Cai Wei laughed and said, "Thank you, Old Madam, for your understanding. Initially, I came today to express my gratitude for your help in managing the orphanage. I didn’t expect to trouble you. This is all my fault!"
While she was speaking, a maid reported, "Old Madam, Madam Lü is here!"
Old Madam An said, "Let her in."
As soon as her words fell, a woman wearing a gauze hat burst in like a hurricane, shouting ’Slut, Poisonous woman’ and stormed towards Cai Wei, raising her hand to slap Cai Wei’s face.
Cai Wei was not about to let herself be hit, she raised her hand, accurately catching the incoming arm, and coldly said, "The Old Madam invited me here to confront Madam Lü, not to be beaten by her!"
After saying that, she shook her hand and viciously flung Lady Yu to one side, almost causing her to take a tumble.
Lady Yu staggered, her gauze hat falling from her head to reveal a face as black as the bottom of a pot and some roughly cut short hair, she looked like a demon from the temple.
Seeing Lady Yu’s appearance, Cai Wei feigned shock, let out a scream, covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Lady Yu was extremely embarrassed, she hurriedly picked up the hat from the floor and placed it back on her head, but her frightful appearance was already seen by everyone in the room. Several naive maids gasped softly and, like Cai Wei, covered their mouths, showing looks of horror.
Old Madam An knew about her disfigurement, but was shocked to see that she had turned into this demon-like figure. It took her a while to recover.
"Lady Yu, you mustn’t be rude!"
As soon as she recovered, the Old Madam sternly shouted, "I kindly brought Young Lady Mu here to confront you and solve your doubts, but you, ungrateful as you are, brazenly attacked someone in front of me. Have you no respect for me?"
Lady Yu, having put on her gauze hat, gritted her teeth and said, "Please, don’t blame me. It’s not disrespect, I just have a deep-seated hatred for this wench. I wish I could slay her with my own hands. I was momentarily out of control, please forgive me!"
Old Madam An angrily said, "Foolish woman! The matter hasn’t been cleared up yet and here you are, jumping to conclusions. No wonder my son doesn’t like you!"
Cai Wei laughingly said, "Old Madam, please don’t get angry. It’s not worth harming your health. Since Madam Lü insists that I’m the thief, let her go report me to the government office. They will necessarily give her justice."
Lady Yu angrily shouted, "You think I don’t want to report you? Who doesn’t know that you have now joined hands with the richest man in the Great Jin, Young Master Huo Yuan. Even County Magistrate Li dares not offend you. Where can I report you?"
Cai Wei coldly laughed, "If I have joined hands with Young Master Huo, why would I need to steal that little bit of silver from your house? The Huo family has mountains of gold and silver. Do they really need me to go out and steal?"
Lady Yu was suddenly speechless and said, "Some people have found my stolen items in your grandfather’s house. Your grandparents and your uncles all said that you gave them. How do you explain this?"
Cai Wei said, "Madam, as you said, those things were found in my grandparents’ house, not in my house. It’s my misfortune that my grandparents have always disliked me. Several months ago, because I revealed that my uncle’s horse carriage caused a man’s death, my grandfather and uncle were arrested by County Magistrate Li. Since then, they have harbored resentment towards us. Therefore, it does make sense that they would throw some dirt on me!"