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Chapter 50.1

“I’m the one who needs to ask. What do you want exactly?” An Ruochen said, “You came to beg me to find a marriage for you, but almost ten days have passed, and I have not heard anything from you. If I ask for the General’s help, but you do not have the intention to do your part, my effort would be in vain, and I couldn’t explain myself to the General. Where do I put my face then, and how can I gain a foothold in this General household?”

An Ruoxi pursed her lips sheepishly.

“Therefore, I had to find you to ask clearly, what is your intention? If you are unwilling to do something for me in exchange for marrying outside the county, we should make it clear as soon as possible. From now on, we will not interact with each other. It is better to cut off our ties and not delay each other.”

“I’m naturally sincere. Otherwise, who would want to suffer your anger.” An Ruoxi persevered. After saying it, she felt it sounded rather unpleasant but it was too late to swallow the words back. Her tone softened when she spoke again: “You asked me to spy on the news, right? I would have come here after I know something, then you would be happy, and we would have something to discuss. Otherwise, you would give me attitude again and be unwilling to help me. Would not I have come for nothing then?”

“Is that so?” An Ruochen said blandly. “Then your speed of spying is indeed a bit slow.”

An Ruoxi argued. “About the jade goods, only Master Qian knows how to take them out from the Department of Commerce. That day I took advantage of Ronggui’s happy mood and asked a few questions. But, Ronggui also did not know. He said Father was also worried, but Master Qian was tight-lipped, and he was unable to ask more. In this situation, how can I find out? Eldest sister is capable. Why not find out yourself? That way, you will not blame me.”

“How do you know I can figure it out? If Father did not know about it, what about someone else?”

An Ruoxi was stunned and blurted out: “Master Qian?”

An Ruochen stared at her. “Did you say something to Master Qian?”

An Ruoxi dared not to look her in the eyes and argued with her mouth, “I’m dying to avoid him. How could I talk to him?”

An Ruochen smiled coldly. “You told Lu Daniang that someone knew she was my helper and told her to be more careful.”

“I had good intentions.”

“Father and your mother know that Lu Daniang helped me. But, at most, they will have nefarious ideas, such as making false news for her to pass on to me. Even if they have such thoughts, they would tell you about it. There is only one person who will not inform you of the nasty things, who at the same time has a vicious heart and hates me.”

An Ruoxi busy shouted. “Even if I did not tell, our parents or Ronggui would also have told him. I always have to say something to get out of it. He will certainly know about this news, whether it is me or someone else or what does it matter, I have thought about it ……”

At this point, she shut her mouth abruptly. She was so stupid! The moment she became anxious, her head burned. She could have said that it was her Father who said it, and she happened to know about it, so she kindly went to inform Lu Daniang. She glanced at An Ruochen and felt her eyes had the meaning ‘you are as evil as I expected.’

An Ruoxi gritted her teeth and straightened her back. She was not evil. She always had to plan for herself. Moreover, Qian Pei would learn about this news even if she did not tell him.

“I will not stop you if you want to get your way. But whether you want to work with the tiger or help it, be careful. Qian Pei is not someone you can mess with. You are only exposing your fear of him by showing him your goodwill. He will be watching you and catching your weakness. You should not forget that our Father is afraid of him, and even the Lord Governor is cautious of him. How can you be his opponent?”

An Ruoxi’s heart thumped. Remembering Qian Pei staring at her in the carriage, she swallowed her saliva and said, “You are saying all this to tell me that I must not rely on my parents, that Qian Pei has a poisonous heart, that you are the only good person in all this, and that I have to rely on you, right?”

“No. You are wrong! I am not a good person. I had said this clearly. You do things for me, and I will do things for you. I did not see your sincerity, I am not getting benefits from you, so you are useless to me. I will not help you with anything. You should honestly listen to our Father’s arrangements and let him sell you for a good price.”

An Ruoxi bit her lips and said, “I’m unable to find out, Ronggui did not know how the jade goods are taken out. I cannot ask too many questions without arousing suspicion.”

“Then let me think about what else you can do. I will tell you when I think of it.” An Ruochen said coldly, “You can go back.”

An Ruoxi rounded her eyes: “That’s it? You’ll tell me when you think of something?” She was on fire, once again enraged by An Ruochen’s attitude. “You think that I am your servant girl?”

“Naturally, I have not treated you as a servant. I did not even ask you to pour tea.”

Speaking of this, An Ruoxi was angry again. She had waited here for half a day, and An Ruochen reprimanded her for another half a day, but no one served her a cup of water. She huffed and stood up, wanting to scold but hesitating.

An Ruochen did not look at her, stood up, and walked out: “See you next time, sister. I won’t see you off.”

An Ruochen left, and An Ruoxi was so angry that she stomped her feet.

When she returned to the An House, Mrs. Tan pulled An Ruoxi and asked her what An Ruochen had said. An Ruoxi burst out her grievances while hugging her mother and cried loudly.

Mrs. Tan was startled and asked what was going on.

An Ruoxi dared not say that she had exchanged terms with An Ruochen. She wiped her tears and shouted: “She was in a bad mood, looking for me to go over there to take it out on me. Nothing serious, just picking out the former problems.”

Mrs. Tan raged. “That bitch! She’s too deceitful!”

An Ruoxi cried out loudly.

Mrs. Tan hurriedly took her daughter into her arms and comforted her. “Don’t cry. Let that bitch be proud of herself for a few days. We will clean her up properly later. Your grievances, Mother will get them all back for you.”

An Ruoxi buried her head in her mother’s arms and cried even more sorrowfully.

Soon, the whole residence knew that the second girl and the first girl had a dispute, and that the first girl was in a bad mood and dared to take it out on the An family. This feud was a big deal.

On the other hand, Big Long received a report from Chu Qing that a small group of soldiers from South Qin wanted to sneak into their military post, which was actually a diversion attack, while the main purpose was to send three South Qin soldiers across the border to spy on the military situation in their camp. Now the team has repelled the raiding soldiers, killing one of them and capturing the other two. Thus, they requested Big Long to come to the Shi Ling Cliff military camp to deal with this matter.

Things sounded simple, but Big Long knew there were many hidden parts of the story, and it was happening just the way he envisioned. To grasp the opportunity, Big Long arranged the deployment and led the troops.

Before leaving, he encountered Xie Gang on his way to explore the Feng’an County incident. The exposure of traitors spying in the military was not a bad thing because it was better to catch them early. Previously, they had experienced more complex and sudden situations, but this time there was an additional An Ruochen.

That girl has found something and figured out a way. He gave her the opportunity, but she did not tell him, which made him feel complicated. He was pleased with her confidence and alertness but worried about her situation and safety. She was no battle-hardened veteran, but he just inexplicably – trusted her.

If she feels confident, then he will feel the same way. Although she cannot decide for herself and always asks him for advice, he was pleased that she has ideas.