Juhua was frozen, staring at him blankly, clueless, while he turned around and slowly left.
"What was that? Ridiculous! Do I look like the kind of person who engages in petty theft? Tsk!"
Juhua mumbled, irate, as she headed to Mother's courtyard to finish her meal!
It was already evening, and Mother, Lady Cui, was sitting on the kang, talking to a plump middle-aged woman dressed in a silk beizi.
The woman had a face full of rouge, and a large face so pale it seemed to have fallen into a flour vat. Her hair was styled into a glossy bun, greased with who knows how much hair oil, adorned with two gold-plated hairpins, and a glaring bright red velvet flower. Her semi-old silk clothes were pink, matching her large pale face, which looked quite amusing.
Juhua glanced at the woman, finding her very unfamiliar. From her attire, she didn't seem like a lady from the upper echelons of Qing County. How did Mother come to know someone like her?
