Chapter Nineteen: Smeared with Dirty Water

How is it that I turn a corner and run into Zhou Jingxuan again? Such fate.

But Zhou Jingxuan is truly unfortunate.

At the entrance of the Jiang residence, a fierce maid was holding a water bucket in one hand and placing the other on her hip. “Scoundrel! You dared to harass my Second Miss, and you still have the nerve to show up here?”

At these words, the crowd erupted in murmurs.

“I never expected the Young Master to be such a person!” a woman gossiping exclaimed indignantly.

“You don’t understand—Young Master Zhou has always been like this; it’s no surprise to most!” a helpful auntie explained.

“My Miss Ruoqing does not wish to see you!” the maid lifted her chin arrogantly.

Zhou Jingxuan stood frozen, his damp hair clinging to his scalp, droplets streaming down in a steady drip.

He looked embarrassed and helpless.

A delicate woman stepped out from behind the gate, hand on her chest, tears glistening in her eyes but held back from falling. “Azhan, don’t speak like this; you lack manners.”

Is this the Ruoqing the maid mentioned?

Jiang Ruoqing?

Lin Zhaoyan observed her with an unreadable expression.

Zhou Jingxuan quickly regained composure, his pride swelling threefold. “You’re making no sense! Do I even know you to have you throw dirt on me like this?”

“Dare to do but not dare to face the consequences? How could the Prince have such a depraved son?”

“Azhan!” Jiang Ruoqing chastised, stepping forward. She seemed fragile as a willow in the wind, yet resolute. “It is utterly unacceptable to slander the Young Master’s name like this. Let’s go back.”

“Miss!” Azhan reluctantly backed down.

Jiang Ruoqing furrowed her brows slightly and looked at Zhou Jingxuan. “Cousin, I don’t blame you for what happened earlier, but please don’t come here again.”

She gave a graceful bow, then, surrounded by maids, entered the mansion. The Jiang residence gate closed behind her, leaving a disheveled Zhou Jingxuan alone.

He sneered coldly—he had been set up.

What a fine brew of trouble.

His eyes flickered with sharp coldness as the crowd around him fell silent and dispersed. Soon, only Zhou Jingxuan and Lin Zhaoyan with a few others remained at the gate.

Zhou Jingxuan turned and saw Lin Zhaoyan wearing a white bamboo hat. He hesitated, then quickly turned his back, trying to hide his embarrassment.

---

Lin Zhaoyan whispered to the three others, “You all go back to prepare and make ready the feast... Today, I am hosting an important guest; we must not be negligent.”

“Yes, madam.” Nurse Wen led Taozhi and Xiaohua away, leaving Lin Zhaoyan alone.

She stood at the foot of the steps and looked up at Zhou Jingxuan.

“Quite a pitiful sight, Young Master,” Lin Zhaoyan said softly as she stepped closer. Her robes fluttered gently, exuding an ethereal and cold grace, like a deity descended to earth.

She reached out and brushed aside some damp strands of his hair with a light tone. “After all the disturbances at the Drunken Spring Pavilion yesterday, and now you insist on visiting the General’s residence today, it seems fate truly binds us.”

“—So, will you accompany me to the General’s residence?” Lin Zhaoyan asked gently, her voice soft and tender, quite unlike her commanding presence on the battlefield.

Receiving her favor, Zhou Jingxuan’s dark eyes brightened instantly, washing away the gloom. He seemed radiant, like a stray puppy finally taken in by its owner.

“Then I’ll trouble the General to lead the way,” Zhou Jingxuan replied with a smile.

Lin Zhaoyan smiled faintly. “Alright, follow me.”

“...Zhaoyan.” Zhou Jingxuan spoke as he followed her.

“Hm?” Lin Zhaoyan had been lost in thought and was caught off guard by his address.

Zhou Jingxuan lowered his gaze, staring at the ground. “Do you trust me?”

Lin Zhaoyan pretended to ponder, looking as if she was struggling with the question. Zhou Jingxuan’s heart tightened, and he held his breath with difficulty.

“That calls for some analysis,” Lin Zhaoyan said objectively.

Passersby glanced curiously at Zhou Jingxuan, who was soaked through, but seeing Lin Zhaoyan beside him, they quickly averted their eyes, intimidated by his sharp glares.

---

Inside the Jiang residence, in Jiang Ruoqing’s chamber.

She was carefully shaping her eyebrows before a mirror, a slight smile tugging at her lips, radiating excellent spirits.

“Miss, with this act of yours, I wonder how people outside will gossip about the Young Master,” Azhan said, kneading her shoulders to ease the tension. “With this, the Princess will surely insist you marry into the Prince’s household.”

“Aunt is simple-minded; she believes whatever I say. It’s laughable,” Jiang Ruoqing frowned, sighing softly. “But I don’t want to marry that useless man.”

“Miss...” Azhan hesitated.

“I know. He and I are worlds apart; doing what I can for him is enough. I don’t think of anything else... Whoever he wants me to marry, I will marry,” Jiang Ruoqing smiled, but it was a faint, unhealthy smile.

---

Back at the General’s residence, Zhou Jingxuan looked around but found no one.

“Does this General’s residence not even have guards?” Zhou Jingxuan asked worriedly.

“Quiet and peaceful, quite nice,” Lin Zhaoyan said with her hands behind her back. “Besides, the capital is stable now; the Imperial Guards rotate in four shifts, so security is very tight.”

Zhou Jingxuan nodded. “True, but you still need reliable people nearby in case of emergencies.”

“Right. By the way, where did you place Hu Yun?”

“I brought her to the Prince’s mansion yesterday. She’s working with my mother now.”

Lin Zhaoyan thought for a moment. “I thought you’d keep her by your side.”

“Huh? No way!” Zhou Jingxuan quickly denied, “I—I keep myself pure...”

“I meant, only you and I know Hu Yun’s identity. If you don’t keep her close, something might go wrong,” Lin Zhaoyan explained helplessly. Zhou Jingxuan’s mind had wandered elsewhere.

He awkwardly rubbed his nose. “Okay, I didn’t think that far.”

“Have you had any contact with Jiang Ruoqing?”

Zhou Jingxuan recalled seriously. “At the Mid-Autumn banquet last month, I left the event early and happened to run into Jiang Ruoqing at a pavilion. She twisted her ankle, so I helped her and sent her to a guest chamber to rest.”

“After that, I left,” he said helplessly. “That’s all.”

Just that? Lin Zhaoyan frowned. It seemed Jiang Ruoqing had planned this all along.

“I know the Young Master’s character is upright, but the world doesn’t, and his reputation outside is poor. It’s understandable the Prince and Princess would urgently doubt him.”

Zhou Jingxuan was stunned, then suddenly understood. “You mean she used my bad reputation to convince my parents to believe her and pin the blame on me?”

“Even my parents believed it, let alone others,” Zhou Jingxuan said in frustration. “No wonder my mother asked me to send a maid to apologize—I guess she wanted me to make amends, but Jiang Ruoqing outwitted me.”

“Using today’s incident, she’s made the whole city know about it, it seems she’s decided to latch onto me.”

Zhou Jingxuan sneered coldly. “She really has gone to great lengths.”

Lin Zhaoyan sighed. “But why does she have to do this?”

“To climb into the Prince’s household?”

“But she’s already related to the Princess. If she wanted to form a marital alliance, it wouldn’t be difficult,” Lin Zhaoyan said thoughtfully. She felt Jiang Ruoqing didn’t need to go to such extremes.