Volume One, Chapter 19: The True Heiress Is a Powerhouse

An Qianqian looked at He Qin and spoke calmly: "Have you gathered the silver?"

At the mention of money, He Qin’s face twisted instantly.

"I have money, and I shall spend it on whoever I please. Is that any of your business? Instead of sitting here picking on me, you’d be better off going home and thinking about what use a mere title will be if you fail to come up with the silver."

Stung by An Qianqian’s words, Princess He Qin shrieked, "An Qianqian, you bitch! Stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong! Even if our family is having a temporary cash flow problem, it is not for a wretch who fawns over foreign hostages to lecture us!"

Liu Shan chimed in, fanning the flames: "The Princess is right! This An Qianqian is shortsighted; she ignores the riches of the capital just to wallow in the mud!"

An Huantuo was trembling with rage and was about to step forward to argue, but An Qianqian pressed him back.

"Chuntang."

Chuntang, who had been waiting nearby, immediately stepped forward: "Yes, Miss."

"Go to the nearby neighborhoods and find twenty of the most eloquent women you can. More is fine, too—make sure they are older, have loud voices, and are capable of a good scolding. I will pay ten taels of silver for each one."

"Understood!"

He Qin and Liu Shan had no idea what kind of scheme An Qianqian was cooking up, but they were about to find out. Ten taels of silver was not a small sum in the capital. The market where Chuntang went happened to be bustling with women buying groceries. Enticed by the promise of ten taels per person, over a hundred women gathered within the time it takes to brew a pot of tea.

"Miss, everyone is here," Chuntang reported.

An Qianqian took out bag after bag of silver and had Chuntang distribute it to the arrivals one by one. The crowd of a hundred women loomed, sleeves rolled up, clutching the scallions, ginger, and garlic they had just purchased—they were clearly seasoned veterans of the marketplace.

Mother Wang, the leader, stood before An Qianqian and slapped her thigh: "Don’t you worry, Miss! We haven’t practiced our tongues for nothing. We’ll make sure they don’t know which way is up!"

An Qianqian pointed at the pale-faced He Qin and Liu Shan, her voice clear: "See that boy in the brocade robe and the girl with the pearl hairpin? Scold them to your heart’s content. One tael for every insult, and there will be extra rewards for a particularly satisfying scolding."

As she spoke, she had Chuntang dump silver ingots into a bamboo basket; the gleaming white silver was enough to make one’s head spin.

Mother Wang’s eyes lit up. She charged forward first, pointing at Liu Shan’s nose and launching into a tirade: "You young man look decent enough, so why are you walking around blind? You bump into people and then give them that arrogant look—did your elders never teach you manners? I suspect your mother forgot to give you a heart when she birthed you, which is why you turned out to be such a scoundrel!"

"One tael!" An Qianqian signaled for Chuntang to hand over the silver.

Auntie Zhang pushed forward, shouting at the top of her lungs: "And you, young lady, you look soft and delicate, so why is your mouth full of the stench of dog dung? I suppose you don’t eat grain, but feast on sewage all day long!"

"Another tael!"

The surrounding women, seeing this, erupted like a boiling pot. They didn’t care about status or background; they only knew that every insult earned them silver.

Some pointed at He Qin’s hair bun: "Wearing so many pearls, are you trying to crush yourself to death? I don’t think you have brains in that head of yours, just paste!"

Others circled Liu Shan: "A young man who doesn't learn anything good, just following behind women and gossiping—you must be a man without any backbone!"

Their words were as coarse as sandpaper, tangled, unreasonable, and filled with a savage tenacity. He Qin had never suffered such humiliation. She trembled with rage, trying to shout "Insolent!" but the moment she opened her mouth, she was drowned out by the chorus of insults.

"Did your mother forget to install a gate on your mouth when she birthed you? All you do is blather nonsense from dawn to dusk!"

"I think you two are just courting disaster—you deserve every bit of this scolding!"

"What’s the use of wearing fancy clothes? Your belly is full of rot, you heartless, lungless wretches!"

An Qianqian stood to the side, watching Chuntang hand out silver to the women one by one for every insult, leaving the bystanders stunned. Liu Shan tried to rush forward to retaliate, but he was held back by several brawny women. They shoved him and cursed: "Want to hit someone? Not a chance! I tell you, if I don’t make you kneel and beg for mercy today, I’m not a Zhao!"

Tears welled up in He Qin’s eyes. She wanted to run, but the women had surrounded her completely. Those filthy, wretched words pierced her heart like needles, making her wish she could crawl into a hole in the ground.

An Huantuo watched, dumbfounded. He finally understood his younger sister’s plan—this wasn't just an argument; she had hired a group of "ancestors" to deliver a crushing blow. How could ordinary noble ladies ever be a match for these street-hardened women?

The war of words eventually ended when Liu Shan and He Qin’s guards arrived to spirit them away. An Qianqian had Chuntang settle the payments on the spot. An Huantuo, hiding to the side, shivered. He decided then and there: never provoke a woman. Especially an older one—you must handle them with great care.

Back at the estate, Cheng Mingyue sat in the front hall, supporting her forehead. She already knew what her daughter and son had done that day. After deliberating for a while, she asked An Qianqian: "Qianqian, do you like Prince Si?"

"I do not," An Qianqian replied calmly.

"If you don't like him, why spend so much money on him?"

"It was just a trivial matter. I spend even more on you."

Cheng Mingyue and An Huantuo did the math; it was true, they had received more than Si Chengnian.

"But everyone outside says you are hopelessly in love with him."

The daughter had only been back for a few days and hadn't even met all the young gentlemen of the capital yet. Once she met more people and saw better men, she would surely lose interest in that Si Chengnian.

"Mother, rumors have never been able to hurt me."

"If you don't care, that is fine. With the resources of the Duke of Rong’s estate, finding you a reliable husband in the future will be no problem."

"It doesn't matter if the husband isn't reliable. I will make him understand what 'fist power' means."

An Qianqian had never intended to marry. She was only in this world to complete a mission, and she would leave once it was finished. But to Cheng Mingyue and An Huantuo, this sounded like An Qianqian had realized the power of the Duke’s estate and intended to find a man from a weaker family so she could control him.

"Fine, whatever you say. The Crown Princess is holding an Ice Banquet in a few days; I will take you with me."

Now that her daughter had just been found, Cheng Mingyue didn't dare provoke any rebellious thoughts. As a mother who had raised several children, she understood this age group well. Whether her daughter truly liked Si Chengnian or not, as parents, they couldn't be too firm. They had to guide her slowly.

After discussing the banquet, An Qianqian returned to her room.

Elsewhere, Si Chengnian felt a ripple in his heart upon receiving the ice. He had previously decided to make the young girl give up on her infatuation with him, but he hadn't expected her to be so persistent.

A guard in black knelt on one knee and continued his report: "Today, Princess He Qin and Master Liu publicly insulted Miss An, calling her a 'sycophant' for you. Miss An was furious; she hired a hundred women with rewards and had them scold the pair back."

Si Chengnian twisted the block of ice that had just been delivered. The chill seeped through his fingers, but it could not suppress the inexplicable heat in his heart. He looked down at his reflection in the ice, the corners of his lips curling up slightly, before returning to his usual cold indifference.

"A sycophant?"

He whispered the two words, his knuckles suddenly tightening.

The black-clad guard lowered his head further: "Yes. Princess He Qin also said... said Miss An was blind."