"Оh?" Аftеr glаnсing at Feng Yue's rеtrеating figure, Хu Huaizu аlsо grеw sеriоus, his stаrry eуes fixed intently on Sоng Ruо Ci. "Is suсh a thing rеаllу truе?"
"Last timе, thе Gеnеrаl's Mаnsion was in an uрrоar, аnd several уoung ladiеs were рrеsеnt. If уоu dоn't bеlieve mе, уou саn аsk anуonе уou like," Sоng Ruо Ci sаid, growing more аnimated now thаt hе wаs willing to listеn. She leanеd сlоser tо him, hеr ехрrеssion реculiаr. "Mоreovеr, I heаrd shе wаs a соurtеsаn, vulgar and crudе in her speech. Whеn you sent sоmeonе to Рrinсe Yin's sidе, didn't you check what kind of person she was beforehand?"
Xu Huaizu rubbed his forehead. "Ah, I really didn't check."
"It's not too late to send her away now," Song Ruo Ci shook her head, adopting a well-meaning tone as she advised, "Although men all appreciate a woman's beauty, some people's beauty is useless—like an embroidered pillow stuffed with straw. It's not just women; there are also men who are handsome but lack substance. Someone as talented, cultured, and skilled in both civil and martial arts as you, young master, is truly rare."
Well, was she praising him now? Xu Huaizu smiled. "You flatter me. Miss Song seems to have quite high standards."
Blushing, Song Ruo Ci lowered her head. "You jest, young master."
"After all, we both come from noble families, so it's natural to have high standards," he grinned, his laughter hearty. "My standards are not low either."
Pausing briefly, Song Ruo Ci looked up at him, daring to tease, "Then for this humble girl to catch your eye, I must have some ability."
"Indeed," Xu Huaizu nodded. "I've always preferred those who are reserved, intelligent, and wise—those who don't gossip behind others' backs or get entangled in trivial matters. They're very easy to be with. Miss Song happens to be exactly the kind of person I like. I imagine if we were to marry, it would surely be a good match."
Feng Yue, overhearing this, nearly choked on the melon seeds she was eating, coughing twice.
Song Ruo Ci was stunned, unable to process his words at first. When she finally understood, her face flushed crimson with embarrassment. Tears welling up, she rose to leave.
"What's wrong, Miss Song?" Xu Huaizu asked innocently. "Did I say something wrong?"
Song Ruo Ci stopped in her tracks, turning back with a mix of anger and confusion. "Were the words you just spoke sincere, young master?"
"Why wouldn't they be sincere?" Xu Huaizu smiled earnestly. "A young lady as virtuous, kind, and gentle as you is also rare."
His smile was sincere, but his words carried an eighty percent hint of sarcasm. Even Feng Yue, standing far away, could hear it, let alone Song Ruo Ci, who was facing him directly.
Stamping her foot in anger, Song Ruo Ci felt both wronged and humiliated. She turned and ran off in tears.
Feng Yue turned back, wide-eyed, and asked, "Young Master Xu, who taught you this skill of ruthlessly trampling on flowers?"
Xu Huaizu grinned mischievously, raising a hand toward the sky. "I owe it all to my master's teachings."
Feng Yue: "..."
Recalling a certain person's talent for trampling on flowers, she shuddered and shook her head. "Miss Song is betrothed to you. Aren't you afraid of being scolded when you return home?"
Assuming a serious expression, Xu Huaizu said, "I wasn't in a hurry to marry in the first place. Even if I were to marry, it couldn't be to a woman like her—too troublesome and talkative. Fortunately, with you here, I could test the waters. If it were truly a blind marriage, I fear it would lead to misfortune for both of us."Feng Yue suddenly realized, "So you're saying this servant has quite the merit?"
"Exactly, go claim credit from our master!" Grinning widely, Xu Huaizu pulled her toward the main courtyard.
Yin Gezhi was listening to Yi Zhangzhu speak. Yi Zhangzhu had been happily praising Song Ruo Ci at length and had just reached the point of saying "she's steady and not petty" when a series of sobs could be heard approaching from outside.
Looking up in surprise, they saw the steady Miss Song run in with her face streaked with tears, sitting beside Yi Zhangzhu and weeping uncontrollably.
"What's wrong?" Yi Zhangzhu was startled. "Who bullied you?"
"Feng... Feng Yue." Her face a mess, Song Ruo Ci sobbed, "They're too much!"
Feng Yue? Yi Zhangzhu's expression darkened slightly as she glanced at Yin Gezhi.
Yin Gezhi immediately grew serious, turning his head to ask Guan Zhi, "Where is Feng Yue?"
Guan Zhi bowed his head and was about to go look when he saw Xu Huaizu and Feng Yue entering together.
"What did you do?" Yin Gezhi asked displeasedly. "How did you make Miss Song cry?"
Feng Yue knelt innocently. "This servant did nothing! Miss Song asked me to leave, so I stood in the courtyard the whole time without saying a word!"
Xu Huaizu nodded. "Your disciple can testify. She truly didn't say a single word."
Seeing this, Song Ruo Ci stood up as if to leave again, but Yi Zhangzhu pressed her back down with a hand, frowning at Xu Huaizu. "If she didn't say a word, how did she make someone cry?"
"This humble one also doesn't quite understand what Miss Song is crying about." Xu Huaizu frowned. "I was praising Miss Song for being clever and speaking little, a good girl who doesn't gossip behind others' backs, and I hadn't even finished praising her when she ran off crying. Miss Song, do you dislike me so much that you deliberately want to embarrass me like this?"
Who's embarrassing whom here?! Song Ruo Ci was furious and blurted out, "You were clearly mocking me as a gossip who loves talking about others, yet you call it praise?!"
"Why would Miss Song say such things about herself?" Xu Huaizu frowned. "Even if you really did gossip about others, I don't look down on you for it. I genuinely want to get along well with you, so I was just saying things to make you happy."
Hearing this, Yi Zhangzhu immediately turned to persuade her. "Why are you being so sensitive? We'll soon be family—can't you even take a joke?"
"What kind of joke was that?" Song Ruo Ci felt terribly wronged, tears streaming down her face. No one had ever given her such a look her whole life, yet it came from her future husband. The thought alone made her miserable.
"That's enough." Yi Zhangzhu frowned, lowering her voice. "Didn't you say earlier yourself that this marriage is hard to come by? What now, do you want to ruin it yourself?"
"But..." Song Ruo Ci pouted. "He doesn't like me at all; he seems to even dislike me..."
"So what? There's plenty of time." Yi Zhangzhu shook her head. "Women should be gentle and considerate. Let men say whatever they want. In time, you'll still be the one by his side, and he'll naturally learn to cherish you."
Her sobs gradually subsided as Song Ruo Ci looked at Yi Zhangzhu doubtfully. "Is that how it is?"
"Yes." Yi Zhangzhu said. "Better to destroy a temple than break up a marriage. Since the engagement is already set, you should be more tolerant."That makes sense. Song Ruo Ci pursed her lips and quickly wiped away her tears. Looking up at Xu Huaizu, she said, "Since it was a misunderstanding on my part, I apologize to you here."
Xu Huaizu narrowed his eyes, glanced at Yi Zhangzhu, and smiled. "Miss Yi is truly kind and considerate."
"You flatter me, Young Master Xu." Yi Zhangzhu said gently, "The two of you are destined by fate, so you should get along well."
"However," Xu Huaizu sighed, "Miss Song's earlier crying has frightened me. I feel that a woman like Miss Song is beyond my humble means."
Panicking inwardly, Song Ruo Ci quickly said, "It was my fault earlier. Please don't take it to heart..."
"I already have." Xu Huaizu thumped his chest, feigning pain. "Even if you were to marry into my family in the future, I'm afraid I would find it difficult to give you my true heart. Life might not be very pleasant."
Song Ruo Ci grew anxious and tugged at Yi Zhangzhu's sleeve, whispering, "I don't want to marry into a life of neglect."
"You brought this upon yourself. Who else can you blame?" Yi Zhangzhu brushed her hand away and whispered back, "If you want to marry, be more submissive. If you don't, there's nothing I can do."
Do you have to endure so much just to marry? Song Ruo Ci felt a knot in her heart and began wiping her tears with her handkerchief again, lowering her head in silence.
Feng Yue quietly moved to stand beside Yin Gezhi and sighed, "A great master produces outstanding disciples."
"You flatter me." Yin Gezhi replied without moving his lips, his voice muffled. "It's all thanks to the master's excellent teaching."
Is he actually proud of this? Feng Yue clicked her tongue, thinking that this man's shamelessness was growing day by day.
However, Yin Gezhi had encountered similar situations before and handled them even more simply and brutally than Xu Huaizu.
Back then, countless women wanted to enter the Eastern Palace as consorts to the First Prince, Yin Gezhi. The emperor carefully selected and narrowed down the candidates, eventually sending eight concubines to Yin Gezhi. According to court gossip, the First Prince stood before the emperor and sneered for a long time before finally accepting the eight concubines on the condition that he could choose his own principal wife. Just as the emperor breathed a sigh of relief, ready to praise his son for finally understanding his father's difficulties, Yin Gezhi received battle reports as soon as the eight concubines entered the Eastern Palace. Without looking back, he headed straight to the battlefield, leaving the eight women who had schemed their way to his side to live as widows in the palace.
It would have been better to send them to the First Prince's bed at night—at least they would have had one night of passion.
After sighing over this, Feng Yue looked up again at Xu Huaizu ahead.
Young Master Xu certainly had a temper. Seeing someone cry so pitifully, he didn't even bother to say anything. Instead, he cupped his hands toward Yin Gezhi and said, "Master, didn't you say you would bring me to the General's Mansion today to show me the highest level of qinggong?"
Yi Zhangzhu was taken aback and looked at Yin Gezhi. "What qinggong?"
Yin Gezhi nodded. "I forgot to tell you. I've been teaching them qinggong, and there's no other place suitable for practice. Since the General's Mansion is heavily guarded, I thought I'd borrow it for a while."
Her eyes lit up, Yi Zhangzhu said, "Is it the skill that Brother Yin uses to come and go without a trace? Zhu'er would like to see it too."
"Very well." Yin Gezhi said, "We'll use the books still piled in the courtyard as the objects. Please inform the guards of your mansion to be extra vigilant. Later, I will return all these books to their original places by myself. If I disturb any of the guards, it means my skills are not yet refined."Feng Yue looked up at the sky speechlessly. Who could have thought of such a way to return something? It was truly because General Yi was not in the mansion.
Yi Zhangzhu happily agreed, "Then Zhu'er will wander around the mansion and see if I can run into Brother Yin once or twice."
Xu Huaizu also nodded, cupping his hands and saying, "This disciple will try to keep up with Master."
"As long as you can keep up." Yin Gezhi slapped the armrest and stood up, his figure like mist, swiftly drifting away outside.
OpenNovel