As was natural with such wedding disruptions, someone reported the matter to the authorities, so officials from the yamen arrived swiftly and took Xia Qingyun and his group away.

The matchmaker who had been officiating the ceremony smoothed things over, claiming it was merely a few drunkards causing trouble, and so the incident was covered up and the ceremony continued.

Yet the Second Miss Xie hid in her room, her face ashen as she sobbed and wept, throwing a tantrum with none of the joyful spirit befitting a new bride.

It was Zhou Sui’an who went in and talked her around with gentle persuasion before she finally emerged to bow before heaven and earth to complete the ceremony.

As Zhao Shi sat in the main hall receiving the ceremonial bows, she could still hear whispers all around her, and every face that smiled at her seemed to harbor ill intentions.

Zhao Shi could only force herself to endure, yet her face was deathly gray and gloomy, like a memorial tablet upon an altar.

Zhou Sui’an’s expression was no better. Yet he had no choice — his superiors and colleagues were all present, along with many of the Xie family’s relatives by marriage, so he had to see the formalities through.

So he mustered his spirits and pushed through the entire affair, though when the time came to toast the guests, he was distracted and listless.

Those who attended the banquet whispered privately among themselves that the gift money had been well worth it — not only had they gotten a feast, they’d gotten a free show on top of it.

Madam He was among those watching the spectacle. She watched while drinking heartily, secretly filled with admiration.

She had always said that Chu Linlang was not the sort to take things lying down. So this was the follow-up move she had prepared — she had actually hired people to disrupt the wedding!

Well, that made sense. A wanton hussy deserved exactly this kind of treatment. Today she had learned a new trick herself!

While watching the spectacle, Madam He gossiped with people around her, and in the course of chatting, she suddenly remembered something.

The salt gang members had just been taken away in shackles by the constables. She had no idea whether Chu Niangzi had any idea this was coming.

This wouldn’t do — she had to warn Chu Niangzi in advance so she could prepare, lest the constables show up at her door with questions and she answer them poorly.

Moreover, the scene at the Zhou family’s ceremony — with everyone kneeling as though at a funeral — had been particularly spectacular. Madam He felt it would be a waste if she didn’t describe it in detail to Chu Linlang, given the silver she’d spent hiring people to cause trouble.

So when Madam He finished the banquet and was preparing to leave, she sent a manservant to run ahead to Jicui Lane to inform Chu Niangzi of everything in detail.

When Xia He heard that those who had caused the disruption were from the salt gang, and that the manservant’s description of the ringleader matched her elder brother, she immediately guessed it was her brother who had caused this disaster. She stamped her feet in agitation and asked the elder mistress what was to be done.

Chu Linlang had not expected that Xia Qingyun would stir up such a muddle the very day he entered the city. She cursed inwardly — this situation would not be easy to resolve.

After a moment’s thought, Chu Linlang went back to her room to retrieve some banknotes, then took her two maidservants to the yamen, intending to bail him out first.

After all, disrupting a wedding while injuring no one was merely a charge of causing a disturbance. As long as one was willing to pay money and offer an apology, such offenses generally resulted in nothing more than a single night’s detention before release.

But when Chu Linlang arrived at the yamen and said she was there to bail out Xia Qingyun, the constable on duty wrinkled his nose and scowled: “These ruffians dared to disrupt the wedding of General Xie’s daughter and Lord Zhou — they’ve got the gall of tigers and leopards! Our magistrate has given orders — these rascals are to be beaten through the night, and the mastermind behind them must be confessed before anything else. They haven’t been tried yet. You can’t bail them out. Get out of here!”

As it turned out, when Xia Qingyun made his great scene at the wedding, Auntie An of the An family had also been present.

When she heard the people around her discussing Second Miss Xie’s improper conduct, Auntie An privately rejoiced.

She knew that all this talk had spread from the concubines in her own household.

That second daughter of her elder sister’s family had never shown her proper respect as an aunt — so it served her right to be pointed at and talked about!

Even if she had deliberately let those concubines overhear things, so what? She hadn’t spread the gossip with her own mouth.

Even if Second Miss Xie went home and wept to her father, they would only assume it was Chu Linlang who had done mischief and deliberately leaked the information.

Besides, even if they truly traced the rumor back to her household, she wasn’t afraid. She could take the opportunity to use the Xie family’s hand to deal with those two gossipy concubines in her household who were always making eyes at men.

When her brother-in-law lost his temper, he was known to draw his sword and threaten people. She’d see whether that old man of hers would protect those two fox spirits!

Auntie An had calculated every angle — no matter what happened, she would come out ahead!

She hadn’t expected that heaven would be so obliging as to send several brutes to clear her path for her, so when the wedding fell into chaos, Auntie An was overjoyed.

Right then and there she made up her mind — she would maintain firmly that Chu Linlang had hired people to disrupt the wedding, and that this gossip had also been spread by Chu Linlang’s hired mouths.

So before the banquet at the Zhou household had even dispersed, Auntie An hurried by carriage to the Xie family home and gave her elder sister and brother-in-law an embellished account of everything that had happened.

When Su Shi heard that her daughter had been so humiliated in public, she nearly fainted with grief and wept nearly to the point of losing consciousness.

She couldn’t help but complain to Xie Sheng, saying over and over that Chu Linlang was too vicious — the money the Xie family had given her had been fed to an ungrateful wretch.

Even if their daughter had been in the wrong, Chu Linlang’s conduct was too despicable. How could she take hush money and then shred all pretense of decency like this?

Xie Sheng was also furious. He waved for his attendants to send word to the yamen, demanding the troublemakers be severely beaten until the mastermind behind them was rooted out.

While the Xie family had certainly been at fault earlier, they had treated Chu Linlang with as much generosity as could be expected.

That Chu Linlang had hired people to disrupt the wedding and make his daughter’s pregnancy known to all — that was simply too vicious.

Did that Chu woman really think that because she was leaning on a fifth-rank Junior Chief Justice, she could hold the Xie family in her grip forever?

The magistrate, understanding the situation well, complied — after all, besmirching an official’s daughter’s reputation was no small matter. Even if it meant flaying that salt trader alive, he would beat a confession out of him, and there was no question of releasing him easily.

Xia He and the others were driven away from the yamen and couldn’t even get through the gate. They were desperate, and quickly turned to ask Chu Linlang — how were they to rescue her elder brother?

If he were truly beaten through the night, even a healthy person would be left barely breathing.

Dongxue said quietly, “What do we do? Should we go to the Court of Judicial Review and find the Junior Chief Justice, and have him rescue the person first?”

But Chu Linlang shook her head. “No. Right now the Xie family is insisting Xia Qingyun was acting on orders. They believe I am the mastermind. That’s fine — it’s my lawsuit alone to bear. But if the lord steps in, won’t he become the mastermind? When he showed the Xie family leniency before, it was because he didn’t want to create too much friction with them. I can’t have him bearing responsibility for our affairs and making enemies at court for nothing…”

Situ Sheng’s official reputation was already poor, and his standing among the households of the capital was not good to begin with. Chu Linlang felt she could not drag him down further.

Xia He’s eyes reddened. “Then… then what do we do? It’s all my brother’s fault — how could he act so recklessly, rushing off to cause trouble without even asking? But if he endures a night of torture, how could he possibly survive!”

Chu Linlang looked at the yamen looming in the lamplight and thought hard before making a swift decision. “Come on — to the Sixth Prince’s estate!”

Xia He and Dongxue were startled, insisting it was impossible. Now that the Xie family’s reputation was ruined, the Wang Fei of the Sixth Prince must certainly be furious.

If Chu Niangzi went there, would she not be walking into the tiger’s den to be dealt with?

But Chu Linlang felt that the one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. She had originally negotiated the terms of her separation with the Wang Fei of the Sixth Prince. Now that a misunderstanding had arisen, she had to go and explain herself to the Sixth Princess Consort.

Even if the Sixth Princess Consort didn’t believe her, she had to try her best — at the very least, she could not let Xia Qingyun be beaten to death inside.

Unfortunately, this time she couldn’t even get through the gate of the Sixth Prince’s estate.

The moment the Sixth Princess Consort heard it was Chu Linlang requesting an audience, she had the doorman relay a message: the Sixth Princess Consort had just learned that her younger sister’s wedding had encountered difficulties and had become agitated. Being pregnant, she was feeling unwell and was not receiving visitors.

Chu Linlang was turned away at the door. She thought for a moment, then had the doorman relay another message.

This time, however, she did not present herself as Chu Shi, an old acquaintance of the Wang Fei from Jizhou. Instead, she identified herself as the steward of the Junior Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review — Chu Niangzi.

The doorman thought she was strange — wasn’t this clearly the same person?

But Chu Linlang smiled apologetically and pressed a large silver ingot into his hand, said a few words, and asked him to make one more trip. If she was allowed in, she would reward him with another ingot.

The doorman weighed the silver in his hand and decided that even a scolding would be worth it, so he turned and went to relay the message.

This time, quite a while passed before a nanny appeared at the gate with a stern face to invite Chu Shi inside.

This was the first time Chu Linlang had set aside the title of the Zhou family’s wife to meet the Xie Wang Fei.

The Xie Wang Fei bore none of her previous warmth and gentleness. From behind a screen she asked coldly, “Is Steward Chu here because Lord Chief Justice wishes to convey something?”

Chu Linlang had blatantly borrowed the prestige of the Junior Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review just to cross the threshold of the prince’s estate.

She immediately knelt and paid her respects, saying with a smile, “This visit is not on the lord’s behalf — it is a private matter of mine. I took the liberty of borrowing the lord’s name to request an audience and have come to offer the Wang Fei my apologies.”

The Xie Wang Fei gave a cold laugh. “Indeed, it is we of the Xie family who have wronged you in ten thousand ways — how could we be so honored as to have the steward of the Junior Chief Justice come and apologize to us?”

Chu Linlang said quietly, “The ones who went to disrupt Muyu Stone Lane today were the salt boat workers in my employ. They had been away from the capital for a long time and had no idea I and Lord Zhou had parted by mutual agreement. Having failed to find anyone and being young and hot-blooded, they misunderstood the situation and disrupted the wedding. If they face punishment for causing trouble, that is the law of the land, and I dare not plead mercy on their behalf. But I thought there was something that needed to be made clear, lest General Xie and yourself remain in the dark and be deceived by others, resulting in some irreversible mistake down the line.”

The Xie Wang Fei was convinced this woman was two-faced and had been ruining the Xie family’s reputation everywhere. Hearing Chu Linlang speak this way, she was furious to her very core. “Oh? What misunderstanding could there be? Our Xie family can no longer show our faces in the capital — it has all become your glory, Steward Chu. You’re even thinking of us, yet I need not trouble the great Steward Chu to think on our behalf!”

Chu Linlang pretended not to hear the cold mockery in the Wang Fei’s words and simply said with composure, “Mistakes that are mine to make, I will own entirely. But a wrongdoing I did not commit — I have no reason to take the blame for another. Wang Fei, you know my character. I would never do something foolish and then come crawling to you for forgiveness. Do you truly believe I took the Xie family’s settlement money and then couldn’t hold my tongue — going around ruining Second Miss Xie’s reputation?”

At these words, the Xie Wang Fei sat bolt upright and threw back the screen, glaring down at the kneeling Chu Linlang. “If not you, then who? Are you saying it was our Xie family ourselves who let this matter out?”

Chu Linlang raised her head slightly, her tone certain. “Does the Wang Fei truly not know? This matter truly did leak from within the Xie family.”

With that, she recounted in full detail everything she had heard from Madam He — how the concubines of the An family, who were connected by marriage to the Xie family, had eavesdropped and spread the information.

The Xie Wang Fei was initially disbelieving, but to her surprise, Chu Linlang was able to name the An family concubines specifically. The account was so thorough and credible that it could not have been fabricated on the spot.

After Chu Linlang finished, she said quietly, “This is hardly a secret. Wang Fei, if you have the heart for it, you need only press one person and follow the thread upward — won’t everything become clear? Moreover, that Auntie An was so careless with such a private matter that it’s hard to say whether it wasn’t entirely deliberate.”

The Sixth Princess Consort thought all of this was nonsense and was about to speak when the door was suddenly flung open with a crash and someone walked in.

A reputation, even if somewhat tarnished, could still be of use once time had washed over it.

As she spoke, she briefly described how the An family’s river-administration nephew had been using the names of General Xie and the Sixth Prince to extort bribes and engage in corruption along the waterways.

After the Sixth Princess Consort heard the Sixth Prince’s words, she grew increasingly alarmed — particularly when she heard the Sixth Prince say that the Crown Prince had personally come to warn him, which made her heart tremble.

When the great miss’s hand was extended to pass the handkerchief, Xia Qingyun gazed at her beautiful smiling face in a daze, and the large hand that reached for the handkerchief lost its composure, gripping Chu Linlang’s hand instead.

And the Sixth Prince waved and summoned someone, first sending his calling card to the yamen. Whatever else might be said, he could not simply allow the yamen to beat to death a person belonging to the Chief Justice’s steward.

The implication in those words was unfriendly — broadly speaking, from ancient times, when brothers turned against each other, those who chose the wrong side were left without even their bones.

So these people were first led back by Chu Linlang to Jicui Lane.

He felt he had somehow been unwittingly drawn into some dangerous affair, but without his former mentor beside him to analyze the political situation, he truly could not make heads or tails of things.

So that was the crux of it! Someone had been using his banner to seize the Crown Prince’s ships!

All of them had not yet eaten and were lodging at an inn, but if they returned at this hour, the inn would have put out its fires and they could get nothing to eat.

Just now, when Chu Linlang had entered using the title of steward of the Chief Justice’s office, he had also heard the manservant’s report. He had assumed it was his mentor, persuaded by his fourth elder brother, who was finally willing to reconcile with him and had sent someone to convey the message, and he could not help feeling a surge of joy.

As for Chu Linlang — she had originally prepared many words to persuade the Sixth Princess Consort.

Having just caught the fragrance of braised pork wafting through the air, Situ Sheng had been carrying the faintest smile, guessing that Linlang had made him a noodle soup.

Chu Linlang glanced at the hour, knowing the lord had been returning at the Hour of Pig lately, and that it was still too early.

The great miss standing in the lamplight was just as bright and lovely as he remembered, except that when those eyes looked at him quietly, he felt ashamed and couldn’t meet them.

This discomfort of being so thoroughly snubbed caused the smile on Situ Sheng’s face to slowly cool, his eyes burning sharp as he raised his voice to ask, “What is this… did I come back at an inconvenient time?”

Since falling out with his mentor, nothing had been going right. After being severely reprimanded by his imperial father recently, he had lost his appetite and his arms and legs grew thinner by the day.

Watching the Sixth Prince speak so gently and eagerly to Chu Linlang… surely the great miss hadn’t endured humiliation and sacrificed something to earn the Sixth Prince’s such treatment?

“If Chu Shi hadn’t come today and revealed that An family dog’s underhanded schemes, I might have died without even knowing how I lost my head!”

As it turned out, many people had returned just now, and a fire basin had been set up at the entrance for them to step over, so Dongxue had forgotten to close the main gate and had left it only half-latched.

What was the worst that could come of his second younger sister’s foolish affairs? Just some loss of face.

Of course, none of this could Linlang prove — and she had not dared to mention that the An family’s nephew had seized ships belonging to the Crown Prince.

When he heard Chu Niangzi say that the An family had someone using his banner and General Xie’s name to extort commissions on the waterways, he immediately shuddered.

And they all bore injuries and needed medicine.

Chu Linlang herself was completely bewildered.

Chu Linlang gave a small bitter smile, looked at the Xie Wang Fei and shook her head helplessly, murmuring, “You also know I am greatly changed from before — I no longer live within the deep inner courtyards. I spend my days running estates and visiting shops for my employer, and have come to know quite a few servants from other households. Some things can only be heard by those in low positions. Now that I have said this much, I may as well be the villain for once and lay everything out clearly.”

She would return the silver she had received from the Xie family, and see if she could put out General Xie’s anger — and find a way to first rescue Xia Qingyun.

Having thought this through clearly, the Sixth Prince did not wait for his own Wang Fei to say another foolish word. He strode through the door at once and came hurrying with bent back in small steps to stand before Chu Linlang, his face bearing a smile as he personally helped Chu Niangzi up, saying repeatedly, “The floor is too cold — how can Chu Niangzi kneel to speak?”

In his heart, though, the great miss was someone who should be cherished and held dear — how could she be made to serve as a servant?

When Xia Qingyun, who had just had his medicine applied, received the noodle bowl from Chu Linlang’s hands, his heart was awash with complex emotions. He dared not meet her eyes and only asked softly, “Great miss — I… I truly did not mean to cause you trouble.”

When they reached the entrance, Dongxue first lit a fire basin and had them all step over it to cast off bad luck.

They had been hungry without eating, but fortunately there was braised pork already prepared in the pot. The two maidservants made noodles and served them braised pork noodle soup.

Dongxue and Xia He had waited anxiously at the gates of the prince’s estate for a long time. They finally saw the Sixth Prince personally escort Chu Niangzi out through the estate gates.

Chu Linlang had no wish to say more in front of the yamen, only saying that it was fine, and that whatever needed to be said could wait until they returned home.

Just a moment ago, when Chu Linlang said there was an An family official who administered the waterways and routinely invoked his banner to demand kickbacks on ships, it was as though the Sixth Prince’s meridians had suddenly been cleared and everything fell into place.

And the result of that one sentence was that the slender imperial beansprout nearly exploded like a flowering vegetable!

Xia Qingyun’s eyes stung, and he pressed back his choked voice to say, “Great miss, you have suffered. Had I known sooner, I would certainly have come back earlier…”

The Sixth Prince pointed at her and flew into a rage, demanding to know what kind of relatives her family had — how dare they use his banner to go about swindling and deceiving people?

That day, the Sixth Prince Liu Ling drank and became quite muddled. He had only heard the Crown Prince mention something about ship affairs and the matter of the fourth prince, to which he had responded vaguely and hazily.

The Xie Wang Fei furrowed her brow, still unconvinced. “But she is my own aunt — she has no reason whatsoever to ruin her own niece’s reputation!”

The one who had arrived was none other than the lanky Sixth Prince.

But he had not expected to turn through the moon gate and find a tall, dark, young man holding his bowl of noodle soup with one hand and gripping one of his courtyard’s people with the other.

The Sixth Prince had just been reprimanded by the Emperor and penalized with kneeling in the study — the whole court knew of it — and the small amount of favor he had previously enjoyed was nearly exhausted.

As for that dead girl — now that she had Zhou’s household to take her in, the worst outcome was that she and any children she bore would be unable to hold their heads up.

These household stewards were just like favored eunuchs before the emperor — cunning and vengeful, and not to be offended.

The Sixth Prince spoke warmly to console Chu Shi, then personally escorted her to the gate and saw her out, returning only after quite some time.

The Wang Fei, holding back tears, asked the Sixth Prince why he showed such warm attention to a woman who had slandered her family’s name.

Chu Linlang, seeing his expression, couldn’t help laughing. She pulled out a handkerchief and passed it to him, saying gently, “Why come back early? If you build up the salt trade out there, my heart will be at ease…”

Xia He marched over angrily and gave her elder brother a firm punch on the shoulder. “Is this how you do things? Do you have any idea what trouble you caused — that because of you, our great miss had to go around asking favors of people for half a day!”

After hearing his younger sister’s account, he looked toward Chu Linlang, who had been standing quietly to one side the whole time, full of remorse.

Only the implication in the Crown Prince’s words had left him somewhat trembling with fear.

But the Sixth Prince had said it was all a misunderstanding and that the person could be released tonight — she would take his word for it and go wait outside the yamen for now.

That day, the Xie Wang Fei did not wait for the Sixth Prince to finish scolding her before hurrying and ordering a carriage to the Xie family home.

But if the Sixth Prince had offended the Crown Prince, the entire Xie family would be implicated!

When the Sixth Prince emerged from the Crown Prince’s estate, even his shoe insoles were soaked through with sweat.

Chu Linlang took a large piece of braised pork from the clay pot and placed it in his bowl, then said calmly, “It’s already settled — don’t bring it up again. From now on I also have no more ties to the Zhou family, so you needn’t have any dealings with the Zhou family’s people.”

The Crown Prince told him that he didn’t have many brothers who had come of age, yet he greatly hoped his slender, beansprout-thin sixth younger brother could live a long life.

Yet it was a shame — after waiting half the day in the main hall, there was no sign of anyone. When he asked, he learned that the steward of the Junior Chief Justice’s office had gone to see his Wang Fei.

To think that just at that split second, the master of the Chief Justice’s residence had quietly slipped into the courtyard with his manservant.

When Situ Sheng returned, he had no need to knock — he simply pushed the door and stepped lightly into the courtyard.

The eagerness and tenderness in his manner made even the Wang Fei feel a twinge of jealousy, suspecting that the Sixth Prince had long coveted Chu Shi’s beauty and had finally seized the opportunity to get close to her.

As long as the Xie family understood that the An family was truly a source of disaster, and that someone else had been spreading tales and stirring up trouble.

She had merely laid this thread here today. If General Xie had any inclination, he would be able to investigate it himself.

Just a moment ago, the Sixth Prince had been standing quietly outside the door, bent over and pressed to the door, listening for a long time.

Looking at her dark, indigo-blue skirt and her hair styled in a manner that seemed older than her years, then watching her busy herself ceaselessly by the stove, she looked very much the part of a true household steward.

For a few days prior, the Crown Prince — who had always regarded him as nothing — had specifically invited him to the Crown Prince’s estate for drinks.

She had still many words prepared, waiting to persuade the Sixth Princess Consort.

Having originally caught the fragrance of braised pork wafting through, Situ Sheng still wore the faintest smile, thinking Linlang had made him a noodle soup.

Chu Linlang glanced at the time and knew the lord had been returning at the Hour of Pig recently — it was still early.

The great miss standing in the lamplight was just as bright and lovely as he remembered. It was just those quiet eyes looking at him that made him feel too ashamed to lift his own.

This discomfort of being thoroughly snubbed caused the smile on Situ Sheng’s face to slowly cool, his gaze sharp as fire as he raised his voice: “What is this… did I return at an inopportune moment?”

Since falling out with his mentor, nothing had gone right. After recently being severely reprimanded by his imperial father, he had lost his appetite, and his arms and legs grew thinner every day.

Watching the Sixth Prince speak so gently and tenderly with Chu Linlang… the great miss surely hadn’t endured some humiliation and sacrifice in order to earn the Sixth Prince’s such treatment?

“If Chu Shi hadn’t come today and exposed the An family dog’s underhanded schemes, I might have died without knowing how I lost my head!”

As it happened, many people had returned just now, and a fire basin had been set up at the entrance for stepping over, so Dongxue had forgotten to close the main gate and left it only half-latched.

His second sister’s petty affairs were, at worst, embarrassing — nothing more.

Of course, Linlang had no evidence of any of this, and she had not dared to mention that the An family’s nephew had also seized ships belonging to the Crown Prince.

When he heard Chu Niangzi say that the An family had someone using his banner and General Xie’s name to demand ship commissions along the waterways, he immediately shuddered.

And they all had injuries and needed treatment.

Chu Linlang herself was completely at a loss.

Chu Linlang gave a faint bitter smile, shook her head helplessly at the Xie Wang Fei, and murmured softly, “You also know I am greatly changed from before — I no longer live behind the deep walls of an inner courtyard. Every day I run estates and visit shops for my employer, and have befriended servants from many other households. Some things can only reach one’s ears from a lowly position. Now that I’ve come this far in the conversation, I may as well play the villain and lay everything out plainly.”

She would return the silver from the Xie family and see if she could extinguish General Xie’s anger — and find a way to first rescue Xia Qingyun.

Having thought this through, the Sixth Prince did not wait for his Wang Fei to say another foolish word. He strode right through the door and came hurrying with bent back in quick steps to stand before Chu Linlang, his face wearing a smile as he personally helped Chu Niangzi to her feet, saying repeatedly, “The floor is too cold — how can Chu Niangzi kneel to speak?”

Yet in his heart, the great miss was someone who should be cherished in the palm of one’s hand — how could she be made to serve as a servant?

When Xia Qingyun, who had just had his medicine applied, received the noodle bowl from Chu Linlang’s hands, he was overcome with complex emotions. He dared not look at her and only asked softly, “Great miss, I… I truly didn’t mean to cause you trouble.”

When they reached the entrance, Dongxue first lit a fire basin and had them all step over it to cast off bad luck.

They had been hungry without eating, but fortunately the braised pork was ready in the pot. The two maidservants made noodles and served them braised pork noodle soup to eat.

Dongxue and Xia He had waited in fear and trepidation at the gates of the prince’s estate for a long while. They finally saw the Sixth Prince personally escort Chu Niangzi out through the gates.

Chu Linlang had no wish to say more in front of the yamen and only said it was fine — whatever needed to be said could wait until they returned.

Just now, when Chu Linlang said there was an An family official who administered the waterways and routinely used his banner to demand kickbacks on ships, it was as though the Sixth Prince’s channels had suddenly been cleared and everything fell into place at once.

And the result of those words was that the slender imperial beansprout nearly exploded into full bloom!

Xia Qingyun’s eyes stung, and he pressed back his choking grief to say, “Great miss, you have suffered. Had I known sooner, I would certainly have come back earlier…”

The Sixth Prince pointed at her and flew into a rage, demanding to know what kind of relatives her family had — how dare they use his banner to go swindling and deceiving people?

That day, the Sixth Prince Liu Ling had drunk himself into quite a fog. He had heard only the Crown Prince speak of ship matters and of the fourth prince’s affairs, and had responded vaguely throughout.

The Xie Wang Fei furrowed her brows, still disbelieving. “But she is my own aunt — she has absolutely no reason to ruin her own niece’s reputation!”

The person who had arrived was none other than the lanky Sixth Prince.

He had not expected to turn through the moon gate and find a tall, dark young man holding his noodle bowl in one hand and gripping one of his courtyard’s people with the other.

The Sixth Prince had just been reprimanded by the Emperor and penalized with kneeling in the study — the whole court knew of it — and the little bit of favor he had previously enjoyed was nearly exhausted.

As for that wretched girl — now that the Zhou household had taken her in, the worst outcome was that she and whatever children she bore would be unable to hold their heads up.

These household stewards were just like favored eunuchs before the emperor — cunning and vindictive, and not to be trifled with.

The Sixth Prince comforted Chu Shi warmly, then personally escorted her to the gate and saw her off, returning only after some time had passed.

The Wang Fei held back tears and asked the Sixth Prince why he showed such warmth to a woman who had slandered her family’s name.

Chu Linlang, seeing his state, couldn’t suppress a laugh. She pulled out a handkerchief and passed it to him, gently saying, “Why come back early? As long as you’re out there building up the salt business, my heart will be at ease…”

Xia He stomped over angrily and gave her brother a hard punch on the shoulder. “Is this how you do things? Do you know how much trouble you caused — our great miss had to go around asking favors of people for half a day because of you!”

After hearing his younger sister’s words, he looked with remorse toward Chu Linlang, who had been standing quietly to one side.

The implication in the Crown Prince’s words alone had left him shaking.

But the Sixth Prince said it was all a misunderstanding and that the person could be released tonight — she would take his word for it and first go wait outside the yamen.

That day, the Xie Wang Fei did not even wait for the Sixth Prince to finish scolding her before hurriedly ordering a carriage to the Xie family home.

But if the Sixth Prince had offended the Crown Prince, the entire Xie family would be implicated!

When the Sixth Prince emerged from the Crown Prince’s estate, his shoe insoles were soaked with sweat.

Chu Linlang took a large piece of braised pork from the clay pot and placed it in his bowl, saying calmly, “It’s already settled — don’t bring it up anymore. From now on I have no more ties to the Zhou family, so you needn’t have any dealings with the Zhou family’s people.”

The Crown Prince said he didn’t have many brothers who had come of age, yet very much hoped his slender beansprout-thin sixth brother could live a long life.

Yet he had not expected — the steward of the Chief Justice’s residence had gone to see his Wang Fei.

Right at that moment, the master of the Chief Justice’s residence had quietly slipped into the courtyard with his manservant.

When Situ Sheng returned, he had no need to knock — he simply pushed the door and entered the courtyard with light steps.

The eagerness and tenderness in his manner made even the Wang Fei feel a twinge of jealousy, suspecting that the Sixth Prince had long coveted Chu Shi’s beauty and had now finally seized the opportunity to get close to her.

As long as the Xie family understood that the An family was truly a source of calamity, and that someone else had been the one spreading tales and stirring up trouble.

She had merely laid this thread here today. If General Xie had the inclination, he would be able to investigate it himself.

Just moments ago, the Sixth Prince had been standing outside the door, bent over with his ear pressed to it, listening for a long time.

Looking at her dark indigo skirt and hair styled in a manner that seemed older than her years, and then watching her bustling ceaselessly at the stove, she looked every bit the part of a true household steward.

For the past several days prior, the Crown Prince — who had always regarded him as nothing — had specifically invited him to the Crown Prince’s estate for drinks.

As for Chu Linlang, she had many words prepared and waiting to persuade the Sixth Princess Consort.

He had been slightly startled to hear the manservant announce it just then. Having assumed it was his mentor, persuaded by his fourth elder brother, who was finally willing to reconcile and had sent someone from the estate to convey this, he could not help feeling a surge of joy in his heart.

The Sixth Prince’s words carried an unfriendly undertone — broadly speaking, from ancient times, when brothers turned against each other, those who chose the wrong side ended up without even their bones.

So Chu Linlang led them all back to Jicui Lane first.

He felt he had somehow been unwittingly drawn into something dangerous. But without his former mentor beside him to analyze the political situation, he truly could not make heads or tails of things.

So that was the crux of it! Someone had used his banner to seize the Crown Prince’s ships!

All of them had gone without eating and were lodging at an inn, but if they returned at this hour, the inn would have put out its fires and there would be nothing to eat.

And they all had injuries that needed medicine.

Chu Linlang was not inclined to say more in front of the yamen and only said it was fine — whatever needed to be said could wait until they got home.

When it grew dark, Chu Linlang brought the group to wait outside the yamen gates.

After some time, they finally saw Xia Qingyun emerge from the yamen with his salt gang brothers, rubbing one half of his face — swollen purple and blue — as he stepped out.

Xia Qingyun had already learned from his younger sister’s mouth that the great miss had now become steward at the Chief Justice’s residence.

He had already fallen out with his former mentor. If he were also to offend the mentor’s female steward, would reconciliation between teacher and student not become even more impossibly distant?

No wonder the Crown Prince had told him that ships had been seized, and that he hoped the sixth younger brother would be prudent and cautious, keeping a low profile.

Xia Qingyun had been beaten inside and had few uninjured spots. When his sister punched him, the pain made him stagger.

If those An family people truly didn’t know any better and went on tarnishing his father’s and the prince’s reputation outside, they truly deserved to die ten thousand deaths!

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