Chapter 193 Creating Opportunities
The girl refused the young man's suggestion to report her to the authorities and also refused the compensation money he offered. She curtsied and then began to wander aimlessly through the streets again, like a lost soul.
Leaving aside the young man who came up with the bad idea and how he was later scolded by his master, let's just talk about Xie Wanniang. She was one of the few people who heard the innkeeper's advice to the girl.
After breakfast, she sent a letter to the Marquis's residence. Because she was worried that if she went out to play, she would miss the person sent by the Marquis's residence to reply, Xie Wanniang did not go out all morning.
By noon, there was still no news from the Marquis's residence, so Xie Wanniang took Haitang and several guards to the inn's lobby for lunch.
When she's not particularly tired and has nothing else to do, Xie Wanniang still likes to find a corner, sit quietly, and listen to people gossip.
But she really didn't expect that she would get the second installment of that fresh juicy gossip from last night so soon.
The girl was in an awkward and dangerous situation, and Xie Wanniang couldn't bear to stand idly by, but she also couldn't rashly go up to her and say, "I can help you."
Firstly, her intuition told her that a family like that girl's future husband's, who would rather go to a remote county town to find a girl from a merchant family than marry a girl from a similar social class in the prefectural city, must have some shocking secret that even the girl's father, stepmother, and aunt hadn't been able to find out.
Secondly, since she was a complete stranger to the other party, if she went straight up to them, they would most likely not believe that she was genuinely kind.
Xie Wanniang didn't want to be seen as a human trafficker, so she wanted to choose a suitable opportunity.
However, to her surprise, the girl was so distracted that she not only didn't dodge when she saw the carriage, but instead deliberately walked straight into it.
Seeing that the matter had been resolved without any major incident, Xie Wanniang breathed a sigh of relief and also felt that it was really inappropriate to delay any longer.
While she was agonizing over the "right opportunity," the girl might have already brought other dangers upon herself.
Thinking this, Xie Wanniang walked out of the alley decisively, intending to take advantage of the opportunity of bumping into the girl to successfully strike up a conversation with her.
Unbeknownst to her, her actions of first hiding at the alley entrance with Haitang and two guards to observe secretly, and then walking over and seemingly accidentally bumping into someone, had all been observed by the official in the carriage.
The elderly couple who had been following the girl at a distance were also considered suspicious by the official.
Well, without knowing the inside story, these people who spy on and follow a pretty girl are indeed very suspicious.
Just as Xie Wanniang successfully struck up a conversation with the girl after that bump, the official also sent his young attendant back over.
Xie Wanniang was completely unaware of this; she was holding the girl's hand and calling her "this younger sister" in a familiar manner.
"Little sister, I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention and bumped into you."
The girl had no interest in talking to Xie Wanniang. She shook her head slightly, said "It's alright," and was about to walk past Xie Wanniang to continue her wandering journey.
Of course, Xie Wanniang wouldn't let her go so easily. She affectionately took the other girl's hand and, without saying a word, dragged her into a nearby teahouse, saying, "To express my apology, I'll treat you to tea and snacks."
The girl wanted to refuse, but at that moment her stomach made a soft, rumbling sound.
The girl, who had never been so rude in public before, blushed instantly, her cheeks turning as red as the morning sun.
Xie Wanniang secretly clicked her tongue twice; the beauty was shy, the scenery was simply too beautiful.
She pulled the person along and led them into the restaurant next to the teahouse. "Sister is also hungry, let's have a simple meal together."
The girl wasn't as strong as her, so she could only passively be pulled along. But she didn't forget the elderly couple who had brought her there. As Xie Wanniang pulled her along, she subconsciously turned back to look for the old couple.
Xie Wanniang noticed her movements and gaze, thinking to herself that this girl was not entirely absent-minded; at least when faced with unsettling situations, she could still remember to ask relatively trustworthy people for help.
The elderly couple, noticing her gaze, mustered their courage and approached. "Young lady, you..."
Xie Wanniang smiled at the old woman who was speaking, "Hello, Grandma, I am Xie Wanniang. Please don't be nervous, I just wanted to invite this young lady to a meal to express my apologies."
She warmly invited the elderly couple, "Grandpa and Grandma, please come along too. I've heard that the food at this restaurant is quite delicious."
Receiving her signal, Haitang and one of the guards approached the elderly couple and, with a mix of pulling and pushing, ushered them into the private room of the restaurant.
The elderly couple, who had never even frequented a small eatery in their lives, seemed to have their hands and feet controlled as soon as they entered the restaurant; their every move appeared extremely stiff.
Seeing how reserved they were, Xie Wanniang simply had the waiter place a latticed screen in the center of the room. This way, they could have a relatively independent little space while still being able to see the girl sitting and talking with her at any time.
The girl was very hungry, and after the guards left, she began to eat in small bites.
Xie Wanniang and Haitang had just finished eating. The two sat at the table, picking at their food and drinking soup intermittently.
Only after the girl had eaten half her fill and stopped feeling flustered did Xie Wanniang attempt to begin a deeper conversation with her.
Perhaps it was because Xie Wanniang didn't seem like a bad person, or perhaps it was because the girl actually needed someone to confide in. After eating the meal Xie Wanniang treated her to, she finally stopped being the aloof person she had been before.
Under Xie Wanniang's patient guidance, she whispered about her ordeal.
Just as Xie Wanniang had guessed, this girl still preferred to follow the path her father had arranged for her—to marry into a good family, serve her husband, take care of her parents-in-law, bear children, and live a life similar to that of most women in the world: "obeying her father at home, obeying her husband after marriage, and obeying her son after her husband's death."
As for whether the good family her father chose for her was truly good, the girl hadn't considered it at all.
In her mind, her father would never harm her; he was very insightful, and the marriage he chose for her was undoubtedly the best marriage she could ever hope to have.
Xie Wanniang had no intention of reshaping the other person's mind. She was meddling in other people's business because she didn't want such a young and beautiful girl to be killed so inexplicably because of a marriage.
Therefore, she did not speak recklessly about her speculations about her husband's family, but simply recounted the behavior of the girl's family members the previous night.
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