Zhou Jiang was strolling leisurely behind when she suddenly sensed something and turned her head to see Chu Tang striding back.

Oh—Zhou Jiang showed no surprise. She stepped aside and even extended her hand in invitation, gesturing for her to go first.

Chu Tang walked past her.

Qi Leyun had already been about to cross the threshold when a gust of wind passed, someone rushing past her and entering first, nearly knocking her off balance.

“Can’t you watch where you’re—” Full of fire, Qi Leyun was about to scold, but when she looked up and saw the figure’s back, her voice abruptly cut off.

Huh?

Why had Chu Tang come back?

This girl still wanted to save face and had come to take her leave. Qi Leyun shook her head, exchanged glances with her companions, and they all hurried to follow and stand beside Chu Tang.

When Chu Tang walked in, the laughter and conversation in the front hall instantly stopped. All eyes turned toward her—these gazes held sympathy, silence, deliberation, inscrutability, but more than anything they held mockery, contempt, and schadenfreude.

No one spoke.

Not like before, when they would smile and call out from afar, “Miss Chu!” or “Miss A’Tang!”

The front hall was eerily quiet.

“Chu—” The host family had to maintain appearances. Someone stood up with a smile, about to greet her.

They couldn’t just leave her hanging there awkwardly.

But Chu Tang, who had walked in, showed not the slightest awkwardness. Her gaze fell on those girls, and she walked toward them happily.

“What are you all talking about?” she asked with a smile. “You look so happy.”

……

……

As Chu Zhao’s cousin, Chu Tang’s status had also changed overnight.

But Chu Tang had received no honors or rewards. Everyone knew she was the Empress’s elder sister, but she was still just a young girl.

Even more awkward was that the Chu family elders were also commoners without official status, and due to illness, they stayed behind closed doors and didn’t receive visitors. Only this young girl Chu Tang accepted calling cards and moved about in society.

How to receive her was somewhat awkward for host families—treating her as an honored guest seemed inappropriate, but showing discourtesy was also impossible.

However, Chu Tang didn’t visit with the status of an honored guest, but rather came to play with the young ladies of the household.

This was appropriate, and host families could receive her both properly and warmly.

Of course, the matrons treated this young girl with a bit more intimacy and respect than other girls, along with flattery disguised as enthusiasm—

That was before. At this moment, the matrons’ expressions showed no concern, just as they would look at any other girl walking past.

When the girls saw her, they seemed to instantly unleash their childish nature.

“Nothing much,” one girl answered first, blocking Chu Tang’s words. “And we’re not happy either.”

This kind of exchange wasn’t actually unfamiliar to Chu Tang. Previously when she played with the girls, because of her status and position, everyone didn’t need to be polite in speaking to her.

When encountering this, Chu Tang would either stay silent—this was to let others defend her (giving girls who didn’t get along with that girl a chance to play the good person)—or she would ask pitifully if she’d done something wrong and beg them not to be angry. This pitiful demeanor was submissive, and once the girls saw it, they wouldn’t target her anymore.

But this time—

“No?” Chu Tang smiled, staring at the girl’s face and reaching out to lightly tap it. “I saw it. You were smiling this big.”

The girl’s face instantly flushed red. That wasn’t what she meant! Chu Tang was actually playing dumb and pressing the question!

Was this about whether she was smiling or not?

She was momentarily speechless.

Heh—Chu Tang thought to herself. She’d wanted to do this many times before but never had the chance. Now she finally had an opportunity.

It really was satisfying.

“Miss A’Tang,” another girl stood up and said gravely, “we’re not happy. How could we be happy? What time is this? Xi Liang has already attacked Shangjun. Haven’t you heard? An entire city of people died.”

At this point, she looked at Chu Tang with a half-smile.

“Could it be that Miss A’Tang doesn’t know? About such a tragic event—didn’t General Chu tell you all?”

A girl nearby scoffed: “This isn’t anything glorious, nothing to boast about. It’s not strange that Miss A’Tang doesn’t know.”

More girls became impolite.

“That’s right, we’re all grieving for the people who died.”

“Yet Miss A’Tang says we’re happy.”

“Isn’t there a saying? However you are inside is how you see others.”

“Oh—so Miss A’Tang is very happy then.”

One remark after another came flying. The girls standing behind Chu Tang felt they couldn’t stand there anymore, feeling both shame and anger. Qi Leyun stepped in front of Chu Tang.

“What are you all doing?” they also shouted angrily. “Speak properly! Why are you acting like this? A’Tang isn’t happy at all.”

The girl who had spoken first and been questioned by Chu Tang laughed when she heard this. She extended her hand: “Isn’t she? I saw it. Miss A’Tang was smiling this big.”

This hand reached in front of Qi Leyun, pointing at Chu Tang standing behind her.

Qi Leyun was both ashamed and angry, reaching out to push it away: “What are you pointing at!”

This girl wasn’t easy to provoke either. She cried out: “Qi Leyun, why are you hitting people!”

The other girls immediately surged forward: “Qi Leyun, what are you doing?” “Qi Leyun, what business is this of yours!” “Qi Leyun, you sycophant!” “Her whole family are sycophants, still living in the Chu house to this day, acting as the Empress’s family.”

The front hall suddenly erupted into chaos.

The madams who had been able to pretend it was just girls talking loudly and coldly watch the spectacle could no longer ignore it.

They were about to come to blows.

Sharp words were one thing—they could be dismissed as children’s quarrels. Besides, what they said was all true anyway.

But if they actually fought and left marks, that would be bad.

Hitting people was always wrong.

“What’s going on here!” the madams all said, standing up and coming over, each calling to their own daughters. “No fighting!”

“We’re not fighting,” the girls said, each returning to their own family members, angry and aggrieved. “It’s Miss A’Tang who’s bullying people with her power!”

Qi Leyun was so angry she wanted to rush forward, but her mother held her back firmly.

“Let me beat them up! They’re really turning black into white. I never want to speak to them again,” she said. “Now I finally understand why Chu Zhao hits people—hitting people really is more satisfying. Chu Tang, hit them! Don’t let yourself be accused of bullying with power for nothing—just bully them! So what!”

Mother Qi shouted: “You wretched child, shut your mouth!” She reached out to cover Qi Leyun’s mouth, and two or three maids dragged her away.

Without Qi Leyun’s shouting, the front hall became quiet again, somewhat awkward.

“Well, well, how did things—” the host family madam said with a bitter smile. “You children—”

A madam raised her hand and struck her own daughter twice: “How can you be so lacking in sense!” Then she curtsied to Chu Tang. “Miss Chu, please don’t hold it against her.”

So they weren’t treating Chu Tang as a child anymore.

The Empress’s elder sister—of course she was different from children. Bullying with power.

These words made the girls even more furious.

“Why should we?” “Is it because her uncle couldn’t guard the border commandery properly, and the people suffered disaster?”

Chu Tang, who had been silent since asking one question and being refuted, heard this and couldn’t help but laugh.

This laugh made everyone in the hall freeze. She could still laugh?

Chu Tang laughed because she thought of Chu Zhao. She finally understood why Chu Zhao had wanted to hit people when she heard those mocking words about her father. It really was as Qi Leyun said—it made one want to hit people.

However, hitting people now wouldn’t be appropriate.

“Madam, don’t mind it,” she said with a smile, looking at the madam who had spoken earlier. “It’s just a trifling matter. I won’t take it to heart.”

That madam was stunned. What did she mean? Was she really putting on airs of superiority now?

Chu Tang sat down in a chair nearby and reached out to fiddle with the flower cards the girls had been playing with on the table.

“I know everyone spoke carelessly because they’re worried about the people and national affairs,” she said. “This is good. We girls in our boudoirs should also pay more attention to national affairs. This way we understand how difficult the world is and the hardships of the people’s lives.”

Was this the bearing of the Empress’s relative? The madams in the hall froze, then became angry.

What did she mean by “spoke carelessly”!

“Speaking carelessly means only seeing the surface, glimpsing the leopard through a tube, being self-righteous,” Chu Tang said. But before the madams could demand an explanation, she slapped the flower cards in her hand on the table and raised her brows sharply.

The girls were startled, then cried out in protest.

So this is you, Chu Tang! Not keeping your tail between your legs like before—you’ve learned from Chu Zhao to curse and hit people too!