Chu Zhao was baffled by the scolding.
She knew about Liang Qin's failed marriage arrangement—rumors said the Xie family had rejected the proposal. During the garden gathering, some girls had mocked how the Xies found Liang Qin unattractive, and she had even intervened to stop them.
She understood how devastating it was for a young woman to be rejected, especially over her appearance. Some girls never recovered, too ashamed to show their faces or marry again.
Liang Qin had vanished from social circles lately. A teenage girl, her spirit must have been shattered by the humiliation.
Instead of retaliating, Chu Zhao frowned at Liang Qin. "I've heard about your situation, but why are you blaming me? You should be confronting the Xie son."
Liang Qin let out a shrill laugh. "Confront the Xie son? Wouldn't that break your heart? Could you bear it?"
What nonsense! Had this girl lost her mind?
Chu Zhao glanced around. The other girls had risen to their feet, but strangely, none chastised Liang Qin for her ravings. Their expressions were peculiar.
"A Qin," Qi Leyun stepped forward to pull Liang Qin back. "If you have something to say, speak calmly. No need to shout."
Other girls echoed the sentiment, and someone moved to close the door—
"Don't you dare shut that door!" Liang Qin shrieked, shedding all decorum as she shoved the girls near the entrance. She yelled at her approaching maids, "Open it! Why close it? Let everyone see what kind of person Chu Zhao is!"
Liang Qin's maids and servants rushed over in a fluster, clearly having chased after her. They hesitated to restrain their mistress yet dared not obey her command to block the other girls. Meanwhile, maids attending the other guests crowded around, creating chaos indoors and out.
A Le fought her way through with kicks and punches. "Stay away from my lady!"
Chu Zhao raised her voice. "A Le, shut the door."
Hearing this, A Le immediately battled toward the entrance, scattering those clustered there before slamming the door shut and bracing against it with her body.
"You wretched maid!" Liang Qin cursed and lunged to attack, but A Le kicked her away before she could get close.
Liang Qin's maids swarmed to support their mistress, firmly preventing her from advancing again. Collapsing in her servants' arms, Liang Qin continued screaming insults through her rage.
Chu Tang whispered to a girl beside her, who then stood up sternly. "A Qin, if you still consider us friends, speak properly."
Liang Qin—who lay feigning madness in her maids' arms—flinched at this. Her entire outburst was meant to clear her name, essential for resuming her former life. But if the girls ostracized her, that life would remain out of reach.
Covering her face with her sleeve, Liang Qin wept dramatically. "Chu Zhao ruined me and has no integrity. How can you still defend her?"
The shouting finally ceased.
Chu Zhao's ears rang from the noise, grateful for the quiet. She glanced at Chu Tang, who signaled her before hiding behind the other girls.
Of course Chu Tang wouldn't step forward openly, but Chu Zhao recognized the girl's rebuke as her sister's coaching. Just as well—if Chu Tang, as her elder sister, intervened directly, it would carry less weight than having others speak up.
Ignoring Liang Qin, Chu Zhao turned to the girls around her.
"You all understand what she's talking about, don't you?" she asked. "What's going on?"
This must be why they'd summoned her today.Qi Leyun declared first: "We didn't call Liang Qin here. We didn't know she would come."
Chu Zhao glared at her: "I'll settle this with you later."
She believed what she said, which made Qi Leyun inwardly pleased. She snorted, "Why so fierce? Tricking you out was for your own good. We all want to discuss things with you."
"A Zhao," one girl volunteered, "the Xie son who broke off the engagement with Liang Qin is Xie Yanlai."
Xie Yanlai. Chu Zhao pressed her buzzing ears, momentarily failing to react. After a dazed moment, she finally recalled who Xie Yanlai was.
"A Jiu?" she said.
The girls didn't know who A Jiu was.
"He's the Xie young master you rushed down to protect with your own life that day."
"A Jiu—is that his childhood name?"
"You even call him by his childhood name? Your relationship must be quite close—"
The hall erupted with overlapping voices.
Chu Zhao waved her hand again: "What close relationship? I know him, but—" She paused, looking at everyone, "What exactly are the rumors now?"
Qi Leyun looked at her and said: "The rumor is that you and Xie Yanlai pledged yourselves to each other secretly. When you learned Liang Qin was engaged to him, you became consumed with jealousy, assaulted Miss Liang, then eloped from the capital with Xie Yanlai."
These rumors are truly impressive, Chu Zhao thought, wide-eyed.
Every single incident had happened, yet every single one was false.
...
...
"When I had the conflict with Miss Liang, I hadn't even met Xie Yanlai yet," Chu Zhao said, looking around the room. "I encountered Xie Yanlai on the road after fleeing the capital. We didn't know each other then—he was just a courier using the alias A Jiu."
The girls accepted this immediately: "So that's how it was."Chu Zhao instead felt curious—why did they believe so readily?"
Qi Leyun wore an expression of understanding: "Whether you met this A Jiu on the road or rushed out to protect him in the street, your goal was the same—to get to know Young Master Xie the Third."
With Young Master Xie the Third around, who would care about other men from the Xie family?
Chu Zhao stared in astonished amusement.
"A Qin, you understand now—don't believe the rumors," Qi Leyun added, looking at Liang Qin. "Why would Chu Zhao ever fancy someone like Xie Yanlai?"
"Right, when we heard at the Chu Garden Literary Gathering that Xie son mocking your appearance to reject the marriage, A Zhao even reprimanded him," another girl testified. "She scorns that person."
Liang Qin hid her face in her maid's embrace. Hearing this, she felt surprised—how had Chu Zhao's words become so unquestionably believed in such short time?
Because of the Chu Garden Literary Gathering?
Though she'd been hiding at home, she'd heard from siblings about the gathering. Those who shone brilliantly at the event were others—Chu Zhao's literary talent was merely average.
Watching Chu Zhao now standing in the room, unconsciously occupying the central position with everyone gathered around her.
Then recalling what Qi Leyun had just said—when these girls heard the rumors, instead of avoiding or questioning Chu Zhao, they actually gathered to discuss countermeasures!
What kind of bewitching potion has Chu Zhao given them all!
As for Chu Zhao's claims—not knowing Xie Yanlai beforehand, looking down on and scorning him—she didn't care in the slightest. She couldn't care less.
What she cared about was finally finding an opportunity to cleanse the shame of being rejected for her appearance.
She, Liang Qin, was flawless in both talent and appearance—it was these two who engaged in improper conduct without proper matchmaking!
Even if Chu Zhao could talk the heavens down today, she wouldn't relent. Moreover, she had even more evidence."Chu Zhao, do you think whatever you say goes?" Liang Qin looked up with a cold sneer. "Then you should remember saying you'd willingly die for Xie Yanlai. Even if you died, you'd still be his person."
These words—were absolutely devastating!
All eyes in the room instantly fell upon Chu Zhao.
Chu Zhao's face stiffened momentarily, then as if recalling something, he suddenly chuckled.
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