Part 1: A Dream Within A Dream / Rebirth of Ill Fated Concubine

Chapter 007 Standing Up

When the situation was one-sided, someone suddenly spoke for the old man. Naturally, everyone's eyes were focused on the speaker.

Zi Su and Lian Qiao hurriedly blocked Jiang Ruan one after another to prevent anyone from bumping into her.

Everyone looked at her differently. Jiang Ruan did not hide, but just stood there and let others look at her.

The old man was so angry that his face was red and his neck was thick. He suddenly heard a word of comfort. He only felt that the voice was soft and gentle, with a hint of refreshing coolness. Although it was winter, it was like a summer breeze, sweeping away the depression in people's hearts, and his heart slowly calmed down. 

In surprised, he looked at the other person like everyone else.

There was a little girl in her teens standing in the crowd. Unlike her mature words, she was very thin and weak. Although she was small, her momentum could not be ignored. This little girl is probably due to life, her skin and lips are as pale as a pale skin, but her facial features are particularly delicate, with a jade nose and cherry lips. 

The most beautiful thing is the pair of long eyes under the dark eyebrows, which are as moist as a mountain spring on the knees, deep and shallow, and go straight into people's hearts. The eyes are extremely pure, but the tail of the eyes is slightly raised, and there is a hint of charm unconsciously. If she grows up and is well raised, she is really a shocking beauty.

However, such a beautiful little girl exudes an indescribable coldness. She just stands quietly, but there is an indescribable feeling that cannot be underestimated, and even has a sense of fear for no reason.

The old man also frowned. Such a little girl, but there are two maids around her. If she is a lady from a wealthy family, her clothes are too simple. If she is the daughter of an ordinary family, this whole body of style and style does not seem to be raised by a small family.

Jiang Ruan stood quietly, and the little girl on the side watched and burst into tears, sobbing and crying: "I didn't, I didn't steal the silver, mother, I didn't steal the silver!"

As she shouted, a peasant woman in a flowered jacket squeezed out of the crowd, stepped forward in two or three steps, protected the little girl behind her, looked at the old man and Jiang Ruan with hostility, and shouted: "What do you want to do to my Qiaojie? Two people bully one person, bullying the weak with the big, don't you know shame?"

Lian Qiao couldn't help it. Without waiting for Jiang Ruan to speak, she jumped out first and said with a smile: "Madam, you are wrong. Our girl just jumped out to say a fair word. How can it be bullying your daughter? So many people are watching. Did our girl hit her or scold her? Besides, bullying the weak, I can't see how much older our girl is than your daughter. Who would yell in public like your daughter? Bullying the weak, bullying the few, I don't know who bullies who, I don't know!" 

The woman was also stunned. It seemed that she didn't expect to see the weak Lian Qiao scolding without taking a breath. She didn't know how to talk to her for a while. When she understood, she was angry and was about to continue to pull, Jiang Ruan said: "It doesn't matter who bullies who. What matters is the silver, isn't it?"

The woman turned her head, took the girl into her arms, and said angrily: "Our Qiaojie will not steal people's silver. This silver was given to her when I went out this morning." 

"Madam, with so much silver, you are confident to give it to such a young child for safekeeping. Madam is so generous that I admire her." Jiang Ruan said lightly, whether intentionally or unintentionally, she emphasized the word ‘small’. There was a burst of laughter around. The woman just said that her daughter was young, but she gave her such a large sum of silver. It was really a bit of a forced excuse.

"I, I asked her to go out and buy something." The woman was a little annoyed.

"What does Madam want to buy? So much silver, too much to buy, won't Qiaojie be unable to move it?"

The laughter around was even louder.

The woman became more and more annoyed: "Why do you care about these things? I naturally have things to buy. Now I have said that this silver is given to Qiaojie by me. This old man said it was his silver. Do you have any evidence or witnesses?"

No one around spoke. There was really no evidence or witnesses. Even if the matter seemed to be able to guess the reason, no one was willing to stand up for the old man.

"You are in collusion, collusion, collusion..." The old man was so angry that he jumped up and down, blurting out a lot of words in one breath, but unfortunately these flowery curses had no effect on the people around him.

"Don't worry, old man." Jiang Ruan said.

The old man turned to Jiang Ruan, frowned, and said stiffly: "I don't want to implicate others. These people concealed their evidence, and I will fight them to the end. The girl took action today, and I understand it. But now you are also a clay Buddha crossing the river, so it is better to protect yourself." 

When saying the word "girl", the old man hesitated. It was strange to call such a little girl who could be his granddaughter a girl, but when facing this little girl, he really couldn't treat her as an ordinary girl.

"You old man don't know what's good for you. My girl saved you, but you don't know how to respect her." Lian Qiao heard this and immediately said angrily.

"Lian Qiao," Jiang Ruan stopped her and said, "Old gentleman, are you sure that I can't protect myself?"

"Do you have any other solution?" The old man raised his voice, and the eyes of the people around him were attracted again.

"Old gentleman, please tell me how the silver was lost first." Jiang Ruan said.

"I didn't steal his silver, I didn't steal his silver!" The girl screamed and cried again.

"Shut up." Jiang Ruan glanced coldly at Qiao Jie in the woman's arms. Qiao Jie was frightened by her cold eyes and immediately shut up and shrank into the woman's arms.

Everyone was amazed. The old man thought for a while and said, "I came here for the first time today. I bought a pancake at the pancake place at the corner of the street. I grabbed a copper coin from my purse. After walking for a while, I felt someone touching my things. I saw that it was this little girl walking beside me. I was alert and looked at my purse. I found that the silver was missing, so I caught her and really searched her for silver. Who knew she would blame me, how hateful!" After saying that, he glared at the girl with tears on her face.

"Where is the pancake vendor?" Jiang Ruan asked.

"It's me." A dark-skinned middle-aged man came out, scratched his head, and said with an evasive look, "There are too many people buying pancakes. I can't remember." 

West Street is cold and unfriendly. This is clearly a perfunctory remark that does not want to cause trouble.

Seeing this, the little girl and the woman looked at Jiang Ruan with gloating, thinking that Jiang Ruan could no longer come up with any tricks.

"Since both of them have their own opinions," Jiang Ruan said softly, "Let the money speak for itself."

(End of this chapter)

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