Qiao Chu

Zhang Gu's gaze remained fixed on the Xie family's entrance, watching the carriage go in, then the girl come out and leave.

The Xie family's doorway returned to silence, with no one else emerging.

Only then did Zhang Gu let out a breath: "He wasn't handed over to the authorities."

His tone sounded both surprised and relieved.

Xin Ding found it somewhat amusing: "How could they possibly hand him over to the authorities?"

That was the Imperial Uncle!

But he didn't feel any disappointed indignation either.

It was already rare enough to see the Imperial Uncle beaten so badly.

He was quite satisfied with the spectacle he'd witnessed.

"Boss, let's go," Xin Ding urged, noticing Zhang Gu still staring at the Xie residence's gate. Finally growing curious, he asked, "Boss, do you know this family?"

Zhang Gu snapped out of his thoughts and withdrew his gaze: "How would I know the Imperial Uncle's family?" He lightly kicked Xin Ding, "Stop dawdling, let's go quickly."

Xin Ding jumped up. Clearly it was the boss who hadn't wanted to leave. Adults were always like this - never admitting they enjoyed watching drama. Fine, fine, let's go.

Xin Ding couldn't wait to return to the military camp and boast to his comrades about the excitement he'd witnessed today. From now on, he could consider himself a city dweller who'd seen something of the world.

As soon as they returned to camp, four or five couriers rushed over, their expressions urgent. "You're back." "Finally returned."

Such enthusiasm? Xin Ding felt flattered. Normally these old soldiers were quite slick and didn't even show much respect to Boss Zhang.

"Brothers, today I—" Xin Ding happily began to share the fresh news, but the group pushed him aside.

"Boss, some people came asking about A Jiu."

"Those people were from the Xie family."

"They asked very pointed questions. We... didn't dare hide anything."

"We also told them about A Fu and Miss Chu."

Several people spoke in hushed, overlapping voices, their expressions anxious as they looked at Zhang Gu: "Boss, has something happened to A Jiu? Did we cause trouble for Miss Chu?"

Zhang Gu looked at them with a relieved expression: "Don't worry. Something did happen to A Jiu, but Miss Chu protected him. They went together to see his family, and the family was very satisfied with Miss Chu, personally seeing her off when she left."

The couriers were overjoyed. "That's truly wonderful!"

Xin Ding, squatting to the side, looked bewildered and shocked as he stared at Zhang Gu. He really was just a country bumpkin - even though they'd been together the whole time and witnessed the same events, he completely couldn't understand what the boss was talking about.

......

......

The stinging pain woke Xie Yanlai from his deep sleep. His vision was blurry with yellow spots.

"How long have I been asleep?"

He had lost consciousness the moment the maids supported him.

Now awake, he was momentarily stunned before immediately trying to get up.

But the severe pain in his back made him grit his teeth and suck in a sharp breath, causing him to fall back onto the bed.

"Young master." "Please don't move."

The maids hurriedly gathered around to comfort him.

One maid wept: "Young master, your injuries are too severe. When the family physician came earlier to clean your wounds, you didn't even wake up."

They had nearly fainted from what they saw. Even the physician had momentarily thought Xie Yanlai wouldn't pull through, checking his pulse repeatedly during the process.

They had been worried Xie Yanlai wouldn't wake up. The physician had said if he didn't wake up today, that would be the end.

That he could wake up now was truly something to thank heaven, earth, and all the gods for.

"Young master, you must rest and recover properly," said a slightly older maid, her brows full of worry. "The physician is related to me and secretly told me that your last two lashes were extremely severe. It's very likely your internal organs were injured."

The surrounding maids wept quietly.Although it was well known that no one treated Xie Yanlai as family, he should at least be treated as a human being.

This was a beating meant to kill.

"What's all this crying for?" Xie Yanlai lay face down, chuckling. "Stop crying. Just be more careful and take good care of me from now on."

The maids wept with joy—the young master never made things difficult for servants like them.

"Young Master," one of the maids sighed. "If only you were this obedient with them, you wouldn't—"

"Them," of course, referred to the young masters and elders of the household, even including the stewards in charge.

In front of those people, the young master's temper and attitude were extremely foul, making him deeply unlikable.

If he were more agreeable, he wouldn't be punished so often.

Their gazes swept over the wounds on his body, and the maids began to silently weep again.

Xie Yanlai rested his head on his arm and sneered, "Being obedient is useless with them. Just focus on being good maids and don't overthink or meddle in other matters."

The maids murmured their assent.

Xie Yanlai tried to sit up again. "That Miss Chu—"

So he was thinking about Miss Chu. The maids exchanged glances.

"Young Master, Miss Chu has already left," they hurriedly said.

She'd left? Xie Yanlai still tried to rise. "I'm going to see Xie San—"

It probably wasn't that he wanted to see the Third Young Master, but rather to ask about Miss Chu. The maids pressed him back down, saying softly, "Young Master, when the Third Young Master refuses to see anyone, no one can get to him."

The young master was so concerned he'd forgotten even this.

It wasn't that he'd forgotten—he was determined to see him anyway. If the Third Young Master refused, he'd surely force his way in, only to be beaten by Du Qi again—

"Young Master, you mustn't provoke the Third Young Master again."

"Young Master, if the Third Young Master doesn't want to talk about something, you won't get anything out of him no matter how much you ask."

"Young Master, if you're truly worried, why not go ask Miss Chu directly?"

Hearing this, Xie Yanlai didn't insist on getting up anymore. He lay back down and snorted coldly. "Why would I ask her? Who cares about her affairs?"

Did he really not care? The maids exchanged glances. They'd heard about what happened on the street and witnessed what occurred at home—that suddenly appearing girl standing gracefully in the courtyard—

"Young Master, you and Miss Chu—" they asked curiously.

"Miss Chu and I have nothing between us," Xie Yanlai cut them off.

The maids pressed further, "Then why did she—"

"She did nothing for me," Xie Yanlai interrupted again, his voice cold. "She just wanted to see Xie Yanfang."

Even a fool could see it. That girl wanted to achieve her goal of seeing her father. Threatening or persuading Xie Yanfang would be far more effective than threatening him.

As for what price she'd pay to achieve her goal—that was Chu Zhao's own business. She could bear the consequences herself. It had nothing to do with him, and he didn't care!

He turned his face toward the wall, and the maids stopped questioning him. The room finally fell silent.

But the wounds on his back suddenly stung sharply.

The maids began applying medicine to him again.

"Why are you putting more medicine on?" Xie Yanlai gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, then sneered. "The household's medicine—whether it's used or not makes no difference."

"Young Master," the maids said, "this isn't the household's medicine."

Not the household's?

Xie Yanlai turned his head and saw one maid holding a porcelain bottle, applying ointment to his wounds, while two others each held medicine bottles, examining them."This is the medicine sent specifically by Miss Chu's maid," one maid said. "She spoke so seriously and in such detail, repeatedly instructing how and when to use it, treating me as if I were a fool who couldn't remember anything."

Xie Yanlai looked at the medicine bottle, then at the maid: "You're giving me medicine sent by some random person? What else are you if not fools?"

The maids giggled, but the one applying powder continued applying, while another poured a pill from the porcelain bottle and tried to force it into Xie Yanlai's mouth.

Xie Yanlai dodged backward, snatching the pill: "Don't shove it randomly—this pill could choke someone to death. I think you're trying to kill me."

With that, he turned inward again, ignoring the maids.

Unfazed by his anger, the maids continued curiously.

"Young master, is that A Le the exceptionally skilled maid you mentioned? The one who applies ointment to her mistress without causing pain, whose young lady is the villain?"

"Young master, I actually think her young lady isn't fierce at all—rather, this A Le seems a bit intimidating."

"Ah, for A Le to explain in such detail, her young lady must have repeatedly emphasized it."

How annoying—why do women never stop talking?

Facing inward, Xie Yanlai clenched his fist tightly, as if trying to crush the pill, but ultimately it remained intact, swelling and growing warm in his palm.

...

...

Under the dim night, the Xie residence was dotted with lights—some areas serene, others lively with song and dance.

Inside the Water Pavilion, Xie Yanfang finished writing the last stroke. Du Qi picked up the letter, marking the end of the day's affairs.

Cai Bo entered from outside the pavilion and reported, "We've just received word that the two granaries gifted by Wei Shi have been successfully transferred."

Xie Yanfang nodded indifferently, considering it a trivial matter.

Standing by the Water Pavilion, he stretched lazily.

"It's getting late," he said. "Cai Bo, you may rest."

Cai Bo asked, "Young master, does Miss Chu's action signify Chu Ling's response? Is he aligning with our Xie family?"

Did the Third Prince's harassment of Chu Zhao make Chu Ling realize how vulnerable and easily bullied the Chu family was, prompting him to seek an alliance with the Xie family?

"Miss Chu said no," Xie Yanfang replied with a smile. "I openly admitted to framing her, and she openly declared she provoked the Third Prince willingly."

Cai Bo knew what the girl had said, but he didn't believe her—words were words, intentions were intentions.

"I'm not after her heart," Xie Yanfang chuckled. "Besides, this isn't an alliance—it's merely an acquaintance."

A true alliance requires sincere, reciprocal exchanges, like the relationship between the Xie family and Wei Shi.

"Still, her coming to say these words was quite unexpected."

Xie Yanfang gazed at the water shimmering in the night.

"Perhaps this isn't Chu Ling's intention, but merely the girl's own decision."

Cai Bo looked surprised. "She acted on her own? Why?" Without waiting for an answer, he glanced at the elegant young master standing by the water and laughed. "Then it really is as the rumors say—she used every means just to get to know you."

Xie Yanfang also laughed, shaking his head.

"No, this girl holds no admiration for me. When she looks at me, there's only curiosity and assessment in her eyes."

Assessment?

Cai Bo and Du Qi exchanged surprised glances."Assess my value." Xie Yanfang said with a laugh. "Cai Bo, this girl is quite bold."

Chu Zhao's previous actions had already proven this point, and neither Cai Bo nor Du Qi could deny the girl's courage.

"She reminds me a bit of myself," Xie Yanfang continued.

This point Cai Bo and Du Qi couldn't agree with. There were many bold people in the world - Cai Bo and Du Qi were bold themselves, but they didn't consider themselves similar to Xie Yanfang.

"Young master, do you think highly of her just because someone dared to scold you on the street, something you've never encountered before?" Du Qi said. "Don't worry, with Miss Chu setting an example, there will surely be many more women coming out to curse you on the streets tomorrow and the days after."

Xie Yanfang laughed heartily.

"It's not because of that," he said, then smiled again. "And Miss Chu isn't like that because of that either."

All this "this and that" made Du Qi's head spin.

"Young master, let's not worry about this and that for now," he asked with a frown. "Which reason applies to Xie Yanlai and Chu Zhao then?"

Xie Yanlai and Chu Zhao had already met during their journey, yet Xie Yanlai hadn't told them about it. Thinking of this, even Cai Bo's usually kind face turned gloomy.

"He's always been like this, won't tell us everything. It's not surprising," Xie Yanfang said indifferently. "He completed the tasks I assigned him. Other matters beyond my instructions, he naturally wouldn't report to me."

Cai Bo said coldly: "Is he trying to climb onto Chu Ling as his backer?"

Xie Yanfang laughed again: "As long as he bears the Xie surname, he'll never be able to climb onto that backer."

Just as he had told the Crown Prince before, the Xie family had soared to great heights, but they also carried shackles. When others looked at you, the first thing they saw was your surname, your family, not you as an individual.

Bearing this family name, no one would truly trust you.

Even if they genuinely wanted to befriend you, they wouldn't truly care about you as a minor figure - they would be befriending the family behind you.

Cai Bo naturally understood this principle, but—

"Although the couriers' words were vague, they clearly indicated the two had an unusual relationship—"

"And when Miss Chu left, she had her maid deliver medicine to Yanlai."

Cai Bo wanted to continue.

Xie Yanfang interrupted him: "No need to overthink. The two of them are acquainted, but that's all. And, Cai Bo, don't speculate about Miss Chu using matters between men and women. That girl has no personal feelings in her eyes."

No personal feelings? Cai Bo was stunned.

"This is why I said earlier that the girl is bold and somewhat like me," Xie Yanfang said. "When she looks at me, and when she looks at Xie Yanlai, her eyes are completely clear."

Xie Yanfang took a few steps forward, gazing at the water.

"As a young woman, when she sees men in this world, she has no personal feelings - only assessment."

"Without personal feelings, there are no personal desires."

"I even directly told her that I framed her, yet she showed neither sorrow, joy, nor anger."

"Those without personal desires are the boldest of all."

Just like his thirteen-year-old self back then.

When he shot that arrow at the Crown Prince, was it for himself? For his family? Clearly, that action would only bring danger to both himself and his family, so it was neither.

He had no personal desires when he did that thing - he simply did it because the situation called for it.

"Let's not speculate about Miss Chu anymore. Since she wants to befriend us, we should accept it openly."

Cai Bo acknowledged this and asked: "How should we interact with her?"In Xie Yanfang's world, different people required different approaches to interaction.

Xie Yanfang turned her head to gaze toward one corner of the courtyard: "Just like how she treats Yan Lai—no daily contact, but when Yan Lai suffers humiliation and beatings, we stand up for her, send for doctors and medicine."

To understand what a person truly desires, one must treat them according to their own ways. This is what the common saying means by "exchanging hearts with hearts."

Cai Bo and Du Qi acknowledged in agreement.

Xie Yanfang stepped into the water, **stirring gentle ripples. She walked across the water stepping on these ripples as if an immortal treading on waves.