Taking Away

Mrs. Zhang was surprised when she heard this: "Her young lady is the daughter of the governor, no wonder even a maid is dressed so well."

"Have you seen any clothes you like, Auntie?" Qibao asked.

"Yes, I found a perfect one for your grandmother. It's over there. Let me show you."

Yuan'er entered a teahouse and went up to a private room on the second floor.

"Miss, I've brought your clothes. Shall we go back now?"

"No hurry. Let's sit for a while."

"Is the miss worried Gao Yuan will bother us? He's such a nuisance! He knows you hate him, yet he keeps showing up." Yuan'er grumbled.

At the mention of Gao Yuan, Miss Wen's eyes flashed with clear disgust. "He'll be leaving soon anyway. Just avoid him for these few days."

"I can't figure out how the madam became friends with that man's mother. He's a total playboy. He only cares about your status and looks. I heard he offended someone recently and broke half his teeth. It's like watching a slapstick comedy" Yuan'er chuckled, covering her mouth with a giggle.

"Miss, guess who I ran into while fetching your clothes!" Yuan'er suddenly exclaimed, as if a sudden thought had struck her.

"You expect me to solve your riddles? Who would I even guess it was!" Miss Wen exclaimed.

"Heheheh, it's the girl we saw at Juxiang Pavilion last time. I waved to her, she's Master Xu's younger sister. There was another lady with them too, probably his mother." Yuan'er explained cheerfully.

"Did you ask for their full names?"

"Oh, Miss, didn't you say girls shouldn't ask strange men for their names? Have you forgotten?" Yuan'er replied, her face full of amusement.

Miss Wen blushed, embarrassed: "Silly! There's no dinner for you tonight." She said, pretending to be upset and leaving the private room.

"Miss, wait for me! If you really want to know, ask the Young Master instead!" Yuan'er picked up the clothes and rushed after her.

After returning from Yuyi Shop, Qibao and Mrs. Zhang carried a large bundle of clothes they'd bought.

"Why didn't you choose something for yourself, Qiubao?" Mrs. Zhang asked.

"None of the clothes there suited me. Besides, my wardrobe is already full. I can't even wear everything I have. No need for more. Let's keep shopping together, Aunt Zhang!" Qibao suggested.

Mrs. Zhang nodded, and the two returned the new clothes to Juxiang Pavilion before heading out again.

"What's he got? Isn't he just looking down on me because his dad's the governor? You wait until I get his sister—it'll be a different story then!"

"Shh! Young master, keep it down. We're on a busy street—if anyone hears you, it'll be all over!"

"Hmph! What's there to fear?" Even as he spoke, he did moderate his tone somewhat.

"Young master, isn't that girl up ahead with the Xu family?"

Gao Yuan took a closer look and said: "That's the one! Hmph! Perfect. I'm in a rotten mood and here's someone who's eager to be my punching bag. Wangcai, let's go!"

The two swaggered over.

Qibao was in the middle of a conversation with Mrs. Zhang and found two strangers blocking their path. She looked up and smirked.

"You little brat! Where's that Xu boy? Finally caught you! What happened to my missing teeth? You bunch of li'ls, who cut those?"

Mrs. Zhang saw how menacing Gao Yuan looked. Without thinking, she pulled Qibao behind her. Despite her fear, she spoke up: "What do you think you're doing? Missing teeth? We don't know anything about that. You've got the wrong people." With that, she tried to pull Qibao around Gao Yuan.

"Think you're leaving? Not a chance! I'm not someone to be pushed around. Wangcai, go on—grab this girl." Gao Yuan said arrogantly: "Tell that Xu guy to bring the precious ink and crawl back here to apologize. Maybe then he can get her back!"

"Yes, Young Master!"

"What are you planning to do in broad daylight? If you dare take another step forward, I'll call the authorities right now!" Mrs. Zhang said, her voice trembling with worry.

"Call the authorities? Ha ha ha! The governor is my aunt's husband. You think he'll side with you? Impossible!" Gao Yuan gloated.

"Call the authorities? Hahaha! The governor is my uncle. You think he'll side with you? Impossible!" Gao Yuan gloated.

Mrs. Zhang's face paled further. She whispered to Qibao: "Qibao, what should we do now?"

By now, pedestrians passing by had noticed the commotion and stopped to see what was happening.

"I'll handle this." Qibao said to Mrs. Zhang. She took a step forward and grabbed Wangcai's wrist, which he had extended towards her: "Since the governor is your uncle, does that mean he's okay with how you're acting right now?"

Gao Yuan's eyes flickered, and he quickly stood up straighter: "That's right." he said. "He's my uncle, so of course he wouldn't help you over me."

Qibao spoke up loudly: "Did everyone hear this? It turns out that the prefect of Qingyun City is a person who only helps his relatives and not the law. We have not offended him, but he is threatening us like this. Is there still law in Qingyun City?"

Hearing this, the crowd began to point and gossip.

"You're really going too far! This mother and daughter were just minding their own business. Why are you blocking their way?"

"That's right. Bullying women and children? What kind of man are you?"

"Didn't he claim that Prefect Wen was his uncle? Could it be that Prefect Wen was really backing him up, which is why he's so arrogant? But we in Qingyun City know Prefect Wen behaves. Could it be that he's an imposter?"

"No, it's probably true. I've seen this guy following Master Wen, so they must be related!"

"Shut up! What do you know! They were the ones who offended me first! I am the victim!" Gao Yuan said angrily.

"How did the mother and daughter offend you? Tell us about it."

Gao Yuan's mouth opened wide, revealing his teeth: "Do you see that! They smashed this half of my tooth right off! Now I can't even eat properly."

"What proof do you have that we broke your tooth?" Qibao asked.

"Right! Show us the evidence." Mrs. Zhang added.

Gao Yuan insisted: "I say it's you, and that's enough! I'm taking you in today, no matter what!"

Mrs. Zhang raised her voice: "Have you no respect for the law? Without proof, how dare you accuse us of something we didn't do?"

"What's going on here?" A patrol of constables approached and one of them asked.

Seeing this, Gao Yuan smirked and said: "You came at the right time. They committed crimes openly in the street. Don't they take my uncle seriously? We must arrest them all. I will ask my uncle to increase your salary."

The leader of the patrol recognized Gao Yuan as the nephew of the governor and nodded: "Take them in for now."

Qibao's face hardened: "What law have we broken? Why would you take us in?"

The patrol leader replied: "We won't know unless we take you in for questioning. It's best to come along. If you're innocent, we'll let you go—just cooperate!"

"Fine, I'll go with you." Qibao said: "But you better not regret this."

Hearing the threat in Qibao's words, the patrol leader's expression darkened: "Impudent girl! Off you go."

So, Qibao, Mrs. Zhang, and Fuqiu were surrounded by the constables and escorted towards the yamen.

Mrs. Zhang's face was pale with fear, gripping tightly to Qibao's hand.

Qibao patted her reassuringly, hinting that there was no need to panic.

Fuqiu was also scared but remained firmly by her mistress's side.