At the end of March, Cao Hong moved into his new mansion and hosted a banquet for relatives and friends. Fang Zilan was naturally among them, supporting the scene at the banquet and seeing off the guests after the banquet. By the time the sun was setting, the guests had almost left, and she was ready to leave.
"Boss, Miss Xiao and Miss Cong left early. Mr. Mo accompanied Miss Awan to buy candied haws. I'll take you back to the house." Cao Hong walked with Fang Zilan to the door of the house. She waved her hand and said, "No need to bother, no. Two steps. What’s more, isn’t there Zheng Yan?”
Zheng Yan followed Fang Zilan silently. Cao Hong glanced at him and said, "No trouble, I just had a few extra glasses of wine at the banquet, and I just wanted to take a walk to relieve the alcohol."
Fang Zilan said nothing more and allowed Cao Hong to follow. Her residence was very close to Cao Hong's new residence. It was just a street away from the main road and only half an alley away from the alley. However, in such a short journey, there was quite a commotion.
The woman's low sobbing and the man's yelling made Fang Zilan stop involuntarily. She saw several men surrounding a woman in the depths of the alley. The leading man said: "Bai Xiu Niang, you killed your husband, don't you?" You are so good at being a widow but you still want to run away..."
Cao Hong was obviously stunned when he heard Bai Xiu Niang's name. Fang Zilan looked at him and said, "Do you know that woman?"
"I'm not sure either." Cao Hong whispered, "It's just that her name is indeed the same as someone I know."
After hearing this, Fang Zilan still stood where he was, watching calmly.
"I didn't!" the woman named Bai Xiu Niang shouted, "You want to sell me, why not kill me!"
"How can you, a widow, have the dignity to bargain with us?" The leading man snorted contemptuously, "Your brother said that if you don't want to be Master Zhu's maid, you will have no choice but to sell it. Tell me, you Do you want to go back on your own, or do you want us to kidnap you back?"
"I'm not going back!" Bai Xiu Niang took out a pair of scissors from somewhere and put it against her chest, "Don't come over here, or I..."
"What are you doing?" The leading man interrupted her rudely, "Bai Xiu Niang, if you die, your sister will be doomed. There is an unruly widow in the family, what do you think will happen to her?"
"You...I..." Baixiu Niang staggered a few steps, finally lost the scissors and surrendered.
Several men tied Bai Xiu Niang's hands and pushed her out, but they were blocked by Fang Zilan and three others.
"Who are you?" the leading man spat, and said, "Get out of the way, don't block my way!"
Cao Hong saw Bai Xiu Niang's face clearly at this time and said in surprise: "Xiu... Miss Bai, is it really you?"
Bai Xiu Niang was stunned and quickly reacted, as if she saw a savior, "Brother Cao, please save me!"
"I..." Cao Hong was about to say something when he heard Fang Zilan cough lightly and say: "If you stay, get out."
The leading man laughed angrily, "Do you know who we are?"
"Even if you are a military household, you cannot rob civilian girls." Fang Zilan said with a cold face, "Which general are you under? Do you want me to reason with your general for such behavior?"
Several men looked at each other with a look of caution on their faces, "Who are you?"
"You don't even recognize me, how can you be a military household?" Fang Zilan said coldly: "I, the Duke of Yue, Fang Zilan, want this white embroidered lady. If anyone has any objections, please come to see me at the Duke of Yue's mansion."
"You..." The leading man hesitated, but Fang Zilan was too lazy to talk to him. She put her arm around Bai Xiu Niang's shoulders and untied the rope from her wrist.
"Miss Bai, come with me." Fang Zilan softened her voice, but Bai Xiu Niang was still shaking violently, "You... are Master Fang?"
"Yes." Fang Zilan smiled slightly and said, "It's guaranteed to be a fake." After saying that, she took Bai Xiu Niang and left.
"Wait!" The leading man frowned and said, "Even if you are Mr. Fang, you can't meddle in other people's family affairs at will, right?"
Fang Zilan looked back and said calmly: "I have to intervene in this matter today, what can you do to me?"
The leading man was so frightened by her expression that he swallowed everything he wanted to say alive. The man standing next to him looked troubled, "Brother, if we can't catch Bai Xiu Niang, we won't be able to make a difference."
Fang Zilan took a few steps forward without looking back. On the contrary, it was Zheng Yan who said with difficulty: "The Duke of Yue's government is so powerful that you can't compete with it. Just tell the truth when you go back, no one will make things difficult for you."
After he finished speaking, he quickly walked a few steps to follow, and heard Fang Zilan laugh and say: "Zheng Yan, you are looking more and more like a general of the public family."
The tips of Zheng Yan's ears turned red, "I'm pretending to be a fox, but I hope Master Fang won't blame me."
"That's right." Fang Zilan said and held Bai Xiu Niang's hand, "Miss Bai, are you cold?"
"Master Fang, you..." Bai Xiu Niang muttered: "You have a bodhisattva heart, and I can't hurt you. You'd better... let me go back with them..."
Fang Zilan pursed her lips and said, "This is not the place to talk. Please follow me back home first."
Her tone was unquestionable, and Bai Xiu Niang was half-dragged and half-dragged by her into the Yue Kingdom's palace.
Seeing that Fang Zilan had brought the guests back, Cong Rong hurriedly served tea. When Xiao Xuan'er heard that a female guest was coming, she also came to the front hall.
Bai Xiu Niang drank a cup of tea to calm herself down, and slowly spoke about her life experience. She was originally from a military family, with an older brother and a younger sister. Because his parents passed away a few years ago, his elder brother took charge of all matters.
She married into the Feng family years ago to celebrate their long-sick youngest son. But Mr. Feng's health was so bad that he passed away after New Year's Eve and didn't even see the spring day.
Naturally, she became a widow. After being kicked out by her husband's family, her brother did not want her to stay at home and wanted to sell her to Mr. Zhu as a maid and concubine. When she refused to obey, he wanted to sell her off.
After her sister heard about it, she secretly helped her sneak out. Unexpectedly, he was caught less than a day after escaping.
After hearing what Bai Xiu Niang said, Cong Rong couldn't help but blushing, "Sister Bai is such a pitiful person."
Xiao Xuan'er's expression was dark and unclear. She stood up and saluted Fang Zilan, "Master Fang, even if Miss Bai is pitiful, it's hard for our family to interfere in this matter. You..."
She didn't say any more, and Fang Zilan said quietly: "If you have something to say, you might as well say it directly."
Xiao Xuan'er took a deep breath and sighed: "In the capital, the lowest status woman is the widow. She is rejected by her husband's family and disgusted by her mother's family, so it is difficult to find a place to stay. Widows from ordinary families, like Miss Bai, usually There are only two ways, either sell it to a wealthy family as a maid or a concubine, or sell it to the Fireworks Willow Alley. After all, it is a sum of money, and you don’t have to bear the stigma of being a widower. As for the wealthy family, there is no need to say more. We must erect an archway to observe the festival, and the pain involved is indescribable."
Baixiu Niang lowered her head and cried: "Becoming a widow is not what I want, but now I can't live without dying. If I die, what will happen to my sister at home?"
