Yunyi briefly described the assassin incident, downplaying the details. After Wu Laosan’s confusion was cleared up, he said, “So that’s what happened. You girl, after going to the Governor’s residence, your courage has grown quite a bit—you even dare to wield a knife now. No matter what, saving the First Young Master is a good thing.” After a pause, he carefully put away the pair of jade pendants and pearls, saying, “Father will keep these things for you first. When you need them, I’ll give them to you.”

“Your daughter receives seven or eight hundred coins every month, plus these pearls and jade pendants. Life at home will be much better from now on. Father shouldn’t go up the mountain to hunt anymore to avoid danger. Besides, you’re getting old—it’s time to enjoy your golden years.”

Wu Laosan knew she was worried about him and smiled, “Don’t worry, Father is fine. Besides, Da Hei goes with me.” The Da Hei he mentioned was a dog he had picked up from the foot of the mountain a few years ago. Every time he went into the mountains, it would go with him to help hunt.

Afterward, the father and daughter talked for a while longer, though most of the time it was Wu Laosan speaking while Yunyi just listened quietly. After all, she wasn’t the real Wu Meixue—the more she spoke, the easier it would be to reveal flaws. Speaking less and listening more was best.

They continued talking until dusk fell. Yunyi glanced at the sky outside and said, “It’s getting late. Let’s go to the Du family.”

“The Du family…” Wu Laosan shook his head without continuing and went out together with Yunyi. As he was locking the door, a large black-and-yellow dog suddenly charged out from the side, barking viciously at Yunyi. This startled her greatly, making her instinctively step back while the dagger hidden in her sleeve slipped into her palm.

Seeing this, Wu Laosan quickly scolded the big dog, “Da Hei, don’t bark randomly! We’ve only been separated for just over a month—do you not even recognize Meixue anymore? She used to feed you often!”

No matter how Wu Laosan scolded, Da Hei kept barking “woof woof” at Yunyi, making gestures as if to attack, his eyes filled with unfriendly intent. Dogs identify people not mainly through their eyes but through their sense of smell. Although Yunyi looked exactly like Meixue, their scents were different, so Da Hei immediately noticed and behaved so abnormally.

Wu Laosan scolded a few more times, but Da Hei never stopped. Seeing that Yunyi was quite frightened, Wu Laosan forcibly dragged Da Hei inside and locked him in the house. Even so, he continued barking inside.

Wu Laosan locked the door and said, “This Da Hei, I don’t know what’s gotten into him. He just came back from hunting and I let him go outside to find food. When he returned, he became like this.”

Yunyi forced a smile, “Perhaps as Father said, your daughter has been away so long that Da Hei has become unfamiliar with me. If your daughter comes back a few more times, he should become familiar again.”

Wu Laosan nodded, “Alright, let’s hurry to the Du family.”

The Du family wasn’t far from here—it took about the time for a cup of tea to arrive. The Du family’s two vermillion red doors, though far from comparable to the Governor’s residence, were quite conspicuous in this area.

After knocking a few times, someone who looked like a steward came out. He seemed to recognize the Wu father and daughter. After looking them over, he said coldly, “What are you here for?”

Wu Laosan was an honest person and said with an apologetic smile, “We’ve come to find Ru…” Seeing the steward’s unfriendly expression, he quickly changed his address, “to find Young Master Du.”

The steward raised his eyebrows, “Wu Laosan, have you forgotten what my mistress said, or is it that you two, father and daughter, still refuse to give up even now?”

Wu Laosan quickly said, “No, no, we just want to return something to Young Master Du.” With that, he handed over the pure silver butterfly clasp hairpin. The steward took it and said, “Wait here. I’ll go inform the young master.”

After waiting a while, the steward came out accompanying someone, but it wasn’t Du Ruhui whom Yunyi had met before. Instead, it was a long-faced woman wearing a light cotton jacket of black silk on top and a peach-red long skirt embroidered with silver thread and plum blossoms below. At her waist hung jade ornaments on one side and sachets with colorful cords on the other. At first glance, she looked quite wealthy.

Seeing her, Wu Laosan’s face clearly showed a trace of timidity. Before she even reached the door, he was already bowing obsequiously, “Madam Du, I hope you are well.”

The woman called Madam Du stepped over the threshold and sneered, “Wu Laosan, we’ve known each other for some years. To tell the truth, I really hadn’t seen before that you were so scheming.”

Wu Laosan asked in confusion, “What does Madam Du mean by this?”

Madam Du waved the hairpin in her hand and said with a stern face, “Before, when I saw Meixue go to work at the Governor’s residence, I thought you had taken my words to heart. It turns out you haven’t given up at all and still harbor fantasies about letting Meixue enter my Du family’s doors.” With that, she looked at Yunyi with complete contempt, “I’ve lived half my life and seen quite a few people, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone as shameless as you.”

Yunyi’s face darkened, “What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Madam Du looked at her disdainfully, “You know in your heart what I’m saying. Coming back and immediately seducing men—shameless. You’re truly a wild girl.” She continued, “Do you think that by using some fox-like wiles to bewitch Ruhui and bringing this hairpin to show off, I’ll agree to let you enter our doors? I tell you, not in this lifetime, not in the next lifetime, not in the lifetime after that—you can forget about it!”

In her memory, the Wu father and daughter were pushovers—no temper, no family background. She could knead them however she wanted, so her words were as harsh as they could be.

Though Wu Laosan was angry, he wasn’t good with words. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out, “My Meixue didn’t seduce Ruhui.”

Madam Du snorted lightly, “Are you in a position to call him Ruhui?” Then she continued, “Of course you’d say that. If she hadn’t used schemes and tricks, with our Ruhui’s qualifications, how could he possibly fancy such a wild girl?”

Seeing Madam Du repeatedly calling her a wild girl, Wu Laosan said angrily, “Meixue is not a wild girl—she’s my daughter!”

“What daughter? Who doesn’t know you picked her up from a tiger’s den? Or perhaps…” She looked Wu Laosan up and down and laughed while covering her mouth, “Actually, she wasn’t picked up but born from you and some wild woman? But even so, she’s still a wild girl. Either way, I’m not wrong.”

Yunyi said with a cold expression, “You better watch your mouth!”

The bone-chilling coldness in Yunyi’s eyes made Madam Du somewhat afraid for a moment, but she soon sneered, “After working at the Governor’s residence for a while, you’ve learned to put on airs. You do have some presence, but don’t forget—even if you entered the Governor’s residence, you’re nothing more than a servant girl. Don’t put on airs in front of me! I tell you, my Ruhui is going to pass the jinshi examination and marry a daughter from a prestigious family, a proper lady—not something a wild girl like you can aspire to. If you have any self-awareness, get lost immediately and never appear before me again.”

Yunyi laughed in anger, “That’s right, I indeed can’t aspire to such heights. But it’s not that I can’t aspire to the Du family—it’s that your Du family can’t aspire to me!”

Though she wasn’t favored in the palace, she still held the dignity of a princess. Whoever she married would be among princes, marquises, generals, and ministers. How could it ever come down to a mere Du family trying to climb above their station?