magistrate or the City Lord! A mere Town Mayor—and you really think you're the Emperor?"

"Mere?" Hou Qinian pointed one finger at the sky and said loudly: "It's 'proper and dignified'!"

"Heh." Chi Nan Yi couldn't help but sneer: "A narrow-minded creature. An official the size of a sesame seed, and you think you wield supreme power?"

"You! You lowborn wretch, you dare speak to our Town Mayor like that! You don't want to live anymore!" The servant beside Hou Qinian rolled up his sleeves, drew the whip from his waist, and sent it whistling through the air with crack after crack. Hearing this sound, the people of Yuping Village instinctively shrank their necks.

"Today I'll teach you a good lesson, let you know what you should say and what you shouldn't!"

The servant flourished his whip and was just about to close in. Chi Nan Yi, watching the whip about to fall, raised her arm, grabbed the other end of the whip bare-handed, and gave a hard yank—the whip slipped right out of the servant's palm.

Chi Nan Yi raised the whip without a second word, the sound of it cutting through the air even louder than before, and brought it down hard, every stroke biting into flesh. Soon, bloody welts appeared all over the servant's body.

The servant scrambled in every direction, and the whip inevitably struck others too.

And so Hou Qinian, who had been standing closest to him, became the one the whip kept catching from time to time.

Master and servant were seen jumping about as if performing a shamanic dance.

That comical sight made the people of Yuping Village burst into unstoppable laughter.

"You! You bitch! You dare hit me!" Hou Qinian said through gritted teeth as he jumped about. "Just you wait! I'll definitely report this to the County Magistrate and have you chopped up and fed to the dogs!"

Seeing that she had no intention of stopping, Hou Qinian grew frantic with rage: "You, you you! You still won't stop!"

"You're going to chop me up and feed me to the dogs, so of course I should hit you a few more times. It's not like there'll be any punishment worse than that."

"Ow! Ow!"

The members of the Chi Family watched the movements of her hands, their expressions complicated for a brief moment.

Having offended Town Mayor Hou, their family's life hereafter would likely be difficult.

"Mother, we've already offended him anyway. Worst case, we go down fighting!" Chi Zhiqiu gritted his teeth. "This Hou Qinian bullies people beyond all reason—he actually wants to take Yi'er as a concubine. He deserves a beating."

Wen Zhilan nodded: "Yi'er is right. We've already hit him, so why not hit him a few more times?"

Hearing the Chi Family speak like this, the villagers of Yuping Village were stunned.

"They've gone mad. The entire Chi Family has gone mad."

"Having offended Hou Qinian, this family is as good as doomed."

Chi Nan Yi looked around, the corners of her lips curving slightly, and said with a smile: "Now is the perfect time to settle old scores and right old wrongs. The law doesn't punish the masses—he's the one who stirred up public resentment. Even if the County Magistrate pursues the matter, it's Hou Qinian who acted immorally, attempting to force an honest girl into prostitution. How does someone like that deserve to sit in the Town Mayor's seat? If you ask me, he should be rolled right out of that seat. If we can use this opportunity to put a new Town Mayor in place, our days ahead will be a bit easier too."

Hearing her say this, the villagers of Yuping Village actually found it very reasonable.

"That's right! Hit him!"

"That dog Hou Qinian bullied us so badly before—now it's finally time for revenge!"

"Beat him to death!"

As the words fell, the villagers of Yuping Village surged forward, punching and kicking the man lying on the ground.