At this moment, a carriage slowly came to a stop at the entrance.
People around turned around, curious about who was sitting in the carriage.
Zi Wu peeked out through the carriage curtain and saw that a large crowd of onlookers had already gathered.
The sounds of a woman crying and a man scolding could be heard intermittently from the courtyard.
No wonder the man looked like he was watching a good show when I asked for directions in the village.
"Su Zheng, quickly bring your wives and concubines out! You have a distinguished guest!"
Someone shouted something, followed by a burst of laughter.
The door opened immediately, and Granny Wang angrily raised her broom and swung it at the door, yelling, "Wife, wife, if you say another word, I'll tear your mouth apart!"
The man rubbed his bruised arm and took a breath. "That's right. They dare to do it but don't dare to admit it, and they won't let people talk about it. Don't you all agree?"
Another burst of laughter came from the crowd.
Granny Wang was so angry her mouth was crooked. Her eyes swept over the crowd and then settled on the carriage.
Zi Wu raised an eyebrow and, with the help of the waiter's outstretched arm, got off the carriage.
Granny Wang was discreetly observing her. Zi Wu slowly walked towards her. "You're Su Ruanruan's wet nurse?"
"Who...who are you?"
"Me? Of course, I'm the manager of the place where she works."
When Granny Wang heard that it was the owner of the tofu shop, she was slightly surprised. Why would she be here?
But then he thought, if he could persuade her to pay Su Ruanruan's wages in advance, that would be great. Then she could just focus on the work, and he could just collect the money.
I heard she's already moved into some random man's house. Doesn't she realize he's already a scholar? How could he possibly be interested in her?
When that man achieves success and fame, he will have already kicked her aside. At most, he might give her the title of a concubine, but she shouldn't even think about anything else.
"I am Su Ruanruan's milk, please... come in and have some water."
Granny Wang smiled, but it was all hypocritical; she was secretly plotting to get her wages.
Zi Wu's expression turned cold; she had no time for hypocrisy and snake-like behavior.
He interrupted her sharply, "No need, I'm here today to take care of some things."
Su Zheng led Wen Shi out as well. Seeing that no one paid any attention to her, Zheng Shi sniffed, got up from the ground, and leaned against the wooden door to listen.
Amidst a sea of questioning faces, Zi Wu pulled out the IOU written by Su Ruanruan from her bosom.
"You must know about what happened between Su Ruanruan and Butcher Zhou, right? She was almost out of breath when she returned to my tofu shop. I'm a kind-hearted person, so I hired the best doctor for her in the city, which cost me more than ten taels of silver."
“I was thinking that once she got better, she could do odd jobs for me for a few more years, and I could use the money to pay off her wages, and then I could slowly pay it back.”
"Unexpectedly, something unexpected happened."
Before Wang Pozi could react, Su Zheng, who was standing to the side, was already furious. "What? She's just a worthless life. How could you spend so much money on her?"
"She spent this money, go ask her for it back. What do you mean by coming to my house? Are you trying to extort us?"
Granny Wang originally wanted to get an advance on Su Ruanruan's wages, but she didn't expect that Su Ruanruan still owed the tofu shop so much money.
It will probably be ten years before she pays off all that money.
What a scourge! It never gives me a moment's peace of mind.
Granny Wang also said, "She owes you money, you just need to ask her for it. I'm very poor, I don't have the money to pay her back."
She then looked at the IOU in Ziwu's hand, "Besides, I don't know if this thing is real or fake, or if you're trying to fool me because I can't read."
Zi Wu sneered, "I invited a doctor for Su Ruanruan. Everyone in Qingshan County knows that. If you don't believe me, you can come with me to confront the doctor."
After a pause, Ziwu sighed again, "I just felt sorry for Su Ruanruan. I did a good deed to save her with a compassionate heart. I thought that she would remember my kindness and slowly repay me."
"But you probably don't know, Su Ruanruan has been thrown into jail again!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.
The villagers who were watching the commotion asked, "What? I heard that Su Ruanruan had nothing to do with the murder of Butcher Zhou, so how come she's been arrested again?"
Ziwu raised her chin, and the shop assistant next to her sighed, "You guys are obviously out of the loop. Today, Su Ruanruan stabbed Zhou the Butcher's mother at the entrance of the yamen. Zhou the Butcher's brother is a constable in Zhou County, and he was furious and beat Su Ruanruan up on the spot."
"He's the son-in-law of the magistrate of Zhou County. Don't you think he'll just let this go?"
"I heard he also found evidence, so the case of Su Ruanruan murdering Zhou the Butcher will probably be solved soon."
“My shopkeeper is kind-hearted, but he ended up losing everything. Su Ruanruan’s head is about to be chopped off. She can’t repay the shopkeeper’s money, so we have to come to you.”
"Hurry up, Su Ruanruan is your family. Pay her off for her now. My manager is busy."
Granny Wang and Su Zheng exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock.
That damn Su Ruanruan, how could she have gotten herself into such a mess?
The villagers nearby also started chattering.
"I almost forgot about Han's youngest son. He went out to make his way in the world many years ago. If I hadn't mentioned it just now, I would have forgotten that he has already become the son-in-law of the county magistrate."
"Before, Han and Butcher Zhou went to the county town to enjoy their lives, until a few years ago when that old bastard had a son, and Han went to live with her younger son. Now that they have a benefactor helping them, I think Su Ruanruan is in grave danger this time..."
"We should stay away from the Su family from now on. We can't let that kid mess with our daughter. Fangfang might not be able to get married easily either..."
Hearing the whispers around her, Zi Wu raised an eyebrow. "Hurry up and pay me back!"
Old Woman Wang retorted, "My family only has a few acres of barren land, where would we get any money? If Su Ruanruan owes you money, go to jail and ask her for it. This old woman has nothing but her life!"
Widow Wen scoffed, "I've heard that she has a lover who's a scholar. Why don't you go find him?"
She touched her belly again, saying, "I'm carrying the Su family's grandson. What does it matter to us whether that good-for-nothing lives or dies?"
Ziwu rolled her eyes. "What right do you, a mere concubine, have to be so arrogant? Even if you're carrying a boy, he'll still be an illegitimate child."
"However, you've reminded me. It seems you're deliberately not planning to pay back the money? Well, I'll wait until your son is born, then I'll sell him to someone else and make a few taels of silver."
“You…” Madam Wen took a step back, grabbed Su Zheng’s sleeve, and called out sweetly, “Husband…”
Zheng, swaying her fat body, strode out and pointed at Wen, "Catch this shameless fox back. She's always playing the victim. Sell her to a brothel; plenty of people will like her."
Su Zheng raised his hand and slapped her across the face. "Shut up!"
Zheng's eyes were bloodshot with rage. "Su Zheng, you actually hit me! You actually hit me for this woman!"
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