The banquet ended, and the female family members walked out from inside. The front gate of the residence became lively, with carriages, horses, servants, and maidservants in chaos.
“Make way, make way.”
A carriage rushed forward, driven by an old servant who appeared to have failing eyesight. The carriage swayed unsteadily, as if it might crash into other people and vehicles at any moment. The other carriages and horses hurriedly scrambled to avoid it.
“What’s going on?” “Whose carriage is that?” “Why the pushing?” “Shh, it’s the Chu family’s.”
Upon hearing these words, the clamor quieted. Everyone watched as the carriage swayed but still steadily stopped in front of the gate.
Xiao Tu ran out first from inside, lightly jumping up to sit at the front of the carriage.
“How did it go?” the old servant driver asked in a low voice.
Xiao Tu curled his lip. “There wasn’t even a fight.”
That maidservant had run out in a panic saying the young miss was calling for him, trembling as she described how the people inside were bullying the young miss.
“There might be a fight,” the maidservant had said in a low voice. “It all depends on you.”
Now that the Chu family had closed their doors to guests, when Chu Tang went out, she only had one old servant driving the carriage, one young servant to help with the step stool, and one maidservant following—not showing the slightest prestige befitting the Empress’s family.
But while others didn’t know, the maidservant who had followed Chu Tang closely that evening knew very well that this one old servant and one young servant could match a crowd of servants. Don’t be fooled by one being old and one young—when they killed people, it was like cutting melons!
She didn’t even dare talk much with them.
“You’re all Second Master’s people. You must help the young miss, protect the young miss—and me,” the maidservant had instructed repeatedly.
How was he Second Master Chu’s person? He was more like Second Master Chu’s enemy.
After entering, the first question thrown at him was whether he hated General Chu Ling. He had almost blurted out the truth.
Fortunately, he understood in time that this was acting out a performance with this girl. After Miss Chu Tang fabricated his background story, he also performed his part about how pitiful orphans were—good thing the gold collar was hidden under his clothes and couldn’t be seen.
At the time, he saw many of the women and girls in the room with tears glistening in their eyes.
However, listening to what the women said afterward—
“Although there was no fight,” he nodded, “it was still quite fierce.”
As they spoke, Chu Tang emerged with her maidservant. Unlike before when the girls had clustered around her and the madams had greeted her, only the hostess and two or three girls were by her side. More people were behind them, keeping their distance from them.
“Miss Chu, our hospitality was inadequate,” the hostess said with a somewhat apologetic expression. “Please forgive us.”
Chu Tang smiled. “You’re too kind, Madam. This has nothing to do with you.” She looked at the girls behind her. “I’ll gather with everyone again next time.”
Hearing her words, the expressions of those keeping their distance changed slightly. There would be a next time?
Next time they wouldn’t invite her—
“I will take the initiative to visit,” Chu Tang said with another smile.
That’s right—they might not invite her, but if she came to visit on her own initiative, who would dare refuse her at the door?
No matter what, she was still the Empress’s sister.
If she quarreled with them and threw her weight around, that was her moral failing. But if they refused her at their doors, then they would be in the wrong.
This Chu Tang was truly troublesome. The madams watched her leave in a leisurely manner, then looked at the girls beside them.
“Now that the border commandery is unstable and the people are suffering disaster, you should all stay home and not go out.”
……
……
Chu Tang got into the carriage and immediately collapsed softly against the cushion.
“Miss!” the maidservant cried out in alarm.
“It’s nothing, let me rest a moment,” Chu Tang said, signaling the maidservant not to speak, then letting out a long breath.
The maidservant pressed her hand to her chest, feeling she also wanted to collapse. “Miss, how did you—how did you become so bold?”
The young miss wasn’t this kind of person at all. She never quarreled with people, let alone for Second Master Chu and Chu Zhao. She must have gone mad.
Had she gone mad? Chu Tang lay on the soft cushion, thinking of what Chu Zhao had said.
“I’ve ascended to the Empress position, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Chu family will have good days ahead.”
“Great wealth and honor come with danger. Of course, if you want safety, it’s not impossible.”
That girl had sat in the Empress’s palace hall, smiling as she spoke to her.
“Your whole family should leave the capital and henceforth live in an academy, never to return.”
“And you and your brothers should find marriages with families of simple backgrounds—best if they have no official posts or positions, just commoners.”
“That way, even if something happens to me in the future, since you had nothing to begin with, you won’t be implicated.”
Live a whole lifetime like that? It would indeed be peaceful and safe, but—
Chu Zhao had looked at her and continued: “If you don’t want to live peacefully and uneventfully, you can also be like me and take a risky gamble. I’ll scheme within the palace, you’ll manage things outside. I’ll be your backing, you’ll be my eyes and hands. If luck is good, we sisters can both occupy high positions and gain glory. If luck is bad, then we’ll—”
She had drawn her hand across her neck.
At that time, the palace hall had been magnificent, the girl in palace attire had reclined leisurely, yet the corners of her mouth bore a smile—a smile that made one’s scalp tingle, yet was irresistibly alluring—
Chu Tang suddenly sat up again.