Qiao Wei's eyes hardened. Hitting her people because of what she said and terrifying her innocent children!
She put the packed basket on the ground and, stretching her hands across the small table, placed it lightly on Mother Fang's shoulder.
Mother Fang tried to brush off the hand with disdain. When she looked from the arm on her shoulder into Qiao Wei's dark eyes, her heart suddenly choked.
"What do you want to do?" Mother Fang asked sharply.
Qiao Wei said unhurriedly: "You beat my mother. What do you think I want to do?"
Mother Fang didn't intend to beat Aunt Luo. She had aimed at Qiao Wei and hadn’t expected Aunt Luo to jump in between. She rushed over and slapped Qiao Wei abruptly, but it unexpectedly fell on Aunt Luo. But she had gotten used to being domineering in the mansion and wasn’t bothered by these village hawkers. So what if she made a mistake? What are they going to do?
After coming to this conclusion, she raised her chin and said: "I wanted to hit you. Who asked her to get in between?"
Qiao Wei looked at her for an instant, "You hit someone, and there was no apology. And you’re still acting arrogant, too. Very good, very good. Then, I won't force you to apologize to my mother."
The first two sentences were menacing and shook her heart. But hearing the last sentence, Mother Fang was relieved, and her heart settled back. As expected, how can such an ignorant hawker dare to offend a noble person like her?
Mother Fang ordered: "Remove your dirty hands! Also, give me that ferret, and I will forgive you for your offense."
"You beat my mother, but is now blaming us for offending. You also want to snatch my pet." Qiao Wei looked at her coldly, "So shameless."
Qiao Wei fell silent, and before Mother Fang could realize what was going on, there was a crack. It seemed that something had fractured. Almost simultaneously, a sharp pain came from her right arm, and she cried out in shock!
The maid exclaimed in alarm: "Mother Fang!"
Mother Fang fell to the ground. Her right arm was so painful that she couldn't straighten her body. She screamed in pain and quickly attracted the interest of the passers-by.
But she was the one to blame for everything, and no one sympathized with her.
On the contrary, Aunt Luo was afraid of making things worse, so she asked Qiao Wei in a low voice: "What's wrong with her? Will it be alright?"
Qiao Wei said calmly: "I only broke her arm; she won’t die."
This was indeed true. But for a pampered senior nurse, this kind of pain felt as tortuous as death.
"What is going on?"
A beautiful voice, clear like a songbird’s, sounded from behind the crowd. The onlookers were taken aback for a moment, then automatically parted. A young girl in a goose-yellow skirt came forward. She had a graceful figure and delicate features, with her hair combed and twisted into a bun and fixed with a pink jade and silver hairpin. The exposed skin of her face, neck, and hands looked so white and tender, and extremely fragile, as if a simple gust of wind could blemish it.
In this barren town, such a fairy-like girl’s arrival is almost like the arrival of Chang'e* of the Moon Palace. The clamorous crowd suddenly fell silent.
(*T/N: Chang’e is the Chinese goddess of the moon and resides in the Moon Palace, also called Guanghan Palace, which is, uh… a palace on the moon. You might have heard of her from the 2020 film 'Over the Moon.' Click here to read more on the legend of Chang'e.)
There was a good scent of powder on her body, and when the breeze blew, the entire surrounding was filled with a faint fragrance.
She walked forward and stopped in front of Qiao Wei: "May I ask how my nanny offended madam and made you so angry?"
"Ask her," Qiao Wei said.
The girl turned her head to look at Mother Fang. Mother Fang wanted to complain to Miss Fang and sue this little bitch. However, she was so painful that she couldn't speak at all. It was the maid who explained the incident to Miss Fang.
After listening, the girl nodded gracefully and said to Qiao Wei: "It was my nanny who was rude first. I apologize to madam on her behalf."
Her fair and selfless approach won praise from the surroundings.
Qiao Wei glanced at her weirdly: "You said she was rude first, meaning that since I took the liberty to punish, and now you made an apology to me, then I should make an apology to her. But it's a pity that I don't plan to do this."
The girl's elegant expression distorted for a moment.
Qiao Wei calmly said: "The right and wrong are in my heart, not in the eyes of others. I will not accept an apology that I don't want to accept just to show my generosity. And I will not force myself to apologize to someone I needn’t."
It was the first time the girl met someone who didn't follow the routine, and for a while, she was choked and speechless.
Qiao Wei smiled faintly: "You are the one who did the wrong thing. I just reacted as any human would do. Why did you think I was wrong?"
There is nothing wrong with this. In modern times, it will be treated as a crime and taken to court. But in ancient times, this kind of behavior would be praised by the emperor.
Qiao Wei's mother was bullied, and she would really make people laugh if she didn't return as much as she got. Therefore, in everyone’s eyes, she claimed justice for her mother. Not only was there nothing wrong with it, but it was quite charming.
The girl naturally also felt the people’s attitude, took a deep breath, and slowly said: "My words were not right before, so let me repeat. What happened today was my mother’s fault. I am here, sincerely saying to madam, that I apologize."
"I said I won’t accept it."
"You..."
Qiao Wei said: "If you hit my mother, and it can be solved with an apology, isn't it true that anyone can come to beat my mother in the future, and then get away with it by just saying ‘I'm sorry?’"
The girl's face turned red: "Didn't you already punish Mother Fang?"
Qiao Wei nodded and said, "Yes, so you don't have to apologize. The wicked have eaten the consequences of their evil. So girl, be on your way with an easy mind."
The girl cast a look at the carriage, and Mother Fang was carried inside.
Looking at the girl's returning back, Qiao Wei felt an inexplicable feeling.
"Oh, do you know who that person is? Just dare to watch her lively." An old beggar sitting on the street said while drinking from a wine gourd.
An old lady asked: "Who? Old Li, do you recognize her?"
Old Li took a sip and said, "The Sanqi grass is engraved on her carriage. This is the emblem of the Enbo Mansion."
"What's with the Enbo mansion?" asked the aunt.
"You don't even know about Enbo Mansion?" Old Li rolled his eyes. "Enbo Mansion is one of the four prominent medical families in the capital, and it is very famous! If I didn't guess wrong, that little girl should be the Eldest Lady of the Enbo Mansion now."
The Aunt smiled and said, "Old Li, how do you even know this? Did you go to the theater again?"
Old Li glared at her: "You are the one who went to the theater. When I was traveling north and south in the capital, you were still in your mother’s belly. Humph!”
"Oh, you old man, dare to curse my old mother!" The aunt threatened to beat him, but noticing how dirty he looked, she took her hand back.
Old Li stretched out his hand: "Give me a copper plate, and I will continue to tell you."
"Say it or not as you like. I'm too lazy to listen!" Auntie carried the basket and walked away.
Suddenly, a copper plate fell from the sky and precisely into Old Li's broken bowl.
Old head Li looked up hurriedly. Upstairs was a teahouse. No one knew who paid the money since he didn't show up.
Qiao Wei was standing opposite Lao Li and happened to see the man throwing coins upstairs -- a man wearing a hat.
Since Old Li got the money, he continued: "The Enbo Mansion originally had three sons, and the first son inherited the title, that is, the former Enbo Gong. But he was unlucky when he took office. He was caught in a flood while traveling with his wife, and both of them were washed away and died unfortunately. He had no sons, only a five-year-old daughter. So the second son inherited the title. And this lady is the child of the second son."
The aunt who had left came back again: "Didn't you say that Enbo Gong had a daughter? Why is she not the Eldest Lady?"
Old Li said, "It was originally so, but she made a mistake a few years ago and was expelled from the house."
___
And the plot thickens!
Sorry guys, for the unpredictable uploads. I’ve been totally swamped with work the past few weeks. Bear with me a bit more, please. I’ll try to make the uploads more frequent and consistent. And thanks for the support, people. <3<3<3
___
