Ashes to Crown

Chapter 130: Chapter 86: Simple

Xie Yanfang did not accompany Chu Zhao to see Xie Yanlai. But of course, everything that happened at the mansion flowed to him like a river.

”They nearly came to blows,” Uncle Cai said. ”What do they have to argue about?”

Xie Yanfang kept his head down, busy, and replied casually, ”That’s how they met in the first place—through a fight.”

Uncle Cai said, ”She’s already schemed her way to you, Young Master. Why go to all this extra trouble? Plotting against both brothers... Isn’t Miss Chu afraid of biting off more than she can chew?”

Xie Yanfang laughed. ”Uncle Cai, don’t be so harsh on a young girl. She has no parents to look after her. It’s only human for her to find a way to fight back when she’s bullied. In fact, it’s commendable. If it were me, I’d do the same.”

”Why do you always compare a young girl to yourself?” Uncle Cai said, exasperated. ”Do you really see your younger self in her?”

Xie Yanfang let out a laugh. ”She’s just interesting in the same way I was as a boy, that’s all. If she were truly like me—”

He lifted his brush and made a light checkmark on a letter.

”I would kill her.”

Only he knew just how terrifying he could be.

....

....

The carriage swayed and jolted as it departed from the Xie Mansion. Chu Zhao leaned against the wall of the carriage, her eyes closed, seemingly exhausted.

Ah Le let out a small cry from beside her.

”What is it?” Chu Zhao quickly opened her eyes. She saw Ah Le dangling a small gourd-like object. It was shaped like a gourd but also resembled a cricket cage. It was small and cute, a vibrant, translucent green.

So this was a—

”A cricket cage carved from a gourd,” Ah Le said with a smile. ”It belongs to Ah Jiu. The maids showed it to me, but I forgot and ended up bringing it with me.”

She thought for a moment, then snorted.

”Well, what’s taken is taken. Just consider it compensation for you, Miss.”

She thrust the cricket cage into Chu Zhao’s hands.

Chu Zhao accepted it with a smile, giving it a little shake. ”In that case, we’ll have to catch a cricket to keep in it when we get back.”

Ah Le nodded with a smile, then sighed. ”That Ah Jiu... his temper is still as bad as ever. I don’t think he’ll help us.”

Chu Zhao said, ”To be honest, I don’t know if he’ll help either. We can only try.”

”Are a few medicinal pills too little?” Ah Le asked, touching her money pouch. ”We have money now. What if we have the pills gold-plated?”

Chu Zhao burst out laughing. ”As if he’d care about something like that.”

Ah Le didn’t smile. Her brow furrowed with worry. ”Then how can we convince him?”

Chu Zhao said, ”With sincerity. You never know, it might just move his heart.”

’Sincerity?’ Ah Le was even more confused.

”It can be many things. The pills you made, for example. My visit to him. The words we say,” Chu Zhao explained with a smile. ”Sincerity can be in anything. It’s just a matter of what will touch him.”

This time, Ah Le laughed heartily. ”Forget about your visit counting, Miss. You nearly got into a fight with the man.”

Chu Zhao laughed along with her. ”Well, he does have a very punchable face.”

The mistress and her maid were giggling, their heads close together, when the carriage jolted to a halt.

”Miss,” the carriage driver said timidly. ”There’s someone—”

’Is someone blocking the carriage? Is it Liang Qin again?’ Ah Le flung open the curtain with a fierce scowl. ”Who—huh?”

The full word died in her throat as she saw who was standing before the carriage, and she quickly fell silent.

The person in front of the carriage had already been startled by Ah Le’s ferocious expression.

”Miss Ah Le, I... I came... sigh, this whole affair is my fault.” Zhang Gu’s face was beet red. ”A lot of people came to the Posthouse Soldier Camp to ask about it. I already warned everyone not to say anything, but somehow, word still got out—”

He bowed his head as he spoke.

”Words are useless. I’ve come to apologize to Miss Chu—”

Chu Zhao had already jumped down from the carriage. ”Mr. Zhang, please rise. This has nothing to do with you or your men.”

Ah Le jumped down after her, and hearing Chu Zhao’s words, she hurried forward to help Zhang Gu up.

”I know it wasn’t any of you,” Chu Zhao said earnestly. ”This was caused by—”

Zhang Gu looked uneasy and interjected, ”It couldn’t have been Ah Jiu.”

Chu Zhao looked at him and fell silent.

”Ah Jiu isn’t that kind of person,” Zhang Gu said, then felt a little awkward. ’Then again, what kind of person *is* Ah Jiu? He’s the Xie Yanlai kind of person.’

’And what kind of person is Xie Yanlai? A scion of the great Xie family, the kind who kills and commits arson, running roughshod over the common folk—’

’What right did he have to state with such certainty to this girl that it wasn’t Ah Jiu?’

”Miss Chu, I’m just guessing, really. It’s just... back when Ah Jiu was with us,” Zhang Gu said, lowering his head and his voice, ”he wouldn’t even let us joke about you. He never brought you up. And once he returned to the Capital City, he just vanished.”

”I know,” Chu Zhao said softly. ”It wasn’t him. If he truly had such intentions, he wouldn’t have waited until now.”

’Not only did he have no such intentions, he actively avoided me. As a son of the Xie family, he hadn’t said a single word about me even to Xie Yanfang.’

’He kept his mouth shut, even knowing his family wanted to form a connection with the Chu Family.’

’Then there’s Xiao Xun. He knew I was retreating at every turn, yet he kept pressing forward, time and time again, always resorting to these sordid tactics between a man and a woman—’

Seeing the severe look on the girl’s face, Zhang Gu instinctively took a step back and shivered.

’Was she being sarcastic?’

Chu Zhao, realizing she’d lost her composure, quickly softened her expression. In a gentle voice, she said, ”It really wasn’t him. We’ve already met, and we know who’s behind this.”

’We?’ Zhang Gu caught the word, and the anxiety gripping his heart finally eased. ’So they have met. That’s good, that’s very good. The worst thing between a man and a woman is a misunderstanding. As long as they meet face-to-face and clear the air, everything will be fine.’

’Miss Chu has already visited the Xie family, which means she’s met the elders.’

’And since the elders know, this whole thing won’t be a problem anymore.’

”Is Ah Jiu doing all right?” Zhang Gu couldn’t help but ask.

Chu Zhao smiled. ”Not at all. He was beaten quite badly. He can’t even get off the bed, he’s just lying there on his stomach.”

’She seems pretty happy about it, too. Is this some kind of lovers’ quarrel?’ Zhang Gu forced a smile, but it vanished when he remembered why Ah Jiu had been beaten.

”So, did he really do it?” he asked.

This honest soldier’s face was a mixture of complex emotions—heartache, indignation, helpless confusion. Chu Zhao dropped her smile and said seriously, ”I don’t know. I asked him, but he didn’t answer. Mr. Zhang, if he really did it, then he got what he deserved.”

Zhang Gu nodded. ”Yes, Miss Chu is right. If he committed an evil act, then he’s an evildoer and deserves to be punished.”

And if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be punished.

Chu Zhao smiled. ”I knew you all would be worried. I should have sent someone to inform you, but I don’t really have any trustworthy hands. I apologize for making you come all this way yourself, Mr. Zhang.”

Zhang Gu’s heart trembled again, but unlike the shiver of fear from before, this was a gentle flutter. ’This girl is so clever, so approachable, and she treats people with such sincerity... She is truly General Chu’s greatest fortune.’

’Who wouldn’t want a daughter like that?’

”Miss Ah Fu, after you say that, I truly feel I don’t deserve your apology,” he said.

Hearing him call her Ah Fu made Chu Zhao’s smile deepen. ”That’s right, Mr. Zhang. I was Ah Fu when I met you all, and to you, I will always be Ah Fu. Our friendship started with a fight, so we know each other inside and out.”

Zhang Gu laughed heartily, the gloom that had been weighing on his chest completely swept away.

”Very well, Ah Fu,” he said, cupping his hands in a salute. ”If you ever need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Chu Zhao returned the gesture. ”Good. In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony when the time comes.”

After bidding farewell to the soldier, Chu Zhao took the carriage home.

Chu Tang was waiting for her.

”Did you really go to see Third Young Master Xie?” she asked.

Chu Zhao smiled. ”A rumor like this involves both a man and a woman. It’s not my affair alone, so of course I had to go see the man involved.”

Chu Tang breathed a sigh of relief. ”You can still joke about it. Does that mean it’s been resolved?”

”I’ve left it in Third Young Master Xie’s hands,” Chu Zhao said. ”He said he would handle it, so I, a helpless woman, will meddle no further.”

Chu Tang sat down and began to fan herself. ”This won’t be easy to resolve. Even if Third Young Master Xie comes forward to clarify things, it won’t be of much use. After all, this is a matter between you and a son of the Xie family. Any explanation from the Xie family will only make them look like they’re trying to hide something.”

She placed her fan on the table and looked at Chu Zhao.

”Even saying it’s an arranged marriage between you and the Xie family’s son won’t work. That would only further confirm the rumors.”

She picked up her fan again, waving it slowly.

”This is a difficult situation.”

But the very next day, the matter was resolved simply and decisively.

Liang Siqing was found guilty and thrown into prison. The Liang Mansion was surrounded, and his entire family, from the old to the young, men and women alike, were all placed under confinement.

In addition to the usual list of crimes, there was one inconspicuous charge that caught the attention of everyone in the Capital City.

”Fabricating rumors to stir up trouble for personal revenge.”

Overnight, the rumors about Chu Zhao and the son of the Xie family vanished without a trace.

”Impressive,” Chu Tang said, once again sitting in Chu Zhao’s room, fan in hand.

Chu Zhao, holding her teacup, nodded. ”Indeed. Very impressive.”

’She, too, had thought it was a difficult situation with no easy way to dispel the rumors. She never imagined Xie Yanfang would simply deal with the source directly, reducing the rumors to just that—rumors.’

’Impressive. Truly worthy of the name Yan Lang.’