Xiao You, with her keen hearing, turned to Gu An'an upon hearing this and asked, "Master, will she be alright?"
"It's alright. If Han She wants to marry her, he'll have to come up with the money to redeem her. Besides, she's been in the brothel for so many years, she has plenty of ways to deal with someone like Han She."
Xiao You breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that you're alright. Shall we go pick up Mei Niang now?"
"Um."
Mei Niang looked at the letter of divorce but still refused to leave. "Thank you, but I can't leave."
This made Xiao You's eyes red with anxiety. "Why?!"
She thought it was because she hadn't received the divorce papers. Now that she has, why can't she leave?
Mei Niang simply shook her head, "If I leave, he will harm others."
“If you don’t leave, will he stop harming people? Besides, murder is punishable by death. He’s just a scholar whose body has been ravaged by wine and women. Where would he get the strength to kill someone? He’s just bullying you.” Xiao You was annoyed by his lack of self-respect. “Master, why don’t we just leave her alone? There are so many pitiful people in this world. You can’t possibly pity them all.”
With this spare energy, you might as well take pity on that Man Niang; she's quite the heroine of the pleasure quarters.
Gu An'an noticed that Mei Niang trembled upon hearing this, as if she were a child who had done something wrong and was now being pointed out, feeling extremely guilty.
"Are you worried that after you leave, he will cause trouble for your master's family?"
Touched by her secret, Mei Niang looked at the kind man in front of her with teary eyes, "He said that if I dare to leave, he would go and settle accounts with my master."
"So your master lives alone?"
“Master has servants around him, but they are all young maids, and I’m afraid they can’t stand up to him.”
"Does your master live in Suzhou Prefecture?"
Mei Niang nodded.
"Since that's the case, do you think she doesn't know what happened to you? Mei Niang, it's easy to live, even just barely surviving is still living, but if you want to live with dignity, you have to stand up for yourself and not place your hopes on others."
She was a kind but exceptionally weak woman. Han She took advantage of her kindness and weakness, which is why he was able to treat Mei Niang like a slave.
"Whether you stay or leave is up to you. I'll be waiting for you at the dock early tomorrow morning. If you come, Chenchu, I can take you away. If you don't come, then stay here."
After saying that, Gu An'an turned and left, even snatching the letter of divorce from Mei Niang's hand.
Xiao You found it strange, and only asked after they had walked a distance away, "What are you doing with this, Master?" It's someone else's letter of divorce, there's nothing interesting about it.
“If she comes to us, the letter of divorce will be useful. If she chooses to stay, the letter of divorce will be useless to her.”
"That's true." Xiao You sighed. "I don't think she'll leave."
It's too soft.
It's infuriating, but there's nothing you can do about it.
"Who knows? Let's go back and rest."
Spending most of the day in Suzhou was not without its rewards. I learned some stories about the Bai sisters and also met a skilled Suzhou embroidery embroiderer.
As for whether or not Mei Niang can be taken away, the choice is now in the hands of that poor woman; it remains to be seen what she will choose.
Xiao You was worried, but dared not say anything more, for fear of upsetting Gu An'an again.
She didn't sleep well all night. When she got up, she looked towards the dock, but she didn't see that familiar figure.
"Stop looking, what's so interesting?"
Xiao You hesitated, barely paying attention during breakfast, but finally couldn't hold back, "Master, did you already expect this?"
Gu An'an remained silent. "Go ask the boat captain when the boat will set sail."
Aren't the departure times for boats fixed?
Xiao You thought her boss had lost his mind, but she still asked and was told that the ship would depart at 2:45 AM.
"Hmm." Gu An'an returned to her room. The room on the ship wasn't big and was a bit stuffy, but Gu An'an was easygoing and picked up a book to read, which helped pass the time.
She was engrossed in reading a storybook when the cabin door was pushed open from the outside. "Master, she's here!"
Gu An'an looked up and asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
"She is not alone!"
Mei Niang really did have a family to support her; an elderly woman, you could tell without even thinking, was her master.
As for the other one, Gu An'an had just dealt with him yesterday.
"Wouldn't Madam Jiang be unhappy if I came along?"
Manniang was dressed very warmly today, and her body didn't smell as strongly of cosmetics; instead, she had a faint fragrance of osmanthus.
Gu An'an laughed, "I couldn't be happier. I'm short of someone to manage things, and I think you, Manniang, would be perfect."
Man Niang's smile relaxed considerably upon hearing this. "Then I will definitely do my best to manage things for Madam Jiang."
The two men's conversation relieved Mei Niang. Last night, she heard Han She say that he wanted to marry Man Niang from Fengming Terrace, who was his own Hong Fu Nu.
Mei Niang then realized just how much that complete stranger, Jiang Lan Niangzi, had done to secure that divorce letter.
For the first time in her life, Mei Niang went out at night and found her master.
She couldn't let go of the fear that Han She might turn around and harm her master in desperation, so she thought of taking him with her.
When they reached the intersection, looking at the brothel street not far away, Mei Niang ventured into Fengming Terrace for the first time in her life and asked Man Niang, who was drinking with someone, if she wanted to come with her.
Her heart was pounding, and she felt incredibly audacious for doing so many things.
Fortunately, Jiang Lan Niangzi was not one to hold grudges and didn't say anything more.
"Let's go to Songjiang Prefecture first. I need to buy some goods there and then come back later."
Gu An'an explained, without asking what exactly happened, but given the outcome, the process didn't seem so important anymore.
The ship departed from Suzhou dock and headed towards Songjiang Prefecture.
Mei Niang then realized that the young woman in front of her did not have the surname Jiang. "Then Jiang is your husband's surname?"
Gu An'an nodded, "Yes, ex-husband."
This answer made Mei Niang's heart skip a beat, realizing that she had just said the wrong thing, and she didn't dare to say anything more for a moment.
Gu An'an laughed as if nothing had happened, "I have another one in my shop, she's a widow who lost her husband, she's very capable, you'll see when you see her."
Mei Niang nodded repeatedly, while Man Niang laughed, "Master, you've come here specifically to rescue us poor women."
A widow who has lost her husband.
The embroiderer who married the wrong person.
And then there's myself, a prostitute fallen into prostitution.
Isn't it specifically to save these poor people?
Manniang looked at the river in the distance, and the water vapor seemed to rise from the river to the corners of her eyes. It turned out that being a good person really did bring good fortune.
She pities others, and some people genuinely care for her; that's truly admirable.
Gu An'an didn't speak, but Xiao You said seriously, "Isn't that right? Our landlords are so kind. They've taken in quite a few girls and are going to arrange jobs for them so they can be self-reliant and start their own businesses."
Self-reliance and independence.
This word made Man Niang turn her head sharply. "Can we... do it too?"
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