"Someone's here!" Little Xi Tian exclaimed.
If it were a villager Xue Ling recognized, it wouldn't bark wildly.
"Da Man, go take a look..." Old Man Yun craned his neck to look outside and instructed.
Outside the Yun family gate stood a heavily made-up old woman. She held a red handkerchief in her hand, her face was full of wrinkles, and a black mole grew at the corner of her mouth. She looked like someone not to be trifled with.
Strangely, Hu Xi'er and Jin Huai Hua stood beside her, both with their heads bowed, shedding silent tears.
The old woman shook the bronze rings on the door and shouted, "Is anyone home? Come out, keep the dog, is anyone there?"
She glanced up at the plaque above the door and snorted, "Hmph, calling yourselves the 'House of Glorious Gates,' yet your family has such ill-mannered maids. Truly disgusting..."
Yun Da Man walked out and his brows furrowed instantly upon seeing Jin Huai Hua and Hu Xi'er. "What are you two even back here for?"
He held no animosity towards Huai Hua, but Hu Xi'er, that little flirt, had repeatedly brought shame to the old Yun family. He had just driven her away not long ago, so why was she back again?
The old woman sized up Yun Da Man and asked sarcastically, "Are you the one who calls the shots in the old Yun family?"
"Just say what you need to say quickly..." Yun Da Man walked to the doorstep and wiped the dog poop he stepped on from his cloth shoes on the threshold. Stepping in dog poop as soon as he went out meant his luck today was definitely not good.
Seeing Yun Da Man's simple-mindedness, the old woman asked, "Don't you have a mistress of the household? Go, call her out, I have something to say!" She didn't want to converse with such a foolish person.
Yun Da Man was a bit annoyed. "Just say what you have to say, why are you being so vague?" This old hag, dressed like a brothel madam, looked like trouble.
The old woman ignored him and glared back at Hu Xi'er, scolding, "You little slut, come inside with me!"
"Hey, hey, hey, did I let you in?" Yun Da Man stepped forward, blocking the old woman with his arm. "This is trespassing. I'll report you to the county office!"
Xue Ling also bristled, baring its sharp teeth and growling at the old woman.
"Hmph, trespassing? Ask your maid what she's done first. Shameless thief, little thief, spit..." The old woman cursed and spat at Hu Xi'er, her expression full of disdain.
Just then, Madam Gu and Old Man Yun heard the commotion and came out. The rest of the Yun family also gathered at the front gate.
Upon seeing Madam Gu emerge, Hu Xi'er burst into tears. "Wuwuwu, Madam Gu, please save your servant, wuwu..."
The Yun family members had no good feelings towards Hu Xi'er. Little Xi Tian looked at her with disgust.
Old Man Yun frowned. "What are you wailing about at our doorstep so early in the morning? Isn't it bad luck?" Honestly, after being bothered by Miss Xiao last night, he was already in a bad mood, and now Hu Xi'er was back causing trouble. He'd have to have his wife go offer incense at the temple later; perhaps something was amiss in the house.
"What's going on?" Madam Gu asked sternly.
The old woman pouted. "Are you the mistress of the Yun family?"
"Speak quickly!" Madam Gu said with a stern face. From the old woman's attire and her swaying posture, she could tell this person must have come from a brothel.
The old woman pushed Hu Xi'er forward and spat again. "Let her speak for herself. I'm too embarrassed to say it!" Hu Xi'er's eyes were red from crying, and there were bruises and bloodstains on her lips. She had likely been beaten before coming to the Yun family.
Madam Gu stared coldly at Hu Xi'er. The fact that this person, who was now completely unrelated to the Yun family, had come knocking again only proved that Madam Gu's previous punishment had been too lenient.
Hu Xi'er knelt on the ground, trembling, and after a long pause, refused to speak.
"Hey, why don't you say something, are you mute?" Yun San Man called out. He had just divorced Gao Feng Juan and was in a bad mood, so seeing this little flirt made him angry.
Hu Xi'er's body trembled, her vision blurred by tears. She took a full fifteen minutes before finally saying with her head down, "I, I lied!"
The Yun family: "???" How many people had you *not* lied to?
Yun Er Man, picking his teeth with a broom straw, asked, "What, you went to a brothel and lied to people? I'm not saying this to be mean, but you have looks and you have height. Why can't you just honestly marry a farmer? You're always thinking about getting rich, finding a sugar daddy, and becoming a noble lady. You don't have that fate, so stop thinking about such things. With your looks, if you obediently married a village man, wouldn't they cherish you like a treasure? What more are you dissatisfied with?"
After speaking, Yun Er Man grabbed his sickle and water flask, tucked two steamed buns into his embrace, and said, "Dad, Mom, I'm going to the fields. You deal with her thoroughly, don't go easy on her, otherwise, this little slut won't know her limits!"
Da Man and San Man also pulled out the cart and took Er Man to the fields.
Xiao Jin Heng and Little Xi Tian sat side-by-side on small stools by the door, tilting their heads to look at the old woman.
"Little village child, do you want me to call people to throw them out?" Xiao Jin Heng asked with a serious expression.
Little Xi Tian scratched the goosebumps on her arm. "Stinky boy, don't be so violent. Mother will find a way." Resorting to violence at the slightest disagreement was too scary!
"Say it, say it!" The old woman lost her patience and shoved Hu Xi'er hard.
"Ah, ah!" Jin Huai Hua stepped forward to grab the old woman, but was slapped hard instead.
Madam Gu narrowed her eyes. "Speak quickly. I don't have time to waste with you."
"Fine, if this little slut won't speak, I will!" The old woman rolled up her sleeves. "We bought this maid from you for three taels of silver. After signing the contract and receiving the money, she ran away!"
"Our people from the brothel found her, but she had already squandered the three taels of silver and had no money to repay us. She only told us to come to the old Yun family to demand the money!"
Saying this, the old woman extended her hand angrily. "Here, hand over the three taels of silver. If you don't pay today, I'm not leaving. Let's see who can outlast whom."
Little Xi Tian was shocked by this. How could Xi'er do such a thing? When Mother drove them out, the contracts had already been given to them. Even if Jin Huai Hua and Hu Xi'er died outside or rotted outside, they had nothing to do with their old Yun family. How dare she bring the brothel madam here to demand money? What was she thinking?
Little Xi Tian suppressed her anger and turned to look at Madam Gu.