Chapter 31: Taking You to Court

Five coins for a portion of wolf tooth potatoes, and Chen immediately asked for a whole bowl.

Lin Ruanruan looked up at her, pursed her lips, and said, "Just... just... give... give forty coins."

The bowl was fried with enough for ten portions, so she decided to give Chen a discount.

Unexpectedly, Chen raised her voice as soon as she heard the price. "We're from the same village, why should I pay for your food? In our village, we share everything."

The woman stood with one hand on her hip, making Lin Ruanruan seem greedy. But Lin Ruanruan was there to earn money, not to do charity.

Her voice was loud, making sure everyone could hear her. Lin Ruanruan, who stuttered, found it even harder to speak when she was emotional. Dealing with unreasonable people wasn't something she could manage with words. Instead of wasting time arguing, she preferred to sell more potatoes.

Ignoring Chen, Lin Ruanruan packed two bags of potatoes for other customers who had already prepared their coins.

"Hey, Third Sister, how can there be someone like this in your village? She's selling food even with elders standing here."

Chen's second sister jeered, seeing Lin Ruanruan's reluctance to give away potatoes. "Lin, you used to be so timid and stuttered all the time. I helped you a lot. Now that you're doing business in town, you don't respect me anymore?"

Chen, already annoyed, was further provoked by her sister's words, becoming more furious. She almost pointed at Lin Ruanruan's nose, cursing as if not giving her the potatoes was an unforgivable sin.

Lin Ruanruan, fearing she might scare away potential customers, refrained from reacting. But when Chen's finger almost touched her head, she couldn't hold back anymore.

Chen shrieked as Lin Ruanruan grabbed her finger with one hand and pulled the bowl of potatoes back with the other, showing no emotion.

Chen's screams scared off the people who were about to buy potatoes, making them step back.

"You stuttering girl, how dare you hit me," Chen screamed in pain, her voice sharp.

Lin Ruanruan sneered coldly, her eyes icy. Killing her would be easy, especially if she had her former assassin equipment. But she couldn't kill; she had long renounced that life.

Still, she couldn't swallow her anger. Her cold eyes in the autumn breeze made Chen feel a chill down her spine, as if she had stepped into the underworld.

"You widow, how can you be so fierce? Let go of my sister, or I'll report you to the authorities," Chen's second sister shouted, trying to pry Lin Ruanruan's hand away.

Predicting her move, Lin Ruanruan punched her, making her dizzy. She didn't want trouble, especially in public.

"Get lost!" she said, pushing Chen away hard.

Chen fell to the ground, unable to curse anymore, only groaning in pain. Seeing Lin Ruanruan's sharp gaze, she trembled in fear.

"You vicious woman, how dare you hit an elder. Heaven, strike this evil woman down," Chen's second sister continued, but her words were cut short.

Who is this lamp-saving person?

While busy pulling Chen up from the ground, she still found time to throw out a few curses.

With such a commotion, the people who had intended to buy things had already backed away several meters. Even the vendors nearby were glancing over.

"Who is an elder here, and who are you to be an elder?"

Just as Lin Ruanruan was pondering how to shut this woman up, a clear voice interrupted her thoughts.

A scholar, shaking an old folding fan, walked out from the crowd.

Looking up at him, Lin Ruanruan saw a sense of righteousness on his face.

"You come to someone else's stall to cause trouble and then call them aggressive. Ask anyone around; who would agree with such logic?"

Shaking his fan, the scholar walked up to the stall and, just like last time, stood in front of Lin Ruanruan to protect her.

Rubbing her temples, Lin Ruanruan felt a bit helpless. This scholar, clearly not strong enough to fight, had such a penchant for meddling.

"And who are you, protecting this little stutterer?" Chen rubbed her backside and blew on her sore hand, asking mockingly.

"Yo, could it be that this stutterer is your lover?" Her sister quickly chimed in.

Indeed, they were true sisters; their words were equally foul.

Lin Ruanruan squinted, pondering which sister's arm she should break first.

"Lover? What lover? I am a scholar, aiming to take the imperial exams. You slander me like this, beware I might take you to court."

With a snap, the scholar closed his fan and coldly threatened the two women.

"Court? Scholar?" Chen and her sister exchanged a glance, their eyes flickering with unease.

The courthouse was a place where one could be stripped of everything. If the scholar truly took them to court, they might end up beaten.

After another glance at each other, they picked up the things they had put down.

Chen glared at Lin Ruanruan viciously but didn't dare to say anything more.

Still, from her look, Lin Ruanruan sensed she was plotting something. Whatever, since they were leaving, there was no need to pursue them further.

There were still so many potatoes left to sell; it was better to focus on turning them into money.

Seeing the troublemakers leave, the scholar sighed in relief.

He slowly walked to Lin Ruanruan's stall, and with some difficulty, fished out five copper coins from his pocket.

"Give me a portion," he said, placing the coins by the bowl of potatoes.

Lin Ruanruan nodded slightly but couldn't help noticing his rough hands covered in tiny wounds.

For a scholar, his hands were rougher than those of Bai Cheng'an, who worked hard for a living.

But she wasn't one to care about this meddling scholar. His rough or injured hands had nothing to do with her.