Qi Leyun was pressed down by her companions from all sides, their hands covering her mouth.

“What are you shouting for!” “You’re truly embarrassing yourself!”

Though held down, Qi Leyun remained indignant, mumbling, “Why her? She’s not worthy.”

“No, that’s not it,” the girl from earlier hurriedly explained in a low voice. “Of course it’s not with Third Young Master Xie. If it were with Third Young Master Xie, the Liang family would have announced it for everyone to know.”

That was true. For such a glorious matter, how could the Liang family keep it hidden?

Hearing it wasn’t Third Young Master Xie, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, including Qi Leyun, who calmed down.

“It’s one of Third Young Master Xie’s brothers,” the girl continued, and then explained, “I’m not entirely clear on the details. My maid heard it from someone earlier.”

Although Qi Leyun had calmed down, she was still indignant: “Even so, Liang Qin is lucky enough to become part of Third Young Master Xie’s family.”

She would be able to see Third Young Master Xie every day.

Yes, after Liang Qin got married, whenever she met them again, she would surely mention “my brother-in-law Third Brother Xie” in every sentence.

How infuriating!

One of the girls snickered: “Don’t worry, that scene won’t happen.” She looked at everyone with a mysterious and slightly smug expression. “I’ve heard about this too, but what I heard is that the marriage arrangement fell through.”

The girls immediately perked up again, all looking at her.

That girl lowered her voice: “They say the Xie family changed their mind.”

Qi Leyun laughed loudly: “Really?”

The other girls also laughed, and more girls chimed in voluntarily: “I heard about it too.” “Didn’t Qin mention being beaten by Chu Zhao a while back?” “They said she was beaten so badly she couldn’t show her face.” “That’s not it. She was too ashamed to show her face.” “That’s because the Xie family looked down on the Liang family.” “Of course, we’re talking about Third Young Master Xie’s brother after all.”

They chattered and giggled, much more lively than when Third Young Master Xie was present—when he was there, who had time for laughing and chatting?

Originally, the girls’ laughter seemed enjoyable, but at this moment, Chu Ke felt it was like being cut by knives. Everyone must be laughing at him.

“I’m leaving,” he rose to say goodbye, unable to stay a moment longer, covering his face with his sleeve. “We won’t meet again after this.”

The young men held back their laughter and tried to persuade him: “How could we never meet again?” “Ke, don’t say such things.” “Which family doesn’t have mischievous siblings?”

No matter what everyone said, Chu Ke couldn’t stay any longer and went downstairs surrounded by his companions.

Liang Qiang also stood up. A servant approached from the side and called out, “Young Master.”

Liang Qiang fell behind the others and asked in a low voice: “What are they talking about? Did they mention our Liang family?”

Today the restaurant was exceptionally crowded, especially with Third Young Master Xie present. Given the recent unpleasantness between the two families, he had specifically asked his servants to be vigilant, using both their eyes and ears.

The servant looked uneasy: “Yes, somehow the news of Miss Qin’s rejected marriage proposal has spread.”

Liang Qiang frowned, glancing at the third floor where the girls were gathered: “Are they only talking about Qin?”

The servant lowered his head: “They’re mocking her.”

This was how it was among girls—laughing at others without malice. When a young lady’s engagement fell through, other girls would naturally take pleasure in her misfortune.

Mocking Miss Qin naturally meant mocking the Liang family as well.

The servant complained: “I don’t know how it leaked out. The Xie family said they wouldn’t mention this matter, as if it never happened.”

A flash of resentment appeared in Liang Qiang’s eyes: “Such things can’t be hidden anyway. There are so many eyes watching each other in the capital; any slight movement spreads everywhere. As for the Xie family, they may say so, but they don’t necessarily act accordingly. They only say what sounds good. Otherwise, why would they go back on their word and toy with my Liang family?”

Things had been so unfortunate lately. First, his cousin was humiliated by that Chu girl, then his uncle was reprimanded by His Majesty, and now the Xie family had gone back on their word. It felt like everyone was piling on when the wall was falling. His uncle’s official career was likely in trouble.

“I didn’t expect to encounter Third Young Master Xie,” the servant said softly. “Young Master should ask him why they went back on their word. What kind of gentlemanly behavior is that?”

Since Third Young Master Xie had arrived in the capital, he hadn’t gone out or received visitors. He hadn’t even gone to see the Crown Princess, so no one could blame him.

“Fool,” Liang Qiang cursed him. Marriage matters are decided by parents and elders. What’s the point of asking Third Young Master Xie? If he apologizes to me, it would only make the Liang family look desperate and more humiliated.”

The servant lowered his head, not daring to say more: “Poor Miss Qin. How can she face people now?”

“What’s so difficult about facing people?” Liang Qiang said. “Isn’t Miss Chu also mocked? And how is she?”

She still appeared in public, unafraid of anyone, even more radiant than the few times he had seen her before.

He looked toward a spot on the second floor, where the girl was leaning against the railing, her face serene and bright. He hadn’t noticed before how beautiful she was.

What a pity, Liang Qiang thought with some regret. Miss Chu admired him, but he would never marry her.

It wasn’t because she conflicted with his uncle’s niece, but because the Chu family had no standing.

Chu Yan was in decline, Chu Lan had achieved nothing, and Chu Ke’s scholarship was mediocre. The Chu family would end with this generation.

Who knew what kind of family this Miss Chu would marry into?

After a family’s decline, marriage would also be quite humble, wouldn’t it?

If he were to see her again after a humble marriage, he would extend a helping hand, regardless of the grudges between the two families, just for this young lady’s current admiration and praise.

Liang Qiang made this promise in his heart, withdrew his gaze, and quickened his pace to catch up with his companions as they left.

Although the servant didn’t understand why his young master suddenly had such a self-satisfied expression, it was good that he wasn’t angry about the Liang family being mocked. When the young master was in a good mood, servants could also be happy, so he hurried to follow.

It seemed that with Third Young Master Xie’s departure, the bustling restaurant suddenly emptied.

Several young men finished their last pot of wine and called to each other: “Let’s go, let’s go.”

They still had duties to attend to. Although their superiors wouldn’t punish them like this, if they happened to encounter two superiors in conflict, they might become innocent victims.

“Especially you,” they said. “You with the surname Xie are disliked by both those with the surname Yang and those with the surname Zhao.”

The young man covered with the tablecloth remained motionless, his voice coming muffled from within: “Since they all dislike me anyway, they’ll dislike me no matter what I do. Why should I care about them? I’m not leaving today. I’ll wait until everyone in the restaurant has left, then I’ll go.”

What was he being eccentric about now?

He was reluctant to come when they arrived, and now he was reluctant to leave.

…

…

Chu Zhao was also preparing to leave.

She and A-Le finished the remaining half of the food, then shared a pot of wine, happily paying the bill.

The shop assistant who had been hovering nearby was also happy and personally saw them off: “Miss Chu, please visit us often.”

Chu Zhao thought for a moment, looked around, and sighed: “I can visit often for a while, but then there will be a long time when I can’t come frequently.”

After the chaos between the Third Prince and the Crown Prince, not only would there be a night curfew in the capital for a long time, but many restaurants and teahouses would also be closed during the day. With the border unstable and the Xie family rebelling, the capital was almost captured. The people would be anxious and fearful, and there would no longer be such prosperity and leisure as now.

The shop assistant seemed to both understand and not understand, but didn’t delve deeper. He assumed the girl would have trouble going out. That made sense—after publicly beating her cousin like that, she would surely be scolded and confined at home when she returned, or directly sent back to her father’s side.

After this commotion, the shop assistants all knew who Miss Chu was. Chu Yan, who had been silent in the capital for many years, was now remembered again.

Chu Zhao rose to go downstairs. The girls on the third floor immediately noticed and called to each other, “She’s leaving.”

“So what if she leaves?” Qi Leyun snorted. “We’re leaving too.”

Third Young Master Xie had already left. They had watched the excitement of Chu Zhao’s fight and heard about Liang Qin’s embarrassing situation. The girls were satisfied today and eager to return home to share the excitement with their brothers, sisters, and parents. They all stood up to leave.

All at once, Yaqují was like colorful clouds drifting down, a sight pleasing to the eye. Countless gazes in the restaurant turned toward them.

“Some of them are quite beautiful.”

“Whose daughters are they?”

The young men sitting inside also joked and teased, except for Xie Yan Lai, who remained motionless, still covered by the tablecloth.

“Yan Lai!” A young man reached out to pull at the tablecloth. “Your Third Brother has left. You don’t need to feel inferior anymore. Why are you still covering yourself with this?”

Xie Yan Lai held onto the tablecloth and said indifferently: “My Third Brother has left. I’m afraid if I show my face, I’ll make everyone else feel inferior.”

The young men roared with laughter—some laughing, some cursing, some kicking him a few times. This area instantly became somewhat noisy.

The girls were attracted by the noise and looked over. Seeing it was just a few young men joking and playing around, they gave only a glance before arrogantly turning away.

With Third Young Master Xie as a standard, other men were just rough tiles and stones.

They deliberately pushed past Chu Zhao on their way out.

“There’s so much space, why push?” A-Le said angrily, about to grab the stick from the basket.

Chu Zhao signaled that there was no need to bother. She neither gave way nor got angry, but whoever bumped into her couldn’t move her—instead, they were pushed aside. Qi Leyun even tripped and would have fallen if her maid hadn’t caught her in time.

Chu Zhao laughed heartily.

“Chu Zhao!” Qi Leyun cursed angrily. “What are you doing!”

Chu Zhao looked at her and laughed: “Watching you make a fool of yourself.”

“Me, make a fool of myself?” Qi Leyun pointed at herself. “Aren’t you the one making a fool of yourself?”

Chu Zhao said with a smile: “I’m not afraid of making a fool of myself. Are you?”

Look at her acting like a country shrew! As Qi Leyun was about to say something more, Chu Zhao’s expression turned cold.

“I’m not afraid of making a fool of myself. I dare to beat you right here,” she said. “If you’re not afraid of making a fool of yourself, come and try.”

The girl who had been smiling just a moment ago now had a cold expression. Qi Leyun, who often quarreled with her sisters, had said all kinds of fierce words, but at this moment, she was scared and took a step back.

She wasn’t afraid of fighting or of making a fool of herself, but… she didn’t know what she was afraid of—

“Young Miss,” her maid was also frightened and grabbed her. “Let’s go quickly.”

The other girls who saw this scene realized that if a fight broke out, they would also be embarrassed, so they all came forward to hold Qi Leyun back.

“Let’s go, let’s go.” “Hurry home.” “Be careful about getting home late and being scolded by your parents. Didn’t you say your father forbade you from antagonizing Chu Zhao?” “Be careful that they won’t let you go out in the future.”

Everyone pulled Qi Leyun away. However, this time, they only mentioned Qi Leyun in their words. No one blamed Chu Zhao, and there was none of the previous blatant disdain.

The girls all left at once, leaving only Chu Zhao and her servant in the entrance hall.

When the girls first started pushing, the young men inside who had been making noise excitedly called out: “Are they fighting?” “This young lady is fierce!” “Hey, wasn’t the fight upstairs earlier about her?”

They hadn’t seen girls fighting before, even though they’d seen men and women fight!

“Yan Lai, Yan Lai, get up and look,” someone shook the phoenix-eyed youth.

Just as he called out, Xie Yan Lai pressed him to the ground with one hand.

Xie Yan Lai’s other hand held the tablecloth over his head. His voice came from behind the tablecloth, even more muffled: “Why are you shouting? Stop shouting! If she gets annoyed by the shouting, she’ll come fight you. Wouldn’t you be embarrassed?”

The young man pressed to the ground was somewhat confused: “She won’t just fight anyone she sees, will she?”

As the two were struggling, another young man said: “Don’t worry, she’s gone.”

The young man on the ground was released, and Xie Yan Lai finally lifted the tablecloth to look toward the entrance. Indeed, there was no sign of the girl.

He exhaled, threw the tablecloth aside, grabbed the wine pot, shook it, and began to drink with his head tilted back.

The capital was so big, how did he run into her? It gave him quite a fright!