The old lady calculated that tomorrow was her eldest daughter-in-law's due date, and she hoped that nothing unexpected would happen.
Not long after the old lady left the ancestral home, a servant started shouting.
"Oh no! Oh no! The ancestral hall is on fire! The ancestral hall is on fire!"
The ancestral hall enshrines all the ancestors of the An family. Is the fire in the ancestral hall a sign that the ancestors are angry and punishing their descendants?
The old lady, dragging her frail body, shouted, "What are you all standing there for? Send someone to put out the fire! If anything happens to these ancestral tablets, you're all fired!"
The servants hurriedly carried buckets to the river to fetch water. The water and fire mingled, and thick, choking smoke billowed from the ancestral hall.
The old lady's maid, Granny Sun, advised, "Madam, this smoke is very pungent. Your health is not good to begin with. You should go back and avoid it. We servants will take care of putting out the fire here."
The old lady refused to listen to advice and refused to leave, supporting herself on her back.
But before one wave subsided, another arose.
The butler rushed in from outside: "Madam, a bunch of debt collectors have arrived outside, they say... they say..."
The old lady was furious: "Debt collectors? My An family is wealthy, how could we owe anyone money? What is it? Speak!"
The butler said tremblingly, "The master is heavily in debt at the gambling den and can't pay it back. He's being held captive there by the people there. They said if the An family doesn't pay to ransom him, they'll chop off the master's hand tonight."
"That unfilial son! His wife is due to give birth tomorrow, and he actually went out to gamble! How outrageous!" The old lady was so angry that her chest ached, and she was breathing rapidly.
Granny Sun patted the old lady's back to help her catch her breath.
"Madam, please calm down. Getting angry will only harm your health. No matter how badly the master is treated, he is still your own son. You can't just stand by and watch him die."
The people outside were shouting loudly for their money back, and more and more people gathered around to watch the spectacle.
"I never expected that even a prestigious family like the An family would be in debt. It's truly rare!"
"The corruption within wealthy families is rampant; the An family may have already been hollowed out."
"..."
Three men can make a tiger; rumors are terrifying.
The old lady valued her reputation highly, and she absolutely could not allow the An family to lose face.
"Go to the accounting office and get the money to pay back the debt. When that unfilial son returns, make him kneel before our ancestors and reflect on his actions. He has completely disgraced the An family," the old lady said, slamming her cane on the ground, her anger palpable.
If the master were standing right in front of her, she would have already knocked him over with her cane.
The housekeeper led people to return the money, and the crowd gathered at the door dispersed a little.
The ancestral hall was still filled with thick smoke, and the old lady was extremely anxious as she looked at the crows overhead.
Crows have always been a harbinger of bad luck. Could this be hinting at something?
"Where is Zhang Tianshi? We've been trying to invite him for so long, why hasn't he come yet?" The old lady urgently needed an explanation from Zhang Tianshi, but he still hadn't arrived.
The servant hurriedly replied, "We sent someone to invite them a long time ago, but there was a delay on the way."
With so many things happening today, the old lady couldn't sit still for a moment. She paced back and forth in the hall, waiting for Zhang Tianshi.
The An family mansion was bustling with noise; not a single place was quiet today. Only the Liting Garden remained peaceful.
At this moment, An Yuan'er was sitting leisurely in a recliner, with Guo Guo fanning her and eating her favorite cherries. She was extremely comfortable.
"Miss, aren't we going to check on the situation? It's so noisy outside."
An Yuan'er chuckled: "No rush, the show has only just begun!"
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