Floral Hall, Old Lady Zhou and Madam Lu were left waiting; since they had entered, Madam Zhou had settled them here and then disappeared, leaving no trace except when a maid came to serve tea, after which they saw no one else.
"Mother, what does Ying Mei mean by this? Just leaving us hanging here," Madam Lu asked impatiently after downing another cup of tea.
Old Lady Zhou stayed silent, her heart filled with anxiety, fearing that upon their return, Madam Zhou might not be able to call the shots, because she knew very well that in this house, it was actually Wufu who was in charge.
Thinking of Wufu made her feel inexplicably powerless, and if possible, she didn’t want to have anything to do with that uncanny girl.
As the saying goes, what one fears will come to pass. As Old Lady Zhou harbored this concern, the very girl she dreaded appeared before her.
Seeing Wufu, not only did Old Lady Zhou’s heart thump erratically, but even the usually arrogant Madam Lu’s pupils shrank, and she shut her mouth tight.
Wufu didn’t even offer Old Lady Zhou and the others a greeting; she walked straight in, took the master’s seat, accepted a cup of tea from a maid, took a sip, and then looked towards Old Lady Zhou and the others.
The continual blows had sapped more than half of Old Lady Zhou’s vitality, aging her considerably; no wonder Madam Zhou had taken pity on them, allowed them to return, and was even thinking of helping out.
The Floral Hall was silent, no one spoke, and the atmosphere made Old Lady Zhou and the others feel deeply uneasy.
"Um, Wufu, where is your mother?" Madam Lu, catching on to her mother-in-law’s cues, swallowed hard and forced herself to ask.
Wufu put down her teacup and said, "My mother is resting! Whatever it is, you can just tell me."
Madam Lu choked slightly, moved her lips, but said nothing more.
The cold hardness of Wufu’s attitude made it impossible for her to continue the conversation.
Old Lady Zhou’s expression turned ugly as she clenched her teeth and said, "I assume you’ve also heard about our purpose here from your mother. I have no other requests, just to cash in on my old age and ask you, out of respect for your elder, to plead with the Lord County Magistrate to save your uncle Zhou Dajun."
Wufu chuckled softly, looking at her with eyes full of intense mockery.
"First, I do not have deep feelings for you. Second, from the moment Zhou Dajun dared to insult my mother, and when Zhou Xuennian chased my mother and me out of the village, the Zhou family ceased to be my relatives. So, please Old Madam Zhou, do not claim kinship," Wufu said, twirling a silk ribbon from her belt around her finger.
Old Lady Zhou’s body swayed, her complexion shifted.
"What do you mean by that? Are you too high and mighty to recognize your own kin now, are you? You dare to be so unfilial!" Madam Lu couldn’t sit still anymore and shouted out.
Wufu’s words clearly indicated a severance of ties with the Zhou family, which was unacceptable.
Madam Lu felt anxious; from the estate to this mansion, she had been devising a plan, determined to keep a firm hold on Madam Zhou no matter what, because otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to enjoy any of the wealth and status.
Indeed, Madam Lu, eyeing the good life of the Zhou family, became greedy and started scheming, planning to reconcile with Madam Zhou and share in the wealth; after all, with Zhou Xuennian stripped of his official honor and future prospects, what would they do?
She had a clever plan, but was Wufu a fool? Could she not see right through Madam Lu’s intentions?
Wufu didn’t bother conversing with someone as stupid and ridiculous as Madam Lu; she found it a waste of words. Her mouth curled coldly upwards as she stood, "Hongyu, see the guests out."
With that, she didn’t give them any face at all and started to leave with her head held high.
Unfilial? If they dared, let them go to the Yamen and accuse her – she’d see if she wouldn’t utterly destroy Zhou Xuennian!