Chapter 221

"You, you, you..." The old man was so angry that he was shaking all over. At one point, he felt that his chest was so tight that he could hardly breathe. But he didn't care about these things at all, because his attention was not on himself: "Di refers to my sister?" Then what was I recruiting for so many years?

"If you don't trust me, go ask someone else." Zhou Xiao sneered, picked up the paper on the stool, crumpled it into a ball, threw it into the trash can under the table, and walked around the old man to go out.

When passing by the girl, Zhou Xiao winked at her, meaning that she would wait for her outside. However, after seeing her leave, the girl immediately became restless. Before long, she lowered her head and bit her lip before chasing after him, her hands still unconsciously kneading the corners of her clothes.

"Mom, how can someone not want their child to go to school?" The child who went on a long trip to visit relatives with his parents looked at the old man in confusion: "Are you too poor to pay the tuition?" Although he didn't like going to school, he also knew the importance of studying. If he couldn't even read a single word, he would have to do rough labor to earn money when he grew up. He wouldn't know what the contract he signed was about, and if he was owed wages, he would have to pay someone to write a complaint. He would be easily cheated in whatever he did.

"It's not 'shushu', it's 'shuxiu'." Seeing the old man glaring at their children, the children's parents glared back bluntly: "I don't know if they are poor, but they are definitely bad." The empress supported the people's education. According to the law, if someone prevented their children from learning to read and write, the village head and neighborhood head would go to the door to intervene. Judging from the old man's arrogant attitude, it was obvious that the local officials were inactive. But this was not surprising. There are so many officials in the world, how could they all love the people like their own children?

The old man was very arrogant in front of his family, but a coward in front of outsiders. Facing the glares from the child's parents, he muttered a few words in a timid manner, not daring to look them in the eye. After mumbling a few words to himself, he hurried away.

Seeing Zhou Xiao talking to someone outside the door, the old man subconsciously wanted to scold her again. But everyone in the inn turned their heads to look at him, their eyes full of contempt, and the old man didn't dare to speak again, for fear of offending everyone.

He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he didn't care. Most people in this world were quite indifferent. As long as he didn't go too far, many would leave him alone, just like the village chief who turned a blind eye. However, if it was free to speak up for justice, there would still be many people who would do it. This was why he was forcing himself not to curse. He didn't want to compete with the entire inn in verbal abuse.

"Why did you follow me out?" Zhou Xiao sneered at the old man's departing figure. He put on a smile again when he turned back and patted the girl's head wordlessly: "It's rare to meet someone you can casually chat with. You can't just never talk to men for the rest of your life."

The girl's family situation was similar to Zhou Xiao's. As a child disliked by her family, if Zhou Xiao hadn't taught her how to get money from home to pay for her tuition, she would have been a direct dropout. Because the adults in her family were rather rude and didn't allow her to talk back, the girl became increasingly quiet and even fainted several times due to liver qi stagnation.

To prevent the girl from feeling sick from holding herself back, Zhou Xiao would take her out to chat whenever he had free time. Bei Qiao was the guy Zhou Xiao had chosen specifically for the girl. If they were talking to other men, they might be overly sentimental, belittle, or even take advantage of the girl, but not Bei Qiao. She was a woman, and so handsome that the girl couldn't tell her true gender. There was no significant risk in chatting her up.

In Zhou Xiao's opinion, the best outcome would be for the two to become friends, and for the girl to gradually become more cheerful under Bei Qiao's influence. However, not everyone is willing to bear the fate of others, so the best outcome is just Zhou Xiao's idea, and it can only be an idea.

Zhou Xiao: What a pity! It seems this person’s kindness has been exhausted ahead of time.

At the inn, noticing the girl getting up to leave and the others eager to join in the conversation, Bei Qiao decisively stood up and went to the back to get his horse, intending to ride around Zhuyue City. It was simply because he felt that leaving the place right after showing off seemed a bit suspicious, a waste of the enigmatic image he'd spent so much money cultivating last night.

Bei Qiao: I have to keep the escort agency open in the future, so I have to pay attention to my personal image. The ideal result would be to become a living signboard like the heroes in the storybooks, but that would be too troublesome and easy to attract hatred.

As Bei Qiao rode along, he spotted several groups of people attempting to create unexpected encounters. Some, however, were more than willing to play the game, approaching Bei Qiao to greet them. Since their figures bore a resemblance to the black-clad figure he had encountered the previous night, Bei Qiao accepted their invitation, determined to see what they were up to.

"Ah! "Shh!" A familiar cry came from behind. Bei Qiao looked back and was almost knocked off his horse by a donkey's head: "Gray?" Oh boy, meeting an old friend in a foreign land...donkey? How did it and Honghong find this place from such a long distance?

Seeing that Beiqiao recognized him immediately, Huihui shook his head in delight, nearly knocking Honghong over. Beiqiao patted Huihui's neck and turned to look at the carriage Huihui and Honghong were pulling together. He saw that it was indeed his own carriage, except that there was no one in the front compartment, and the reins of the two horses were hanging at their sides, unmanned.

"Young Master." The man riding a horse beside the carriage bowed and saluted Bei Qiao.

"It's Xiangxiang." Bei Qiao nodded at the person. This was a maidservant beside Qin Huan, but not a personal maid. She was in charge of the plants in the courtyard. She had met her once before when she went to Qin Huan's house.

After a brief conversation, Bei Qiao finally understood the situation. It turned out that Hui Hui had become increasingly agitated since Bei Qiao left, and Hong Hong, while relatively quiet, had clearly sided with Hui Hui.

Qin Huan, upon learning of this, felt a pang of distress for Huihui. Xiangxiang, having requested leave to return home to visit her family, dispatched her with Huihui and Honghong. Using pigeons to identify Beiqiao's whereabouts, they pursued him, finally catching up with him in Zhuyue City. After handing Huihui and Honghong over to Beiqiao, Xiangxiang's duty as a maid was complete. Afterward, Xiangxiang could simply ride home on her own.

Xiangxiang, who rode all the way here and wanted to ride in a carriage but couldn't, said: Now I finally understand what a stubborn donkey is. No matter how I coaxed it, it wouldn't let me sit in the carriage for a while, making me feel dirty all the way. Sigh...

"You said you were seasick earlier and refused to come out with me, huh?" Bei Qiao rubbed his gray donkey ears. "Was it hard coming all the way here?"

Huihui turned his head to the side, pretending not to understand, but his tail was wagging happily behind his butt, and he looked in a good mood. Honghong was more reserved than Beiqiao, just tucking her head into Beiqiao's arms for her to pet. At the same time, she kicked aside a thief who tried to touch the backpack on Beiqiao's waist, and snorted in his face: Don't even think about it!

The other world has requirements for the style of carriages. Commoners cannot use three-horse carriages, and Beiqiao's carriage cannot accommodate three horses walking side by side. Beiqiao tied his horse to the side of the carriage, and sat in the carriage with the person who had been waiting for a long time to go to Baihuafang.

Baihuafang is a small market selling fresh flower products. The place this person plans to take Beiqiao to is Mingge on the second floor of Baihuafang, where old customers drink flower tea.

After placing Huihui, Honghong, and the extra horses in the stable, Beiqiao followed the man into the Ming Pavilion and sat by the window, where he could just see the nearby stables. Flowers and trees filled Baihuafang, and even the stables were decorated with flowers. Non-toxic plants grew around the edges of the feeding troughs. When Beiqiao looked out the window, he saw Huihui teasing Honghong with a flower in his mouth. Even after being kicked, he showed no anger and, shaking his head, swallowed the flower.

Their relationship seemed to be getting better and better... Bei Qiao picked up the teacup and smelled it, but did not drink it in a hurry. He just retracted his gaze and looked quietly at the person sitting opposite him, intending to see what her purpose was.

"This is only the second time we've met... well, let me get this straight." The headmaster put down his teacup and said, "After meeting you yesterday, I've been thinking of making friends. What do you think?"

"Why?" Bei Qiao also put down his teacup: Please start your performance.

“Does friendship have to have a reason?”

"Does making friends have to have no reason?" Bei Qiao pulled his sleeves and looked to the right rear of the leader.

The disciples hiding outside were caught red-handed by Bei Qiao, but from the distance they couldn't hear the conversation clearly. Although they were extremely curious, due to the Sect Leader's orders, they didn't dare to approach. They simply turned their heads away, pretending that they had nothing to fear.

Only after Bei Qiao stood up and said goodbye did they dare to approach. They looked at each other, each with a question in mind but no idea how to begin. The youngest disciple felt uncomfortable being stared at by his senior brothers and sisters. He simply lowered his head and began to clear Bei Qiao's used teacup, pretending to be busy. "Hey, is the cup full?"

"What? She actually refused to drink the tea offered by the Sect Leader? How rude!"

"What's the point of being rude?" The headmaster sighed, picked up the teacup in front of him and drank it all in one gulp. "You've been watching for so long, and you haven't learned anything?"

What are we learning? The disciples looked at each other in confusion: "Learning without drinking tea? That's not good, right?"

"Why not? Because you think it's rude?" The headmaster gestured for them to sit across from him. "When do you think etiquette is necessary?"

"Master, are you saying that it's okay to be disrespectful in the martial arts world?"

"Of course, etiquette is the world of martial arts, and impoliteness is also the world of martial arts."