The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

After Xia Mianwan and Mrs. Liu finished eating wontons, they continued to stroll on West Street for a while. Most of the vendors here were farmers from surrounding towns who came to sell their crops.

Xia Mianwan walked around for a while and then picked up a basket and bought some vegetables.

Madam Liu wanted to help Xia Mianwan carry it, but Xia Mianwan stopped her, "It's okay."

Just as the two were strolling, suddenly someone came rushing towards them on horseback. The vendors on both sides were so frightened that they dodged. Ru Zhu had sharp eyes and ears, and he protected Xia Mianwan with one hand and dodged to the side.

The man riding the horse saw that Ruzhu was pretty, so he pulled the reins and jumped off the horse, "Where in Xiyang can we find such a pretty girl?"

Seeing that he was so mean and almost hurt his wife, Ruzhu went forward and pushed the man away in anger. Ruzhu was very strong, and the man fell flat on his face after being pushed.

"Where are you from? How dare you push my young master?" Seeing this, the servants nearby hurriedly surrounded Ruzhu.

Madam Liu whispered in Xia Mianwan's ear: "This is Madam Cen's brother from her mother's family."

Young Master of the Cen Family?

Xia Mianwan glanced coldly at Master Cen who had just been helped up. Master Cen felt Xia Mianwan's gaze and looked back, struck by how beautiful she was. This lady was even more beautiful.

"How dare you! You actually dare to push me? I will put you all in jail." Master Cen said this, but his eyes were fixed on Xia Mianwan.

Xia Mianwan said calmly: "Master Cen, do you know that you can't ride a horse in the street?"

"You can't ride a horse in the street? Who said that? Young lady, the rules of places near Xiyang are useless. We in Xiyang have our own rules. Oh, you will know my reputation by then. Since you know me, how can you not know who has the final say in Xiyang?" Young Master Cen looked arrogant.

Xia Mianwan frowned slightly, "I have indeed never heard of who has the final say in Xiyang. Master Cen, please tell me about it so that I can see it for myself."

"Of course, our Cen family has the final say. Even if the prefect comes, he has to kowtow to our Cen family's old man!" Young Master Cen said proudly.

Mrs. Liu pulled Xia Mianwan's sleeve, signaling Xia Mianwan not to bother with Mr. Cen.

Xia Mianwan patted Mrs. Liu's hand, signaling her to rest assured.

"In that case, I will go and give Old Master Cen a toast another day. But it was wrong for Young Master Cen to ride his horse and injure people today. The vendors on both sides were disturbed. Young Master Cen should apologize." Xia Mianwan said lightly.

Young Master Cen saw that Xia Mianwan was not buying his words, so he said viciously, "I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, but you're settling accounts with me? You really won't cry until you see the coffin!"

As soon as Young Master Cen finished speaking, the group of Cen family servants reached out to tie up Xia Mianwan. Xia Mianwan slightly turned sideways, and all the Cen family servants fell to the ground at once.

Young Master Cen looked at Xia Mianwan in surprise and suspicion. He could guarantee that he did not see anyone take action.

Xia Mianwan glanced at Ruzhu, who nodded and stepped forward to twist Master Cen's hand, "Master Cen, I advise you to apologize to my master and the people here."

Master Cen's face was twisted by Ruzhu, "Who are you to be so bold? You know I'm the young master of the Cen family, yet you still dare to treat me like this? Don't you want to die?"

Xia Mianwan covered her mouth and smiled, "I want to see whether Master Cen's words are tough or my life is tougher."

As soon as Xia Mianwan finished speaking, Ruzhu's grip became even stronger.

"It hurts, it hurts! I was wrong, I was wrong, my lady, please let me go!" Young Master Cen begged for mercy with a bitter face.

"What did you do wrong?" Xia Mianwan asked curiously.

"I was wrong in everything!" Master Cen was sweating profusely from the pain and kept begging for mercy.

Madam Liu pulled Xia Mianwan and said, "Madam, forget it. The Cen family is indeed very powerful here."

Xia Mianwan heard this and said, "Ruzhu, let him go!"

Ruzhu then loosened her hands and pushed Master Cen aside. Master Cen rubbed his hands and looked at Xia Mianwan viciously and said, "Young lady, you dare to treat me like this. I wonder which kind of god you are? Tell me your name so that I can burn incense for you later, so that you won't be left without incense in the underworld."

"You can come to the governor's mansion to find me. Have you taken a good look at the cemetery?" Xia Mianwan sneered.

Master Cen looked at Xia Mianwan with suspicion, "Are you the family member of the new governor?"

"How dare you! Do you think your dog eyes can see our lady?" Ruzhu didn't care and stepped forward to slap Master Cen a few times.

Master Cen was stunned, "You guys!"

Xia Mianwan smiled and said, "Listen carefully, everyone present. I was the one who beat Master Cen. Master Cen rode his horse to hurt people and refused to repent. He also wanted to molest decent women. Slapping him in the face was considered a light punishment. If anyone from the Cen family wants to settle accounts with me, they can come to the Pei family to find me. I, Xia Mianwan, am the mistress of the Pei family, and my opinion represents the opinion of the Pei family. I have no control over what the former governor did in Xiyang, but now... my husband is in charge of Xiyang. My husband is honest and loves the people. He can't stand these people who come from nowhere and act wildly by deceiving their superiors and hiding the truth from their subordinates."

The vendors around heard it. They knew the governor was a very important official, but they didn't dare say anything for fear of retaliation.

Young Master Cen glared at Xia Mianwan hatefully and left with his men.

Madam Liu saw people leaving and said worriedly, "Madam Pei, the Cen family is very powerful in Xiyang. Cen's son is a little bastard. He once did a beastly act like robbing a girl. In the end, the girl was forced to death, but Cen Erlang was fine."

Xia Mianwan was surprised and asked, "So many officials in Xiyang don't care?"

"The Cen family is powerful, and everyone is thinking that it is better to have less trouble than more. The one who died was just an ordinary citizen, so naturally no one will seek justice for the girl." Madam Liu sighed. How many good officials are there in this world who are willing to speak up for the people?

Xia Mianwan heard it all, and she couldn't help but ask, "Is the only evil thing that happened, that of robbing a woman?"

"Not only that, Cen Erlang is a scoundrel. For him, robbing women is just a piece of cake. The bad things he has done are too numerous to list." Mrs. Liu said angrily.

"Does County Magistrate Liu also know?" Xia Mianwan asked.

Madam Liu knelt down hurriedly upon hearing this. "My master knows that he was the one who kidnapped the girl. My master really tried his best, but he was powerless and there was really nothing he could do. At that time, my master was willing to give up his official hat to help the girl get justice, but... Hey, please don't blame me, Madam."

Xia Mianwan hurriedly helped Madam Liu up. "I just want to know what's going on. I don't mean to blame anyone. The unhealthy trends in the officialdom cannot be changed by one or two people. Only when the superiors set an example, the subordinates will follow. By the way, Madam Liu, why don't you come to my house and have a seat? I want to know about the situation of the Cen family."

"Okay." Mrs. Liu agreed readily.