Ashes to Crown

Chapter 100: Chapter 59: Repaying the Favor

Xiao Xun could hear the clamor outside. This was the Chu Garden, and the room was designed for viewing scenery and listening to the rain, so its doors and windows were drafty.

Chu Zhao didn’t send him to the main residence. Instead, using the excuse that he needed to see a doctor as quickly as humanly possible, she had him settled right there in the Chu Garden.

”How did it come to this?” Tie Ying frowned and muttered. ”Is Mr. Chu that incompetent?”

He couldn’t even handle something so simple?

It was supposed to be a young lady who fell into the water, so how did it end up being a maid?

Xiao Xun chuckled. ”It has nothing to do with Mr. Chu. Both he and I were outmaneuvered.”

Otherwise, why would that maid have been wearing an outfit identical to Chu Zhao’s?

He was a very cautious person. Before jumping in to save her, he had checked—checked that Chu Zhao was walking over, and checked the clothes she was wearing.

Clearly, the other party had also made sure he got a good look so he would take the bait.

”Who?” Tie Ying frowned. ”Could it be the Crown Prince?”

’This whole affair was supposed to be done in the Third Prince’s name, so is the Crown Prince displeased? This is a serious matter—’

Xiao Xun smiled and rose from the bathtub. ”Don’t overthink it. This is quite simple. It’s not some grand scheme by a powerful figure, just a young woman—”

’A young woman?’ Tie Ying frowned, taking a cloth to dry Xiao Xun before helping him into his robes.

These robes had also been newly delivered, but—

Tie Ying looked at the robes. ’Why do they look just like the ones the Princely Heir was wearing earlier?’

Well, not exactly the same. The fabric was a bit inferior, but at first glance, the style, color, and pattern were identical to his previous ones.

They even fit perfectly.

The clothes couldn’t have belonged to the servants. Tie Ying had seen the master and young masters of the Chu Family, and their builds were completely different from the Princely Heir’s. The Princely Heir was much taller and broader.

’Could these have been newly tailored on the spot?’

”Yes,” Xiao Xun said, looking down at himself. ”Specially tailored for me.”

’And then delivered to me so blatantly, for me to see clearly.’

’This young woman is quite formidable.’

”I was careless this time,” he said to Tie Ying. ”It turns out she knew what I was going to do from the moment I arrived and was already prepared.”

Tie Ying was even more confused. Just as he was about to ask, footsteps sounded from outside the door, followed by a woman’s inquiry.

”Princely Heir, are you all right?”

It was Chu Zhao’s voice.

Xiao Xun had declined the doctor’s offer to come in and examine him, asking only for hot water to wash up and a change of clothes.

”I’ve sent for a renowned physician!” Chu Zhao announced loudly from outside. ”Please rest assured, Princely Heir.”

’Her voice was so loud. She’s not trying to reassure me, nor is she speaking for my benefit. She’s speaking for everyone else outside.’ Xiao Xun chuckled. ”Miss Chu, you needn’t worry. You, of all people, should know very well whether I need a doctor after jumping into the water to save someone. After all, you saw it with your own eyes.”

He also raised his voice, as if to ensure everyone else could hear him.

The female voice outside fell silent.

Then, the sound of light footsteps receded.

Soon after, her voice drifted back from a distance, low and soft. ”The Princely Heir is fine, everyone. You can relax.” ”The Princely Heir says he’s an excellent swimmer.”

Hearing Chu Zhao’s words, the young ladies breathed a collective sigh of relief, their expressions growing even more excited and curious.

”I can’t believe the Princely Heir is here.” ”I knew he was in the Capital City, but he never shows himself in public. No one’s even seen him before.” ”And he actually came to the Chu Garden.” ”Do you think he was watching for a while? He must have seen me, then, right?” ”The Princely Heir is such a good person. Even if he’s a strong swimmer, not many people would react so quickly to save someone. He’s a true hero.”

The young ladies chattered and laughed amongst themselves.

At this point, Chu Zhao turned to ask with a smile, ”Qi Leyun, who do you think is better, Third Young Master Xie or the Princely Heir?”

Qi Leyun was taken aback for a moment, then huffed, ”They’re both good.”

Chu Zhao laughed. ”Then you should talk more about the Princely Heir from now on. Don’t just focus on Third Young Master Xie, or you’ll let a true hero go unnoticed.”

’These two young masters are destined to contend for the throne in the future. But compared to Third Young Master Xie, Xiao Xun only captured everyone’s attention after he was enthroned. No one ever imagined that besides the Princes, a Princely Heir could also ascend to the throne.’

’Xiao Xun and his father live far from the Capital City and maintain a low profile, so no one has ever paid them any mind. The Crown Prince and the Third Prince probably don’t see him as a threat either.’

’But if I make Xiao Xun famous now, so that he’s constantly being talked about, the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and that future rebel, Third Young Master Xie, will all inevitably keep a close eye on him—’

Just as Chu Zhao was thinking this, the tightly shut door swung open. The voices of the young ladies, and indeed the gazes of everyone gathered nearby, instantly flew toward the Princely Heir as he slowly walked out.

Before anyone could speak, Xiao Xun cut in.

”I came to observe the literary gathering and had no intention of disturbing anyone,” he said, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. ”Therefore, I ask that you all pretend I was never here.”

This—

’Such a short sentence, yet it seems to hold so many meanings.’

’Came to observe? On whose orders?’

’And he directly says he didn’t want to disturb anyone, so they should act as if he never came.’

Though everyone was curious, this involved the Imperial Family. Especially given the current political climate, a single misstep could lead to a fatal disaster.

For a moment, those who wanted to ask questions didn’t dare, and those who wanted to speak held their tongues, terrified of misspeaking and bringing trouble upon themselves. Even the young ladies who had been about to swarm him enthusiastically stopped in their tracks.

’Xiao Xun is truly Xiao Xun. He controlled the situation with a single sentence; no one dared to ask another thing. Now he can just saunter away, leaving a storm of speculation in his wake.’

If this speculation was unfavorable to the Chu Family, Chu Zhao wouldn’t be afraid. What she feared was speculation that would be *favorable* to the Chu Family.

She couldn’t let Xiao Xun have any excuse to get entangled with the Chu Family.

”Princely Heir,” she said, stepping forward and curtsying. ”While we wouldn’t dare disturb you in your duties, we cannot simply ignore the debt of saving a life.”

Without waiting for Xiao Xun to reply, she turned her head and called out, ”Linglong.”

...

...

Hearing Chu Zhao call for Linglong, everyone turned to look at the maid. The girl was trembling, her face pale. She had already washed up and changed, and was now standing beside Chu Tang—and Ah Le, who had a hand on her arm to support her.

”The Princely Heir’s rescue was so timely,” Ah Le had praised loudly earlier. ”Sister Linglong is completely unharmed.”

And indeed, she looked like she could stand and walk just fine. She was just a maid, after all, so no one paid her much mind.

”How did you end up falling into the water?” one of the young ladies asked curiously.

Linglong grew even more frightened. She looked at Chu Tang, tears welling in her eyes. ”Miss—”

’What should I do? What should I say?’

Chu Tang wore a helpless expression. ”How could you be so careless? I told you there was no rush, that you could just take your time looking.”

Although her words were vague, everyone seemed to understand. Chu Tang had sent her maid on an errand, and the maid, in her haste, had slipped and fallen into the water. As for what the errand was, that was unimportant.

Hearing this, Linglong panicked even more, screaming injustice in her heart. Of course she hadn’t slipped in her haste—she had been pushed by Ah Le.

Following her mistress’s orders, she was supposed to lead Ah Le away to prevent her from ruining their plan. But instead, Ah Le had stepped on the hem of her dress, tearing it.

”Oh, so sorry,” Ah Le had said, her apology dripping with arrogance as she stood on the dress.

In her mind, Linglong slapped the country bumpkin of a maid several times, but on her face, she forced a smile. ”It’s nothing, it’s nothing.” She grabbed Ah Le’s arm. ”Perfect, you can come with me while I go change.”

But Ah Le simply untied a skirt from around her waist—the country maid was wearing two skirts!

”We’ve come into some money recently. My miss made a lot of new clothes and gave me one, too,” she said, showing it off. ”I have more than I can wear, so I’ll lend you this one.”

’Lend, not give.’ Linglong sneered inwardly. ’Such a stingy country bumpkin.’ Of course, she knew Chu Zhao had come into money; Miss Ah Tang had handled all the funds. ’Miss Ah Tang is so generous, she gave every last bit to Chu Zhao.’

’Though Chu Zhao did give half of it back to her miss.’

’But in her opinion, there was no need for that. Her miss was the one who did the accounting; whatever she said Chu Zhao was owed was what she was owed. Her miss did all the hard work, after all.’

’If her miss had come into money, she would have made lots of dresses and given one to her, too. So, this dress should have been hers to begin with.’ Linglong didn’t stand on ceremony. With a beaming smile, she said, ”Oh, wonderful!” and put it on, having already decided she would never give it back.

’Miss Chu Zhao is about to suffer a great misfortune, and this maid, Ah Le, will naturally go down with her.’

But just as she finished putting on the skirt, before she could even lift her head, Ah Le grabbed her and kicked her right into the lake.

She had been completely stunned, and she was still in a daze now. Before, she was scared because she had fallen into the water. Now, she was scared because she wasn’t the one who was supposed to have fallen in—

’Miss—’

But her miss was standing right next to Chu Zhao, and Ah Le was beside them, staring at her like a hawk. Now she’d been dragged out in front of everyone, surrounded by people. There was no way to explain things to her miss.

Linglong fell to her knees, crying, ”It’s all my fault.”

Chu Zhao smiled. ”Linglong, you shouldn’t be kneeling to Ah Tang.”

As she said this, Ah Le reached out and hauled Linglong to her feet.

”You should be kneeling to the Princely Heir,” Chu Zhao said.

Ah Le then forced Linglong back onto the ground, this time facing Xiao Xun.

Linglong was so dazed from being manhandled, but she knew enough to understand that she should kneel to the Heir of Zhongshan King. Prostrating on the ground, she kowtowed repeatedly, crying her thanks.

Xiao Xun nodded, his eyes not on the maid but on Chu Zhao. ”It was nothing—”

”It may have been nothing to you, Princely Heir, but to us, and especially to this maid, it is the gift of a new life,” Chu Zhao said. ”We must express our gratitude. Sister Ah Tang, please prepare a thank-you gift.”

Chu Tang, standing behind them, answered, ”Of course. I’ll go and prepare it now.”

Xiao Xun didn’t refuse. ”Since it is a token of your sincerity, Miss Chu, I will accept it.”

”Furthermore, a debt for saving a life must be repaid in full,” Chu Zhao said.

Xiao Xun almost laughed. ’So this girl even knows the saying about repaying a debt of life in full.’

However—

In the next moment, a thought struck Xiao Xun, but he had no chance to speak before the girl did.

”Linglong,” she called out. ”You don’t have to wait for the next life to repay this debt. Go and serve the Princely Heir now. He is the one who saved your life, so devote the rest of it to him.”

What? Linglong’s head shot up, her face a mask of disbelief.

Xiao Xun shook his head. ”That won’t be necessary.” He looked at the girl and gave a slight smile, his dimples deepening. ”She is your family’s servant. A thank you from her master is sufficient.”

Chu Zhao curtsied again. ”Please don’t be so modest, Princely Heir. This is a token of our sincerity. If you refuse to accept her—” She pressed her lips into a smile and looked at Xiao Xun. ”Is it because having one servant repay the debt is not enough?”

The implication of those words was a bit—

A murmur of discussion rose from the surrounding crowd.