Granny Liu naturally disagreed and gritted her teeth, intending to offer more money.

But Xi Xi had already taken a step forward.

“Go ahead and hit me!”

His gaze was still fierce, his eyes locked onto Wang Mazi. In the dim evening light, he looked like a wild beast emitting a cold glint.

Wang Mazi would grow old.

But he—he would grow up.

The punches he took today, he would return one day.

Seeing that Xi Xi still looked ferocious—unlike his own son, who was cowering and scared—Wang Mazi grew even angrier and raised his fist high.

A wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“Take it easy!”

“Don’t hit too hard!”

Granny Liu was panicked and tried to rush forward, but Wang Mazi’s wife blocked her.

“My grandson… don’t hit him! If you want, I’ll kneel to you!”

“Don’t you dare kneel. I can’t accept that. If kneeling could make up for wrongdoing, would there still be any prisoners in jail?”

“You—”

“Ahhh!” A scream came from behind.

It wasn’t Xi Xi’s voice. It sounded more like…

Wang Mazi didn’t land his punch.

Instead, he was kicked and sent flying.

“Wang Mazi, have you no shame? All you can do is bully kids with your fists? You think the Lu family has no one left?” Lu Yun cursed loudly, pointing at Wang Mazi.

Lu Feng and Lu Yun stood side by side in front of Wang Mazi.

Lu Qingqing came over to little Xi Xi.

“You okay? Did he hit you?”

“…No…”

Xi Xi’s dark eyes filled with sudden panic.

“I didn’t mean to hit him… He knocked over my soup and tried to steal my meat.”

“Well done!” Lu Qingqing said.

Well done?

Didn’t she think he was a wild, uncultured brute?

“Lu Feng, Lu Yun, what’s the meaning of this? You want to stick up for Lu Xixi?” Wang Mazi got up awkwardly.

Faced with the strong, young brothers, his earlier swagger vanished.

“Then pay me two taels of silver and we’ll call it even.”

“I’ll pay your damn mother! What, is your son’s face inlaid with gold? Asking for two taels? If I break your legs, would five taels be fair compensation?”

“You… you people…”

Wang Mazi was furious but didn’t dare act.

He was the type who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Seeing the situation, his wife Meng came forward and tried to scratch Lu Yun’s face.

In village fights, men didn’t hit women—it would be disgraceful.

So she relied on her status as a woman and used face-scratching as a tactic against the brothers.

As she lunged at them, Lu Yun and Lu Feng dodged her attacks.

Meng got even more aggressive, but after a few moves, her hand was caught.

“What, you think the Lu family doesn’t have women? Think I can’t handle you?”

Lu Qingqing smiled at her, then flipped her over with a shoulder throw.

Bang!

The short and stout Meng ended up lying flat on the ground.

“Wow!”

“Whoa!”

“Lu Qingqing is so strong!”

“She’s terrifying!”

Meng wailed like a ghost, Wang Jincai cowered on the ground in fear, and Wang Mazi was stunned speechless.

“The whole Lu Xingwang family is bullying us! Everyone come see this—where’s the justice?!”

Meng’s cries attracted even more villagers.

They arrived with torches to see the commotion.

“Lu Qingqing, what gives you the right to hit people?” Wang Mazi puffed up his chest now that a crowd had gathered.

“If you can bully the small, why can’t I beat up the big? Xiao Xixi is under my protection! Anyone who bullies him again is bullying me!”

Lu Qingqing’s clear voice rang cold in the night air.

“Oh, Lu Qingqing, what a big mouth you have. Who do you think you are, some rich young miss who can do whatever she wants in the village?”

The Ding family—Ding Xiang and her father—arrived, wearing brand new clothes.

“Who’s this, a hen in new clothes? Looks like a parrot now,” Lu Qingqing sneered.

Ding Xiang’s face turned green.

“Country bumpkin! Open your eyes—this outfit was a reward from the county magistrate!”

“Oh, got it, got it. No need to show off. Who knows what shady method you used to save the magistrate’s son.

If you really had skill, you’d pass the medical licensing exam and become a proper doctor.”

“You—”

“Enough. Why argue with her?” Ding Hongshi scolded Ding Xiang.

Then he crouched down to examine Wang Jincai.

“That’s a serious beating. His bones are injured, and his nose bridge is collapsed. He won’t recover in ten days or half a month.”

“What? Really, Doctor Ding?!”

Wang Mazi shouted, clearly wanting the whole village to hear.

“Doctor Ding, come check my wife! She can’t move!”

Meng wailed even louder.

Ding Hongshi went to examine her too.

“Her lower back is injured. She should stay in bed for at least a hundred days.”

“Lu Qingqing, you’re finished! Pay up!” Ding Xiang perked up.

Granny Liu’s face turned pale in the torchlight—almost ghostly.

Xiao Xi Xi bristled. “You quack doctor! Talking nonsense!”

“You little brat, who are you calling names?! My father and I were invited by the magistrate to treat his family!”

“Shameless! You—”

“Xi Xi,” Lu Qingqing called softly.

Xi Xi stopped, though reluctantly. But he muttered, “Dressed like a wild chicken… ugly freak!”

Ding Xiang was furious and tried to rush at him.

Lu Feng and Lu Yun stepped forward and blocked her.

“Fine, fine! Your Lu family likes bullying others? I’m going to report this to the county magistrate tomorrow!”

Lu Qingqing replied, “What, you think the magistrate’s office belongs to your family? Go ahead. Who are you trying to scare? I’ll even call in Doctor Pang—the best in the city—to check if what your father said is true.

Your father’s just an uncertified country quack acting all high and mighty.”

Lu Qingqing knew exactly where to strike to hit a person’s weak spot.

Ding Xiang’s eyes flickered with guilt, and she couldn’t say another word.

Huang Cuixiang piped up, rolling her eyes. “Doctor Ding is obviously better than you. You don’t know how to treat people and just bluff.”

Lu Qingqing ignored her.

Her time to cry would come.

“Lu Qingqing! Lu Feng! Lu Yun! Pay us silver! Everyone heard it—no less than ten taels today, or you’re not leaving!” Meng shouted from the ground.

“Ten taels of silver? Sure,” Lu Qingqing said calmly.

Hearing that, Meng nearly jumped up in excitement.

“No—wait! I meant twenty taels!”

“Sure.”

“…”

“Thirty taels!”

“Sure.”

“…”

Wang Mazi was skeptical.

“Then bring it out, let’s see!”

“You’re really set on thirty taels?”

“…Yes!”

Everyone’s eyes widened to see if Lu Qingqing would actually pay thirty taels.

If she really did, then people would say Lu Xingwang was cursed to have raised such a daughter.

Oh, and those two sons.

They didn’t even try to stop her.

Under the gaze of the crowd, Lu Qingqing opened the food basket.

“Well, now that the amount is set, let’s talk about what you owe us.”

“Owe you what?” Meng screeched.

Lu Qingqing brought out a bowl—now missing its soup but still with some meat.

“Your son spilled our Dragon & Phoenix Stew.

Know what that is?

It’s turtle stewed with hen meat.

The turtle was twenty years old, the hen two years, cooked with red dates, astragalus, goji berries—and most importantly, thirty-year-old ginseng powder.

Anyone with knowledge knows the soup contains all the nutritional essence.

This huge bowl of soup—

Market price: fifty taels of silver!”