Jiang Si handed the sweet rice puffs to A-Man. “Second Brother, let’s enter the mansion.”

Jiang Zhan grabbed Jiang Si’s arm. “Don’t go through the main gate—I’m worried you’ll get crushed in the crowd.”

Jiang Si shook her head. “No, we’ll use the main gate.”

“Ah—” Seeing Jiang Si already walking forward, Jiang Zhan hurried to catch up.

With so many people around, he worried someone might carelessly bump into his sister.

“Make way, make way!”

As Jiang Zhan cleared a path for Jiang Si, she had already reached the vermillion main gate.

The steward was startled by Jiang Si’s appearance, then quickly greeted her: “Fourth Miss has returned.”

“Mm.” Jiang Si nodded gracefully, pausing slightly.

At this moment, unexpected trouble arose—the woman in blue suddenly grabbed Jiang Si’s wrist and shrilly demanded, “Are you one of the mansion’s masters?”

“Let go!” Jiang Zhan rushed over, raising his hand to strike the woman.

“Second Brother, don’t be rash.”

Though Jiang Si spoke softly, Jiang Zhan immediately stopped, but still shouted angrily at the woman: “It’s one thing to involve our Earl’s mansion in your dispute with Divine Woman Liu, but why are you grabbing my sister?”

From Jiang Si’s attire and the steward’s greeting, any observant person would know she was one of the Earl’s daughters—her status was impossible to hide.

Hearing this, the crowd burst into discussion.

While the woman’s loss of her child deserved sympathy, there was no justification for grabbing a young lady. Even if it weren’t a noble household, any father or brother would be angry at such treatment.

“Sister, please let go quickly. If our Young Miss gets frightened, the family masters will be furious—” the steward persuaded good-naturedly, though secretly annoyed with Jiang Si.

Fourth Miss should have known better—seeing so many people gathered here, she should have used the back gate instead of walking straight into this situation.

The woman tightened her grip on Jiang Si, raising her voice: “I don’t care! Since I can’t see any other masters of your household, I’ll settle for her!”

Jiang Zhan was furious but saw Jiang Si slightly shake her head at him.

Ever since Jiang Si had predicted that Ji Chongyi wouldn’t be able to marry another noble lady after breaking their engagement, Jiang Zhan had deeply respected his sister’s wisdom. Seeing her gesture now, he gradually calmed down, though he continued glaring at the woman in silence.

Jiang Si’s sidelong glance swept across the steward’s face, and beneath her gauze veil, her lips curved slightly.

This woman hadn’t disappointed her expectations—entering through the main gate had indeed led to being stopped, just as planned.

Though the Great Zhou Dynasty was becoming more liberal, with increasingly relaxed restrictions on women—to the point where it wasn’t unusual for common women to chase and beat men in the streets—it would still reflect poorly on a noble young lady to publicly argue with troublemakers at the gate.

Jiang Si didn’t care about public opinion, but if something could be avoided, it was better to do so.

“Sister, what explanation do you seek by grabbing me?” the veiled young lady asked gently.

The woman was taken aback, seemingly surprised that someone she had offended wasn’t angry and was instead so reasonable.

At that moment, her actions appeared even more crude and discourteous in others’ eyes.

“I want to see Divine Woman Liu and take her to the officials!”

“Why do you wish to take Divine Woman Liu to the officials?”

When Jiang Si asked this, the woman immediately burst into loud sobs: “She killed my child…”

Jiang Si patiently waited for the woman to explain her child’s cause of death again before asking, “Sister, I sympathize with your situation, but when did your child pass away?”

The woman hesitated, using a sharp tone to cover her sudden unease: “Last year, why?”

Jiang Si let out a soft sigh.

The capital’s citizens had their code of conduct when watching spectacles—once the parties involved reached a crucial point in their discussion, everyone would prick up their ears to listen. No one spoke, so those nearby heard the gentle sigh.

Why did this noble young lady of the Earl’s mansion sigh?

People’s curiosity was instantly aroused.

Jiang Si then continued, “Let me tell you, Sister—my grandmother lost her sight several days ago, which is why Second Madam invited Divine Woman Liu to perform rituals. Divine Woman Liu expelled the evil spirits and said my grandmother’s eyes would recover within three days.”

At this point, Jiang Si looked toward the crowd. “Everyone has heard about this, right?”

“Of course we have! Who hasn’t heard about it?” the crowd responded with laughter.

Jiang Si turned back to the woman, her tone growing stern: “If your child died last year, why didn’t you take Divine Woman Liu to the officials then? Why wait until now?”

The woman’s eyes darted around as she wailed, “How could Young Miss understand the hardships of common folk? Divine Woman Liu, who comes at your beck and call, was too powerful for people like us to challenge. Not only did she refuse to admit to killing my child, but she also had people drive our family out of the capital. Back then, we had elderly and young to care for, and sick family members—we’ve only just recovered enough to return…”

The woman’s crying immediately stirred sympathy among the onlookers.

“I see,” Jiang Si nodded. “Then please wait just one more day, Sister. Divine Woman Liu said my grandmother’s eyes would recover within three days—tomorrow is the final day.”

“But your mansion’s steward just said they wouldn’t protect Divine Woman Liu!”

Jiang Si smiled faintly. “That’s correct. After tomorrow, Divine Woman Liu will certainly leave the Earl’s mansion. Then, Sister, you can either take her to the officials or settle it privately—our mansion won’t interfere.”

“No!” The woman grew agitated. “What if she secretly escapes after tomorrow? Where would I find her then? I must take her to the officials now!”

Jiang Si slowly pulled her hand free from the woman’s grasp. “Sister, your unwillingness to wait even one day makes me wonder—could you have deliberately chosen this moment to interfere with my grandmother’s treatment?”

“How can Young Miss accuse me falsely? I just fear she’ll escape.”

Jiang Si smiled and raised her voice to ask the crowd, “Everyone, tell me, could Divine Woman Liu secretly leave the Earl’s mansion after tomorrow?”

The crowd burst into laughter. “Of course not!”

The woman’s face paled as she looked at the crowd in confusion.

Someone kindly explained, “Sister, don’t you know? We’ve all placed bets on this! Whether the Old Madam’s eyes recover or not, we all want to see what this supposedly divine woman looks like. If the Old Madam’s eyes do recover—well, win or lose, we want to see this miracle worker. And if they don’t recover…” They chuckled meaningfully. “Well, we’d be even more eager to see her then!”

If Divine Woman Liu proved to be a true mystic, neither winners nor losers of the bets would mind. But if she turned out to be a fraud, those who lost money would be looking to vent their anger with their fists.

“So rest assured, Sister. We’re watching every wall of this mansion. Unless Divine Woman Liu can fly, she won’t escape.”

The woman was dumbfounded.

When she received her instructions earlier, no one had mentioned it would be this difficult.

“Now you understand, Sister? With so many vigilant neighbors watching, Divine Woman Liu can’t escape. Please wait one more day—don’t interfere with my grandmother’s treatment, and our mansion will remember your understanding.” At this point, Jiang Si gave the woman a slight bow.

“Young Miss Jiang speaks truly—we guarantee Divine Woman Liu won’t escape!” the crowd chimed in.

The woman couldn’t help but look toward the steward.

Sensing trouble, the steward began quietly backing away to report the situation.

“Steward Wang, please bring some tea and refreshments for this sister. She shows us understanding, so we should show her the same courtesy,” Jiang Si said coolly.