Spring had arrived in the capital. Ladies changed into their spring attire to appreciate flowers and scenery, themselves becoming part of the spring landscape.

However, these past few days, the young ladies of the capital rarely ventured out for excursions, instead gathering in the gardens of certain homes.

A young girl arrived by carriage into the inner courtyard. Before it had fully stopped, she jumped down, earning a glare from the maidservant following her: “Young Miss, your deportment.”

The girl quickly composed herself and proceeded with measured steps, but after a few paces, she grew impatient, lifting her skirt to run ahead. The maidservant behind her was both angry and anxious.

In the garden pavilion over the water sat seven or eight young ladies. Someone was playing the zither, but the music lacked spirit. Some were playing chess, but the board hadn’t moved for quite some time. Two girls were conversing across the chessboard, while others whispered among themselves.

“I’m here, I’m here!” the girl called from a distance.

The others quickly looked up, some even rising to greet her. Before she could run in, they asked in succession: “Qi Leyun, how was it?” “Did you find out anything?” “Did you see her?”

The girl, Qi Leyun, ran in but didn’t answer immediately. She first poured herself tea and drank it all at once, then caught her breath.

“I didn’t see her,” she said.

The girls surrounding her were disappointed. “How useless you are.” “Didn’t you say you dared to barge in anywhere?”

Qi Leyun replied, “Liang Qin said the injuries were severe and she wouldn’t see anyone. I couldn’t just force my way in, could I? As for Chu Zhao, Chu Tang personally came out to meet me, saying Chu Zhao wouldn’t see anyone either, and that she didn’t dare disturb her. If I had forced my way in and she hit me, what would I do?”

But then she raised her hand to get everyone’s attention.

“However, I did find out one thing clearly: after Chu Zhao finished scolding them, the Liang family made no response whatsoever, and the Chu family hasn’t gone back to the Liang mansion.”

The girls looked at each other.

“So what does that mean?” “Who won?”

Qi Leyun clapped her hands. “Do you even need to ask? Of course, Chu Zhao won. First she hit her, then she cursed her, and in the end, nothing happened.”

Everyone understood this, but it was truly hard to believe. The girls discussed animatedly: “Is the Liang family being magnanimous, not stooping to the level of this country bumpkin?” “If they were being magnanimous, they wouldn’t have made a fuss in the first place. First causing a commotion, then going silent—either money changed hands, or they were threatened.”

“I don’t think the Chu family could afford to pay them off.”

“Then they must have been threatened.”

“How could Chu Zhao possibly threaten the Liang family?”

The pavilion buzzed with chatter, but despite all the discussion, they did not conclude, only giving themselves headaches.

“Alright, alright,” one girl called to everyone. “Let’s stop thinking about it. We’ll all keep an eye out, and eventually we’ll know what happened.”

“Let’s go out and have some fun,” another girl suggested. “We can’t be afraid that Chu Zhao will come and hit us.”

That would be too embarrassing, so the girls all agreed. They decided to take carriages outside the city to enjoy the spring. Amid the bustle, with carriages, horses, servants, and maids crowding together, they made their way down the street, inevitably causing congestion at the city gate.

Without waiting for the gate guards to direct traffic, their servants began dispersing other people at the gate.

“Make way, make way!”

Seeing these fierce servants and the lavish, wealthy appearance of their party with numerous carriages and horses, common people quickly moved aside. Only one carriage at the back, not having noticed the situation, failed to make way in time.

“Why are you blocking the road?” the young ladies’ servants shouted. “Move aside quickly!”

With that, they stepped forward to grab the horse, intending to lead it aside.

This carriage was spacious but plain, with one driver and a blue-clothed servant carrying a sword by its side. They had been quiet, but when the servant saw the horse being seized, his face immediately turned cold.

“How dare you!” he shouted, placing his hand on his sword.

With his shout, the driver tightened the reins. The horse that had been seized by the servant let out a neigh, tossed its head, and threw the servant off.

The servants were startled and grew angrier: “What are you trying to do?” “Boy, are you drawing your weapon?” “This is the capital, right under the Emperor’s feet!”

The blue-clothed servant remained expressionless, his sword starting to leave its scabbard.

Suddenly, a voice came from within the carriage: “Du Qi.”

It was a young man’s voice, soft yet forceful. The blue-clothed servant’s emerging sword was abruptly pushed back.

“Make way,” the voice from the carriage continued.

With his words, the neighing horse calmed down and obediently pulled the carriage to the side, clearing the path at the city gate.

The blue-clothed servant, addressed as Du Qi, gave the servants a cold glance but said nothing more as he urged his horse to follow.

The servants, having regained their composure, became even more irritated: “Where did these country bumpkins come from?” “No understanding of protocol!” “Do you want this young master to teach you some manners?”

“Enough, let’s get going,” a girl impatiently scolded from inside one of the carriages. “What’s the delay for?”

The servants hurriedly responded and, setting aside their temper, continued to drive away the remaining commoners, escorting the young ladies’ carriages out of the city.

The common people at the city gate, accustomed to such scenes, showed no dissatisfaction and continued to queue for entry.

The blue-clothed servant and the carriage also rejoined the queue. Nearby commoners, seeing the servant’s lingering displeasure, couldn’t help but smile and advise, “Don’t be angry. This is how the nobility behaves when leaving the city these days.”

Du Qi’s expression remained grim: “The city gate doesn’t belong to them. How can they be so arrogant?”

The commoners exclaimed with an “Aiyo,” thinking him truly a country bumpkin.

“Then you haven’t seen the Yang or Zhao families leaving the city. When Old Lady Zhao goes out to burn incense, even officials have to dismount from their horses and carriages to avoid her path,” they said. “Just now you were blocking the road—if you had encountered people from the Zhao or Yang families, you would have been beaten to the ground already. Without money or power, what do you expect?”

Du Qi’s cheeks puffed up as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing, only giving a cold laugh.

This was an inexperienced young man trying to play the hero, standing up against injustice. The commoners were used to this and secretly mocked him—who could afford to be a hero in these times?

The capital’s city gate was wide, and the guards didn’t check people closely. The crowd passed through quickly.

Just after passing through the gate, they saw a procession urgently approaching from within the city. At the sight of this group, without any need for commands, the people on the street quickly made way.

But the blue-clothed servant’s carriage that had just passed through the gate continued to move forward, causing anxiety among the commoners who had walked alongside it.

“This country fool,” they said anxiously. “He wants to play the hero? He’d have been better off confronting that previous group. What he’s about to run into now is the Eastern Palace attendants!”

They were the second most powerful, or perhaps tied for second, nobles in the capital. The Third Prince’s influence was not much less than the Crown Prince’s, perhaps even greater.

This country bumpkin was going to be in trouble!

The bystanders on the street were so tense they almost stopped breathing. Yet, between the two approaching groups, the Eastern Palace attendants stopped first. The lead attendant, with a smiling face, respectfully jumped off his horse and hurriedly ran to the carriage.

“Third Young Master,” he called out happily. “You’ve finally arrived! The Crown Princess has asked about you several times. If you hadn’t come, Her Highness would have left the palace to find you.”

The tense commoners heard this, and their breath caught.

Third Young Master?

The Crown Princess personally receiving him?

Could it be—

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a young man in his twenties. He had fine eyebrows and clear eyes, with a face as bright as the moon, dressed in dark brocade.

“I’ve caused Her Highness concern. The journey was delayed due to sightseeing. It’s Yan Fang’s fault.”