Lin An Dong's face looked terrible, and he very much wanted to give An Jing a beating, but he dared not risk the chopping knife in her hand. Despite his bad temper and his tendency to fight with others, he had never actually used a knife against anyone before.
Father Lin's face looked even worse, but he still maintained some semblance of reason. He extended his hand towards An Jing with a nasty tone, "Give me the servitude contract."
"Why should I give it to you?" An Jing glanced at him, "I am no longer a member of the Lin family. You have already sold me. It hasn't been that long, has it? Don't tell me you've already forgotten?"
Admiration filled Xiao Changyi's eyes. This woman, she was smart.
The other villagers who were watching were all confused, none of them understanding what An Jing meant by that.
Logically speaking, since the Lin family had returned the ten taels of silver, the deal to sell An Jing to Landlord Wang should have been nullified. However, the issue lay in the fact that the servitude contract had not been returned to Father Lin nor had it been destroyed; it remained in the hands of An Jing herself.
So, had An Jing been sold, or not?
Father Lin was quite clever too. Seeing that An Jing had been pushed to the point of wanting to kill, he had feared that An Jing might pull this trick; not expecting that An Jing would indeed resort to it, his face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Lin An Jing!" Father Lin gritted his teeth, wishing he could kill An Jing.
"Don't call me Lin An Jing anymore, from now on I will no longer carry the Lin surname," An Jing said leisurely and deliberately, "Just call me An Jing from now on, 'An' is my surname."
"Husband, what does this rebellious girl mean?" Lin's mother stopped pretending to cry and asked Father Lin. She couldn't understand at all.
Father Lin squeezed the words out from between his clenched teeth, "The servitude contract is in her hands, she'll no longer belong to our family from now on."
This was a generic servitude contract used in the Xiyun Kingdom, which did not specify to whom the person was sold, only who was being sold and for how much silver. The government only recognized the servitude contract; whosoever held it held the person.
Put another way, An Jing now belonged entirely to herself and was no longer attached to any member of the Lin family.
"Dream on!" Lin's mother finally understood and screamed frantically, "We've already returned the money; she shouldn't think she can sever ties with our family!"
An Jing took out the servitude contract and waved it, "It's not up to you, oh, this is my servitude contract, the black on white is very clear, and your handprints are also very clear~"
Lin's mother wanted to rush over and snatch it, but she feared the chopping knife in An Jing's hand, so she could only stand there and shout at An Jing, "Where in the world do parents sell their daughter to the daughter herself, this servitude contract is invalid! Invalid!"
"Oh?" An Jing raised an eyebrow, "So if this servitude contract is in someone else's hands, it's valid, right?"
Lin's mother's eyes widened immediately.
Lin An Dong's face suddenly turned as black as Father Lin's.
The villagers watching finally began to see through the fog, understanding the situation, but they were curious about what An Jing would do next.
An Jing smiled and swiftly hopped on one foot in front of Xiao Changyi, slapping the servitude contract into his arms, "Keep it safe, from now on I am yours."
Everyone was stunned, completely taken aback by how boldly an unmarried girl had handed her servitude contract to a single man.
Xiao Changyi said nothing, simply securing the servitude contract, then picking up the bamboo basket from the ground.
Ignoring the eager eyes all around him, he had An Jing secure the bamboo basket on her back, then he turned around and squatted down with his back to An Jing.
An Jing smiled, watching this silent man of action. As soon as she saw his back, she climbed up without hesitation, allowing Xiao Changyi to carry her.
"Let's go home," Xiao Changyi said.
An Jing smiled, "Mmm~"