Chapter 1
The spring days in Pingzhou City are warm and gentle, and the streets and markets are bustling with people.
Especially at the entrance of Lingyan Pavilion, two young masters seemed to be arguing about something, and a group of people stopped there to watch the fun.
It was called a quarrel, but it was just a slightly frivolous young man yelling at another cold and noble young man in anger.
A young girl dressed in men's clothing sitting in a private room facing the street in the restaurant couldn't help but stretch her ears to listen carefully. Only words like "steal my woman", "find out who I am", "you kid don't want to live anymore" and so on floated into her ears intermittently.
The girl listened with a bright smile.
The personal maid who had been leaning against the window with her to watch the fun excitedly tugged at her master's sleeve: "My Lady, look! The Second Young Master is about to roll up his sleeves and hit someone!"
The frivolous man angrily swung his fist towards the man's face, but before he could even touch him, he was knocked down by the guards beside him. Seeing their master being knocked to the ground, the servants who followed him immediately exploded, and they all rushed forward with their fists raised, as if they were ready to fight to the death.
The entrance to Lingyan Pavilion was instantly in chaos.
The master and servant in the restaurant laughed out loud when they saw that the second young master and the servants were beaten so badly that they had no power to fight back and could only lie on the ground and take the beating.
The girl even clapped her hands: "What a great fight! It's really satisfying."
In fact, the people watching the excitement downstairs also thought so, but no one among them dared to actually applaud.
At this moment, the girl felt that someone seemed to be staring at her. She tilted her head slightly and looked down, meeting the eyes of the cold young man.
Those black eyes were as deep as an ancient pool, without any ripples.
The girl raised her eyebrows, the corners of her lips raised in a provocative arc, and then waved to the young man.
Then, she was very satisfied to see that the other person frowned.
Then she looked away and took a good look at how her second son was beaten black and blue.
At this moment, the maid Chu He beside her suddenly asked, "Princess, will the Second Young Master find out that Madam Zhang's disappearance has something to do with us?"
The girl pondered for a moment and replied, "I don't think so. I've pointed all the clues to that unlucky guy. Chu Xinxiu's brain isn't that good either."
Chu He nodded in agreement: "Yes, that makes sense. The princess is indeed very smart and resourceful!"
The girl narrowed her eyes in enjoyment, indicating that she really enjoyed the flattery.
The young woman watching her second brother's excitement was the legitimate daughter of the Prince of Pingzhou, Chu Miaomiao, the third child in the family and Princess Pingyang. The man being beaten downstairs was her second half-brother, Chu Xinxiu.
The two were not born of the same mother, and their relationship was extremely bad, often bickering and sometimes even fighting. Although Chu Miaomiao always had the upper hand in fights, Chu Xinxiu would always complain to her partial father, and she was always the only one who was scolded and punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall.
As a result, the relationship between Chu Miaomiao and Chu Xinxiu became even worse.
Whenever Chu Xinxiu went out, even if she was under house arrest, she would send someone to follow her and find out what was going on, just like a ghost, keeping a close eye on Chu Xinxiu's movements twelve hours a day.
So, when she learned that Chu Xinxiu was going to redeem a pipa-playing lady named Zhang from Lingyan Pavilion as his concubine, Chu Miaomiao was determined to ruin the plan. As long as she could make Chu Xinxiu unhappy, she would do it!
In order to prevent Chu Xinxiu from suspecting that she was the one who was causing the trouble, she deliberately found a scapegoat to take the blame for her. This was the cold and aloof young man downstairs who was being harassed by Chu Xinxiu.
As a native of Pingzhou City, Chu Miaomiao knew that the cold and aloof young man was an outsider the first time she saw him on the street. She had never seen such a style among the young men of the local wealthy families.
The man was handsome, his figure as straight as a pine or bamboo, possessing a distinct air of character. A kind smile played on his lips, but his eyes held a distant, distant expression. His aura was like the clouds on the horizon or the moon on a quiet night, seeming unattainable.
But Chu Miaomiao didn't think too much about it. She just thought that the other party was an outsider with no roots in Pingzhou City, making him the perfect choice for being taken advantage of.
So when she saw this aloof young man for the second time, Chu Miaomiao waved her arms, stood on tiptoe, put her arms around his shoulders, and naturally pulled him into her arms, saying boldly, "Come on, I'll treat you to some wine!"
However, the man did not allow her to lead him away, but remained standing there motionless. No matter how hard she tried, she could not get him to budge an inch.
Tsk, there's something wrong with outsiders. They don't know what's their place. Princess Pingyang personally invited me to drink wine, so why are you so rude?
Chu Miaomiao rolled her eyes inwardly, but she maintained a smile on her face. Her deliberately lowered voice was thick with threats: "You have just arrived in Pingzhou City and probably don't know that I, the son of the King of Chu in Pingzhou, can't even give you this little face and still want to survive in Pingzhou City?"
The other party just raised his eyebrows and chuckled, as if he found her words ridiculous.
Wow, have we run into a tough guy?
Just as she was about to intensify her threat, a clear and pleasant voice entered her ears.
"Then please take me to see the world."
Chu Miaomiao glanced down at the silk fabric on the man's body and touched her nose. This man must have been born into a wealthy or noble family, so after he said that, she actually felt a little embarrassed.
In this way, Chu Miaomiao took this foreign young man to Lingyan Pavilion, and specially invited Chu Xinxiu's favorite lady Zhang to accompany them, making it a lively occasion.
Late that night, she helped Madam Zhang escape from the Lingyan Pavilion as planned, leaving a note saying she had fallen in love with the foreign young man who had come that day and was determined to elope with him. By the time the madam realized something was amiss, Chu Miaomiao had already sent someone to escort Madam Zhang out of the city.
As for the indenture, Madam Zhang followed Chu Miaomiao's plan and first coaxed Chu Xinxiu into redeeming her indenture, then arranged a date for Chu Xinxiu to come and pick her up, putting on quite the show. Chu Miaomiao then took the opportunity to steal the indenture, and the night she sent Madam Zhang away, she handed it all over to her.
Chu Miaomiao could never forget the grateful look on Madam Zhang's face. She couldn't help but feel ashamed of her original impure motives. She felt that she might not be worthy of Madam Zhang's gratitude.
However, she could be considered to have done a good deed by helping someone stay away from a place like the Prince of Chu's Mansion.
Thinking of this, Chu Miaomiao couldn't help but sigh deeply. Chu He was quite puzzled: "Princess, why are you sighing suddenly?"
"Nothing, I just suddenly felt a little emotional."
Chu Miaomiao shook her head, signaling Chu He not to worry about it, and continued to watch the excitement below.
At the time Chu Xinxiu was distracted, he hadn't been beaten, but he was lying on the ground, unable to get up, looking extremely embarrassed and funny. Just when Chu Miaomiao thought the excitement was over and was about to leave and close the window, she saw the stranger leaning over and speaking to Chu Xinxiu, and then deliberately glanced at her.
Unfortunately, they were quite far apart, and the man spoke softly, so Chu Miaomiao had no idea what he had said to Chu Xinxiu. But that last, meaningful glance gave her an inexplicable feeling.
What did that person say to Chu Xinxiu? Why did he glance at her?
However, Chu Miaomiao quickly put this strange feeling behind her. After all, watching Chu Xinxiu being beaten was a very pleasant thing. She was so happy that she ate two more bowls of rice.
Just as she was debating whether to go to the Bihu Lake in the south of the city to take a walk to digest her food, or go to Qingfeng Tower to listen to storytelling, she saw someone blocking her way.
The person who came was none other than the one she had chosen to be the sucker.
Chu Miaomiao immediately put on a smile: "What's the matter, sir?"
"You tricked me."
The man still had a cold and dignified look, without a trace of anger after being cheated. Instead, he stated the fact in a very calm tone.
Chu Miaomiao nodded in agreement after hearing this: "Yes, that's right."
Unexpectedly, the other party nodded and continued, "If you don't refute it, it means you have decided that I can't do anything to you."
Chu Miaomiao spread her hands and made a "helpless" gesture for the other party.
"When you deliberately set me up, did you really not consider the consequences?"
Chu Miaomiao was always confident in her own intelligence. She brushed her hair back from her forehead and said with a confident smile, "You probably don't know, but I'm much smarter than that Chu Xinxiu. He can't catch me."
The young man actually smiled slightly, like a blooming flower in spring. Chu Miaomiao was actually a little fascinated by this smile for a moment.
"My princess is confident. I really admire her."
Chu Miaomiao raised an eyebrow: "You are a very smart person. A smart person should know who to offend and who not to offend, right?"
"Of course." After saying that, the man turned and left with his servants.
This nonsensical conversation left Chu Miaomiao confused for a moment as to what the other party was up to. She and Chu He looked at each other, and pointed in the direction the man had left, their faces filled with confusion: "That's it? He's leaving now?"
"ah."
"You're blocking my way just to tell me this?"
"ah."
Facing the maid's meaningless agreement, Chu Miaomiao flicked her forehead speechlessly: "Don't just say 'ah', help me figure out what this person wants."
Chu He rubbed her forehead in grievance: "Princess, you know my brain isn't working well, yet you still criticize me like this and force me to think about complicated things."
On the busy street, while Chu Miaomiao was still struggling with the two maids about the man's behavior, a servant who was secretly observing the actions of the master and servant at the opposite corner of the street turned and left.
"Ah, so annoying!"
Chu Miaomiao believed that every action a person took had a specific purpose. She had helped Madam Zhang escape in order to see Chu Xinxiu get upset; she had inexplicably invited passersby to drink and seduce her in the street in order to find someone to take advantage of her. And now, this person had inexplicably blocked her path and said something incomprehensible. What was his motive?
Help, she felt that if she couldn't figure this out, she might not be able to enjoy this beautiful day.
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