When daylight brightened, Chu Zhao walked to the courtyard where Chu Lan and his wife resided.

Tang stood in the corridor and, upon seeing her, expressed her displeasure: “Sister Tang, you’re late again, making Father and Mother wait for you to eat breakfast.”

Chu Lan sat inside, slamming the book in his hand on the table to show his reprimand.

“Zhao,” Madam Jiang said with a half-smile, “Have you forgotten the mealtime schedule again?”

In the days since Chu Zhao had returned, she was late every day. Even when servants were sent to hurry her, she would always respond, “I’m coming, I’m coming,” yet still arrive late.

Chu Zhao entered to find that most of the dishes had already been cleared from the table.

“Your uncle and brother had matters to attend to, so they ate first,” Madam Jiang said, gesturing for Chu Tang to sit down. “Your sister and I waited for you.”

Chu Zhao washed her hands in the basin brought by a maid and said, “When I was at home, I always ate late. I would ride horses and practice archery, only eating after training. From now on, let’s eat breakfast separately. Uncle and Aunt won’t need to wait for me.”

Chu Lan frowned with displeasure: “Before, it was just you and your father, but now that you’ve returned home, you can’t be so undisciplined.”

Madam Jiang continued: “Your uncle means that the three daily meals are among the most important affairs and represent essential discipline. Zhao, you can do as you please in your own home, but in the future, when you marry, will you also eat alone? Will you ignore your husband and in-laws?”

Her uncle and aunt always spoke in this coordinated manner. In the past, she had been both nervous and comforted by it, deeply believing and obeying their words without question.

Now Chu Zhao’s expression remained indifferent: “That? We’ll see when the time comes.” She smiled slightly. “Perhaps I won’t have in-laws at all.”

What kind of talk was this! Chu Lan and Madam Jiang were stunned, and Chu Tang stared wide-eyed.

In fact, in her previous life, it had been exactly so. She had no father-in-law or mother-in-law. When the Emperor appointed Xiao Xun as Crown Prince, he also issued an edict ordering the Prince of Zhongshan to commit suicide.

The Prince of Zhongshan died, the Emperor died, the Empress had passed away early, Noble Consort Zhao was convicted and beheaded, and she alone held power in the inner palace. Xiao Xun was busy with state affairs, so she always ate alone.

Later, as more and more consorts entered the palace, those concubines would come to pay respects and dine with her, but she didn’t want to see them—

She had grown accustomed to eating alone over these many years.

Why think of such things? Chu Zhao gripped her chopsticks and decided: “Starting tomorrow, I’ll eat by myself. This will be more convenient for everyone.”

She was already an unruly, rough girl, and after this trip, she had become even more reckless.

Chu Lan slammed the table again: “Forget breakfast—from now on, eat all your meals alone. You’re forbidden from going out. This way you won’t cause more trouble, and everyone will be at ease.” He then called to Chu Tang, “Assign her studies and make her read behind closed doors.”

Chu Tang rose and acknowledged the order. Chu Zhao remained indifferent, finishing her meal in a few bites before setting down her chopsticks: “I’ll take my leave.” With that, she turned and left.

“Look at her attitude,” Chu Lan said, still angry.

Madam Jiang was also angry: “She acts that way because her second uncle supports her. Now she’s proud, casually beating Liang Siqing’s daughter and freely insulting Liang Siqing’s wife. Since her second uncle is so powerful, why doesn’t he recover the money she wasted?”

Thinking about the money Chu Zhao had stolen and squandered, Madam Jiang was so distressed she couldn’t eat.

Chu Ke entered from outside: “Father, Mother, I’m going out for a while.” Noticing his parents’ expressions, he asked, “Who are you angry with?”

Chu Tang sat at the table, eating slowly, and said: “Chu Zhao, of course.”

Chu Ke snorted: “Why be angry with her? Just ignore her.”

Madam Jiang pulled him over and asked: “You’ve just returned and haven’t fully recovered. Don’t rush out.”

Chu Lan glanced at him: “Don’t neglect your studies.”

Madam Jiang didn’t like this comment: “He’s neglecting his studies because of Chu Zhao. For her sake, Ke has traveled for many days, falling behind in his studies and draining his energy. Ke, you said Chu Zhao gave all the money to those swindlers? Since it’s been discovered, why not get it back?”

Chu Ke’s eyes shifted slightly. He had indeed followed Chu Zhao’s instructions and hadn’t mentioned that the money had been recovered and then stolen by Chu Zhao again. He only said that Chu Zhao had squandered it from the beginning. After all, this matter couldn’t be connected to him.

“I don’t know about that. Deng Yi was in charge,” he said.

This wasn’t entirely a lie—Chu Zhao had indeed given the money to Deng Yi.

And Deng Yi was someone his father knew to be very greedy.

“I knew it,” Madam Jiang immediately said. “That Deng Yi must have kept it for himself.” She turned to urge Chu Lan, “Go demand it back from him.”

How could Chu Lan be willing to deal with such a scoundrel as Deng Yi again?

“I will write to Second Brother,” he said sternly. “If he can have His Majesty discipline Liang Siqing, he should naturally be able to recover our family’s money from Deng Yi’s hands.”

Speaking of this matter, Madam Jiang grew angrier: “Ask him also if he simply doesn’t care about our Ke’s future. He ruined your career in the past, and now he’s about to destroy Ke’s as well. Ask him if he still considers himself a member of the Chu family.”

Chu Lan was agitated: “I know, I know.”

“It’s because you lack authority as the eldest brother. What use is knowing?” Madam Jiang said irritably. “Even knowing, you can’t control him.”

Seeing his parents arguing again, Chu Ke looked at his sister. Chu Tang gave him a helpless expression.

“Father, Mother, let’s not talk about Second Uncle now,” Chu Ke said. “He’s unreliable, so we won’t depend on him. I’m not going out to play—the Third Prince is hosting a literary gathering at Wangchun Garden.”

At the mention of the Third Prince, Madam Jiang and Chu Lan stopped arguing. Chu Tang also stopped eating and put down her chopsticks.

“I’m going to see how to participate. Showcasing one’s talents is one aspect, but more importantly, at the Third Prince’s literary gathering, the heir of the Prince of Zhongshan will certainly attend. While I have no chance to speak with the Third Prince, perhaps I can exchange words with the heir of Zhongshan,” Chu Ke said, sighing. “He helped us greatly this time and is our family’s great benefactor. Because of Chu Zhao’s rudeness, we haven’t properly expressed our gratitude.”

Despite his sigh, the young man’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Whether it was the Third Prince or the heir of the Prince of Zhongshan, both were imperial family members. Madam Jiang, Chu Lan, and even Chu Tang all nodded.

“This is appropriate and necessary. Go quickly.”

……

……

Chu Zhao walked slowly back to her quarters. The maids who had been chattering and laughing quickly fell silent.

“All of you, go out,” Chu Zhao said. “Don’t come to me unless I summon you.”

The maids pouted and scattered.

A-Le ran forward to lift the curtain for Chu Zhao, but Chu Zhao shook her head at her: “A-Le, you don’t need to attend to me here either.”

A-Le was alarmed: “Young Lady, are you dismissing me again?”

Chu Zhao smiled: “No, don’t worry. I want you to do something else.”

A-Le sighed in relief, patting her chest: “Young Lady, please give your orders.”

Chu Zhao said: “I want you to keep an eye on the First Master and Ke, see who they associate with, and also watch the gate to see who comes to visit.”

She sighed at this point.

“I have no other assistants, so I can only rely on you. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

A-Le smiled: “Watching people is nothing difficult. It’s much easier than washing clothes or sweeping. Don’t worry, Young Lady. One of me can do the work of ten people.”

Chu Zhao reached out to cup A-Le’s face, gently caressing it: “This time, I must trouble you, A-Le.”