It appeared Xie Yanlai was choked speechless, but the pill wasn’t spit out.

Chu Zhao felt relieved and asked A’Le in a low voice: “Why is the pill so large?”

A’Le said apologetically: “The physician at the pharmacy was rushed by me and did it carelessly.” She then quickly produced three porcelain bottles. “However, these medicinal powders were personally prepared by me—their efficacy is sufficient.”

Chu Zhao accepted them with a smile: “A’Le’s skills are first-rate in the world.”

A’Le also grinned.

Chu Zhao took the medicine bottles and turned around to see Xie Yanlai looking at her coldly.

He said: “I won’t ask your purpose, and you needn’t use sweet talk—get out of here immediately.”

A’Le was displeased: “Young Master A’Jiu, how can you be like this? My young lady is trying to save you. These medicines were specially ordered by her for me to make. Don’t think you’re fine—you’re severely injured—”

At this point she giggled.

“But after taking my pill, your blood and qi will immediately be replenished.”

“Sprinkle on these medicinal powders and the bleeding will stop immediately. Use my ointment and I guarantee you won’t even have scars.”

Xie Yanlai sneered coldly. No need to pretend now—the maidservant who previously played deaf and dumb was now smooth-tongued.

“Your young lady can’t distinguish right from wrong, doesn’t know good people from bad?” He said with a half-smile, then looked at Chu Zhao. “Miss Chu, you’re so good to someone like me—do you think those villagers deserved to die?”

A’Le’s expression froze. She had followed Chu Zhao running down from upstairs. Chu Zhao had told her to immediately use her life-saving skills to make wound medicine, and she had rushed off.

She had forgotten that the current A’Jiu was called Xie Yanlai.

She had also heard about what Xie Yanlai had done.

Such a person truly didn’t deserve to be saved!

A’Le looked toward Chu Zhao.

Chu Zhao looked at Xie Yanlai and asked curiously: “What happened with the fire?”

Why ask? It had spread all over the streets—why ask him! Xie Yanlai said coldly: “Don’t you know? Didn’t you hear?”

“I heard,” Chu Zhao said. “So I came to ask you.”

She heard, yet still came to ask him—meaning she didn’t believe what she heard and only wanted to hear what he said?

Xie Yanlai laughed incredulously, bending his knee to support his arm as he sized up Chu Zhao: “Miss Chu, what exactly do you want me to do? I’ve said before, this kind of trick can’t fool me.”

Chu Zhao looked at him: “Right, you’re so clever, so alert—would you sleep and drink and burn the goods? I still don’t know you well enough. If you were escorting goods, even if the goods grew legs they couldn’t escape.”

Xie Yanlai couldn’t help but laugh out loud, then quickly stopped himself.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” He raised his eyebrows and pointed outside. “You’ve gotten your wish—I’m being sent to the magistrate’s office. Get out of the carriage immediately and get lost.”

He raised his voice.

“If you don’t get her off, I’ll kick her off myself.”

He lifted his foot.

This young A’Jiu really did what he said. A’Le clearly knew this and immediately knelt upright, blocking in front of Chu Zhao: “You dare!”

She even reached toward the thorn branches behind Xie Yanlai.

“If you dare kick my young lady, I’ll whip you!”

The commotion inside grew louder, and the carriage jerked to a stop.

The curtain was lifted, and the elderly servant outside looked at the three confronting each other inside with a smile: “We’ve arrived.”

Arrived?

Chu Zhao lifted the curtain to look outside and frowned: “This isn’t the magistrate’s office.”

The carriage had already entered a courtyard. The garden was exquisite, with servants standing with lowered hands all around.

Wind rushed from behind. Chu Zhao nimbly borrowed the momentum to jump down, avoiding being kicked.

“Of course this isn’t the magistrate’s office,” Xie Yanlai said, ignoring his reopened wounds dripping blood as he jumped down after her. “This is my home.”

Chu Zhao ignored him and looked at the person before her.

The middle-aged man with the terrible attitude who had whipped Xie Yanlai was nowhere to be seen. Standing before her now was only that elderly servant.

He identified himself as Young Master Xie the Third’s steward, Butler Cai.

“So you’re not sending him to the magistrate’s office after all?” Chu Zhao frowned at him. “You really aren’t sending him to the magistrate’s office.”

Butler Cai smiled and frankly admitted: “Of course not. My Xie clan descendants can only be punished by our Xie clan. This is our family matter.”

A family matter—a family matter performed for outsiders to see. Chu Zhao said with a half-smile: “Aren’t you afraid the people will see?”

She had made the Xie family people say on the street that they would escort him to the magistrate’s office, and she sat there saying she would follow and watch. Naturally, quite a few people would follow on foot to see.

She looked toward the tightly closed residence gate. Outside the Xie family gate right now, there must be many people gathered.

Butler Cai’s expression was gentle: “Young Master the Third says that actually, whether we send him to the authorities or not won’t matter to the people.”

Chu Zhao raised her eyebrows: “Young Master the Third isn’t afraid of ruining his own reputation?”

Butler Cai said: “Young Master the Third isn’t afraid. If it’s ruined, he’ll just restore it.” He looked at Chu Zhao with a smile. “Moreover, Miss Chu doesn’t care either.”

She indeed didn’t care. Chu Zhao looked at Butler Cai, or rather at the person behind Butler Cai—Young Master Xie the Third.

Truly formidable.

Earlier on the street, facing her sudden provocation, he immediately refuted it. Now he was even more direct, making clear he didn’t care about these things and pointing out that he knew she didn’t care either.

Chu Zhao didn’t answer this question, only saying: “So this is what Young Master Xie the Third is like.”

Xie Yanlai said coldly from behind: “Now that you know what Young Master the Third is like, hurry up and get lost.”

Chu Zhao glanced at him and also said coldly: “It’s not your turn to speak in this household, is it?”

Ha! Xie Yanlai’s expression darkened as he was about to step forward.

Another servant hurried over from behind, speaking a few words in low tones to Butler Cai. Following the whispered words, Butler Cai’s expression showed surprise. He looked at Xie Yanlai, then at Chu Zhao, suddenly understanding. Then he smiled.

“Young Master Yanlai, calm your anger,” he said with a smile, then looked at Chu Zhao. “Since you two know each other, Miss Chu is a guest of our Xie family.”

Xie Yanlai’s steps halted.

Chu Zhao didn’t look at Butler Cai but toward Xie Yanlai, her eyes unable to hide her surprise.

From this one sentence, she learned that A’Jiu had never mentioned her to his family. The Xie family people didn’t know about her and A’Jiu’s encounter on the road.

He actually hadn’t said a single word about it.

……

……

“I was negligent before,” Xie Yanfang said, holding a fishing rod as he sat by the stream. “Although I’d heard that Miss Chu hit someone and then fled the capital, and also knew Miss Chu had returned, I didn’t pay attention to how Miss Chu came back. If I had asked one more question at the time—”

He would have asked about being captured and brought back by Deng Yi, assisted by Prince Zhongshan.

He would have asked about more details of the process, such as how Chu Ling’s daughter traveled with the help of courier soldiers.

Xie Yanlai had been serving as a courier soldier at that time.

“No wonder Miss Chu was so angry on the street,” Xie Yanfang turned his head to look at the girl standing to one side. “Seeing one’s sweetheart beaten so severely would naturally cause heartache and anger.”

Chu Zhao blinked, not quite understanding. Sweetheart?

Xie Yanfang looked again at Xie Yanlai beside the girl.

“You refused the marriage arrangement with the Liang family young lady—it turns out you had an agreement with someone else. I heard that in front of Prince Zhongshan’s heir, you and Miss Chu pledged to share life and death together, never to part.”

He said with a smile, looking at Xie Yanlai as the smile faded from his face.

“Yanlai, in front of outsiders you could express your feelings, yet to me, your older brother, you concealed it instead. This truly hurts one’s feelings.”

Chu Zhao understood now, her expression somewhat peculiar.

Xie Yanlai burst out laughing, his laughter full of schadenfreude.

“This isn’t my fault,” he said, leaning his body toward Chu Zhao and speaking in a low voice. “I told you to get lost quickly. You didn’t get lost. You brought this on yourself.”