Lady Gu and her daughter Huahua had never taken Yeye seriously, and now, seeing her act so recklessly, supported by Manman at her side, they were both terribly frightened. In order for Huahua to marry into the Song Family, they had calculated every move, thinking their plans were foolproof. If at this final juncture Yeye were to ruin everything, that would be worse than death for them.

"Manman, Yeye," Lady Gu quickly put on a full smile and whispered to Manman and Yeye, "We are family, blood relatives, everything can be discussed. As the saying goes, ’Don’t look at the monk’s face, look at the Buddha’s face’; the word ’Lian’ couldn’t be written twice in the same stroke... please leave some leeway..."

Seeing Huahua so frightened she had lost her color, and Lady Gu stooping to say some appeasing words, Manman exchanged a glance with Yeye.

"Yeye, maybe we should just..." Manman said to Yeye.

Lady Gu, hearing that Manman was encouraging reconciliation with Yeye, couldn’t wait for her to finish speaking and immediately nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, exactly."

"Great Aunt, Yeye will listen to you. Let’s all go outside to talk. But don’t bully Yeye for being young and tender-hearted and then..."

Manman said with a smile, glancing over at Mrs. Zhao and Mrs. Li, the Scholar’s wives.

Yeye, feeling wronged, was determined to get even. It was Manman who persuaded her not to ruin Huahua’s marriage plans. Therefore, although they chose this moment to cause a scene, they didn’t actually plan to reveal all of Huahua’s secrets in front of the guests. Of course, they had to put on a show; otherwise, Lady Gu and Huahua wouldn’t fear Yeye if they thought she had backing.

Going out to talk was fine, but it was important for Lady Gu to know that this was a favor from Yeye. At the same time, Manman knew that Lady Gu loved to play coy after gaining an advantage, so this was Manman’s way of giving her a preemptive warning to prevent her from speaking ill of her and Yeye in front of the guests later on.

"Manman, Great Aunt understands. I’m grateful for this gesture," Lady Gu quickly said in a low voice again.

Manman nodded; after all, Lady Gu had some age and experience. Seeing the situation not in her favor, she was willing to humble herself. In this respect, let alone Huahua, even she couldn’t compare with Lady Gu.

"My two nieces here, they have top-notch character, a hundred times better than my two girls," Lady Gu, seeing Manman nod, felt slightly relieved and immediately turned to smile at Mrs. Zhao and Mrs. Li, the Scholar’s wives, "The sisters are all so close; they hate to be parted. We’ll have our talk; let them have theirs."

Hearing Lady Gu say this, Huahua walked out with Yeye and Manman.

Mrs. Zhao and Mrs. Li were puzzled, but since Lady Gu spoke so well and neither Yeye nor Manman said anything more, they didn’t feel it was proper to keep probing and simply smiled without saying a word.

"Duoduo, you go and talk with your sisters," Lady Gu hurriedly said to Duoduo, who was standing by with a dazed look. She was still worried that Huahua, having gone with Manman and Yeye, would suffer a disadvantage. Sending Duoduo along would at least give Huahua some support. At worst, if something happened, Duoduo could come back and report.

With guests in several rooms and the front yard bustling, none of those places were suitable for talking. The women left the room, opened the back door, and went to the backyard to speak.

"Manman, why are you here too?" Once out of earshot, Huahua, seeing Manman had followed, asked.

"It was me who asked Sister Manman to come. She’s here to bear witness to our conversation," Yeye said.

Huahua inwardly frowned. She might have been confident in deceiving Yeye alone, but with Manman involved, things would be much more difficult.

The group stood still in the cabbage patch.

"This will do. Duoduo, you go stand by the gate and keep watch. If someone comes, let us know. What your Sister Huahua says and does must not be heard or seen by anyone," Manman deliberately said to Duoduo.

Huahua detected the mockery in Manman’s words but couldn’t think of a comeback, so she could only swallow her anger.

Duoduo stood still, looking at Huahua instead.

"Duoduo, go keep an eye out for people," Huahua thought for a moment and then said to Duoduo. Duoduo wouldn’t be much help staying here, so her main task was to watch out and ensure no one overheard their conversation; that was most crucial.

Duoduo, silent, walked away to stand guard at the back gate.

"Yeye, if you have something to say, just say it," Huahua raised her eyebrows and spoke with an air of condescension.