That's right, that's what Tang Chen thought when he first saw the two of them. It wasn't until he peeked in later that he realized. Damn Yan Shaoqing wasn't meeting his lover at all, more like he was meeting his enemy. He was probably dressed like that to show respect before the fight, and to gain an advantage through his temperament.
That beauty lamp looked like it would go out with a gust of wind, but it turned out to be a hidden martial artist. The two of them were like cheats, and their fight didn't seem like a joke at all. If Tang Chen hadn't had the tools, he would have really wanted to record it and add some special effects to them. It would have been really cool.
When I returned to the city with the fragrance in my heart and a head full of thoughts, the front of the Su Mansion was still as bustling as yesterday, but the atmosphere today was a little different.
A large group of onlookers gathered in front of the Su Mansion. When Tang Chen passed by, a large group of soldiers who had come to the Su Mansion for an unknown purpose just left.
Tang Chen approached, only to see that the gate to the Su Mansion had been sealed shut, even the plaque removed and discarded by the roadside. In front of the gate, the servants and relatives of the Su Mansion, dressed in mourning, stood at the entrance, sobbing and choking. The Su Mansion's gate was just as bustling as yesterday, though much quieter. Passersby whispered among themselves, while Su Zhirou, dressed in plain clothes, with only a white chrysanthemum pinned to her hair, calmly arranged everything.
Seeing this situation, Tang Chen only had two words in his mind: "confiscation of property." Tang Chen moved closer to the aunts, lowered his head and asked in a low voice: "Hey, wasn't the Su Mansion fine yesterday? What happened today?"
The aunt glanced at Tang Chen and started gossiping without restraint: "Oh, you don't know yet. Mr. Su and his wife died suddenly last night."
Tang Chen nodded slightly. No wonder everyone in the mansion was dressed in white. But this didn't make sense. "Sudden death? How is that possible? They were fine yesterday, weren't they? Besides, if they died, they wouldn't have to kick all the Su family members out, right?"
The auntie gossiped quietly while eating melon seeds: "I'm not sure about that, but judging by the situation, the Su family is probably doomed."
Another auntie next door, who had been following Tang Chen and the others' conversation, saw that this auntie also had something she didn't know, so she quickly interrupted, "I heard that the Su family seemed to have offended someone. I heard that people closely related to the Su family, as well as Mrs. Su's family, fell overnight. Look, even the soldiers have arrived."
The aunties around Tang Chen's ears twitched slightly, and they gathered around: "Hey, where did you hear that? Tell us quickly!"
"I heard it from my distant cousin next door, and I'm telling you..."
Tang Chen didn't listen any further, but simply stood aside, holding the flowers, continuing to be a quiet passerby. She just watched Su Zhirou dismiss the servants, watched her expressionlessly send off the concubines and their children from the Su Mansion, watched her silently pick up the door plaque that had been discarded and had a missing corner, watched her, who was the star of the night yesterday, now alone, pretending not to hear everyone's discussions, arranging everything.
Tang Chen watched Su Zhirou shoulder everything on her own, and suddenly felt a little envious of her. The education, culture, and etiquette Su Zhirou had received since childhood were all beyond the reach of anyone outside the walls, including herself. At this moment, the elegance and nobility, the strength and composure that had been ingrained in her blood, were truly captivating. This was probably what a truly talented woman from a noble family looked like. Tang Chen believed that such a woman, no matter where fate would lead her, would surely become someone who would ultimately amaze the world...
The world's ever-changing and unpredictable nature is truly remarkable. Yesterday, the Su Mansion, bustling with guests, collapsed overnight. The goddess who had once played the zither within the deep courtyard was suddenly cast down to earth. The neighbors, who had once fawned over her, now became spectators, waiting to see the Su Mansion and Su Zhirou's jokes.
Su Zhirou didn't bring anything with her. She just held the door plaque and walked through the crowd calmly, slowly leaving. Tang Chen saw her walking away and hurriedly chased after her: "Su, Miss Su."
Su Zhirou turned around and looked at the person who called her. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded to Tang Chen and said, "...You are the girl who got lost yesterday. Is there anything wrong?"
"that……"
Looking at the hesitant girl in front of her, Su Zhirou unconsciously straightened her chest and said coldly, "If you want to say something to pity me, stop it now; or maybe you are here to laugh at me too."
"No, no. Oh, I'm not good at talking, I, that", in fact, what Tang Chen wanted to say was that with her character comparable to the heroine, things will definitely get better in the future, but when the words came to his lips, he saw her stubborn look and suddenly couldn't speak.
"...Just say what you want to say. If there's nothing else, I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave now."
Seeing Su Zhirou about to leave, Tang Chen opened his mouth, not knowing what he was saying: "Well, we are both helpless, why don't we sign up for a group so that we can have someone to look after us?"
Su Zhirou was slightly stunned, and finally just smiled bitterly and said: "...Thank you."
Tang Chen slapped his face. What the hell was he talking about? Forget it. "Well, it doesn't matter if you don't want to. You're the first person I've seen here. I don't have anything valuable on me. I made this hairpin myself. It's not worth much. I'll just give it to you."
Watching Tang Chen take the hairpin from her hair and hand it to her, Su Zhirou didn't say anything. She just looked at the hairpin and then fixed her eyes on Tang Chen's face.
Tang Chen was afraid that Su Zhirou might get suspicious, so he quickly explained, "Don't worry, just consider it a thank you gift for not treating me as a suspicious person yesterday."
What surprised her was that Su Zhirou took the hairpin that Tang Chen had made himself from her hand without waiting for Tang Chen to finish speaking.
Su Zhirou took the hairpin and suddenly smiled at Tang Chen. Then, looking at the gate of the Su Mansion, she said, "As long as I, Su Zhirou, am still here, the Su family will not fall. I will definitely avenge my parents, and I will remember your kindness today. I don't have many friends, and those who came today are just spectators. I didn't expect that the person who cared about me in the end was actually a woman I only met once. What's your name?"
Tang Chen didn't know whether she was talking to her or to herself, but it was always good to have ambition and hope: "My name is Tang Chen, Tang as in ridiculous, and Chen as in eliminating the dust in Zhongchen."
"See you again if fate allows."
"Take care of yourself."
Tang Chen stood there motionless until Su Zhirou's figure disappeared in the busy city. Then he slowly raised his head and looked at the blue sky above his head, with a helpless, mocking smile on the corner of his mouth.
She couldn't even protect herself, so how could she care about the lives of others? The flowers in her arms no longer had the beauty they had when she first came. Tang Chen no longer had the same feeling she had when she picked the flowers. She began to worry, worried that a sudden disaster would befall her; if something happened to her, would there not even be anyone to look at her and mention her name...
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