"Young Master, if you don't teach her a lesson, she might really lose all sense of self-worth in Heling City. She might even think she can do whatever she wants in this city!"
“Brother Wang is right. Your Highness, you mustn’t go easy on her just because she’s a weak woman. If you do, wouldn’t anyone be able to bully us?”
The young man addressed as "Young Master" turned around and kicked the two men off the bridge, one each. His eyes were downcast, his expression fierce, and he said, almost word by word, "I said, shut up."
Then he strode down from the bridge and stood before Zhu Jiayu: "The owner of this jade pendant..."
Zhu Jiayu looked up: "His name is Wei Qinglou."
"You know him? How did you meet him? Where is he?" The young master didn't quite believe the woman in front of him. After all, she seemed sharp-tongued and lacked the gentle and virtuous qualities a woman should have. In short, she didn't seem like someone who could be associated with Wei Qinglou.
Zhu Jiayu looked at him: "And what is your relationship with him?"
The young master, Gu Zhongyi, gave her a subtle look but said nothing.
What's his relationship with Wei Qinglou? They're practically inseparable, like they grew up together!
But he didn't say it.
Over the years, because of his status, countless women have clung to him like cats to the smell of fish, but he's too lazy to deal with them.
But out of respect for Wei Qinglou, he still advised her, "It's best to keep this jade pendant out of sight in public as much as possible."
What is Zhujia fish?
It is sand, it is ants, it is weeds.
The Wei family has made countless enemies to this day, not to mention that Wei Qinglou now plans to make a name for himself in Yujing. With his background, it was destined from the beginning that as long as he makes a name for himself in front of others, he will inevitably become a thorn in the side of many people.
However, since they couldn't touch him or the Wei family, they could only shift their attention. It was at this moment that they discovered Zhu Jiayu's presence—regardless of their relationship, the fact that Zhu Jiayu possessed Wei Qinglou's jade pendant almost immediately led them to conclude that the two had a close relationship.
And those conspiracies and schemes that were originally intended for the Wei family and Wei Qinglou will now naturally be directed at Zhu Jiayu.
How could Zhu Jiayu, the daughter of a mere merchant, possibly withstand such a situation? I fear that if she is not careful, she will fall into an abyss of no return.
After saying this, the prince felt he had done everything he could, so he turned and left, determined not to give Zhu Jiayu any more chance to curry favor.
Zhu Jiayu stared at his back for a long while before finally remembering why he looked familiar. Wasn't it this man who helped Rong Heng quickly gain a foothold in Yujing?
Although the young master of the Prince Jing's mansion was not a particularly outstanding or shrewd person, he did have some foresight. He defied public opinion and recruited the young but renowned general into his camp. It is likely that when he made this decision, he never imagined that the rare talent he once thought of would eventually become his death warrant.
He was once so proud of Rong Heng's glory in Yujing City, but in the end, he was also so miserable because of Rong Heng's death.
Gu Zhongyi walked on by himself, but his attendant seemed to sense something and turned around to look. Sure enough, he saw the girl standing there, gazing at his young master with a dreamy look.
He chuckled and whispered flattery to the young master: "Your Highness is indeed handsome and dashing. You've only exchanged a few words with that young lady, and she's already so infatuated with you."
Gu Zhongyi stumbled and nearly fell. After regaining his balance, he patted the servant on the head: "Don't say such things again. Do you want to kill your young master?"
Wei Qinglou, a man with a heart as small as a pinhead, would probably try to sabotage him if he knew that this woman surnamed Zhu had fallen for him after only one meeting.
Especially at times like this, with him all alone in Yujing, he must be in a complete mess.
He didn't want to give Wei Qinglou any leverage and be summoned back to Yujing to be his servant. Here in Heling, far from the emperor's reach, he was living a very comfortable life.
Gu Zhongyi has left, but his influence remains. After his outburst, the young masters on the bridge all looked at Zhu Jiayu with embarrassed eyes and dared not speak, fearing that the young master would dig up the truth and settle scores later.
After a brief standoff, they finally couldn't resist and approached Wei Wuniang one after another, making excuses such as having family matters to attend to or making appointments with others, before taking their leave.
Wei Wu Niang naturally didn't keep them. After ordering someone to send them away, she turned to look at the group of young ladies around her. Most of them had already left, and she really had no interest in continuing the flower banquet.
Qiu Lingyan also felt a little embarrassed. Although she didn't like Wei Wuniang, she had never intended to ruin her banquet. But today she really had no choice; after all, she couldn't just stand by and watch Zhu Jiayu be bullied. So now that the farce was over, she apologized to Wei Wuniang.
Wei Wuniang looked at her with complicated emotions for a while, then sighed and said, "It has nothing to do with you, and you can't blame Miss Zhu either. They really went too far today."
Qiu Lingyan stared at her in shock, never expecting that after knowing her for over a decade, she would actually hear a single human word from her mouth.
Wei Wuniang felt awkward under her gaze, so she turned to Zhu Jiayu and said, "But Miss Zhu, isn't your behavior a bit too impulsive? We're fine, but you're unfamiliar with Heling City. Even with the Qiu family's protection, it would be very easy for them to cause you trouble if they wanted to."
Zhu Jiayu smiled nonchalantly, not taking what had just happened to heart at all: "Miss Wei, rest assured, since I have done this, I am naturally not afraid of their retaliation."
After she finished speaking, she paused, her smile fading, and said seriously, "I just felt that some things should be said. However, I was indeed rash today, and I apologize for making Miss Wei laugh."
Wei Wuniang shook her head: "You're right. As for 'making a fool of ourselves'... that's not true at all. After all, you're speaking up for us, and we're grateful to you more than anything. How could we possibly make a fool of ourselves?"
After she said that, the noble ladies surrounding them chimed in, "Yes, if you hadn't spoken up for justice, probably no one would have stood up to say these things."
After all, this seemed to be how things should be in their minds. The young masters of noble families were high and mighty, free to criticize and judge them at will. And because of the etiquette they had been taught since childhood, they dared not speak ill of them and could only be gentle and respectful.
This doesn't mean they were truly virtuous and kind; if they were, there wouldn't have been the scene of Xue Baoshan and Zhu Jiayu arguing today.
In their minds, women fighting over hair is one thing, but women arguing with men is quite another. The former is common, but the latter is considered a prime example of disobeying traditional ladylike conduct and is something to be criticized and condemned behind one's back.
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