Qiao Zhao didn’t care much about such petty tricks.

So what if they pushed her out? To embarrass her?

She didn’t mind, so what did it matter what others thought? With the kidnapping incident standing in front of her, this was nothing at all for Miss Qiao.

However, Qiao Zhao still needed to figure out who had made the underhanded move.

Miss Qiao never liked being kept in the dark.

Qiao Zhao pondered in her heart.

At the time, Sixth Miss Li Chan was squeezed to her left front, while Fourth Miss Li Yan was tightly holding onto her.

Second Miss Li Jiāo had lost face at Great Fortune Temple and was confined by the Lady, so she hadn’t gotten off the carriage. Fifth Miss Li Shu, being a concubine’s daughter, naturally didn’t dare come out wandering alone.

That left only Li Jiǎo behind her, Du Feixue from Marquis Guchang’s household, Seventh Miss Zhu Yán from Marquis Taining’s household, and some young ladies she barely knew.

At the time, that pushing force came from the right rear—

The crowd was chaotic and packed. Since she was pushed out, it couldn’t have been someone completely unrelated to little Miss Li Zhao.

At that moment, Qiao Zhao had been watching the coffin containing her corpse slowly approaching. Lost in thought, she hadn’t paid attention to Li Jiǎo and the others’ positions, but the direction of that pushing force was from bottom to top, which indicated one thing: the person who pushed her shouldn’t be very tall.

Qiao Zhao naturally thought of one person – Du Feixue!

Seventh Miss Zhu Yán from Marquis Taining’s household was tall and slender, Li Jiǎo was also taller than Li Zhao, whose figure hadn’t fully developed yet. Only Du Feixue was petite and delicate.

This answer left Qiao Zhao somewhat helpless.

Little Miss Li Zhao truly made enemies everywhere!

Wait—

Previously, Li Zhao had admired Du Feixue’s older brother, Du Feiyang, but that heir to Marquis Guchang had always treated her coldly. Each time Du Feixue saw her, she would only mock and ridicule her a few times.

From a human nature perspective, when someone considers another person completely unthreatening, they won’t take more drastic action. But today at Great Fortune Temple, Li Jiāo had embarrassed herself, while Li Jiǎo, who was close to Du Feixue, suffered no loss, so there was no question of avenging her cousin.

What made Du Feixue resort to such underhanded tactics?

Qiao Zhao recalled little Miss Li Zhao’s rough impression of Du Feixue and already had an idea.

So it was because she had caught the eye of that master at Sparse Shadow Nunnery today, and Du Feixue worried that her reputation as a talented woman might be valued by her beloved…

Qiao Zhao curved her lips.

With such an admirer, how would Brother Zhu feel?

Zhu Yàn, who was being pitied by Qiao Zhao, was currently playing chess and chatting casually with his sister Zhu Yán, who had just returned home.

“You happened to encounter the coffins of fallen soldiers entering the city – you weren’t squeezed in the crowd, were you?”

Zhu Yán smiled lightly, “Thank you for Fifth Brother’s concern, I was not.”

Zhu Yàn had always been observant. Studying his sister’s expression, he couldn’t help but smile, “Seventh Sister, I feel like you’re in quite a good mood today. Let Fifth Brother guess – did your hand-copied Buddhist scriptures receive praise from the master at Sparse Shadow Nunnery again this year?”

“Not really,” Zhu Yán smiled.

This time, it was Zhu Yàn’s turn to be surprised.

“Seventh Sister’s calligraphy didn’t catch Master Wumei’s eye? Then Fifth Brother is curious – which families’ daughters received this honor today, and could make the Seventh Sister genuinely impressed?”

If she weren’t genuinely impressed, Seventh Sister wouldn’t be in such a cheerful mood.

Zhu Yán smiled charmingly, “Fifth Brother definitely can’t guess. This year, only one young lady’s calligraphy caught Master Wumei’s eye. That young lady not only received praise but was also summoned by Master Wumei.”

“Such a thing happened?” Zhu Yàn held his chess piece without placing it down, becoming interested and pressing further, “Which family’s daughter was it?”

Zhu Yán covered her lips and smiled, teasing, “Fifth Brother asking so persistently about a young lady – aren’t you afraid I might read too much into it?”

Zhu Yàn was stunned, then raised his hand and gently tapped Zhu Yán’s smooth forehead with his knuckles, “Don’t tease Fifth Brother.”

“Then I won’t tell Fifth Brother. If Fifth Brother has the ability, guess for yourself.”

Zhu Yán only showed her girlish liveliness in front of her brother. Zhu Yàn cooperatively pondered, and suddenly his heart stirred.

Could it be—

“Fifth Brother, have you thought of it?” Zhu Yàn’s unusual reaction drew Zhu Yán’s questioning.

Zhu Yàn looked deeply at Zhu Yán and asked, “That young lady – her surname isn’t Li, is it?”

Zhu Yán’s eyes suddenly widened as she blurted out, “How did Fifth Brother know?”

How did he know? Of course, he knew!

If there was one person among the capital’s young ladies whose calligraphy and painting could far surpass Seventh Sister’s, even earning an exceptional summons from Master Wumei of Sparse Shadow Nunnery, then there was only one person who could do it – that kidnapped young lady Li Zhao, whose copying of Master Qiao’s paintings was simply heaven-defying!

Someone who could flawlessly copy Master Qiao’s “Ducks at Play,” who could win against Chi Can playing chess with her eyes closed, and who now impressed Master Wumei with her calligraphy – he was suddenly beginning to anticipate hearing the young lady’s musical skills.

“Fifth Brother, how exactly did you guess?” Zhu Yán stared at her brother and placed a piece, saying with certainty, “You’ve met her.”

Zhu Yàn coughed several times.

Oh no, he’d forgotten that his sister was also sharp as a tack!

“This—” Poor good man Brother Zhu, being upright and gentlemanly, had never told lies. Now facing his sister’s questioning, he was nearly breaking out in cold sweat.

He couldn’t speak of what happened during the southern journey – if he did, Miss Li Zhao’s reputation would be completely ruined.

In his desperation, he pushed it all onto his good friend, “I heard it from Shixi!”

As for how Young Master Chi knew, that wasn’t his concern. Besides, given his sister’s character, she wouldn’t question the person involved.

Young Master Zhu was quite pleased with his cleverness for a moment.

Zhu Yán glanced at her brother, reached out to pick up the chessboard, and left.

It took Zhu Yàn a long time to belatedly realize: had he been caught red-handed telling lies?

As soon as Qiao Zhao stepped through the West Residence gate with Old Madam Deng, Lady He rushed forward, embracing her and crying, “Zhaozhao, you scared Mother to death! I thought you were lost again! I was just gathering people to go out and search for you.”

Old Madam Deng looked at the large group of maids and servants following behind Lady He, her temples throbbing.

She knew it – leaving her eldest daughter-in-law at the residence was wise!

Qiao Zhao shifted her gaze to look at Binglu, who was following beside Lady He.

Binglu shrank her neck, then immediately beamed with joy.

As long as Miss returned safely, she would accept any scolding.

Only after returning to the West Side Courtyard did Qiao Zhao say, “Didn’t you think to go back and check the carriage?”

Binglu stuck out her tongue, “I thought Miss would not return to the carriage.”

“Hmm?”

“Miss had struck up a conversation with Marquis Guanjun! That’s Marquis Guanjun!”

“So?”

“So this servant followed Marquis Guanjun…”

Qiao Zhao held back her temper and asked, “You thought I followed Marquis Guanjun?”

“No…” Binglu suddenly cupped her face with both hands, “This servant didn’t expect Marquis Guanjun to be so handsome! Oh my, the way he spoke to Miss was so gentle too—”

If only Miss could marry Marquis Guanjun! Her Miss was beautiful as a flower and talented as can be – she would be the perfect match for Marquis Guanjun. She just wanted to take another look and help Miss evaluate him!

The usually composed Miss Qiao rarely showed such a dark expression.

So she had been overthinking it – her maid had purely followed that man because Shao Mingyuan was good-looking!

She knew it – every encounter with that man surnamed Shao would be unpleasant!