Chapter 232: Du Ruo Sees Bishuo

Chapter 232: Du Ruo Sees Bishuo

Du Ruo stared in shock at the twenty-four or twenty-five-year-old woman in front of her, clutching her shoulders in a daze.

"Miss Bishuo, are you alright?" The young girl who was with her quickly supported her, turning to glare at Du Ruo. "What are you doing? You're so rude!"

She yanked at Du Ruo's hand, trying to pry it off Bishuo's shoulder, and with a tear, the fabric ripped.

Only then did Du Ruo let go.

"What do you think you're doing!"

"Forget it," said the woman in the greenish regular attire, sighing softly.

She looked up at Du Ruo, who was staring at her foolishly, and lightly furrowed her brow. Taking out the embroidered pouch from her belt, she asked, "Miss, you say this pouch is yours?"

Du Ruo, as if waking from a trance, snatched the pouch from Bishuo's hand. Her eyes were wide with shock and confusion. "Where did you get this!"

"You're really rude! Our Miss Bishuo found this pouch; it wasn't stolen or grabbed. Besides, this pouch is so poorly embroidered, who would want it? Like we'd go out of our way to steal such a broken thing!" The young girl glanced at her contemptuously. "And you even tore Miss Bishuo's clothes. What kind of family raised you to be so rude!"

"Forget it, stop talking. Let's go back," Bishuo said, giving Du Ruo a deep look before pulling her torn sleeve together and leading the maid away.

Just as Du Ruo was about to call out to stop her, she heard Qiu Ling and Ling Long's voices from behind.

"Du Ruo! We've picked everything!"

"Du Ruo, come in and pay!"

Du Ruo, wanting to chase after Bishuo, was pulled back by Qiu Ling and Ling Long. "Trying to run? No way!"

"No, no! I saw her!" Du Ruo hurriedly explained, trying to free herself from the two.

"Who!"

"Xing Dairong!" Du Ruo struggled to point, but by the time she turned back, the woman in the greenish regular attire had disappeared into the crowd.

Hearing the name Xing Dairong, Qiu Ling and Ling Long both froze. They looked around in shock and disbelief.

"Where?"

"Don't scare us."

In the heat of August, Qiu Ling and Ling Long looked around, unable to help but feel a chill.

"You've got to be mistaken. It's broad daylight—no ghosts here!" Ling Long said.

Qiu Ling scanned the crowd. "I'll go burn a stick of incense for her when I get back."

In the bustling crowd, Du Ruo furrowed her brow, clutching the pouch tightly. Her heart pounded with unease.

Bishuo returned to the palace, her shoulder and clothes disheveled.

"Miss Bishuo, you're back?" Li, the Imperial Guards leader, approached as he saw her. "By the way, Yunshuo told me to take the pouch from you. He's been on duty inspecting other palace gates and hasn't had time to come back."

Before Bishuo could respond, the young maid behind her said, "What pouch? Tell Cheng to come get it himself if he wants it so badly!"

Li raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what happened?"

"We were out shopping earlier and ran into the rightful owner of the sachet. She accused us of stealing it and snatched it back as if we were thieves! She acted like a shrew, tearing at us in the street and even ripping Lady Bishuo's clothes!" The maid, still fuming, continued her complaint.

Only then did Li, the Imperial Guards leader, notice the torn clothes on Lady Bishuo's shoulder. "I’ll bring this up with Yunshuo later."

"Lord Li, you really should talk to them. The women in Lord Cheng's family are far too rude. I've never seen anyone act so shamelessly in public! It’s a good thing our Lady Bishuo is kind-hearted. She picked it up and intended to return it, even though it wasn’t her responsibility. Anyone else would have tossed that ugly sachet aside without a second thought. And yet, we were treated like this for no reason..."

"That's enough, no more talk," Lady Bishuo interrupted the maid's complaints just in time.

"Lady Bishuo, you're just too kind-hearted," the maid said, still feeling indignant.

Seeing this expression, Li, the Imperial Guards leader, gave a forced smile. "Lady Bishuo, please don't blame us. I'll have Yunshuo apologize to you."

"No need, Lord Li." Lady Bishuo bowed in a formal gesture and proceeded with her routine inspection into the palace.

Later that night, in Lu Lingyun's courtyard.

Cheng Yunshuo arrived, looking quite unhappy.

"What's wrong with you today?" Lu Lingyun asked as she ate a plate of sliced watermelon and honeydew melon inside the room.

As soon as Cheng Yunshuo entered, Chunhe took his personal dagger and hat to hang them up. He sat down at the dining table, looking frustrated. "A'Ruo’s been causing trouble again."

"Oh? What trouble did she cause you?" Lu Lingyun found it quite surprising.

She had observed that A'Ruo had been quite well-behaved recently, not causing any disturbances. Moreover, A'Ruo had barely interacted with Cheng Yunshuo lately, staying within the estate, so how had she managed to cause trouble?

"A few days ago, she embroidered a sachet for me and insisted that I wear it. I told her at the time that it was inconvenient for me to do so because I might lose it. She said if I lost it, she would embroider another one for me. And sure enough, I lost it a few days ago, and she got upset with me." Cheng Yunshuo pondered for a moment before sharing all his frustrations with Lu Lingyun.

Lu Lingyun nodded and poured him a cup of cold tea, acting as a good listener.

She had heard about their argument, which had lasted a whole day.

"I searched for it yesterday, and someone from the palace picked it up for me. They were supposed to return it to me today, and I had already told her this."

"Isn't it good that it was found?"

"But today, she went off on someone!"

Lu Lingyun: "..."

Rumors have a way of getting blown out of proportion. A'Ruo had merely stopped Lady Bishuo, pulled at her, and torn her clothes. But when the story reached Li, the Imperial Guards leader, it became an embellished tale of A'Ruo beating Lady Bishuo in the street, forcibly taking the sachet back, and humiliating Lady Bishuo.

Furious after hearing this version, Cheng Yunshuo returned to the estate in a huff.

Because he didn’t know how to handle A'Ruo’s behavior.

"Concubine Du did go out with me today, but I didn’t hear anything about her attacking anyone." Lu Lingyun found the situation absurd and couldn't help but speak up.

"Hmph! She even tore the lady's clothes! I saw it with my own eyes!"

Lu Lingyun: "... I'll look into this tomorrow."

Hearing this, Cheng Yunshuo's furrowed brows finally relaxed. He drank the cold tea in one gulp. "Alright, I'll leave this matter to you to handle."

After dinner at Lu Lingyun’s, Cheng Yunshuo felt much calmer. With Lu Lingyun managing the household, he could afford to be more at ease.

He decided not to trouble Du Ruo anymore and, when he reached the crossroads leading to Xiaohe Courtyard, opted not to go that way.

He decided to skip it for now and head back to Yaoguang Pavilion to rest.

He hadn’t even taken two steps when he heard her familiar teasing voice behind him.

“Master!”

Cheng Yunshuo pretended not to hear and kept walking, and moments later, he heard her quick footsteps catching up.

“Where are you off to?”