Standing off to one side, Senior Servant Gui’s eyes were already red. She had raised Chu Lian and followed her all the way to her husband’s household. This was the first time that she was going to be separated from her. If only she had been a few years younger, then she might have followed along with or without Chu Lian’s permission.

Chu Lian stepped onto the carriage and turned back to look. When she saw that Senior Servant Gui had come out with Xiyan to chase after her, she felt the corners of her eyes turn a little wet as well. Chu Lian shouted, “Momo, Xiyan, go back!”

Senior Servant Gui covered her mouth with a handkerchief before nodding forcefully, “Third Young Madam, don’t worry! This old servant will take good care of Songtao Court for you!”

Chu Lian turned around and stopped looking back. She stepped forcefully onto the step and boarded the carriage. Then she was seen no more as the felt curtain fell over the entrance, blocking the wind and all the gazes of the crowd.

House Jing’an’s private troops and Tang Yan’s team quickly disappeared from House Jing’an’s entrance.

It wasn’t until they could no longer see any of the party that He Changqi personally escorted Matriarch He back into the estate.

Half a day after Chu Lian had left, in the afternoon, a messy-haired, crazy-looking woman stumbled over to the normally peaceful entrance of the Jing’an Estate. Her hair was a complete mess and her face was covered in dirt, making her unrecognisable.

She lurched over to the Jing’an Estate’s entrance and tried to enter, but how could the manservant guarding the door let her in just like that? He kicked her to the ground. “Where did this crazy woman come from? Hey, can’t you see where this is? How dare you try to charge into the estate! Are you sick of living?”

The messy-haired woman laid on the floor, groaning in pain. After a moment, she started shouting, “Quick... notify... notify Third Young Madam! I’m Third Young Madam’s handmaid! Right, I’m a handmaid who married over with Third Young Madam! Quick, notify Third Young Madam for me!”

The door guard looked at her in contempt. “Tch, you’re just a miserable lying wretch! Trying to impersonate a handmaid of one of our noble madams? Why don’t you take a look in the mirror first? Let me tell you, I’ve seen all the handmaids serving our Third Young Madam before. Not a single one of them looks like you!”

When the woman heard the door guard’s disdainful words, her expression almost cracked. She crawled off the ground and tried to pull at the hem of his clothes. She even brushed aside the messy hair covering her face, revealing her looks. Unfortunately, her face was still covered in dirt. The hand she used to grasp at the manservant was also covered in rotting sores. “Look at my face! Look at my face! I’m one of Honoured Lady Jinyi’s handmaids! It was Third Young Madam who gave me my name! I’m Mingyan! My name is Mingyan! Please, go in and notify Third Young Madam for me... Please!!”

The manservant was completely disgusted by her blackened face and sore-covered hands. How could he bother with discerning her looks? He kicked Mingyan away again with an expression full of loathing. “Stupid beggar. Stop acting! If you continue like this, I’ll get the city guards to come over and throw you into jail!”

The manservant harrumphed inwardly. The only handmaids serving Third Young Madam were called Xiyan, Fuyan, and Jingyan. There was also Miss Wenqing. When had there ever been some Mingyan? Did this person really think that she could bluff her way into the Jing’an Estate just by giving herself a name ending with ‘yan’?

How could Mingyan possibly give up her last chance at survival? Even though her body was already weak, she found the last remnants of her strength and stumbled forward a few steps. She grabbed onto the door guard’s calf and pleaded, “Please! Please!! Just let me meet Third Young Madam, just once! As long as you help me pass a message to her, I’ll give you whatever you want! R-right, I know Third Young Madam’s secret recipes! If you send a message for me, I’ll tell them to you! I’ll give them all to you!”

The manservant was already at the limits of his disgust thanks to this crazy woman. This time, he showed no mercy and called over two others to pull away the madwoman hugging his leg. They forcefully removed her and tossed her down the steps in front of the estate’s entrance. The door guard had one last parting remark for her. “Let me tell you, even if you really know Third Young Madam, you’re too late. Our Third Young Madam received an imperial edict to go to the north, and she’s already left!”

After that, he stopped bothering with the madwoman. He ordered the two retainers to beat the woman to death with some rods if she dared to get close to the entrance again.

Mingyan’s dull eyes widened, her expression filled with disbelief. She shook her head in denial. How could it be? How was that possible? Third Young Madam went to the north... How could that be? If Third Young Madam was no longer in the estate... then who was going to save her life?!

No matter how much Mingyan tried, she wasn’t able to enter the Jing’an Estate. In the end, the guards tossed her into one of the corners outside the estate. Mingyan hugged her knees to herself and curled up where she was.

The cold invaded her body, stealing away her warmth and making her stiff with frost. In her mind, she couldn’t help but think back to the days she had lived with Chu Lian in Songtao Court.

Third Young Madam had been so friendly, and she had never mistreated any of her servants. Although Third Young Master wasn’t around, the servants of Songtao Court could always walk around with straight backs.

Third Young Madam had bestowed golden hairpins and rings on her handmaids. Those designs were so pretty. It had been her first time seeing such beautiful jewellery in her life!

What a pity that it was all gone. Someone else had taken them from her.

Third Young Madam had never avoided her handmaids when making one of her secret recipes. She would even teach them a little more when she was happy. Once, Mingyan had made a gamble and asked Third Young Madam for some dessert recipes. Third Young Madam hadn’t gotten mad in the slightest and patiently instructed her. And after the first time she explained it, Third Young Madam had even asked if the steps were clear enough.

The secret recipes she had learned from Third Young Madam had become hers. If those people wanted to steal them for themselves, even if her hands rotted away, she wasn’t going to reveal Third Young Madam’s secret recipes to anyone!

As Mingyan’s thoughts ran through her head, she looked up at the high wall of the estate behind her.

How she wished that she hadn’t been possessed by greed back then!