Ashes to Crown

Chapter 236: Chapter 55: Ignition

Zhou Jiang ambled along at the rear, but suddenly sensing something, she turned her head to see Chu Tang striding back.

Ah— Zhou Jiang wasn’t particularly surprised. She stepped aside and made a welcoming gesture with her hand, indicating that Chu Tang should go first.

Chu Tang strode past her.

Qi Leyun was just about to step over the threshold when a blur of motion rushed past her and into the room, nearly knocking her off balance.

”Watch where you’re—” Qi Leyun, seething, was about to let loose a curse when she looked up and saw the person’s back. Her voice died in her throat.

Huh?

’Why is Chu Tang back?’

’This girl... she must still care about appearances and want to say a proper goodbye.’ Qi Leyun shook her head again, exchanged a look with her companions, and they all hurried to stand by Chu Tang’s side.

When Chu Tang walked in, the chatter and laughter in the front hall died instantly. All eyes turned to her. In those gazes, there was sympathy, silence, calculation, and inscrutability, but they were mostly filled with mockery, disdain, and outright schadenfreude.

No one spoke.

’It’s a far cry from before, when they would see me from a distance and call out with smiles, ”Miss Chu!” or ”Miss Ah Tang!”’

An eerie silence fell over the front hall.

”Chu—” The hostess, feeling she had to maintain appearances, stood up with a smile, preparing to greet her.

It wouldn’t do to leave her standing there; that would be too awkward.

But Chu Tang, who had just walked in, showed not the slightest bit of awkwardness. Her eyes fell on the group of girls, and she walked cheerfully toward them.

”What are you all talking about?” she asked with a smile. ”You seem so happy.”

...

...

As Chu Zhao’s cousin, Chu Tang’s status had changed overnight.

But Chu Tang had received no official titles. Everyone knew she was the Empress’s sister, but she was also just a young girl.

What was more awkward was that the Chu Family elders were commoners with no rank, and they remained behind closed doors due to illness, refusing all visitors. Only Chu Tang, this young girl, accepted invitations and moved about in society.

Hosts were also in an awkward position regarding how to treat her. It felt inappropriate to make her the guest of honor, yet they couldn’t afford to slight her.

However, Chu Tang hadn’t come visiting as a guest of honor, but rather to spend time with the young ladies of the house.

This made things much more appropriate. The hosts could now treat her with both propriety and warmth.

Of course, the matrons treated this young girl with more intimacy and respect than they did the others, their fawning thinly veiled by a show of warmth—

That was before. Now, at this very moment, the matrons’ expressions were full of indifference, as if watching any other girl walk past.

It was as if seeing her instantly unleashed the other girls’ more childish instincts.

”We weren’t talking about anything,” one girl answered first, shutting down Chu Tang’s question. ”And we’re not happy.”

Chu Tang was, in fact, no stranger to such exchanges. In the past, when she spent time with these girls, her status was such that no one felt the need to be polite to her.

Previously, when faced with this sort of thing, Chu Tang would either fall silent—a tactic to let others jump to her defense (giving girls who were at odds with the offender an opportunity to look virtuous)—or she would ask meekly, ”Did I do something wrong? Please don’t be mad.” This display of vulnerability was a form of submission; once the other girls saw it, they would no longer target her.

This time, however—

”No?” Chu Tang said with a smile. Staring at the girl’s face, she reached out and poked it gently. ”I saw everything. You were smiling so broadly.”

The girl’s face instantly flushed. ’That’s not what I meant! To think Chu Tang would pretend to be stupid and press the point!’

’Is this really about whether I was smiling or not?’

For a moment, she was speechless.

’Heh—’ Chu Tang thought to herself. ’I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, but I never had the chance. Now, I finally do.’

’It feels so good.’

”Miss Ah Tang,” another girl stood up and said in a grave voice. ”We are not happy. How could we be happy? Do you not know what is happening? Western Liang has already fought its way to Upper Commandery, haven’t you heard? The people of an entire city have been killed.”

As she said this, she looked at Chu Tang with a smirk.

”Could it be that Miss Ah Tang doesn’t know? Hasn’t General Wei told you all about such a tragedy?”

A nearby girl scoffed, ”It’s hardly something to be proud of or boast about. It’s no wonder Miss Ah Tang hasn’t heard.”

The other girls dropped all pretense of politeness.

”That’s right. We are all grieving for the victims.”

”And Miss Ah Tang actually said we were happy.”

”You know the saying—what you see in others is a reflection of yourself.”

”Ohhh—so that means Miss Ah Tang must be the one who’s happy.”

The words hammered down one after another. The girls standing behind Chu Tang were ashamed and furious, unable to just stand there. Qi Leyun stepped in front of Chu Tang.

”What are you all doing?” they shouted angrily. ”If you have something to say, say it civilly! Why are you being like this? Ah Tang isn’t happy at all.”

Hearing this, the first girl—the one Chu Tang had questioned—laughed. She stuck out her hand. ”Isn’t she? I saw it clearly. Miss Ah Tang was smiling so broadly.”

Her hand reached out in front of Qi Leyun, pointing at Chu Tang, who stood behind her.

Embarrassed and enraged, Qi Leyun slapped the hand away. ”Who are you pointing at!”

This girl was no pushover. ”Hey!” she cried. ”Qi Leyun, why did you hit me!”

The other girls immediately swarmed them. ”Qi Leyun, what are you doing?” ”Qi Leyun, what business is this of yours!” ”Qi Leyun, you suck-up!” ”Her whole family are suck-ups, still living in the Chu Family residence and pretending to be relatives of the Empress.”

The front hall instantly descended into chaos.

The matrons, who until now had been able to feign that the girls were simply being loud while they coolly observed the drama, could no longer stand by and do nothing.

A fight was about to break out.

Cold verbal barbs were one thing; that could be passed off as a childish squabble. Besides, everything they said was true.

But a physical fight that left marks would be another matter entirely.

Hitting people was always wrong, after all.

”What is going on here!” the matrons exclaimed, rising and coming over, each calling for her own daughter. ”No fighting!”

”We weren’t fighting,” the girls said as they returned to their mothers’ sides, looking indignant and aggrieved. ”It’s Miss Ah Tang who’s bullying us with her power!”

Qi Leyun was so angry she was about to charge forward, but her mother held her back tightly.

”Let me at them! They’re twisting the truth! I’m never speaking to them again,” she said. ”Now I finally get why Chu Zhao always resorts to fighting. It’s just more satisfying! Chu Tang, hit them! Since they’re already accusing you of being a bully, you might as well give them a reason! Just bully them! What can they do about it?”

Mrs. Qi shouted, ”You wretched girl, shut your mouth!” She reached out and covered Qi Leyun’s mouth as two or three maids dragged her away.

Without Qi Leyun’s shouting, the front hall fell quiet, the silence slightly awkward.

”This... everything was fine, how did it...” the hostess said with a wry smile. ”You children...”

One matron slapped her daughter twice. ”How can you be so thoughtless!” she scolded, then turned and curtsied to Chu Tang. ”Miss Chu, please don’t stoop to her level.”

’So they weren’t going to treat Chu Tang like a child anymore.’

’The Empress’s sister. Of course she’s different from us mere children. A bully throwing her weight around.’

This thought only made the girls more furious.

”On what grounds?” ”On the grounds that her uncle failed to defend the Border County and let the people suffer and die?”

Chu Tang, who had been silent ever since her initial question was rebuffed, heard this and let out a snort of laughter.

The laugh stunned everyone in the hall. ’She can still laugh at a time like this?’

Chu Tang laughed because she was reminded of Chu Zhao. She finally understood why Chu Zhao would resort to violence back when she heard people mocking her father. It was just as Qi Leyun said: the situation really made you want to hit someone.

’However, it wouldn’t be appropriate to start hitting people now.’

”Please don’t mind, madam,” she said with a smile, looking at the matron who had just spoken. ”It’s just a small matter. I won’t take it to heart.”

The matron was stunned. ’What does she mean by that? Is she really putting on such high-and-mighty airs?’

Chu Tang sat down in a nearby chair and idly flicked one of the flower cards the girls had been playing with.

”I know that everyone is speaking rashly out of concern for our people and the affairs of the state,” she said. ”This is very good. We young ladies should pay more attention to national affairs so that we may understand the hardships of the world and the suffering of the people.”

’Is this... the attitude of an Imperial Aunt?’ The matrons in the hall were stunned, then immediately became angry.

’What does she mean, ”speaking rashly”?!’

”’Speaking rashly,’” Chu Tang declared before the matrons could object, slapping a flower card onto the table. Her eyebrows shot up. ”It means you only see the surface, you mistake a part for the whole, and you’re completely self-righteous.”

The girls were startled for a moment, then an uproar broke out.

’Well, well, Chu Tang! You’re not acting all meek with your tail between your legs anymore. You’ve learned to curse and hit people, just like Chu Zhao!’