Chapter 114: No One Has Ever Walked Away Unscathed After Insulting Her

There were not many chickens in her space, but it could replenish itself automatically, so Lin Jingyue was not worried.

After she had everything arranged, night had already fallen. She set the goods down on an empty patch of ground and ate a meat bun, chewing it in great bites.

It was really cold.

Lin Jingyue shivered, but then a man arrived quickly, and when she heard the noise she looked up.

“Are you here, Sister Jin?”

“Mm,” she answered. Hearing the familiar voice, Lin Jingyue came out from the corner.

Four men came in. The one in front was a thin, gaunt man. He did not speak, and Lin Jingyue barely noticed him.
There were certainly more people outside.

Still, she was not afraid. She had her own combat value, and she had Space.

“The goods are all here, but I’ll verify the money first,” Lin Jingyue said, lowering her voice; it sounded almost androgynous.

Lu Yunjī lifted an eyebrow. “Fine.”

He gestured for the men beside him to bring the boxes and open them.

Two chests: one held Great Harmony goods, the other held antiques.
Lin Jingyue switched on her torch and checked the antiques. There were not many items: a full jadeite head-and-face set, two jade pendants, a pair of gold braided bracelets inlaid with rubies, a pair of cloisonné enamel bangles, and three antique books or paintings.

She was not disappointed at all. These were already excellent.
Every era has people who can tell value. They might not be worth much in this age, but a day will come when they are prized.

She counted the Great Harmony goods again and nodded to herself.
“Alright, you can inspect everything now.”

Without waiting for Lu Yunjī to speak, the other three men immediately moved to inspect. Lin Jingyue kept the two chests with her, always at a safe distance from them.

“Lu, all in order,” the burly man said, turning to Lu Yunjī.

“Mm. Weigh them first,” Lu Yunjī said, then looked at Lin Jingyue.

Through the dim yellow torchlight, the two exchanged a brief glance in the dark.
There was quite a lot here. After weighing a few sacks of grain and flour, they didn’t need to weigh the rest; the amount could be estimated. The bulk was mostly meat.
It took a little over an hour to weigh all the meat.

In the crate she held, Great Harmony came to twelve thousand. She gave Lu Yunjī a keen look from across.
Remarkably accurate.

“Big Sister, is this much money and these goods enough?”

“About enough,” she said.

“Then we had a pleasant transaction. I hope we can do business again. I am Lu Yunjī—Yunjī, the one who sends silk letters from the clouds. How would you like me to address you?”

She knew “Jin” was just a front.

Carrying her crate, Lin Jingyue turned around. “Qianshan Jingyue at dawn, Baili Wenshuang, with the frost drum.”

“Jingyue?”

“No, Baili Wenshuang.”

“…”
Lu Yunjī frowned inwardly. What on earth was that?

Lin Jingyue liked to play at being mysterious, but she was also worried Lu Yunjī might send someone after her. Once she was out of their sight, she broke into a run. Whatever mystery there had been vanished at once.

After circling a few blocks, she returned to the inn, used Space to change back into her own clothes, and counted her cash.
All in all, she now had several tens of thousands.
Her goal of “lying low and doing nothing” had inched closer.

Early the next morning, Lin Jingyue boarded the train to Su City on a random ticket, a hard-seat.
Sure enough, someone had taken her place.
A middle-aged woman with a child sat there, clinging on miserably, and looked down on her.

“What’s wrong with sitting here for a while, even with a child? Lin Jingyue was young; was she going to complain about that?”

Lin Jingyue had no patience for it. She rolled her eyes and simply picked the woman up and threw her into the aisle.

The onlookers looked on. “...”
What tremendous strength.

The scene ended like a play at once. Lin Jingyue sat back in her seat, closed her eyes, and let every gaze pass.

Nothing happened for the rest of the trip. She got off at Su City, stayed there two days, and sold off a batch of meat and grain for just over ten thousand. At last she boarded the train to An City, satisfied.

Returning to An City, Lin Jingyue’s thought was exactly this: the mistress has returned for revenge, ha!

An City was much warmer than the northeast. She had changed out of her padded coat into a powder-blue checked wool coat, with a cashmere sweater from Mother Jiang underneath, warm enough to make her shiver with relief; small leather shoes on her feet, a single braided pigtail, and she looked so striking that she turned heads.

Back on the street where she had once lived, she took a room in a nearby inn.
After several days without proper meals, she took a shoulder bag and went to a state-run restaurant nearby.

There was, unbelievably, braised lamb in golden sauce.
She ordered a serving right away and asked for two bowls of rice.

“Shanshan, are you really going back to the countryside after the New Year?”
Just as soon as she sat down, someone spoke behind her.

“Shanshan?”
Lin Jingyue narrowed her eyes slightly and listened without showing it.

“No other way,” Wu Shanshan said bitterly. “I don’t even have a job anymore.”

She said this as if she might choke.
She had been a full-time employee, yet when dismissal came, it came all at once. She still didn’t know where she had made a mistake.

“You could go find Director Song; this job was supposed to be yours anyway…”

“Enough. If you are truly my friend, don’t bring her up!” Wu Shanshan snapped, annoyed, interrupting her companion.

She had, of course, gone to see her, but Song Qinglan simply ignored her. After returning home, her father had warned her several times.

Wu Shanshan did not know what had gotten into her. Since her grandmother died, everyone at home felt different to her—especially her father.

“Yes, let’s not mention her. Still, I really pity you. Your aunt’s position should have been yours, and instead your cousin sold it away, and then again later…”

“Hmph. That little wretch—don’t let me ever see her again!”
When Lin Jingyue was mentioned, Wu Shanshan grew even angrier.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Lin Jingyue’s mouth; she felt a mischievous urge stirring.
“Did you finish eating? I’m leaving,” Wu Shanshan got up impatiently.
“Done, done,” Lin replied.

The two talked as they left. Lin glanced at the window and said, “Comrade, I have some business to run. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”
Then she ran out.

Damn. No one in two lifetimes had dared to insult her face-to-face and leave with everyone still alive.

She chased in the direction Wu Shanshan had gone and found that it was exactly the way back to the Wu household.
The two parted at an intersection.

Wu Shanshan kept muttering angrily; the pretty, clean face she used to have was now twisted.
“Whack!”

Suddenly, without warning, a palm struck the back of her head. Wu Shanshan cried out, the skin on her face went numb. Her eyes blazed as she tried to turn and see who it was, and in the next instant a flurry of fists crashed down on her face.

She could only hold her head and keep dodging while pleading for mercy.

“Ah—you, who are you? No, don’t hit me, I’ll report to the police—you... whack—”

Another slap landed on her cheek, and Wu Shanshan saw stars instantly.
By the time she regained her senses, the person before her had already vanished without a trace.

PS: Jiang Xun: So, I’m not going to appear at all?
Author: It’s a heroine-centered story. What if he has less screen time?
Lin Jingyue: He is my husband. Give him a bigger role!
... As if.