“The Jiang family of the capital, legitimate daughter of the Chief Minister, Jiang the Second,” Jiang Li said.
This bland statement caused the noisy, arguing crowd to fall silent.
Liu Zimin had been waiting for Jiang Li to speak so he could properly ridicule her, but the instant he heard these words, he froze in place.
The Jiang family of the capital, the Chief Minister’s legitimate daughter—most people in Yanjing knew the Chief Minister’s daughter, Jiang Youyao. Since the girl before him had identified herself, she must be the Jiang family’s Second Miss, Jiang Li, who had left the capital eight years ago.
The youngest son of the Grand Minister of Ceremonies might be able to swagger through Yanjing, but everyone knew that Jiang Yuanbai, the Emperor’s imperial tutor, was someone who absolutely could not be offended.
However, Liu Zimin was already riding a tiger and couldn’t dismount. If he backed down here and now, how would he survive in Yanjing in the future? Moreover, if he admitted his crime and people learned that he’d used a fake painting to extort silver from Ye Shijie, his classmates at the Imperial Academy would laugh him to death, his family’s reputation would be ruined, and his father would certainly beat him to death.
Steeling his heart, Liu Zimin thought to himself that in all of Yanjing, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t beaten the sons of families with higher status than his own. Some young masters from great families might have vast estates and fortunes, but their temperaments were soft. Jiang Li was just a young girl—scare her a couple of times and she might very well submit.
Liu Zimin looked at Jiang Li with a cold laugh. “Though you’re from the Jiang family, that doesn’t necessarily mean your father will protect you. Don’t think that by bringing up the Jiang family name you can spout nonsense. I say this painting is genuine, so it’s genuine. You’re in cahoots with this brat—you’d better not bring disaster upon yourself!” As he spoke, he raised his fist.
This was blatant intimidation.
Watching all this from afar in her carriage, Jiang Youyao’s eyes lit up. She wished nothing more than for Liu Zimin to immediately injure Jiang Li right here. In that case, with Jiang Li conflicting with men on the street, her reputation would plummet even further. No matter how much Jiang Yuanbai favored her, this time he would have to be angry.
Moreover, Jiang Youyao also laughed at Liu Zimin’s vile behavior. If Liu Zimin struck, he wouldn’t care whether it was a man or woman, or how severely he injured them.
“Liu Zimin,” Ye Shijie frowned and moved Jiang Li behind him to one side. “The grievance is between you and me and has nothing to do with others. Don’t harm the innocent.”
Liu Zimin laughed heartily. “That’s exactly my thinking too.” He looked at Jiang Li, meaning that she’d better not interfere in this matter.
If it were anyone else, the current Jiang Li might have endured it. But she had inherited Xue Huaiyuan’s nature of clear-cut grudges and hatred of evil from childhood, and moreover, Ye Shijie was her own relative. Jiang Li curved her lips and said, “How fortunate. I’m someone who least fears bringing disaster upon myself. Young master, you’ve probably forgotten why I left Yanjing eight years ago.”
Everyone was shocked!
Eight years ago, the crime for which Jiang Li left Yanjing was precisely because she had committed the grave offense of murdering her mother and younger brother. While others rushed to conceal their misdeeds, Jiang Li, as if afraid people didn’t know, actively brought it up herself.
She truly touched upon the most sensitive topic.
Ye Shijie looked at Jiang Li in astonishment, seemingly not expecting her to say such a thing. Yet Jiang Li’s expression remained calm as she looked at Liu Zimin with composure.
Liu Zimin suddenly felt cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Others probably didn’t understand what Jiang Li meant by these words, but Liu Zimin immediately grasped it. Jiang Li’s meaning was that she had even done things like murdering her mother and younger brother—what else couldn’t she do? A threat from Liu Zimin truly didn’t concern her in the slightest.
Liu Zimin should have felt angry at this provocation, but looking into Jiang Li’s eyes, he felt afraid instead.
Yes, he was a bully. Though he didn’t commit every evil deed in Yanjing, it wasn’t far off. He even had several lives on his hands. However, the lives on his hands were all targeting commoners with far less power than himself, not official households with status equal to or even higher than his own.
When facing families with greater power than his own, Liu Zimin’s nature of bullying the weak and fearing the strong would force him to have misgivings. Yet when he had misgivings, the person opposite him showed no fear whatsoever—in fact, there was a kind of ruthlessness like someone with nothing to lose who fears nothing.
Thus the weak became weaker and the strong became stronger. In a flash, Liu Zimin had already fallen into a disadvantageous position.
Seeing Liu Zimin’s flickering, uncertain gaze, Jiang Li knew he was wavering.
Xue Huaiyuan was the county magistrate of Tongxiang County, but as an upright and honest official, impartial and incorruptible, he sometimes dared to expose officials with higher ranks than himself. Such a person had an excellent reputation among the common people, but his colleagues hated him intensely.
When colleagues hated him, by extension they also hated his family. From childhood to adulthood, she and Xue Zhao didn’t know how many times they’d been troubled by those officials’ sons and daughters.
She had it better—conflicts between girls never came to blows. Xue Zhao had it worse. Those boys would resort to fists at the slightest disagreement, and Xue Zhao always came home with a bruised and swollen face. Over time, Xue Zhao learned some lessons from experience. When dealing with ruthless people, you had to be even more ruthless than them. No matter what, you couldn’t lose in momentum. If there were ruthless deeds in your past, first display them for people to see, to suppress the opponent’s momentum. Once the opponent’s momentum weakened, don’t give them a chance—let your own momentum rise steadily, and victory would certainly be assured.
Relying on his imposing presence and martial skills, Xue Zhao eventually became someone no one dared provoke in Tongxiang County.
The moment Jiang Li saw Liu Zimin’s behavior, she knew he was someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong. And with the Jiang family as her backing, she didn’t need to expend any effort at all—she could defeat Liu Zimin without lifting a finger.
Murdering one’s mother and younger brother was an evil reputation, but at certain times, this evil reputation could also make people shudder with fear and avoid many pointless troubles.
“How shameless,” Jiang Youyao said through gritted teeth. “To publicize such disgraceful matters—she’s truly lost all of Father’s face!”
Seeing Liu Zimin standing motionless in place, Jiang Li said, “If this young master insists on claiming I’m spouting nonsense, then let’s do as you initially suggested and report this to the authorities. Since I’m also involved in this case, I’ll go along with you.”
Liu Zimin was both anxious and furious!
When he’d mentioned reporting to the authorities, it was merely to frighten Ye Shijie. As long as he greased the right palms, entrapping Ye Shijie, who had no connections in Yanjing, would be as easy as flipping his hand. But with Jiang Li involved, it was completely different. Jiang Li was a Miss of the Jiang family—even just for the sake of the Jiang family’s face, this case would be handled with strict impartiality. In the end, he would lose the chicken and the rice—not only would he not earn Ye Shijie’s silver, but he’d also trap himself. He would implicate his father’s reputation.
In the blink of an eye, Liu Zimin was already dripping with cold sweat. Looking at Jiang Li, he truly couldn’t understand how a young girl who had stayed in a temple for eight years and been rejected by her family could have such confidence, could be so unrelenting.
“However,” just as Liu Zimin was caught in a dilemma, Jiang Li suddenly smiled and said, “I think this matter is probably just a misunderstanding. After all, by the looks of it, young master isn’t someone who would deliberately extort others. I imagine you believed this painting was genuine and were also deceived by someone. Since that’s the case, why not reconcile? Let Young Master Ye compensate with twenty taels of silver, and this matter can be dropped. What do you say?”
To Liu Zimin’s ears, Jiang Li’s words were like heavenly music. She was giving him a way out!
What did he say? Of course it was good!