Several maids, seeing Lady Yu making a scene, feared that the old madame would get angry. Therefore, they silenced her, picked her up like a lifeless dog, and flung her from the great door of An Mansion.
With the Lü’s Mansion already in ruins and Master Lü having gone mad, who would care about a Madam Lü, whose face was ruined and who was out of favor with Old Madam An?
During the struggle, Lady Lü dropped her gauze hat inside An Mansion. After being thrown out of the mansion, she immediately attracted a crowd of onlookers.
"Oh, she’s so ugly. Look, this woman’s face is so black, like a demon."
"Her hair is cut short like a monk’s, she must be mad."
"Didn’t you see she was just thrown out of An Mansion? She must not be a good person!"
"Right, if she’s not mad, she can’t be a good person. Beat her..."
A few mischievous children picked up stones from the roadside and threw them at Lady Yu.
The housekeepers Lady Yu brought quickly surrounded her and protected her, scolding the children while shielding her.
Old Madam An apologized to Cai Wei, "Girl, it’s all my fault for being muddled. I was trying to clear up this matter for you and rid you of suspicion. But who knew that mad woman would be so biased and hasty without distinguishing right from wrong, and even attempted to use private punishment. I’m truly sorry."
Cai Wei forced a smile, "As long as the Old Madame knows I’m innocent, it’s good enough. Since everything is out in the open now, I will take my leave." With that, she stood up, intending to make her exit.
Right now, her thoughts were on Lü Junchen and Tianjizi’s human head. She had no mood to talk to Old Madam An. She just wanted to quickly return and think of a way to deal with them.
However, seeing Cai Wei’s listless state, Old Madam An thought it was because she had just been wronged and felt even more guilty. Therefore, she adamantly urged Cai Wei to stay for lunch. Unable to refuse and not willing to upset the elderly lady, Cai Wei ultimately agreed.
Only when Cai Wei agreed to stay did Old Madam An cheer up. She asked Cai Wei about her favorite foods and instructed the kitchen to prepare many delicious dishes suited to Cai Wei’s taste. She also instructed Ruyi to take Cai Wei to the Misses, so the Misses could keep Cai Wei company.
Understanding that Cai Wei was upset due to feeling wronged, Ruyi trod lightly and purposely chose cheerful topics during their walk.
Knowing her thoughts, Cai Wei took the opportunity to ask, "Sister Ruyi, I heard that Old Master An is trying to wed the Fifth Miss to Young Master Zhou from ’Zhou’s Roast Meat’. Is that true?"
Ruyi laughed and said, "The whole Qingyun Town is talking about this. How could it not be true?"
With the news confirmed, Cai Wei was pleased for Jiujin, but her good mood was quickly shattered by doubt. With the status of the An Family and the beauty of the Fifth Miss, they could easily find a better son-in-law. So why Jiujin? While Jiujin is good, ancient people always valued social status, and merchants were at the bottom of the social strata. So why would they insist on marrying their daughter to a merchant with little social status?
Thinking of this, Cai Wei voiced her concern. Uncle Zhou and Aunt Zhou were simple folk, and she did not want any conspiracies involved in Jiujin’s marriage.
Hearing Cai Wei’s question, Ruyi laughed and said, "Speaking of it, it’s all thanks to the fate between the Fifth Miss and Young Master Zhou. That day, our Madame An took the Fifth Miss to a nursing home for Old Madame An, but the carriage broke down half-way. Unfortunately, they encountered some ruffians attempting to harass our Fifth Miss. Coincidentally, Young Master Zhou was also going to the nursing home that day and happened upon this incident. He beat up those rascals and rescued the Fifth Miss, saving her from a tarnished fate, then even offered them a ride back home. Once they were back, Madame An looked into Young Master Zhou’s character. Those who reported back spoke nothing but praises for Young Master Zhou. Madame An thus asked Old Madame An for approval to wed the Fifth Miss to Young Master Zhou. The Old Master An is a man who values character over status, and hearing good things about Young Master Zhou, he agreed."
Upon hearing this explanation, light dawned on Cai Wei. So, that was what had happened! No wonder the An family would actively marry their pampered daughter to Jiujin. The Fifth Miss was harassed by those ruffians but was then rescued by Jiujin. Such incidents might be quite commonplace in modern times, but in ancient times, it would be a big deal. The demands placed on women in ancient times were extremely strict. Even a minor harassment would be seen as a loss of virtue and reputation, and the woman could only marry the one who saved her or the ruffians. If she were to marry into another household, even a family much beneath her own, she would be looked down upon by her husband’s family!
Therefore, the best destination for the Fifth Miss would be to marry Jiujin!