Chapter 20 Invitation How can someone be so detestable?

Chapter 20: The Invitation

How can anyone be this annoying?

When Shu Feng came to relay the message, Xie Chi was contemplating how to get word to the Crown Prince.

Over the years, the Marquis Estate had been in a favorable position. Xie Chi had never considered changing it. The realm was at peace and prosperous. Both the Emperor and the Crown Prince were concerned with face, but they were both competent and judicious. With few founding ministers left, the father and son would treat the declining Yong'an Marquis Estate with kindness regardless.

After the incident where the Emperor personally led the campaign, His Majesty insisted on giving him important duties. Xie Chi thought that was fine too—with power came convenience.

He just didn't want to get involved in the complex struggles of the court.

If not for that knife Zhong Yao took for him...

Xie Chi had promised to help Zhong Yao resolve her family troubles. In reality, the root of her troubles ultimately stemmed from the struggle for the throne; all he needed to do was identify the person behind it.

That wasn't hard, even if Zhong Huaizhi and his wife refused to reveal who was behind it.

The Emperor was in good health, and the Crown Prince's position was stable. Under such circumstances, only one person would have the audacity to attempt a coup: the Fourth Prince.

And only he would dare to secretly release the detained women of the Lian family.

The Fourth Prince was so bold because he was the son of the Emperor's favorite concubine who died young.

Before ascending the throne, the Emperor's life had been quite difficult. This favored concubine had stood by him through thick and thin for many years. Shortly after the Emperor took the throne, she passed away, leaving behind the Fourth Prince, still an infant. At first, the Fourth Prince stayed by the Emperor's side and was personally cared for by him. Due to a moment of carelessness from the Emperor, he was burned by a candle flame as a child, leaving visible scars on his right cheek and ear to this day.

The Emperor felt guilty towards him and had always been indulgent. He would give him any treasure or trinket he wanted—everything but the throne.

Unfortunately, what the Fourth Prince wanted was the one thing fate denied him.

In the grand scheme, this was the Fourth Prince attempting a coup and rebellion—a capital crime. At its core, it was a son's rebellion born of a father's favoritism.

Based on Xie Chi's understanding of the Emperor, he was exceptionally indulgent with the Fourth Prince. Even if he learned of his treasonous intent, he was unlikely to punish him harshly.

Moreover, the plan never came to fruition.

Xie Chi didn't want to get involved in this futile, childish struggle between father, son, and brothers. Otherwise, he wouldn't have only dealt with Lord Lian over the past half-month.

Lord Lian had been ready to talk from the moment he was jailed; Xie Chi was the one who denied him the opportunity.

After careful consideration, Xie Chi decided to let the Crown Prince handle this. The simplest way to make him aware was through the object of his affection, First Miss Chen. After that, it would depend on how he guided things...

First Miss Chen's involvement with Zhong Yao's brother in fact connected Xie Chi's affairs with Zhong Yao's goals.

That was fine. Xie Chi thought this wasn't bad either—solving two matters together would save him a lot of effort.

Unfortunately, unexpected complications always seemed to crop up on Zhong Yao's side.

"She fell in the water?"

"Yes," Shu Feng replied. "Miss Xue Fang acted quickly and rescued her in a flash. However, Second Miss Chen had just gotten over a cold. After being rescued, she went to a guest room to rest briefly before Lady Chen took her home to recover."

"What about Zhong Yao?"

"Second Miss Chen fell in the water while speaking with Miss Zhong in private, away from the crowd. Because of this, some people privately spread rumors that Miss Zhong pushed her in. However, many saw the whole thing and testified that Miss Zhong was several feet away from Second Miss Chen when it happened, making it impossible for her to have pushed her. Second Miss Chen also said she got dizzy and fell in herself. But there are always people who love to gossip..."

Xie Chi couldn't help but laugh.

The source of this was undoubtedly rumors spread by the heartless man who had broken off his engagement to Zhong Yao.

But Xie Chi had been angered by Zhong Yao too many times today and couldn't help but think she must be cursed with bad luck, perhaps because her sharp tongue had offended some god or other.

Today was the family recognition banquet at the estate, and only female guests were present. Xie Chi hadn't gone to the front. He tapped the desk, signaling Shu Feng to continue.

Shu Feng continued, "After Minister Chen's household left, Miss Xue Fang also returned to her room to rest. However, there were quite a few opinions about Miss Xue Fang up front. Some said she was reckless, others said she was righteous..."

None of this was surprising, nor was it what Xie Chi wanted to hear.

"Zhong Yao."

A slight smile touched Shu Feng's lips. "Miss Zhong is fine, though she looked rather wronged, likely shaken up. Madam Zhong was also quite frightened. After explaining what happened, she took her back to their residence."

Xie Chi understood. He'd likely hear from Zhong Yao by letter soon enough.

Sure enough, the letter arrived in the evening. The moment he opened it, Xie Chi saw several blotches of smudged ink on the paper.

The ink stains were scattered and messy, grubby-looking, unlike the forged letter from a few days ago. It was clear Zhong Yao had been crying while writing this time, and they were from real tears.

Looking at the content, the first half described her clever, heroic move of how she stunned Chen Luoling with a single sentence and calm composure. The middle part was a rant about how cunning and vicious the other girl had been, thwarting her perfect plan. The last page...

Xie Chi took one look at it and almost threw the letter away.

—That page was densely packed with sorrowful "Wuwuwu," a headache just to look at.

Xie Chi flipped back to the previous page and scanned it again, suspecting Zhong Yao's sadness was because her glorious moment had been easily defeated, not for her elder brother.

He snorted, amused, and was about to set the letter aside when his eye caught a line of tiny, inconspicuous characters hidden among the annoying "Wuwuwu."

Looking closely, he saw the line was a sentence blaming the Marquis Estate for pointlessly building that winding bridge and lakeside pavilion, making her miss her chance.

Xie Chi was both angry and amused.

Scheming while sobbing—that was truly Zhong Yao's style.

She must have been in the same state writing the letter as she was earlier that day.

Recalling Zhong Yao's tearful yet laughing expression from that day, Xie Chi lost himself in thought for a moment. Then he looked back at the blotchy, messy letter in his hand, frowned, and muttered in exasperation, "What kind of girl is this?"

"What kind of girl is this!"

When it was time for bed that night, Zhong Yao was still fuming over the day's events. She swore Chen Luoling was the nastiest, most heartless girl she had ever met. If not for the even more terrible Xie Chi, she could drop the 'girl' qualifier and let Chen Luoling take the top prize.

Zhong Yao was too upset to sleep. Lying there staring at the bed curtains, she turned it over in her mind, and the more she thought, the more she realized her mistake.

She should have held Chen Luoling's hand, leaving her no room to escape. Or she could have pretended to care for her and followed her into the guest room to continue grilling her.

But Lady Chen was too intimidating.

As soon as Chen Luoling was rescued, without even checking her condition, Lady Chen looked furious and had people take Chen Luoling to the guest room.

On the way back, Madam Zhong said it was because Minister Chen and his wife were extremely concerned with face, probably thinking it was embarrassing for their daughter to make such a spectacle at someone else's estate.

Zhong Yao didn't get it. Was reputation more important than a child's safety?

Baffled and sleepless, she fished out Xie Chi's reply from under her pillow and studied it.

Xie Chi was terrible. His reply was two pages, each bearing just one character. The first was "Annoying," and the second was "Wait."

"Annoying" meant she was bothersome and detestable. What did "Wait" mean?

Should she wait for Xue Fang to come and take her to visit Chen Luoling at the Minister's estate?

Zhong Yao pondered how to secretly press for answers on someone else's turf at the Minister's estate. The task was too daunting, and her thoughts grew tangled. She clutched Xie Chi's reply, reading it again and again, and only managed to fall into a troubled sleep as dawn was breaking.

She woke the next day and waited all day long, but no letter arrived from the Marquis's estate. Instead, she received an invitation from the Minister's residence.

In the message, Chen Luoling expressed regret for involving Zhong Yao in gossip and invited her to admire the flowers at Qingyue Mountain outside the city in a few days, promising to share information about her eldest brother.

Zhong Yao read the invitation three times before she was sure she hadn't misread it.

She was definitely going.

But since Chen Luoling had taken the initiative to invite her, she must have made complete preparations.

Zhong Yao felt a twinge of fear, worried that this hard-hearted girl might impulsively hurl herself against a tree if things didn't go her way...

And so, Xie Chi received another letter.

This time, there were two.

The first began with flattery: "Heir Xie, you are the finest person I have ever met..."

A full page of insincere praise preceded the true purpose: "I hear the hibiscus flowers at Qingyue Mountain are in full bloom. Since you're such a wonderful older brother, you will surely take Xue Fang to admire them in a couple of days, won't you?"

After this veiled plea, the final line read: "The second letter contains excerpts from some idle books I read to pass the time. If you're not going, you might find life at the estate dull, so consider it a diversion. If you are going, there's no need to open it."

Xie Chi opened it anyway, finding a thick stack of stories about vengeful spirits—deceased individuals with unresolved grudges transforming into malevolent ghosts to haunt their former acquaintances.

How artless.

Xie Chi skimmed through them quickly, sneering inwardly.

He reaffirmed his belief that during their time stranded in the wilderness, his progression from patient comfort to half-hearted attempts at deception, and finally to stern reprimands toward Zhong Yao, was entirely her own fault.

—How could a seventeen-year-old girl be so utterly irritating?