Xu Yijie had been extremely anxious lately. The day after Wu Caiwei left him, he heard that something had happened at the Zhou mansion. He guessed that Wu Caiwei had gone to the Zhou mansion right after leaving his place, but he didn't know what she had done there.
The thought that it was because of him that Madam Zhou had interacted with Wu Caiwei made him feel guilty, and he didn't dare to go forward and watch the commotion.
Two days later, he tentatively went to visit. As expected, the doorkeeper closed the door with a bang as soon as he saw him. Xu Yijie was rebuffed, but he didn't give up.
Every day, he would linger at the Zhou family's gate for a while. Originally, he had planned to stop Madam Zhou's carriage as he had done before and have a good talk with her. Unexpectedly, Madam Zhou had changed her usual behavior and hadn't stepped out of the Zhou mansion for days.
Today, he heard that a group of people had arrived at the Zhou mansion, and he didn't know why. He had planned to go again tomorrow to pester them and inquire about the situation. Who knew that after he had washed up and was about to rest, the door to his courtyard was kicked open. The leader was the steward of the Zhou mansion. Although the steward of the Xu mansion didn't know what had happened, he recognized the steward of the Zhou mansion and dared not step forward to stop them, only watching helplessly as they rushed towards Xu Yijie.
Xu Yijie looked at the fierce group of people who suddenly appeared before him, so startled that he didn't notice the teacup in his hand fall to the ground.
The men quickly walked up to him, grabbed his shoulders from left and right. His pupils involuntarily widened, and then he asked in a panic, "Who are you? What do you want?"
No one answered his question. They directly dragged him away from the Xu mansion and threw him into a carriage waiting at the entrance.
Xu Yijie's head hit the carriage compartment, making stars dance before his eyes. Before he could sit up, the carriage began to move.
After an unknown amount of time, it finally stopped. He was pulled out of the carriage again. Seeing the familiar mansion, he suddenly became exceptionally cooperative.
When he was thrown at Madam Zhou's feet, he quickly crawled a few steps, hugged her leg, and said obsequiously, "I finally see you. I haven't seen you for so many days, I miss you so much. How can you be so heartless? You won't even see me."
Madam Zhou found him disgusting in this state and kicked him in the chest. He fell backward onto the ground.
Xu Yijie looked at her with disbelief, clutching his chest. Seeing Madam Zhou's disgusted expression, and realizing that he had fallen out of favor and his finances were in jeopardy, he unwillingly crawled to her again and hugged her leg once more, "You can hit me however you want, as long as you can vent your anger and feel better."
"Leng Shui Xiang looked for you before she looked for me, didn't she?" Madam Zhou asked calmly, her thoughts hidden from everyone.
When Xu Yijie heard this, his eyes darted around. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "There was something like that, but I didn't say anything. I just told her that it wasn't me who kidnapped Xu Shuqin."
Actually, Xu Yijie didn't want to admit it, but so many people had seen Wu Caiwei that day. If Madam Zhou put her mind to it, she could have found out a lot with a little inquiry, so he had to reluctantly admit it.
"She told me something that day, saying that you told her that I kidnapped Xu Shuqin." Before Madam Zhou could finish speaking, Xu Yijie quickly interrupted, "She's slandering me! How could I say such a thing? At most, I almost swore that I didn't make the person leave."
"Why did she identify me as the kidnapper? To the point of scarring my face?" As she spoke, she lifted the veil from her face, revealing two ugly scars.
When Xu Yijie saw her like this, his legs inexplicably went weak, and he fell to the ground. He hadn't expected that woman to be so crazy as to dare to do such a thing. No wonder she was taking her anger out on him, and then he started to panic.
Having been involved with this woman for several years, he knew that Madam Zhou was not easy to deal with. When she went mad, she was no less terrifying than Wu Caiwei. Especially since she believed that he had leaked the news about Xu Shuqin, he didn't know how she would retaliate.
He quickly swore, "I, Xu Yijie, swear to heaven that I really did not reveal Xu Shuqin's whereabouts, nor did I say that Madam Zhou kidnapped Xu Shuqin. Every word I speak is true. If there is any falsehood, may lightning strike me and may I die a terrible death."
Ancient people believed in oaths, and Madam Zhou was no exception. Her fierce gaze softened slightly. However, thinking that it was because of this man that she had to deal with that crazy woman and suffer disaster for no reason, she felt that this man was a jinx and that she must stay far away from him in the future.
So, that night, Xu Yijie was driven out onto the streets. His mansion had originally been a gift from Madam Zhou. When their affections were strong, she could give him anything. But now that their relationship had soured, and Madam Zhou was not one to suffer losses, she directly left him to the streets.
Xu Yijie left the Xu mansion with nothing, except for a jade hairpin in his hair and the clothes on his back, which were still worth some money. But in the dark, where could he exchange them? With the jade hairpin, he could certainly find an inn to rest for the night, but perhaps this was all he had left. When he had money, it was not worth much, but when he was broke, he would be stingy with his money, reluctant to spend it.
Thinking that all of this was caused by Wu Caiwei, he felt that the woman had an obligation to take him in. He stumbled towards her courtyard. Fortunately, he had been paying attention to her movements all these days and knew where she lived; otherwise, finding her would have been difficult.
Wu Caiwei was about to rest when she heard voices in front of her. Curious, she walked out. As soon as she reached the door, she heard Xu Yijie arrogantly say, "I am your young lady's father, and Leng Daifu's ex-husband. Today, no matter what, I must get in."
Then she heard the servants at the gate trying to stop him, as well as Xu Yijie's dissatisfied voice insisting on breaking in. Wu Caiwei quickened her pace and coughed a few times, silencing the scene.
As soon as he saw her, Xu Yijie complained, "Because of you, I'm sleeping on the streets. I have nowhere to go. Today, whether you take me in or not, I will stay."
"Oh, so Madam Zhou has abandoned you? Tsk, tsk, tsk. After trying for so long, abandoning your wife, only to end up with an empty net. I feel so sorry for you," Wu Caiwei said, sizing him up from head to toe with a face full of mockery.
"It's all because of you. You said you lived a good life in the countryside, why did you have to come to the city? I must have had a terrible misfortune in my past life to be involved with you. You are my nemesis." Thinking of his predicament, Xu Yijie couldn't help but choke up.
"Why did I come to the city? Weren't you all forcing me? Besides, you were the ones who provoked me first. Tell me, when was it that I made the first move?" Wu Caiwei was amused by his thought process and felt that talking to such a person was exhausting. She personally grabbed him and threw him out the door, then slammed the door shut with a bang.