What else could it be but rumors? Of course, it's rumors about Zhu Jiayu smashing up the decorated building.
If the decorated pavilion had been completed and she hadn't wanted to arrange a marriage for a while, then leaving it would have been fine. But she insisted on smashing the unfinished pavilion. This completely changed the meaning of the situation.
Moreover, as her abilities gradually became apparent, people in Suiping City said that this Miss Zhu probably had no intention of getting married and starting a family. After all, look at what she's been doing every day since the decorated pavilion was vandalized:
Today she renovates the embroidery workshop, tomorrow she starts recruiting workers and teaching, and then she starts competing with other embroidery workshops in the city to make her own workshop famous... She is so obsessed with money that she has no time to think about romance.
The girl in the yellow dress glanced at Zhu Jiayu and said, "We are all women. Although you have made things difficult for Sister Xue, I do not want to embarrass you in front of everyone. I will not mention any rumors, but there is one thing I would like to ask Miss Zhu to know: it is your business if you have no future in marriage. Why do you have to say such things and ruin someone else's future?"
Having said that, her arrogance was fully revealed: although she could not stand Zhu Jiayu's despicable behavior, she was unwilling to become a villain like her, which truly showed her noble character and upright integrity.
Qiu Lingyan hadn't paid much attention to his cousin before, and even after he did, he didn't bother to investigate her affairs in Suiping City. After all, in his eyes, Zhu Jiayu was an extremely capable person; how could there be any bad rumors about her?
Hearing Xu Huijun's words, Qiu Lingyan's temper flared up. Ignoring Zhu Jiayu's advice to remain silent, she stepped forward and stood beside Xu Huijun, her chin slightly raised.
"Just like you said, what my cousin did in Suiping City was her own business. Now that she's in Heling, she hasn't made enemies with anyone. It was clearly Xue Baoshan who provoked her first. Why do you only see my cousin making things difficult for her? Or are you someone who sees shit in everyone else?"
When it comes to arguing, Qiu Lingyan has never lost since she was a child, but she was always restrained by her mother, Zhu Shi, and had never shown such a vulgar side of herself in front of a group of young ladies and wives. Now, seeing her cousin being bullied like this, she naturally couldn't stand it.
Zhu Jiayu sighed, pulled her hand, shielding her behind him, and looked at the two girls in front of him:
“A wise person knows to use their strengths to attack someone else’s weaknesses. I smashed the bridal chamber because I didn’t want to get married, not because I couldn’t. But the girl who spoke just now was not only rude but also vulgar. If you had paid any attention to your marriage, you wouldn’t have acted like that in public…”
She paused, but ultimately didn't say the second half of her sentence. However, not many people present were truly foolish enough to miss her implication.
She added, "Bringing up marriage might hit a nerve with you, but if you keep harping on this, I won't be sleepy anymore. Why don't you think carefully about whether you really want to argue with me about this?"
"As for this young lady," she looked at Xu Huijun, "you say I ruined her future, that's utter nonsense. If she's upright and honest, how could I possibly ruin her future just by speaking a few truths?"
She withdrew her gaze and looked around: "It's one thing for some people to be blind and heartless, but it's better to refrain from arbitrarily labeling people, isn't it? I think your future mothers-in-law wouldn't want a daughter-in-law who likes to stir up trouble and sow discord."
Seeing the anxious expressions on everyone's faces, several who had initially wanted to speak hesitated after meeting her gaze, fearing they might get involved in this mess and ruin their reputations. Some even took a few steps back into the crowd. Zhu Jiayu took in their expressions and actions, chuckled lightly, and barely showed any sign of her "barefoot people aren't afraid of those wearing shoes" attitude.
Song Jiangmei, who was not far away, watched her, and finally her gaze fell on the hands that were clasped together between her and Qiu Lingyan.
Qiu Lingyan is just a clueless idiot who can't read the room, how could she be so lucky to be protected by Zhu Jiayu?
Ultimately, this was a banquet she had hosted; if things really escalated, it wouldn't benefit anyone, and she would lose face. Thinking this, Wei Wu Niang finally stepped in to act as a peacemaker.
She coughed lightly and said, "The spring scenery is so beautiful today, let's not argue anymore. What if we hurt our harmony later? How about I make the decision that Miss Xue, Miss Xu, and this Miss Zhu drink a cup of tea together? Once the tea is finished, this matter can be considered over. What do you think?"
She watched from the sidelines and saw clearly that when the three of them started arguing, they were like roosters fighting with bloodshot eyes. No matter who apologized, they couldn't end the argument properly. So she decided to skip the issue of apologizing and came up with this compromise.
Xue Baoshan nodded. She didn't want to argue anymore. Qiu Lingyan was right about one thing: she was indeed instigated by someone to start this incident. So she took the teacup from the maid that Wei Wuniang had sent earlier and said, "Since Miss Wei has spoken, I will drink this tea."
After she finished speaking, Xu Huijun felt isolated and helpless, and dared not argue with Zhu Jiayu any further. Everyone had already experienced Zhu Jiayu's verbal skills, and not only her, but anyone would not want to have any grudges against her.
After the two drank the tea, Zhu Jiayu, not wanting to be lenient, raised his teacup and offered a toast to Wei Wuniang from afar, then covered his lips with his sleeve and took a sip.
Having enjoyed such a good show, everyone's interest in admiring the flowers waned. Wei Wuniang pursed her lips, inwardly blaming the person who had instigated Xue Baoshan to cause trouble for Zhu Jiayu. She also resented Xue Baoshan for being too stupid to be used and now ruining the atmosphere of her flower banquet. How could she now boast to these young ladies about the florist her mother had hired at a high price from Yujing?
Meanwhile, on the other side, the young men admiring the flowers at the bridgehead, after hearing this grand spectacle, couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment, and then all shook their heads.
They truly never expected that their simple desire to appreciate the spring scenery, where people were more beautiful than flowers and flowers accentuated their beauty, would lead them to stumble upon such a spectacular show.
Right now, forget about admiring the flowers and people; all they want is to get back and calm their shocked hearts. After all, who would have thought that these seemingly gentle and refined ladies from noble families could be fighting like this in private?
Although jealousy and rivalry among women are common, what happened today seems to be much more serious than just jealousy and rivalry.
"Now I finally understand why those young masters always frequent brothels. After witnessing the fierce faces of these ladies, who would want to indulge in romantic pursuits with them? If it were me, I would only worry about being scolded for no reason one day."
While courtesans may not be pure, they are more obedient and understanding, making them far more gentle and demure than these two-faced noblewomen.
He didn't lower his voice when he spoke, so Zhu Jiayu heard him very quickly.
Zhu Jiayu's expression turned cold, but the words he uttered the next moment shocked everyone.
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