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 bother anyone else, but you shouldn’t have bothered me,” he chuckled with schadenfreude, “Caught off guard now, aren’t you?”

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

Now that they were misunderstood, let’s see how she would handle it.

Chu Zhao glanced at him, ignoring his comment, and turned to look at Xie Yanfang.

After Steward Cai had spoken about her being a guest, he invited her to the back courtyard, and Xie Yanlai had followed.

Compared to the ordinary front courtyard, stepping into the back courtyard, Chu Zhao witnessed elegance that was no less than Chu Garden. Past a path of flowers and green vines, a young man sitting by the stream came into view.

Compared to his appearance at the tavern earlier, the Third Young Master Xie was much more casual at home today. His black hair was tied with a wooden hairpin, or rather, a crooked branch. Chu Zhao couldn’t help but look twice, suspecting he had broken it off from a nearby flowering tree because he couldn’t receive guests with loose hair.

He wore a somewhat worn white robe tied with a black gold-threaded belt, sitting cross-legged on the ground in a relaxed manner. He held a fishing rod, his sleeves rolled up, exposing his forearms.

“I never expected Miss Chu to have such a connection with my brother,” he continued, watching the young man and girl whispering to each other. “When we met at Yaqu Pavilion last time, I didn’t greet you. That was rude of me.”

And not only did he not greet her.

“Also, regarding Chu Garden—”

Before he could finish, the girl stepped forward.

“Third Young Master Xie, you misunderstand,” she said. “I became acquainted with Xie Yanlai because of you.”

These words startled both young men with the surname Xie.

The next moment, Xie Yanlai laughed. Here we go again, this scene was not unfamiliar. At this moment, he was like Xiao Xun, who saved someone by the river, and the Third Young Master Xie was like himself back then!

Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk.

Xie Yanfang didn’t show anger or discomfort. After a moment of surprise, he smiled.

Xie Yanlai raised an eyebrow with a half-smile beside him. The Third Young Master Xie had been surrounded by women since birth and had seen countless tactics used by women for his sake. The Third Young Master Xie remained aloof, and he wouldn’t believe or fear such nonsense!

Xie Yanfang said, “Miss Chu, I have long admired your father’s reputation, which is why I had Yanlai convey my greetings to him. I had no other intentions.”

Was he talking about having Xie Yanlai deliver a private letter to her father? Did he think she was here on her father’s behalf? He had misunderstood as well, but that didn’t matter now.

“Third Young Master, what I did in the street earlier wasn’t to damage your reputation,” Chu Zhao continued. “It was to meet you.”

Heh—Xie Yanlai made a tsking sound, looking at the girl’s sincere expression. Except for being less pitiful, she looked exactly like A-Fu at the post station.

Such tricks were too ridiculous for someone like Xie Yanfang; he wouldn’t pay attention to them.

Xie Yanfang was somewhat surprised: “Miss Chu has business with me?”

Chu Zhao nodded: “Yes.” About to say something, she glanced around—

Why look around? Just look at him directly, wouldn’t that suffice? Xie Yanlai sneered.

“Yanlai,” Xie Yanfang said, “You may leave now.”

Xie Yanlai sneered and turned to leave, walking one step, then another, all the way to the courtyard gate. Looking back, he saw that Xie Yanfang had already put away his fishing rod.

“Du Qi,” he called out, “Please seat Miss Chu.”

Du Qi, who was standing nearby, brought over a rush cushion.

Chu Zhao didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down across from Xie Yanfang.

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

Heh—Xie Yanlai’s footsteps faltered as he stepped on the threshold. The maidservants waiting at the courtyard gate thought he was about to fall and hurriedly rushed over to support him.

Looking at the messy wounds on Xie Yanlai’s back, the maidservants’ tears fell, but they dared not cry loudly.

“What’s there to be afraid of crying about? Are you afraid someone will hear?” Xie Yanlai said. “Cry loudly, let everyone hear, otherwise, wouldn’t my beating be in vain?”

The maidservants immediately began to wail loudly, causing the ears of those nearby to ring.

“That’s enough,” Steward Cai, who was standing nearby, said. “Quickly help Young Master Yanlai back, lest the Third Young Master change his mind and send him to prison.”

A Xie family member sent to prison would no longer be worthy of being a Xie family member, and would only have one path left—death.

The maidservants dared not cry loudly anymore, nor did they allow Xie Yanlai to say anything further. Together, they pulled and dragged him away.

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

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

Steward Cai shook his head: “We don’t know yet. The Third Young Master said We’ll find out soon enough.”

“Xie Yanlai has long been involved with Chu Wei’s daughter,” Seventh Master Xie said coldly, his face grim. “Yet he kept it from the family. I’ve always said he’s an ungrateful wolf we raised. I should have whipped him to death just now.”

He grinned fiercely as he clenched his hand.

“Although I’m not as good as Du Qi, those last two lashes could have made that boy bedridden for two months.”

Steward Cai smiled: “Seventh Master, please don’t be angry. Whether he’s grateful or not, he is still a member of our family. Seventh Master must be tired; please go and rest.”

Seventh Master Xie looked once more at the two sitting inside. The girl, sitting down, appeared small and thin, still a child. In front of the Third Young Master Xie, she was insignificant. So he walked away with a contemptuous smile.

…

…

She truly was a child who spoke without restraint.

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

The answer was frank. It was heaven-ordained, destined that he and the Third Prince were irreconcilable. Chu Zhao said, “His Highness the Third Prince is a very dangerous person. Third Young Master Xie shouldn’t think that by avoiding him, you can remain safe and sound.”

Was she warning him that the Third Prince was not benevolent?

Or could it also be seen as declaring her position?

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

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

If she said it was her intention, someone like the Third Young Master Xie wouldn’t believe it, would he? Chu Zhao said, “It’s my father’s.”

Xie Yanfang sat up straight and bowed respectfully to the girl: “Yanfang is grateful for General Chu’s guidance.”

Chu Zhao accepted the bow naturally and spoke more clearly: “The Third Young Master shouldn’t think that no matter how malevolent the Third Prince is, he is just a scholar who will only do what scholars do.”

She looked at Xie Yanfang and lowered her voice.

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

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

Will, dares, wants.

Xie Yanfang pondered solemnly for a moment, then said gravely: “I will remember this.”

Chu Zhao sighed with relief: “Third Young Master, you can never fathom how terrifying the human heart can be, nor can you imagine what horrifying things seemingly harmless people can do.”

Xie Yanfang nodded: “I have never presumed to see through people’s hearts, nor have I dared to say I can control any situation. The world is unpredictable, people’s hearts are unfathomable, and no one can be certain of what will happen next.”

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

Xie Yanfang smiled faintly: “Miss Chu, there is something I don’t want to hide from you, which I was about to mention earlier.”

What thing? Chu Zhao hurriedly asked, “Please speak, Third Young Master.”

“The incident at the Chu Garden literary gathering was initiated by me,” Xie Yanfang said, looking at the girl. “I was the one who caused the Third Prince to be furious with you.”

Chu Zhao was stunned. It was him!

Seeing the girl’s eyes suddenly widen, her porcelain-white face no longer bearing the previous precociousness, Xie Yanfang lowered his eyes with a smile. So this was the unpredictability of the human heart and the uncertainty of worldly affairs.

While you were kindly warning the other person to be careful and guard against someone,

That person had already used you to provoke that someone, watching the tigers fight from the sidelines.