Looking at the madam in front of him, Wei Qinglou rubbed his temples. He couldn't explain how things had developed to this point.
I felt like I was bewitched.
Given his family background and status, being rejected by Zhu Jiayu and even kicked into the water by her should have made him extremely resentful, if not enraged. Yet, strangely, he developed a sense of curiosity towards Zhu Jiayu.
Where did it originate?
He didn't actually know either.
It was probably when she saw the madam speak up for her.
It's truly astonishing that someone would try to cover for someone with such a terrible temper.
The madam, now past her prime, abandoned her deliberately coquettish tone. Although she still possessed a somewhat vulgar air, her eyes, unusually, shone with a sincere smile when she spoke of Zhu Jiayu.
“After she came to see the young master of the Wang family, she came again the next day. This time she wasn’t looking for anyone, but rather she came to drink because she heard that the wine in my shop was delicious.”
"But this isn't a good place either. It's a den of scoundrels. She's a pampered young lady from a respectable family, and I don't want to do business with her. What if something happens to her here?"
"It was just a coincidence that someone came to cause trouble that day."
"Actually, we're used to this kind of thing. We just offer some drinks and snacks to appease them, or at worst, we give them a little money, and the troublemakers will know when to leave. There's no other way; we can't risk all the beautiful young ladies in the brothel against them... As for the pimps and thugs in the neighborhood, they're all cowards, so let's not even mention them."
"But she didn't seem afraid at all. She just rushed straight up to the troublemaker with the bowl in her hand, and then slammed the bowl down hard. The bowl shattered, and the man's head was cracked open."
As the madam spoke, she curved her lips into a smile, a hint of helplessness mixed with a touch of joy.
"I've never seen such a fierce girl. She smashed someone's head and didn't stop. Then she pulled out a dagger from her waist and brandished it in front of them."
Wei Qinglou was quite familiar with this routine; just recently, Zhu Jiayu had held a dagger to his neck.
In the past, he would have definitely cursed her for her uncouth behavior, but for some reason, after hearing what the madam said, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
The madam, oblivious to his distraction, continued talking to herself: "Those people were just low-class thugs, they'd never seen anyone as fierce as her before, they were really scared away by her."
"Later, to thank her, I left the side courtyard for her to drink in."
She said wistfully, "She is a really good girl. Apart from being a bit domineering, there is nothing wrong with her character. If she has offended you in any way, I apologize on her behalf. I hope you will be magnanimous and not hold it against her."
Although Suiping City is small, it is a vital passageway between the north and south. On ordinary days, dignitaries and wealthy merchants pass through it. Xingyunfang is a famous brothel in Suiping City, and many important figures have been entertained there.
The madam could naturally tell that the young master in front of her was also an important person, and she was very worried for Zhu Jiayu.
Although she never paid the full amount for the drinks each time she came.
Wei Qinglou scoffed coldly, her beautiful eyes appearing tender and affectionate in the flickering candlelight.
Even with his harsh expression, he still exudes an aloofness that makes people afraid to look him in the eye.
He ultimately said nothing and left Xingyunfang in silence.
...
Zhu Jiayu was not worried about her situation. If she knew that the madam had gone to great lengths to mediate between Wei Qinglou and her, she would be very moved and would advise her to go to bed early.
She knew Wei Qinglou too well; she knew he had probably never encountered anything like this before.
After all, he comes from a distinguished family and is handsome; there must be no shortage of girls throwing themselves at him in the capital.
He condescended to offer to take her to Yujing, but she not only refused but also kicked him into the water. She believed that if he could, Wei Qinglou would definitely choose to silence all the witnesses.
But he couldn't.
So he could only stay far away from her, pretending nothing had happened. Otherwise, looking at her face would probably remind him of what happened today.
However, it's strange that she had never heard of Wei Qinglou in her previous life.
Logically speaking, this really shouldn't be the case.
In her past life, in order to help Rong Heng in his career, she diligently collected information on the prestigious families of Yujing, including but not limited to the names, appearances, and even hobbies of every member in the aristocratic circle, striving to be perfect at every banquet and not offend anyone.
That information was so important to her in her past life that she couldn't forget it even when she died, and now that she's been reborn, it's firmly imprinted in the depths of her mind.
But no matter how hard she searched through her deepest memories, she still couldn't find a single thing related to Wei Qinglou.
There is only one reason for this outcome: before she entered the capital, Wei Qinglou was no longer in Yujing.
He died in the five-year war, or even earlier. Perhaps he died tragically, or perhaps he died in a conspiracy, and then he, along with his name, became a secret that could not be mentioned in the Yujing family.
Realizing this, Zhu Jiayu felt a rare sense of guilt towards Wei Qinglou.
She thought that if she had realized this sooner, she would have been gentler with him today.
Back at Huanchun Residence, Lüzheng hadn't rested yet; she was sitting on the threshold, her little head nodding as she dozed off.
Zhu Jiayu walked over, patted her on the shoulder, and watched her listlessly rub her sleepy eyes. He chuckled and said, "Don't wait for me this late next time."
Green Kite seemed to be greatly frightened and quickly stood up: "How can that be!"
She's already not much of a help to the young lady these days. If she's not even allowed to guard the gate at night, the master will probably send her to feed the pigs in the countryside!
Zhu Jiayu nodded: "Whatever you say."
She was just saying it casually; whether Green Kite waited or not, she didn't really care.
Green Kite, however, became happy, scratched her forehead, and hurriedly went down to fetch water to serve her mistress's washing up.
"Oh, by the way," she said while massaging the acupoints on the soles of the young lady's feet, "Manager Liao came again this evening, apparently on urgent business. He said it was about the Qiu family of Heling, but since you weren't there, he went back."
The Qiu family was Zhu Jiayu's maternal family. All of their sons entered officialdom, and they were considered a prominent family in Heling. However, the Qiu family looked down on Zhu Congjian, who was just a merchant. After Zhu Jiayu's mother passed away, the two families had no further contact.
This had never happened in her previous life, so Zhu Jiayu couldn't figure out what it was about, but she figured it probably wasn't too important. She yawned and said, "I understand. I'll go to the embroidery shop tomorrow."
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