Before they had parted earlier, her eldest aunt, Madame Qiu, had been happily braiding Gao Chan'er's hair. Now, however, her aunt's face was covered in tear stains. In contrast, Gao Juan'er's mother, Madame Chen, had shed her previous envy and resentment; she was now suppressing a grin, her eyebrows arched in sheer amusement, looking for all the world like she was enjoying a good show.
"Mother, what happened?" Gao Juan'er whispered to her mother. She did not dare step too close, fearing that the smell of meat pancakes on her had not fully dissipated.
Madame Chen tried her best to suppress her smile, adopting a tone of mock pity. "It's a good thing you had me look into Young Master Hong's character. Sure enough, the moment I started asking around, a problem came to light."
Chapter 152