<h4>Chapter 443: Chapter 443: My Reputation is Not Given by You</h4><h4></h4>


    Middle-aged man, supporting an old woman, stared at Qiao Xi with a hostile tone, "What else do you want to do?"


    Qiao Xi, with a cool expression, responded, "Old Chen, call the police! Say someone is trying to extort 500,000 yuan. How could we settle such a serious matter privately?"


    "Yes, Young Madam!"


    Old Chen promptly took out his phone to call the police.


    The middle-aged man blurted out in panic, "How could you go back on your word? Aren’t you afraid of damaging your own reputation?"


    Qiao Xi’s voice was resolute, "My reputation is earned by myself, not given by you." Her gaze swept over to Lu Yingxue, surrounded by arge crowd in the square, "And certainly not fabricated through marketing."


    "If your mother is truly injured, we’ll settle this at the police station. Here’s the 500,000 yuan, and I will also apologize to you. But if she has no injuries, then this is a case of fraud and extortion. The 500,000 yuan has already been transferred to your ount, with solid evidence! Young Master Sun, how many years would extorting 500,000 yuan get you?"


    Qiao Xi had already checked during themotion and found that the olddy wasn’t really hurt; all her vital signs were very steady.


    Sun Weimeng raised his eyebrows triumphantly, looked through his phone for legal statutes, and dered with clear artiction, "For 500,000 yuan, it could result in more than ten years of fixed-term imprisonment! Big brother, do you want to go to jail?"


    "I..."


    The middle-aged man turned pale.


    The transferred 500,000 yuan felt like a hot potato; these people were truly cunning.


    They could have reported him from the beginning, yet they chose to wait until after he had epted the money!


    They were clearly sending him to prison!


    Qiao Xi pressed on relentlessly, "Do you dare toe with us to the police station and have your mother examined? You kept us from checking the dash cam, and we personally don’t have the right to review the roadside surveince. But the police station has that right, so why don’t we go there and rify things?"


    The middle-aged man and the old woman alternated between shades of green and white; the old woman instinctively tried to run but was caught by Old Chen.


    Qiao Xi scoffed, "Olddy, was it your left leg or your right leg that was injured? How can you suddenly walk now?"


    The old woman’s hair was gray, and she didn’t know which leg to limp with.


    Her eyes rolled about, "I...I just twisted it slightly, and now it’s fine. We were making a fuss over nothing; we don’t need yourpensation!"


    Onlookers murmured in shock, "This is a scammer, and they even tried to extort 500,000 yuan!"


    "Society is declining, and people’s morals are eroding. It’s no wonder people nowadays are afraid to help fallen elders—it’s because of people like these leading the trend!"


    "Trying to extort this youngdy, they definitely need to be taken to the police station!"


    "I just knew the disciple of National Doctor Cheng Han couldn’t be this foolish! Didn’t expect such a twist, but I’m so relieved now!"


    The old woman hunched up and was tightly held by Old Chen.


    When the middle-aged man heard about the possibility of over ten years in prison for the 500,000 yuan, he became deeply flustered and pleaded with Qiao Xi, "I’ve transferred the money back to you. Can we just let this go? I failed to recognize your greatness; I apologize."


    As he spoke, he transferred the money back to Qiao Xi’s ount, his face ingratiating, "See, I’ve already transferred it."


    Qiao Xi nced at her phone, looked up at him and said, "Where’s your apology? How loudly you ndered us before, that’s how loudly you need to apologize now. Do I need to get you a megaphone?"


    "No need, no need."


    The middle-aged man was inwardly furious but nheless apologized loudly, "It’s all my fault, Hubiao, I took advantage of someone unfamiliar! I orchestrated this whole affair, and I fully deserve the consequences! I apologize to you, madam, please forgive me!"


    Young Master Sun arrogantly said, "What about your grandfather? Aren’t you going to apologize to your grandfather too?"


    The middle-aged man swallowed his anger, only to keep himself out of prison as he addressed Qiao Xi, "Grandpa, I was wrong! Please forgive my blindness. I swear it won’t happen again."


    "Get lost!"


    "Fine, I’m going right away."


    He licked his face and began to leave with his mother, but Qiao Xi’smanding voice rose again.


    "Wait."


    He turned around, teary-eyed but obediently faced her. "Madam, what other instructions do you have?"


    Qiao Xi stepped forward and scrutinized him. "Tell the person behind you that I’ve epted this little ’warning.’ Next time, don’t use such petty tricks. If you’ve got the guts,e at me in the open, with a clear n. These tactics are just like rats in the gutters that can’t stand the light, and like annoying dead flies, filthy and foul-smelling."


    Normally, she spoke in an easygoing and gentle manner, but upon her arrival in the Imperial Capital, away from Huo Xingzhou, she seemed to suddenly grow a thinyer of armor, knowing how to protect her tender self.


    She had be much tougher.


    Even Old Chen and Sun Weimeng were somewhat surprised.


    Old Hu and the olddy left in dejection.


    Young Master Sun patted Qiao Xi’s shoulder and whispered, "It seems some people in the Imperial Capital aren’t weing us. They set us up the moment we arrived."


    Qiao Xi’s expression turned cold. "They’ve been our sworn enemies all along."


    She would never forget that night her grandmother died, how desperate she had felt.


    Now, with Grandpa Cheng missing, Qiao Xi couldn’t help but think that maybe the Lu Family and the Xiang Family were behind it, considering their history of being underhanded yet reputedly esteemed in the Imperial Capital,manding public faith.


    She looked again at the bustling square. This was no charitable health fair.


    It was unmistakably a pilgrimage.


    The Lu Family wanted to turn Lu Yingxue into a goddess, a living Guanyin who alleviates suffering!


    But it was undeniable, Lu Yingxue’s talent was incredibly strong!


    Qiao Xi dared not underestimate anypetitor who made it to the Imperial Capital’s needle trial convention, especially Lu Yingxue, who had risen to fame in the same event ten years earlier!


    "Let’s go, get in the car first. I also want to visit Cat Alley, we’ve already been dyed by this traffic jam." She could have sent those two directly to the police station, but that would have required a lot more energy and time, so she decided against it.


    It was clear someone was orchestrating this. Even if they were sent in, someone would bail them out right away.


    No point in wasting effort on them.


    Sun Weimeng cursed as he got into the car. He had always been influential in Haicheng, but in the Imperial Capital, he felt the disparity. Here, no one cared about the son of a real estate tycoon from Haicheng, nor did they give him any respect.


    He was a bit angry!


    Qiao Xi, however, was much calmer.


    She had prepared herself for difficulties beforeing, but she hadn’t expected them to arise so soon. It seemed the Imperial Capital was even less weing than she had imagined!


    She wondered what Grandpa Cheng had experienced here that made him choose to withdraw from public life!


    She gathered her scattered thoughts and instructed, "Old Chen, let’s drive."


    "Alright, Young Madam."


    The car slowly moved away from the busy, bustling streets, the noise of the square gradually fading.


    However, the atmosphere in a roadside cafe was particrly chilly.


    Lu Yan, who had previously looked smug and disdainful, now clenched his back teeth and red at the middle-aged man in front of him, Old Hu, who was stuttering nervously.


    "She said she would use you of extortion, and that scared you? We could just drag this out with her!"


    Old Hu’s face turned pale. "Young Master Lu, that woman may look fragile, but she’s formidable! Extortion couldnd me in prison for a lot, and she waited until the money was in my ount before she acted up! I’m just a small fry, how can I confront her directly! And she... she also said..."


    "What did she say!"


    Old Hu hesitantly replied, "She said the person behind me is like a rat in the gutter, a disgusting dead fly!"


    Bang!


    Lu Yan smashed the coffee cup beside him to the ground, the remaining liquid sttering everywhere, and the shards identally cut Old Hu’s leg.


    Old Hu didn’t dare to make a sound, nor even breathe heavily.