Cailuan's face turned ashen. Qin Yunyun quickly whispered a few words to her, and Cailuan immediately raised her voice, “No! That’s not true! You’ve mistaken us—”

  But before she could finish, the people at the back of the crowd shoved forward, shouting loudly. Cailuan’s voice was drowned out by the rising noise, and no one paid her words any mind.

  Someone in the crowd called out, “Yaoniang, Madam Zhang worked so hard to raise you! Even though you were just a child bride, she never treated you harshly. After her eldest son died, she treated you like her own daughter. How could you be so heartless? Now that you've climbed into wealth and status, you forget about Madam Zhang? You’re standing right in front of us, yet you still lie and deny her!”

  A few people echoed the accusation at first, then ten more, and soon the entire crowd took up the cry. It seemed everyone knew of this tale of Yaoniang and Madam Zhang.

  As it turned out, Madam Zhang’s family did indeed live nearby. Years ago, they had bought a child bride named Yaoniang. Their eldest son died young, and then the girl disappeared without a trace. Madam Zhang had spent the past few years searching for her, and everyone in the neighborhood knew about it.

  The woman and the man called Master Zhang exchanged gnces as the crowd grew more agitated, Cailuan’s protests completely drowned beneath their cmor.

  Xu Peiwei was so terrified she could barely stand. She clutched tightly to Qin Yunyun’s hand, her face drained of color. Her voice trembled, nearly in tears. “What do we do? What do we do, Cousin…”

  Qin Yunyun was not much better off. How could she have known things would spiral so badly out of control?

  Madam Xu, though frightened, had lived longer and seen more than these girls. She forced herself to speak up, “Everyone, please listen—”

  But the crowd was too riled up. Only a few people at the front could faintly hear her; the rest could hear nothing over the cacophony.

  Madam Xu’s heart raced in panic. They only had a dozen or so guards; the mob numbered in the hundreds. Around her were only maids and old women—how could they stand against so many?

  A voice shouted from the crowd, “These young dies in veils—one of them must be Yaoniang! Let’s lift their veils and see for ourselves! Come on, come on—”

  The crowd surged forward, people in the back pushing those at the front. Chaos erupted. Several idle men shouted, “Let’s see if she’s really Yaoniang or not!”

  Qin Yunyun felt that in all her life, she had never experienced such terror as in that moment.

  She watched in horror as three or four pairs of rough, dirty hands reached toward her. Someone yanked off her veil, someone groped her chest, another grabbed her arm and pulled—

  “Get away from me! Let go of me!” she shrieked, kicking and punching wildly in panic.

  But their leering faces, the glint in their eyes, their filthy hands—all of it crushed her resistance like a child fighting a grown man.

  “Help! Someone help me!” she screamed desperately.

  Xu Peiwei suffered the same fate. She was so terrified that she lost control of her bdder, a foul stench rising from beneath her skirts. The crowd burst into crude ughter.

  “Little boy, is this Yaoniang?” one of the idle men asked, pointing at Qin Yunyun.

  The boy stood frozen, staring at Qin Yunyun in confusion.

  By now, all traces of Qin Yunyun’s noble bearing had vanished. Tears and snot streaked her disheveled face, her hair in complete disarray. She shrieked and wailed like a madwoman, “Don’t touch me! Get away from me! Leave me alone!”

  She looked crazed.

  The boy hesitated, unsure of what to say. At that moment, someone in the chaos bumped into him, causing him to lower his head.

  That idle man immediately shouted, “See? It really is Yaoniang! Everyone, we’ve found her! Let’s help Madam Zhang bring her home! Aunt Liu, Aunt Wu, Aunt Zhao—come here, help us take Yaoniang back!”

  Several enthusiastic old women stepped forward. They looked at Qin Yunyun—she no longer resembled the girl in their memories, but there were still traces of simirity. After all, she now wore better clothes, had grown up well-fed, and three years had passed. That much change wasn’t strange.

  Though her face was filthy with tears and snot, they convinced themselves she must be Yaoniang. Hadn’t the little boy nodded?

  With pushing and dragging, they took Qin Yunyun away. She struggled with all her strength, but how could she resist so many people?

  Madam Xu ordered the maids to intervene, but how could a few maids match such a mob?

  Before long, Qin Yunyun was dragged to the Zhang family’s house in the middle of the street.

  Someone shoved her into a room and locked the door. One woman muttered sourly, “You’d better behave! You think you’re a young dy now, huh? Dressed up all fancy, pretending you don’t know your own folks.”

  Another woman sneered, “A chicken trying to be a phoenix! Looking down on us common folk, pretending not to recognize her own family—I spit on her!”

  Qin Yunyun had been nearly scared witless. Now, facing only a few women scowling at her, her terror eased slightly. She finally regained her senses and began to sob and plead, “I really am not Yaoniang, I swear! Please, call the second young master Zhang in—he’ll tell you the truth! I beg you, Auntie, please…”

  One of the women snorted, “You even know who he is, and you dare say you’re not Yaoniang? Do you really think you’re some young miss now? Don’t worry, he will be here soon.”

  Another woman’s expression darkened. She despised young girls who acted coy and sweet, thinking themselves superior because of a pretty face. Her own husband had been ensnared by such a woman once, squandering all their money on her.

  She spat, “So eager for a man, are you? He is only ten! Your husband’s dead, and the Zhang family can’t afford another wife—you’ll just have to settle for the younger brother. You’re grown now, ready to share a bed, but he’s still a child. Can’t you wait?”

  Another woman sneered, “Shameless! I used to think you were decent. Who knew you’d run away, only to come back and throw yourself at men? I spit on you!”

  Yet another said viciously, “When I see Madam Zhang, I’ll tell her to sell you off to a brothel. Look at that delicate skin—you’d fetch a good price! Three, four hundred taels, easy! Then Madam Zhang can buy her second son a proper wife.”

  “That’s right! Since she’s so eager for men, let’s send her where she can enjoy herself properly!”

  Their words grew uglier and filthier.

  Qin Yunyun wanted to defend herself, but these vicious women were on a roll—who would listen?

  She was filled with despair. Her innocence, her reputation—it was all ruined today. Worse yet, she might actually be sold off to some brothel by these wless people.

  Her vision darkened at the thought, and she fainted dead away.

  Outside, one of the women spat contemptuously. “Tch! Pying dead!”

  No one paid her any further attention. The women left the room, still exchanging coarse, vulgar jokes as they went.

  At the courtyard gate, a crowd had gathered, gossiping excitedly. Everyone was thrilled by the drama, buzzing about how Yaoniang, missing for three years, had finally been found. No one noticed that Madam Zhang and her son were nowhere to be seen.