“Especially you,” they said. “You with the surname Xie—neither those surnamed Yang nor those surnamed Zhao like you.”
The young man covered with the tablecloth didn’t move. His muffled voice came from within: “Since they don’t like me anyway and won’t like me no matter what I do, why care about them? I’m not leaving today. I’ll wait until everyone in the building is gone, then I’ll leave.”
What kind of madness was this again?
When coming, he didn’t want to come. Having come, now he doesn’t want to leave.
……
……
Chu Zhao was also preparing to leave.
She and A’Le finished the remaining half of the food and drink. The two shared a pot of wine and happily settled the bill.
The shop attendant who had been hovering around the whole time was also very happy and personally saw them off: “Miss Chu, come often when you have time.”
Chu Zhao thought for a moment, looked around, and sighed: “I can come often for the next while, but then there will be a long period when I can’t come often.”
After the Third Prince and Crown Prince created chaos, not only would the capital have a curfew for a long time, but during the day many wine houses and tea rooms would also be closed. The borders would be unstable, the Xie family would rebel, the capital would nearly be captured, the people would be in panic and alarm, like frightened birds—no longer having this current prosperity and leisure.
The shop attendant seemed to understand but didn’t, and didn’t delve deeper. He just assumed this girl found it inconvenient to go out. Well yes, after beating her own cousin like that in public, when she went back she would certainly be scolded and confined, or directly sent back to her father’s side.
After this commotion, the shop attendants all knew who this Miss Chu was. Chu Ling, who had been silent in the capital for many years, was now remembered again.
Chu Zhao rose and went downstairs. The girls on the third floor immediately noticed and called to each other: “She’s leaving.”
“So what if she leaves?” Qi Leyun snorted. “We’re leaving too.”
Third Young Master Xie had already left. Having watched the excitement of Chu Zhao fighting and heard about Liang Qin’s embarrassment, the girls were completely satisfied today. Eager to go back and share the excitement with their brothers, sisters, and parents at home, they all rose as well.
For a moment, Yaqu Pavilion was like colorful clouds descending, pleasing to the eye. Countless gazes in the wine house looked toward this direction.
“Some of them are really quite pretty.”
“Which families’ young ladies are they?”
The young men sitting inside also joked and teased, but only Xie Yanlai didn’t move, still covered with the tablecloth.
“Yanlai!” A young man reached out to pull the tablecloth. “Your third brother has already left. You don’t need to feel ashamed anymore. Why are you still covered with this!”
Xie Yanlai clutched the tablecloth and said blandly: “My third brother has left. I’m afraid if I show my face, I’ll make everyone else feel ashamed.”
The young men roared with laughter, some laughing, some cursing, and some kicking him a few times. This side instantly became somewhat noisy too.
The girls were attracted by the commotion and looked over. Seeing it was just some young men joking and roughhousing, they glanced once and haughtily withdrew their gazes.
With Third Young Master Xie before them, all others were rough gravel and broken tiles.
They deliberately squeezed past Chu Zhao as they walked out.
“There’s so much space, why are you pushing?” A’Le said angrily, about to grab the club from the basket.
Chu Zhao indicated she didn’t need to bother. She didn’t yield the path nor get angry. Whoever tried to bump into her couldn’t move her; instead they were bumped aside. Qi Leyun was even tripped. If the maid hadn’t supported her in time, she would have fallen.
Chu Zhao laughed heartily.
“Chu Zhao!” Qi Leyun cursed angrily. “What are you doing!”
Chu Zhao looked at her and smiled: “Watching you embarrass yourself.”
“I’m embarrassing myself?” Qi Leyun pointed at herself. “The one embarrassing herself is you, isn’t it?”
Chu Zhao said with a smile: “I’m not afraid of embarrassing myself. What about you?”
Look at her—like a country shrew! Qi Leyun was about to say more when Chu Zhao’s expression turned cold.
“I’m not afraid of embarrassing myself. I dare beat you right here,” she said. “If you’re not afraid of embarrassing yourself, come and try.”
The girl who had been all smiles just moments ago now had a cold, sharp expression. Qi Leyun was someone who often quarreled with her sisters—what tempers and harsh words hadn’t she encountered? But at this moment, she was actually frightened and stepped back.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of fighting, or afraid of embarrassment, but—she didn’t know what she was afraid of—
“Miss.” The maid was also frightened and grabbed her. “Let’s go quickly.”
The other girls saw this scene. If they really started fighting, they would also be embarrassed along with her. They all came forward to pull Qi Leyun away.
“Let’s go, let’s go.” “Hurry back.” “Be careful—if you’re late going back, your parents will scold you. Didn’t you say your father told you not to oppose Chu Zhao?” “Be careful or he won’t let you go out in the future.”
Everyone pulled Qi Leyun away. However, this time, the words only mentioned Qi Leyun. No one accused Chu Zhao, and there was none of the past naked disdain.
The girls all left in an instant. Only Chu Zhao and her servant remained in the entrance hall.
When the girls first started pushing and shoving, the young men inside who loved excitement had excitedly called out: “They’re fighting!” “This young lady is fierce!” “Hey, the fighting upstairs they mentioned earlier—wasn’t it her?”
There was nothing to see in men and women fighting, but they’d never seen girls fighting!
“Yanlai, Yanlai, get up and look.” Someone shook the phoenix-eyed youth.
Just as they called out, Xie Yanlai pressed him to the ground with one hand.
With his other hand holding the tablecloth over his head, Xie Yanlai’s voice came out even more muffled from behind the cloth: “What are you shouting! Stop shouting! If you shout and annoy her, she’ll come fight you—won’t you be embarrassed!”
The young man pressed to the ground was somewhat puzzled: “It’s not like she’ll fight anyone she sees, right?”
As the two struggled, the other young men said: “Don’t worry, she’s gone.”
The young man on the ground was released. Xie Yanlai finally lifted the tablecloth and looked toward the entrance. Sure enough, he saw that the girl’s figure was no longer at the door.
He let out a breath, tossed the tablecloth aside, grabbed the wine pot and shook it, then tilted his head back to drink.
The capital is so big—how did he run into her! What a fright!