Qiu Lingyan glanced at him shyly and said coyly, "Oh dear, am I not your real sister? Is it appropriate for you to talk to your sister like that?"
Qiu Songdao rubbed his nose: "Second brother, I might know what it is. It was probably a few days ago. I heard that Third Sister took my cousin to Miss Wei's mansion and had quite a show of it. However, what's a little embarrassing is that it seems that after the show, our little cousin offended most of the powerful and wealthy families in Heling City."
Qiu Zhu glanced at Zhu Jiayu, then looked at Qiu Lingyan: "What's going on?"
Zhu Jiayu stepped forward, her expression slightly embarrassed: "Cousin, this is all my fault, please don't blame me..."
She had barely finished speaking when she was interrupted by a panting male voice: "So Miss Zhu is here! We've been looking for her everywhere!"
Zhu Jiayu was silent for a moment, then turned her head to look at the newcomers. They were several young men in fine clothes who looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen them before.
However, she had only met the person once during her visit to Heling. Since the person seemed somewhat familiar, they must have met briefly at the Wei family's flower banquet. Thinking this, she became wary, but maintained a smile on her face.
"Fang Hui, what do you want with my cousin? Do you want to settle scores later?" Qiu Lingyan shielded Zhu Jiayu behind her and pushed her second and fourth brothers forward, speaking to the newcomers with a mix of cowardice and fierceness.
"What are you saying, Sister Qiu? Although my brothers and I aren't exactly best friends with our cousin, we do have a superficial relationship. Why are we here to settle scores? Can't you think of people in a better light?"
The young man in brocade robes who was with Fang Hui coughed a few times and said in a loud voice.
After he finished speaking, someone else looked at Zhu Jiayu and said, "We've been looking for you at the Qiu residence for the past few days, but the servants all said you weren't there. We've been searching for you for days, but we finally found you here today."
“Yes,” Fang Hui smiled sincerely, “We felt deeply ashamed after hearing what Cousin Zhu said that day. We had offended you quite a bit, and we’ve been thinking of finding an opportunity to apologize to you. We also wanted to ask Cousin Zhu, since you said we should read more books, what kind of books should we read? If you could recommend some books, that would be even better!”
The Qiu siblings: ...
If they remembered correctly, these纨绔公子 (spoiled young masters) led by Fang Hui should be the most uneducated and unambitious scions of noble families in Heling City, right? Now they suddenly say they want to read books, which is simply like the sun rising in the west.
Zhu Jiayu didn't think that much about it.
She was unaware that anyone had come to the Qiu residence to look for her these past few days—it was probably Qiu Lingyan who was afraid of upsetting her, so she kept these matters from her. It was also Qiu Lingyan who instructed her to lie and say that she was not in the residence if anyone came looking for her.
Although she didn't know this group of people, she knew that they had always been on good terms with the Crown Prince.
However, it seems that Prince Jing's heir is closer to Wei Qinglou, which is why he embarrassed his friends that day for her sake. Now that these people are bowing their heads and apologizing to her, it's probably at Prince Jing's behest.
A series of thoughts swirled in Zhu Jiayu's mind, but she quickly sorted them out one by one.
Having confirmed that the people before her were friends and not enemies, she smiled slightly and appeared more casual: "Gentlemen, you are all outstanding individuals. I am but a humble merchant's daughter. How could I dare to offer you any guidance? If you truly have any questions about classics and scriptures, you might as well ask my cousin."
Zhu Jiayu intended to give them a way out, and they were naturally happy to accept it. After handing the gifts they brought to apologize to the maid beside Zhu Jiayu, they took Qiu Songdao's arm and left—after all, whether it was Qiu Zhuqing or Qiu Songdao, weren't they both Zhu Jiayu's cousins?
They had nothing to say to aloof scholars like Qiu Zhuqing, but they had a brotherly relationship with Qiu Songdao.
The fact that Zhu Jiayu had offended these young masters at the Wei family's banquet was no secret, and Bailu Academy was not a secluded place, so they had naturally heard about it. However, what the students did not expect was that Fang Hui and others would find their way here in just a few days, just to apologize to Zhu Jiayu.
"It seems that this cousin of the Qiu family is quite extraordinary."
"Didn't you all consider that Fang Hui did this on purpose, just to lower her guard and then find the right opportunity to deliver a fatal blow?"
"Then you've overestimated Fang Hui and his group. They simply don't have that kind of cunning or intelligence. Besides, we all know how arrogant they are. Fang Hui is the best of them all. He always prides himself on his upright conduct, always settling scores on the spot, and he would never stoop to such despicable acts as stabbing someone in the back."
"So, it's true that this cousin from the Qiu family is quite remarkable?"
I think so.
Similar discussions arose among the students, and the conclusions reached were all similar.
As the discussion gradually subsided, the way everyone looked at Zhu Jiayu changed, from simple admiration to some apprehension.
They didn't know what Zhu Jiayu's backing was that allowed her to make Fang Hui and the others submit, but the only thing they were certain of was that she didn't seem as weak and helpless as she appeared, with a pitiful background. For a merchant's daughter to achieve this was indeed enough to make her someone to be feared.
Zhu Jiayu ignored the stares from those around her and looked only at Qiu Zhuqing: "Cousin, shall we go back to the manor first or go for a stroll in the streets?"
Hearing Zhu Jiayu's voice, Qiu Zhuqing snapped back to reality. He smiled and said gently, "Let's go back to the manor. Since Lingyan said you're interested in my writing, why don't you come to my study later and find some of my books to read?"
Zhu Jiayu's eyes lit up, looking flattered: "Really? Thank you, cousin."
Qiu Zhu smiled slightly, pursed her lips, and then closed her eyes and pretended to doze off in the carriage.
He is not good at figuring out what others are thinking, nor is he good at hiding his own thoughts. Once he has some ideas in his mind, he will always unconsciously reveal them when interacting with others.
Today is the same.
In order to avoid arousing Zhu Jiayu's suspicion, he could only close his eyes and pretend to sleep, and began to think about the abnormality of his cousin.
However, the more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became. Perhaps his cousin was too good at disguising herself; he had initially genuinely regarded her as a helpless and vulnerable woman, and even now, he was still somewhat taken aback.
But how could a truly weak woman possibly possess such courage and methods?
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