This girl was a troublesome person.

Xie Yanlai hadn’t forgotten what she had done—spouting all kinds of nonsense to achieve her goals.

But he, Xie Yanlai, was also a troublesome person.

“You can pester anyone you want, but you shouldn’t have pestered me,” he said with schadenfreude, laughing quietly. “Dumbfounded now, aren’t you?”

He had avoided her again and again, yet this girl insisted on clinging to him.

Now that she was misunderstood, let’s see what she’d do.

Chu Zhao glanced at him, ignored him, and turned to look at Xie Yanfang.

After Butler Cai had spoken about guests, he invited her to the rear courtyard. Xie Yanlai had also followed.

Compared to the ordinary front courtyard, upon stepping through the rear courtyard gate, Chu Zhao witnessed refinement not inferior to Chu Garden. Winding past a flower path with green vines, a young gentleman sitting by the stream came into view.

Compared to his appearance at the restaurant before, today Young Master Xie the Third at home was much more casual. His jet-black hair was held with a wooden hairpin—or rather, a crooked tree branch. Chu Zhao couldn’t help but look twice, suspecting he had randomly broken it off from a nearby flowering tree because he couldn’t leave his hair loose when receiving guests.

He wore a half-worn white robe with a black silk belt loosely fastened, sitting casually on the ground. He held a fishing rod with his sleeves rolled up, exposing his forearms.

“I didn’t expect Miss Chu to have such friendship with my brother,” he continued, watching the young man and girl whispering to each other. “When we met at the Yaquge last time without greeting each other, that was my discourtesy.”

And it wasn’t just the failure to greet.

“Also, regarding Chu Garden—”

Before he could finish, the girl stepped forward.

“Young Master Xie the Third, you misunderstand,” she said. “I came to know Xie Yanlai because of you.”

These words startled both young masters surnamed Xie.

The next moment, Xie Yanlai laughed out loud. Here it comes again! This scene wasn’t unfamiliar. At this moment, he was Xiao Xun rescuing someone by the river, and Young Master Xie the Third was him at that time!

Tsk tsk tsk tsk.

Xie Yanfang wasn’t angry or uncomfortable. After his moment of surprise, he smiled.

Xie Yanlai raised his eyebrows beside him with a half-smile. Young Master Xie the Third had been surrounded by women since birth and had seen countless schemes women used for his sake. Young Master Xie the Third remained untouched—he wouldn’t believe or fear this kind of nonsense!

Xie Yanfang said: “Miss Chu, I have long admired your father’s great reputation, which is why I had Yanlai convey my regards. I had no other meaning.”

Was he talking about having Xie Yanlai deliver a private letter to Father? Did he think she came for Father? He had also misunderstood, but none of that mattered now.

“Young Master the Third, just now on the street, what I did wasn’t to ruin your reputation,” Chu Zhao continued. “It was to come see you.”

Ha— Xie Yanlai made two tsk-tsk sounds, looking at this girl’s sincere eyes. Except for being less pitiful, she was exactly like that A’Fu at the courier station.

This kind of trickery was too laughable for someone like Xie Yanfang—he wouldn’t pay it any mind.

Xie Yanfang was somewhat surprised: “Miss Chu is looking for me about something?”

Chu Zhao nodded: “Yes.” She was about to say something, then glanced around—

Why look around? Just look at him directly! Xie Yanlai sneered.

“Yanlai,” Xie Yanfang said. “You may go.”

Xie Yanlai sneered and turned to leave, one step, two steps, walking all the way to the courtyard gate, then looking back to see Xie Yanfang had already put away his fishing rod.

“Du Qi,” he called. “Bring a seat for Miss Chu.”

Du Qi, standing to the side, brought over a cushion.

Chu Zhao was not polite, sitting down across from Xie Yanfang.

The girl went straight to the point: “Young Master Xie the Third, what is your view of the Third Prince?”

Ha— Xie Yanlai’s steps faltered, stepping on the threshold. The maidservants waiting at the courtyard gate thought he was about to fall and hastily rushed over to support him.

Looking at Xie Yanlai’s devastated back wounds, tears fell from the maidservants’ eyes, but they didn’t dare cry loudly.

“Why not dare to cry? Are you still afraid of being heard?” Xie Yanlai said. “All of you cry loudly so everyone else can hear. Otherwise, wouldn’t this young master have been beaten for nothing?”

The maidservants immediately began wailing loudly, the sound making everyone’s ears ring.

“Enough,” said Butler Cai standing nearby. “Quickly help Young Master Yanlai back, lest Young Master the Third change his mind and send him to prison.”

A Xie family descendant sent to prison would no longer be worthy of being a Xie family descendant—there would only be a dead end.

The maidservants didn’t dare cry loudly anymore, nor would they let Xie Yanlai say anything else. Together they dragged and pulled him away.

The servants at the gate also withdrew, leaving only Butler Cai. The middle-aged man who had whipped Xie Yanlai earlier also came over. Butler Cai bowed to him and called him Seventh Master, showing this was a member of the Xie family.

“She really came for Yanfang?” Seventh Master Xie asked, frowning as he looked inside. He could see the young gentleman and young lady sitting facing each other but couldn’t hear what they were saying. “Is this Chu Ling’s intention?”

Butler Cai shook his head: “We don’t know yet. Young Master the Third said we’ll only know after watching.”

“Xie Yanlai has long been colluding with Chu Ling’s daughter,” Seventh Master Xie said darkly and coldly. “He actually concealed it from the family. I said long ago this is an ungrateful wretch who can never be tamed. I should have whipped him to death just now.”

He smiled viciously while clenching his fist.

“Although I’m not as good as Du Qi, those last two lashes can still make this brat lie in bed for two months.”

Butler Cai smiled: “Seventh Master, don’t be angry. Whether he’s tame or not, he’s still our family member. Seventh Master is also tired—please go rest.”

Seventh Master Xie looked once more at the two sitting inside. That girl looked thin and small sitting down—still a child. Before Young Master Xie the Third, she was nothing worth mentioning. He smiled disdainfully and walked away.

……

……

What an unguarded child.

Hearing Chu Zhao’s question, Young Master Xie the Third smiled without the slightest hesitation or difficulty: “My status and the Third Prince’s status are heaven-ordained, so we don’t need to discuss our views of each other.”

His answer was quite frank. Heaven-ordained—destined that he and the Third Prince were irreconcilable. Chu Zhao said: “The Third Highness is a very dangerous person. Young Master Xie the Third shouldn’t think that avoiding him means you’ll be safe and sound.”

Was she reminding him that the Third Prince was malicious?

Or could it also be considered declaring her position?

She believed the Third Prince was malicious and should not be approached—

Xie Yanfang looked at this girl, thought for a moment, and asked: “Miss Chu, may I ask—are these words yours, or your father’s intention?”

If she said they were her words, someone like Young Master Xie the Third wouldn’t believe them, would he? Chu Zhao said: “They are my father’s.”

Xie Yanfang sat up straight and gave the girl a proper bow: “Yanfang thanks General Chu for his instruction.”

Chu Zhao accepted the courtesy calmly and spoke more clearly: “Young Master the Third shouldn’t think that no matter how malicious the Third Prince is, he’s just a scholar who can only do what scholars do.”

She looked at Xie Yanfang, lowering her voice.

“The Third Prince will kill, dares to kill, and wants to kill.”

Kill—the Third Prince had actually already killed quite a few people. Xie Yanfang looked at the girl, but he understood the person the girl was referring to now was the Crown Prince.

Will, dares, wants.

Xie Yanfang contemplated carefully for a moment, then said solemnly: “I’ve taken note of it.”

Chu Zhao breathed a sigh of relief: “Young Master the Third, you can never fully comprehend how terrifying the human heart can be, nor imagine what terrible things someone who appears harmless can do.”

Xie Yanfang nodded: “I’ve never dared claim I could see through human hearts, nor dared say I could control anything. The world is unpredictable, human hearts difficult to fathom—no one can confidently guess what will happen the next moment.”

Chu Zhao smiled: “If Young Master the Third can think this way, I’m relieved.”

Xie Yanfang smiled slightly: “Miss Chu, there’s something I don’t want to hide from you. I was about to mention it just now.”

What was it? Chu Zhao quickly asked: “Young Master the Third, please speak.”

“The matter at Chu Garden’s literary gathering—actually, the cause originated with me,” Xie Yanfang said, looking at the girl. “It was I who made the Third Prince furious with shame at you.”

Chu Zhao was stunned. It was actually him!

Watching the girl’s eyes instantly widen, her porcelain-white face no longer showing its earlier mature composure, Xie Yanfang lowered his eyes and smiled. So this was what it meant—human hearts were difficult to fathom, the world unpredictable.

You were still kindly reminding the other party to be careful and guard against someone.

While the other party had actually already used you to provoke that someone, sitting on the wall to watch tigers fight.