The teacup fell to the ground and shattered, startling everyone in the hall.
Both the hosts and the guests looked at each other with astonishment written all over their faces, speechless for a long moment.
Seeing this, Qiu Xiang quickly responded and adeptly instructed the serving girls to clean up the floor and replace the tea with a fresh cup.
Madam Zhou stared at the elderly woman at the front, from her head of gray hair to the wrinkles on her face, feeling a sudden pang of sorrow and pain in her heart while tears swiftly welled up in her eyes.
"You, you..." Madam Lu pointed at Madam Zhou with a trembling finger, unable to complete her sentence.
Auntie Tan, seeing this, felt displeased at the woman’s rudeness of pointing at someone with her finger, but she wasn’t oblivious to the situation; clearly, the two knew each other.
As for the new owners of the estate, the servants hadn’t pried much into their background. For folks like them, nothing was more important than a kind master; the rest didn’t matter.
Old Lady Zhou never imagined that she would see Madam Zhou here, nor did she expect that the master they were supposed to greet with bowed heads would turn out to be Madam Zhou—a person she looked down upon.
Was fate not dramatic enough or amusing enough for the heavens, that they had to meet here?
Or was this an opportunity given by the heavens to the Zhou family?
Thinking of her youngest son whom she had left in the county to find out about Wufu and the others, Old Lady Zhou’s body swayed and she bit her lip.
"Yingmei? Is it really you?" Madam Lu took a couple of steps forward, looking at Madam Zhou, and exclaimed, "Mother, it’s Yingmei, it really is her, we’ve found her."
My goodness, had Zhou Yingmei struck it rich? Look at how impressive she appeared?
Madam Lu was shocked beyond belief.
Madam Zhou also came to her senses, and upon seeing Madam Lu, her face turned pale. She thought of Zhou Dajun and remembered what he had done to her.
A subtle resentment rose from deep within her, and Madam Zhou’s body trembled slightly. She reached out to Qiu Xiang, "Support me back to my room."
Qiu Xiang exchanged a look with Auntie Tan and then helped Madam Zhou leave.
"Yingmei, Second Sister." As she saw her leaving, Madam Lu hastily followed.
Auntie Tan immediately blocked her path and said, "Lady Zhou, please hold your step." She had already found out that Madam Lu’s husband’s family carried the surname Zhou when she arrived.
And Madam, she too bore the surname Zhou—was there some connection?
Stopped by Auntie Tan, Madam Lu rushed to Old Lady Zhou’s side, grasping at her arm, pleading, "Mother, please speak up! That’s Yingmei!"
It was really like obtaining something without effort; they were just looking for Wufu and the others, and then they stumbled upon them. It meant that the Zhou family’s luck wasn’t up yet.
"Silence!" Old Lady Zhou snapped sharply, taking in a deep breath.
Madam Lu stifled her displeasure, but seeing her mother-in-law’s stern gaze, she fell silent, sheepishly turning her attention to the room.
Could it be, Zhou Yingmei and the others had found some golden opportunity?
"Auntie Tan, that just now..." Old Lady Zhou, uncertain how to address Madam Zhou, mumbled and asked, "Is that who you referred to as Madam?"
Auntie Tan nodded, "Elder," she began.
"And is she the owner of this estate?" Madam Lu interrupted eagerly, asking, "Or is there someone else, from what family?"
"You keep silent," Old Lady Zhou ordered Madam Lu to stop talking.
"Mother, what’s the harm in asking? We’re nobody to be ashamed of. You are the mother of the ’Madam’ you mentioned!" Madam Lu lifted her chin defiantly, somewhat proudly revealing her identity to Auntie Tan.
Auntie Tan’s face showed a flicker of surprise, but she avoided revealing anything about Madam Zhou and Wufu. She knew what to say and what not to say. If these two really were the relatives of Madam, then there surely was some story involved. Otherwise, why wouldn’t they know Madam had such an estate?