CHAPTER 662: CHAPTER 649: SLAPPING THE TRANSMIGRATOR (PART 4)

Xiao Yuan has memories of his previous life, and Anning asked him many things.

For instance, the societal structure here, as well as matters regarding the Ji Family and The Cuis, and also what exactly happened when Xiao Yuan saved Anning.

Xiao Yuan reflected seriously: "When I originally saved you from drowning, it was not a coincidence."

Anning nodded; she also felt that someone must have deliberately made it difficult.

The two of them looked at each other and said at the same time: "Cui Yiran."

Both of them felt this incident was orchestrated by Cui Yiran.

Anning had made no enemies, and as a maiden rarely went out, it was impossible to offend anyone so seriously that they would go to such lengths to harm her.

Don’t tell Anning that Second Miss Ji and Third Miss Ji framed her.

In her days at the Ji Family, Anning saw clearly that Second Miss Ji and Third Miss Ji were not the type to stir up trouble without cause.

Moreover, Mr. Ji and Mrs. Ji would also not harm her, their niece who had been raised by them since childhood.

Thus, the only possible culprit could be Cui Yiran.

From the things Cui Yiran said, and his actions, it seems clear that he was the one who arranged this matter.

If Anning’s reputation were tarnished, Cui Yiran would then have an excuse to call off their engagement.

After all, Cui Yiran looked down on the Ji Family’s daughters, disdaining that they were uneducated and uncultured in literature and ink, and despising that the Ji Family came from a criminal justice background.

Furthermore, immediately after calling off their engagement, Cui Yiran got engaged to the Guan Family’s daughter, which shows that he had planned these matters well in advance.

And as for Xiao Yuan, Cui Yiran must surely harbor strong resentment towards Anning, which is why he arranged for Xiao Yuan to save her.

Xiao Yuan expressed that he hadn’t intended to go out that day but was dragged to the temple by a friend, who asked him to wait by the lake and then disappeared.

From this alone, it was clear that Xiao Yuan’s trip up the mountain was arranged by someone.

Cui Yiran probably thought that since Xiao Yuan came from a poor family and, though literate, remained a commoner without even passing the Scholar exam, and his character was not very good, this would be a pretext to forcibly bring Anning and Xiao Yuan together.

Xiao Yuan told Anning that his body’s original owner was a good-for-nothing who mooched off his mother and sister.

Xiao Yuan’s father died early, and he was raised by his mother who struggled greatly to finance his studies; his sister was married off to a family offering a high bride price because of the costs of Xiao Yuan’s education, no matter what the quality of that family was, as long as they paid the money.

When Xiao Yuan’s sister married, she didn’t bring any dowry, not even decent clothes, only wearing some worn-out clothes to her marriage.

Even so, the original owner of the body didn’t feel sorry for his sister and spent the money as if it was compensation for his sister’s sacrifice on hedonistic pleasures.

Anning and Xiao Yuan summarized the situation, and Anning asked Xiao Yuan: "What are your plans for the future?"

Xiao Yuan had already thought it through: "I want to start by doing some cultured and refined things, package myself as a scholar who is talented but not seeking vain glory, and then gradually plan for future development. Of course, the most crucial task now is to take the imperial exams, and talk about future plans once I’ve achieved some official rank."

Anning nodded: "This is the best course of action."

Just as she was about to say something else, she heard Chuntao’s voice from afar: "Miss, Miss, where are you?"

Anning quickly got up and responded, walking briskly toward Chuntao: "I was just sitting there for a while, did you bring the cloak?"

Xiao Yuan hid behind a few flower bushes, listening as Anning and Chuntao’s steps grew farther and farther away, then he hurriedly got up and jumped over the wall to leave.

Elsewhere, Mrs. Ji and Mr. Ji shared Anning’s intentions, and though Mr. Ji didn’t say much, not two days later, he brought Xiao Yuan back to the Ji Family, letting Anning and Xiao Yuan meet.

Actually, although they said they had met each other, they were actually far apart, with several maids following around, and they couldn’t really talk at all.

Anning just glanced from a distance, exchanged a few polite words with Xiao Yuan, and then hurriedly left.

In the evening, she went to pay her respects to Mrs. Ji.

When she entered the main room, Mrs. Ji was checking the account books with several old women. Upon seeing Anning come in, she quickly put down the account book and dismissed the old women: "I was just about to look for you, but here you are, which is perfect. What do you think about this marriage proposal, are you willing?"

Anning acted shyly, slightly bowing her head with a blush on her face: "I will listen to the master and madam."

Mrs. Ji smiled, knowing that Anning had agreed.

"Then, I will speak to your uncle, and we’ll prepare for the marriage right away."

"Mm."

Anning shyly agreed, then bowed slightly: "Madam is busy, I will head back first."

Mrs. Ji was indeed very busy, so she didn’t keep Anning and had a maid send her out.

As Anning left the main room, she mentioned she wanted to talk to Miss Ji Er, but unexpectedly Moli came chasing after her: "Miss, the master has returned."

This master naturally referred to Anning’s younger brother, Ji Anhe.

Hearing this, Anning quickened her steps: "Where is Anhe? Why is he back today?"

Ji Anhe was a year younger than Anning, now fifteen, and not good at studying. He had been punished countless times by Mr. Ji for his study issues, but he just didn’t catch on. Eventually, Mr. Ji, having no other choice, pulled some strings to place him in the military camp, where he now serves in the Personal Guard Camp.

Normally, Ji Anhe should not have returned at this time, yet he unexpectedly came home late at night. Anning hurried, worried that something might have happened to him.

Upon reaching her own courtyard, she saw Ji Anhe standing in the middle, waiting.

Anning quickly approached: "Why don’t you go inside and wait? It’s quite cold outside now."

Ji Anhe smiled: "Sister wasn’t home yet, I didn’t think it proper to enter."

Anning led Ji Anhe inside: "Why did you come back today? Did something happen at the Personal Guard Camp? Or did you have a quarrel with someone?"

Ji Anhe was hot-tempered and often got into quarrels, with Mr. Ji frequently having to clean up after him.

"No."

Ji Anhe looked somewhat tired. Anning asked him further: "Have you eaten yet?"

Ji Anhe shook his head, so Anning had a young maid go to the kitchen to fetch some food.

Ji Anhe looked at Anning: "Sister, are you alright?"

Anning waved her hand: "What could be wrong with me? I just caught a cold from falling into water, but I’m better now."

Ji Anhe relaxed completely, but only for a moment before jumping up like a leopard: "No, we can’t let the Cui family off easily, Cui Yiran is unreliable and untrustworthy, how could he call off the engagement... tomorrow I’ll give him a beating."

Anning quickly pressed Ji Anhe down: "Who are you planning to hit? Do you want more chaos at home? I’ve broken off the engagement with the Cui family, and in the future, other than visiting my aunt during festivals, we will no longer have any dealings with the Cui family. Why would you go to their house? Are you worried I’m not infamous enough?"

Ji Anhe calmed down after being scolded by Anning: "I was just worried about you, sister."

Moli brought the food box in, and Anning set the meal for Ji Anhe. While he was eating, Anning softly said, "I have agreed to marry Young Master Xiao. Don’t mention the Cui family in front of me again in the future. If Young Master Xiao finds out, it will make him uncomfortable."