Zhang Gu’s gaze remained fixed on the Xie family gate, watching the carriage enter, then watching that girl come out and leave.

The Xie family gate returned to quiet—not another person emerged.

Only then did Zhang Gu exhale: “He wasn’t sent to the authorities after all.”

His tone seemed both surprised and relieved.

Xin Ding found it somewhat amusing: “How could he be sent to the authorities?”

That was the National Uncle!

However, he didn’t feel any disappointed indignation either.

The National Uncle had been beaten so severely—that was already quite rare.

The excitement they’d watched was thoroughly satisfying.

“Chief, let’s go,” Xin Ding urged. Seeing Zhang Gu still looking at the Xie family residence gate, he finally found it strange. “Chief, do you know this family?”

Zhang Gu came back to himself and withdrew his gaze: “How would I know the National Uncle’s family?” He lightly kicked Xin Ding. “What are you like? Let’s go quickly.”

Xin Ding jumped up. Clearly it was the chief who wouldn’t leave, but adults were like this—never admitting they loved watching excitement. Let’s go, let’s go.

Xin Ding couldn’t wait to return to the military camp to show off to his companions about the excitement he’d seen today. From now on, he could also count as a city person who had seen the world.

Just as they returned to camp, four or five courier soldiers rushed over with urgent expressions: “You’re back!” “Finally back!”

So enthusiastic? Xin Ding was flattered. Usually these veteran soldiers were quite slippery and didn’t even take Chief Zhang seriously.

“Brothers, today I—” Xin Ding was happily about to share the fresh news when the group pushed him aside.

“Chief, people came asking about A’Jiu.”

“Those people are from the Xie family.”

“They asked very sharply. We, we didn’t dare hide anything.”

“About A’Fu, about Miss Chu—we also told them.”

Several people spoke in low, overlapping voices, their expressions uneasy as they looked at Zhang Gu: “Chief, did something happen to A’Jiu? Did we cause trouble for Miss Chu?”

Zhang Gu looked at them with a gratified expression: “Don’t worry. Something did happen to A’Jiu, but Miss Chu protected him. The two went to see his family together, and moreover, the family was very satisfied with Miss Chu and personally saw her off.”

The courier soldiers were overjoyed: “That’s truly wonderful!”

Squatting to the side, Xin Ding had a blank expression, then looked at Zhang Gu in shock. He really was a country bumpkin. Clearly they’d been together the whole time, seeing the same thing, but he completely couldn’t understand what the chief was saying.

……

……

Sharp pain woke Xie Yanlai from unconsciousness. His vision was filled with dim yellow light.

“How long did I sleep?”

The moment the maidservants supported him, he had passed out.

Now awake, after a slight start, he immediately tried to get up.

But the severe pain in his back made him grit his teeth and gasp, collapsing back onto the bed.

“Young Master!” “Don’t move!”

The maidservants urgently surrounded him to soothe him.

One maidservant wept: “Young Master, you’re too severely injured. Just now when the family physician came to clean your wounds, you didn’t wake at all.”

They had watched until they nearly fainted. Even the physician had at one point thought Xie Yanlai wouldn’t make it through, checking his pulse during the process.

They had constantly worried Xie Yanlai wouldn’t wake up. The physician also said that if he didn’t wake today, it would be over.

Now that he could wake, truly thanks to heaven, earth, and all the gods and Buddhas.

“Young Master, you must recuperate well.” A slightly older maidservant’s eyes were full of worry. “That physician is related to me—he quietly told me your last two lashes were extremely heavy. Your internal organs are very likely all injured.”

The surrounding maidservants shed tears.

Although they’d long known no one treated Xie Yanlai as family, he should at least be treated as a person.

This was beating him to death!

“What are you crying about?” Xie Yanlai lay on the bed laughing. “Stop crying. Then I’ll just be more careful and recuperate properly.”

The maidservants wept tears of joy. The young master never made things difficult for servants like them.

“Young Master,” a maidservant sighed. “If only you were this obedient with them, you wouldn’t—”

This “them” naturally referred to the young masters and masters in the family, even including the stewards in charge.

The young master had an extremely bad temper and attitude before these people, very unlikeable.

If he could be more likeable, he wouldn’t always be punished.

Looking at his wounds, scanning them over, the maidservants began silently crying again.

Xie Yanlai rested his head on his arm and sneered: “Being obedient is useless with them. You just do your jobs as maidservants properly. Don’t think or meddle in other matters.”

The maidservants responded affirmatively.

Xie Yanlai tried to get up again: “That Miss Chu—”

So he was concerned about that Miss Chu. The maidservants exchanged glances.

“Young Master, Miss Chu has already left,” they quickly said.

She left? Xie Yanlai still tried to get up: “I’ll go see Young Master Xie the Third—”

He probably didn’t want to see Young Master the Third, but wanted to ask about Miss Chu. The maidservants held Xie Yanlai down, saying softly: “Young Master, when Young Master the Third doesn’t say he’ll see people, no one can see him.”

The young master was truly confused by concern—he’d even forgotten this.

Not really forgotten, but if he insisted on seeing him, if Young Master the Third refused, he would definitely force his way in, then would be beaten again by Du Qi—

“Young Master, you can’t provoke Young Master the Third anymore.”

“Young Master, for things Young Master the Third doesn’t want to say, you won’t get answers even if you ask.”

“Young Master, if you’re truly worried, why not go directly ask Miss Chu?”

Hearing this, Xie Yanlai stopped trying to force himself up, lying back down and snorting coldly: “Why would I ask her? Who wants to care about her affairs?”

Don’t care? The maidservants exchanged glances. They’d heard about what happened on the street, and they’d witnessed firsthand what happened at home—that suddenly appearing young lady standing gracefully in the courtyard—

“Young Master, you and Miss Chu—” they asked curiously.

“Miss Chu and I have nothing going on,” Xie Yanlai interrupted them.

The maidservants asked again: “Then why did she for you—”

“She did nothing for me,” Xie Yanlai interrupted again, saying coldly. “She only wanted to see Xie Yanfang.”

Even an idiot knew this. That girl wanting to achieve her goal of going to see her father—threatening and persuading Xie Yanfang was much more useful than threatening him.

As for what price she’d pay to achieve her goal, that was Chu Zhao’s own business. She would bear it herself. It had nothing to do with him, and he didn’t care!

After he turned his head inward, the maidservants stopped asking, and the room finally quieted down.

But the wound on his back suddenly throbbed with pain.

The maidservants began applying medicine to him again.

“Why apply medicine again?” Xie Yanlai gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, then sneered. “The family’s medicine—it doesn’t matter whether you use it or not.”

“Young Master,” the maidservants said. “This isn’t the family’s medicine.”

Not the family’s?

Xie Yanlai turned his head to see a maidservant holding a porcelain bottle applying medicine to him, while two other maidservants each held medicine bottles, examining them.

“This is medicine specially delivered to us by Miss Chu’s maidservant,” one maidservant said. “She spoke so earnestly and in such detail, giving a thousand instructions on how to use it, when to use it—she spoke as if I were an idiot who couldn’t remember anything.”

Xie Yanlai looked at the medicine bottles, then at the maidservant: “Medicine sent by random people—you just use it on this young master? If you’re not idiots, what are you?”

The maidservants giggled, but the one sprinkling medicinal powder continued sprinkling. Another maidservant poured out a pill from a porcelain bottle, about to stuff it into Xie Yanlai’s mouth.

Xie Yanlai dodged backward, reaching out to snatch it: “Don’t randomly stuff things in—this pill can choke someone to death. I see you’re also trying to kill me.”

After speaking, he turned his head inward again, ignoring these maidservants.

The maidservants weren’t afraid of his anger and continued asking curiously.

“Young Master, is that A’Le the very capable maidservant you mentioned? The one who applies ointment to her young lady so it doesn’t hurt at all, whose young lady is a villain?”

“Young Master, I actually think her young lady isn’t fierce at all. Rather, this A’Le seems a bit fierce.”

“Ah, A’Le explained things in such detail—her young lady must have given her a thousand instructions and ten thousand reminders.”

So noisy! Why couldn’t women stop talking at any time?

Xie Yanlai faced inward, clenching his fist forcefully as if to crush the pill, but ultimately the pill remained intact, swelling and warming in his palm.

……

……

In the dim night, the Xie family residence was dotted with lamplight. Some places were completely quiet, while others bustled with song and dance.

Sitting in the water pavilion, Xie Yanfang finished writing the last stroke. Du Qi took the letter—today’s affairs were thus concluded.

Butler Cai came in from outside the water pavilion, saying: “Just received news—the two granaries gifted by the Wei clan have been handed over properly.”

Xie Yanfang nodded and said good, not paying much attention. This was a small matter to him.

He stood at the edge of the water pavilion and stretched lazily.

“It’s getting late,” he said. “Butler Cai, go rest.”

Butler Cai asked: “Young Master, is Miss Chu’s action General Chu’s response? Does this count as him befriending our Xie family?”

Because of the Third Prince’s difficulties toward Chu Zhao, did Chu Ling see that the Chu clan was weak and easily bullied, so decided to become friendly with the Xie clan?

“Miss Chu said it wasn’t,” Xie Yanfang smiled. “I took the initiative to reveal I framed her, and she took the initiative to reveal she willingly provoked the Third Prince.”

Butler Cai knew what that girl had said, but he didn’t believe it. Words were words, hearts were hearts.

“I’m not asking for her heart,” Xie Yanfang laughed. “Moreover, this can’t be considered forming friendship—it can only be considered making acquaintance.”

True friendship required back-and-forth exchanges of genuine sincerity, like the Xie family and the Wei clan.

“However, that she could come say these things already greatly exceeded my expectations.”

Xie Yanfang looked at the water surface in the night.

“Perhaps this wasn’t Chu Ling’s intention, but only that girl’s own will.”

Butler Cai was somewhat surprised: “She acted on her own initiative? Why?” Without waiting for an answer, looking at the elegant young gentleman before him standing by the water, he laughed first. “Then it’s really as people outside say—using every means just to make Young Master’s acquaintance.”

Xie Yanfang also laughed and shook his head.

“No. This girl has no admiration for me whatsoever. When she looks at me, her eyes contain only curiosity and assessment.”

Assessment?

Butler Cai and Du Qi were somewhat surprised.

“Assessing my value,” Xie Yanfang said with a smile. “Butler Cai, this girl is someone with great boldness.”

Chu Zhao’s previous actions had already proven this point. Butler Cai and Du Qi also didn’t deny this girl was bold.

“She’s a bit like me,” Xie Yanfang continued.

On this point, Butler Cai and Du Qi disagreed. There were many bold people in the world—Butler Cai and Du Qi were also bold people, but they didn’t feel they were like Xie Yanfang.

“Young Master, do you think highly of her just because someone dared scold you on the street—something you’ve never encountered before?” Du Qi said. “Don’t be hasty. With Miss Chu as an example, tomorrow, the day after, from now on many women will definitely emerge to scold you on the street.”

Xie Yanfang laughed heartily.

“It’s not because of that,” he said, then smiled again. “Miss Chu also wasn’t because of that.”

This and that—Du Qi felt dizzy listening.

“Young Master, never mind about this and that,” he frowned and asked. “Which reason connects Xie Yanlai and Chu Zhao?”

Xie Yanlai and Chu Zhao had become acquainted on the road early on, yet Xie Yanlai hadn’t told them. Thinking of this, even Butler Cai’s usually kind face darkened.

“He’s always been like this—he won’t tell us everything. It’s not strange,” Xie Yanfang was indifferent, saying, “He did well what I instructed. Other matters aren’t in my instructions, so naturally he won’t tell me.”

Butler Cai said coldly: “Then does he want to cling to Chu Ling as a patron?”

Xie Yanfang laughed again: “He’s surnamed Xie—he can never cling to a patron.”

Just as he had told the Crown Prince back then, the Xie clan soared to great heights but also bore shackles. When others looked at you, the first thing they saw was only your surname, your family—not yourself.

Bearing this surname and family, no one would truly trust you.

Even if they truly wanted to befriend you, they wouldn’t truly care about you as an insignificant person—they would befriend the family behind you.

Butler Cai naturally understood this principle, but—

“Although the courier soldiers spoke vaguely, it was clear they said the two had an unusual relationship—”

“When Miss Chu left, she even had her maidservant deliver medicine to Yanlai.”

Butler Cai was about to continue.

Xie Yanfang interrupted him: “Don’t overthink it. The two know each other, but only as acquaintances. Moreover, Butler Cai, don’t speculate about Miss Chu with notions of romance between men and women. That girl has no romantic feelings in her eyes.”

No romantic feelings? Butler Cai was stunned.

“This is why I just said that girl is bold and somewhat like me,” Xie Yanfang said. “When she looks at me, and when she looks at Xie Yanlai, her eyes are completely clear.”

Xie Yanfang walked forward a few steps, looking at the water surface.

“She’s a young lady, yet when she looks at the men of the world, she has no romantic feelings, only assessment.”

“Without romantic feelings, there are no selfish desires.”

“I even directly told her I framed her, yet she showed neither sorrow, joy, nor anger.”

“People without selfish desires are the most bold.”

Just like his thirteen-year-old self.

When he faced the Crown Prince and shot that arrow, was it for himself? For his family? Very clearly, that action would only bring danger to his family and himself, so it was neither.

He did that deed without any selfish desire, only because the matter was there, so he did it.

“Don’t speculate about Miss Chu anymore. She came to make acquaintance—we should accept it frankly.”

Butler Cai responded affirmatively and asked: “How should we interact with her?”

With Xie Yanfang, different people had different ways of interacting.

Xie Yanfang turned his head, looking toward a direction in the courtyard: “Just as she treated Yanlai—no regular contact. When she’s humiliated and beaten, we protect her, send physicians and medicine.”

To know what a person seeks, treat them in their way. This was also the common saying—exchange heart for heart.

Butler Cai and Du Qi responded affirmatively.

Xie Yanfang lifted his foot and stepped into the water, stirring up gentle ripples. He walked step by step across the ripples toward the opposite shore, like an immortal treading on air.