Seeing that Gu Yaoniang seemed to have lowered her guard a little, Lu Jing'an felt relieved.
Seeing that they had stopped arguing, Bitao went forward again, pulled Yaoniang back, and helped her fix her hair with hairpins and ornaments.
Seeing this, Lu Zhaoan and Lu Jingan also politely avoided looking at each other.
But Lu Jing'an couldn't keep his mouth shut and couldn't stop his gossipy mind, so he asked, "Sister Gu, how did Scholar Qin offend you so much that he would do such a cruel thing?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhao'an glared at him, and Lu Jing'an couldn't help but feel a little guilty, shrinking his neck back.
Today, Yao Niang's hairstyle was not complicated, and Bi Tao tidied it up a bit and it no longer looked messy.
Yao Niang raised her hand and pretended to straighten the jade hairpin in her hair, her tone somewhat cold: "Is Young Master Lu speaking out on behalf of Lord Qin?"
She had been upset today, so she was already in a bad mood and became much bolder than usual.
Seeing that things were not going well, Lu Jing'an quickly waved his precious fan and said, "No! Sister Gu, why should a girl be so sharp? A girl should be gentle and delicate so that she can marry a good husband and have someone to rely on in this life..."
Seeing Lu Jing'an insist on getting closer, Gu Yaoniang said sarcastically, "You men want women to be weak only because when women are strong, you can't bully us!"
"What do you mean you like weak women? All you like are beautiful women who are easy to bully!"
Seeing that Lu Jing'an was about to speak again, Gu Yaoniang pretended not to see him and continued speaking—
Why must a woman marry a good man?
In the past, we could only rely on men because you men had cut off our livelihoods! No one ever taught us to be independent, and no one was willing to let us leave the inner quarters!
Nowadays, women can become officials or engage in business. Why must they marry and waste their lives in the inner quarters?
I have my own world; my parents and myself are my only support!
She looked at Lu Jing'an, sized him up, and said crisply:
"Men are all the same!"
Having said that, he led Bitao away.
Lu Jing'an was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
He was so angry that he became incoherent:
"This young woman...she...I...no! Second Brother! She said all men are no good, why is she staring at me like that! What does she mean!"
Lu Zhaoan watched Gu Yaoniang's departing figure, ignoring Lu Jing'an. A rare smile appeared on his expressionless face, and his eyes flashed with admiration.
"Second Brother!"
Seeing that Lu Zhao'an ignored him, Lu Jing'an got angry and put away his fan, tucked it into his hand, and stomped his foot.
Lu Zhaoan glanced at him and casually uttered a single word—"Serves you right!"
After saying that, Lu Zhao'an also walked away, leaving Lu Jing'an alone on the path, jumping up and down in anger.
He shouted at Lu Zhaoan, "Second Brother! Don't forget! You're a man too! She...she...she insulted you too!"
Lu Zhaoan walked forward with his hands behind his back, without looking back. He simply smiled and gently shook his head.
Lu Jing'an stood there angrily, spinning around several times. He raised his foot to kick a tree, but hesitated and eventually stopped.
He walked towards the spot where Qin Yuxiu had fallen, but seeing that she was no longer on the ground, he slowly returned to the banquet area.
Gu Yaoniang and Bitao walked along the flower path in Jingyuan Garden. The lanterns were already lit, but there were no candles in the garden. Only the faint glow of the flower banquet in the distance could be seen.
Yao Niang smiled, her lips never drooping as she walked.
Bitao asked with some concern, "My lady, you just hit Qin Dalang and then scolded the two young masters of the Lu family. Are you really alright?"
She wasn't used to calling Qin Yuxiu "Lord Qin".
Yao Niang ignored her and, in a good mood, replied, "It's alright."
Seeing that Bitao was still worried and confused, she explained:
"Qin Yuxiu attacked me first today, so naturally he didn't dare to make a sound. Whether I really hurt him or not, he could only swallow his anger."
"What about the two young masters of the Lu family? That young master Lu doesn't seem like a good person to me."
Seeing Bitao's worry, Yaoniang smiled and comforted her, "It's alright. Look at that young master Lu, although he may be a bit sharp-tongued, he's not a narrow-minded person who can't distinguish right from wrong."
In my opinion, he is actually a frank and open-minded person.
Seeing that Bitao didn't believe her, Yaoniang asked, "Look, although he speaks in a rather annoying way, what outrageous things has he done? On the contrary, he has observed all the proper etiquette and hasn't looked at things he shouldn't have."
After hearing this, Bitao thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "That's true."
Yao Niang added, "Besides, if they were really angry about what I said, they wouldn't have let us leave in the first place. Since we are safe and sound now, it means they didn't really take it to heart."
In her previous words, Yao Niang had already vented her frustration at meeting Qin Yuxiu. Now, thinking about the fascinating expressions on Lu Jing'an's face after she finished speaking, she couldn't help but feel quite pleased.
I was genuinely angry at the time, and I acted rashly and boldly. Only after venting did I realize how frightening it was.
Seeing that neither Lu Zhaoan nor Lu Jingan were truly angry, he was relieved.
Yet I also felt somewhat guilty.
Although Lu Jing'an's words were indeed harsh, he happened to be in the line of fire when he was in a very bad mood.
But in the end, he didn't really have bad intentions or do anything wrong. I felt somewhat ashamed after giving him a good scolding.
Gu Yaoniang secretly planned in her heart that she should tell her second uncle when she got home and find an opportunity to apologize to Lu Jing'an.
When they returned to the banquet, Qin Yuxiu's seat was still empty. Gu Yaoniang went straight back to her own seat, while Xie Danqiu was nowhere to be seen.
Wang Zhilan asked softly, "Why have you been gone for so long? If you hadn't come back soon, I was going to tell the princess and go looking for you."
Gu Yaoniang gently patted the back of her hand and said shyly, "I was feeling a little dizzy, so I wanted to go to a quiet place to get some fresh air, but I got lost. The lights were on here, so I followed the lights to find my way back."
Wang Zhilan covered her mouth and chuckled: "I didn't expect you to be such a terrible navigator."
Seeing Gu Yaoniang's questioning gaze, she smiled and said, "My father is also terrible with directions. He never dares to walk alone on the paths in our mansion's garden."
My mother, wanting my father to enjoy the garden, hired craftsmen to renovate it. Now, my garden is unique in the entire capital city, with straight, crisscrossing paths throughout.
Gu Yaoniang chuckled upon hearing this. Lord Wang was an advisor, a high-ranking official, and such a person must possess both excellent character and talent, yet he turned out to be someone who couldn't even remember the way.
Gu Yaoniang never expected that her random excuse would lead her to hear such an amusing story.
She joked, "If Lord Wang knew you were still spreading this around for him, wouldn't he be furious?"
Wang Zhilan quickly put her index finger to her lips and said urgently, "You can't say it! You can't say it!"
She chuckled and whispered, "My father doesn't want to talk about it, but who in the capital doesn't know? Besides, he can control me, but he can't control my mother."
When women from other households come to visit our household and see this strange garden, they can't help but ask a question.
As time goes by, everyone will know.
Wang Zhilan and Yaoniang burst into laughter.
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