Madam Lu and her children temporarily settled at Wufu’s home, and Madam Zhou didn’t neglect their food and clothing, even assigning a little maid to serve them, but that was all she provided.

In the past, when Zhou Xiuer acted coyly, Madam Zhou would buy her a few more outfits or a couple of extra pieces of jewelry, but now, that wasn’t the case.

Madam Lu still acted as before, hinting openly and covertly that she wanted to borrow what Madam Zhou wore, but Madam Zhou pretended not to understand, refusing to entertain the idea, leaving Madam Lu furious, who complained privately to Zhou Xiuer that Madam Zhou had become stingy despite her wealth. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Zhou Xiuer herself felt uneasy; in this cold weather, she would rise before dawn to serve Madam Zhou, acting spoiled and charming, only to receive a suggestion to work on her embroidery in her own room, with nothing else offered.

However, under someone else’s roof, you must bow your head. Zhou Xiuer knew that their only reliance was Madam Zhou, and once Madam Zhou kicked them out, they faced absolute poverty.

Zhou Xiuer absolutely didn’t want to endure such poverty, having grown accustomed to luxury, she couldn’t return to the hardships of the past.

Especially after experiencing the prosperity and wealth of Changan City, she was even more reluctant to return to the impoverished Wozi Village.

So she could only endure it; even though Madam Zhou said there was no need to serve her, Zhou Xiuer consistently went to pay her respects.

The mother and children were settled in, being watched over, and for a time, nothing troublesome occurred.

...

As for Wufu and her party, they moved swiftly and finally arrived at the village address given by Ah Sang in November.

In a place like the Miao Village, Wufu and her group dared not wander carelessly, especially with two ill individuals in their midst; they were even more cautious, sending a letter to have Ah Sang send someone to receive them.

They found a small inn in a town at the foot of the mountain to settle down, with Wufu chatting with Ah Jiu when Yuan Ye entered carrying the courier hawk.

"Miss, there’s a message from Purple Jade."

Wufu immediately tensed up; Purple Jade sending a message—could there be something wrong with Madam Zhou?

She quickly took it, untwisted the paper roll, skimmed through it, and her expression turned extremely gloomy.

"Constant troubles."

"What happened?" Ah Jiu took the paper roll from her hand, swiftly reading the contents, his brows furrowed and then relaxed, reassuringly patting her hand: "Don’t worry too much, with Purple Jade and the others watching, nothing troublesome will happen!"

"They are just troublemakers, especially coming when I’m not there; I fear an unexpected incident." Wufu rubbed her eyebrows.

"According to Purple Jade’s letter, although Zhou Xiuer is selfish, she won’t act foolishly to jeopardize her own life, and she will restrain her mother."

Wufu sneered: "I just fear they unknowingly become pawns for others, like Madam Wang—is she really that kind-hearted? Seek to mend fences with me, have them speak highly? Hmph, I’d sooner believe it’d rain red."

"Look at you, if you’re worried, then send a message back, asking Mei Er to dispatch a couple more people." Ah Jiu smiled.

Wufu nodded: "It’s all I can do; hopefully they haven’t been foolish to the extreme."

"Miss, the Saintess is here." Xiao Li said at the doorway.

Wufu quickly stood up, surprised that Ah Sang came in person to receive them, hurriedly going to the door, indeed seeing Ah Sang dressed in Miaojiang attire, with a delicate silver crown ornament jingling splendidly, accompanied by Yan Er, who was speaking softly by her side.