Chapter 17 What's Wrong With You?

It was past mid-afternoon, and the sun was at its zenith.

The Marquis's carriage rumbled in and finally stopped in front of an alleyway.

Shen You, Zi Teng, and Bao Yunxiu got out of the car together and walked into the alley.

However, just as they entered the alleyway, a furious shout, thick with drunkenness, rang out.

"You shameless woman! You finally decided to come back!"

Before Shen You could react, a heavy, alcohol-smelling figure suddenly darted out from the side and attacked Bao Yunxiu.

"ah--"

It was Tang Lao Er! He was already drunk in broad daylight.

Bao Yunxiu was terrified and screamed as she hid.

Shen You quickly shielded the person behind him, and the coachman who was not far away rushed over when he saw this.

"How dare you! You actually dare to offend the eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion!"

But Tang Lao Er was clearly drunk and didn't recognize anyone. He only had eyes for Bao Yunxiu and stretched out his hand to grab her.

If he were sober, he wouldn't dare to be so presumptuous in front of Shen You even if he had ten times the courage.

But right now he has completely lost his mind, and only wants to grab Bao Yunxiu and beat and scold her as usual.

Shen You's eyebrows furrowed tightly. "Tang Lao Er! Open your eyes wide and see who's in front of you clearly, or you'll get a beating when you sober up!"

"Get a beating?" Tang Lao Er hiccuped, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Who are you trying to scare! I'm not afraid!"

The coachman stepped forward and tried to grab him and pull him away, but Tang Lao Er was strong to begin with, and now, driven by drunkenness, he didn't hold back and grabbed the coachman and threw him over his shoulder.

Then he walked towards Shen You and Bao Yunxiu.

"girl!"

Zi Teng stood protectively in front of Shen You, but Tang Lao Er easily shook her off.

Just as those thick, fleshy hands were about to grab Shen You, before they could even touch the girl's collar, a strong, powerful hand grabbed her arm.

With a "crack," the arm was dislocated.

"ah--!"

This time, it was Tang Lao Er's scream that rang out.

Before Shen You could react, she was already in a strong, warm embrace.

A cold, icy voice came from above her head, "Take him to the Jingzhao Prefecture and sober him up."

The last few words were spoken in a deep tone, clearly indicating that Tang Lao Er had entered the Jingzhao Prefecture and could not possibly come out unscathed.

Mu Geng and his men grabbed Tang Lao Er, who was still rolling on the ground groaning, and took him away.

"Shen You, are you injured anywhere?"

As he watched the person being taken away, Chu Xiao looked down at the person in his arms, his gaze intense.

However, no sooner had he finished asking than Shen You pushed him away, stood two steps away from him, lowered her head, and spoke in a cold voice.

"Thank you for saving me, Your Excellency."

Bao Yunxiu, who was standing to the side, was stunned and still in shock. It wasn't until she heard Shen You's words that she hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.

"This humble woman thanks Your Excellency the Duke."

The faint fragrance of osmanthus and Longjing tea lingered in the girl's arms, but the long arms that had once encircled Shen You's slender waist were now empty in the blink of an eye.

Chu Xiao withdrew his hand behind his back, his fingertips unable to resist gently rubbing it.

He looked at Bao Yunxiu and said coldly, "Get up."

Bao Yunxiu stood up, her legs still trembling slightly.

Shen You came to her side and gently comforted her, "It's alright, Tang Lao Er has already been arrested."

"We'll go inside with you to pack your things."

After saying that, she and Zi Teng accompanied Bao Yunxiu into the alley.

But the Duke in front of her had such a frighteningly cold expression that Bao Yunxiu couldn't help but swallow hard. "Is this... really okay?"

Are we leaving the Duke here unattended?

Shen You turned around, her gaze meeting the man's cold stare.

He was extremely tall, and standing at the entrance of the alley, he blocked most of the light.

Realizing that he was being enveloped by his shadow, Shen You moved away without making a sound.

"I am very grateful to the Duke for today's matter," she paused for a moment, and said something similar to what she had said at the horse farm that day, "The Chengde Marquis's Mansion will prepare a gift in a few days to thank the Duke for his help."

After saying that, she walked straight inside.

Zi Teng and Bao Yunxiu quickly followed.

Both of them found Shen You's cold attitude towards the Duke of Zhenguo somewhat strange, but they could also tell that Shen You was in a bad mood, so they dared not ask.

They walked straight to the gate of a small courtyard, and Bao Yunxiu said, "Miss, this is the place."

"It's rather simple, I hope you won't mind, young lady."

The gate opens to reveal a very simple and rustic courtyard, from which you can see the whole thing at a glance.

Bao Yunxiu couldn't possibly let Shen You help her pack, especially since she had only moved here a month or two ago and didn't have much stuff.

She packed only some personal clothing and her embroidery supplies, and then she could leave.

When Chu Xiao returned to the carriage at the alley entrance with his belongings, he was still standing there.

Shen You glanced at him, ignoring the man's direct yet ambiguous gaze, and led Bao Yunxiu directly into the carriage.

"Let's go, to Luoyu Lane."

The atmosphere was somewhat somber.

After recovering from the pain of being thrown over the shoulder, the coachman plopped down into the carriage and looked at the Duke of Zhenguo, who had been standing in front of him.

"Lord Duke...please make way for me."

Chu Xiao's eyes were filled with a deep, dark look, and his handsome face seemed to be brewing a storm.

However, he still turned sideways to make way for the carriage.

But the next moment, he mounted his horse and followed the carriage away.

Until we were almost at Luoyu Lane.

Zi Teng glanced at Shen You's expression, then turned her head to talk to Bao Yunxiu in a soft voice.

But Zi Teng knew that her young lady was in a bad mood.

She carefully lifted the carriage curtain and glanced outside, only to see that the Duke was still following behind.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of Luoyu Lane. Shen You got out of the carriage first and asked the coachman and Zi Teng to help Bao Yunxiu carry the things into the courtyard.

As he lagged behind and was about to step into the courtyard, his wrist was suddenly gripped tightly by a strong force.

"what you do?"

Without saying a word, Chu Xiao led her back to the alley entrance, and Shen You tried hard to shake off his hand.

But the man only used about 50 or 60% of his strength, which was enough to make it difficult for her to break free.

She was furious. "Let me go!"

Chu Xiao's gaze fell on her face, his eyes filled with suppressed bitterness. "Would you like to talk in the carriage, or do you want to talk here?"

Although there weren't many people around, she really didn't want to be entangled with him outside. Shen You lowered her voice, but she couldn't suppress her anger at all, "Chu Xiao, what's wrong with you!"

Chu Xiao seemed to be trying his best to suppress something, and without answering her, he directly led her onto the carriage.

The carriage curtains were forcefully lifted and then fell back down.

Inside the carriage, there was an extremely tense silence.

Seeing her stubbornly sitting in the seat furthest from him, Chu Xiao suppressed the surging emotions in his heart and said in a deep voice, "Chen Huarui, he is not a good man."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen You turned her head, her beautiful eyes filled with anger. "So, you admit that you've been investigating me, or rather, stalking me, is that it?"