Chapter 57: Her Fiancé’s Care
Yang Luo looked at Zhu Yunxiao.
Although they had met before, last time she was sitting in the teahouse nearby, looking down from above, and Zhu Yunxiao had no idea of her existence at all.
This was the first time their husband and wife met in this life.
Unlike the time when he prayed sorrowfully for his wife in front of the Buddha in the past, and also unlike the gentle time when he came to welcome the bride, now Zhu Yunxiao looked at her with a cold expression and a chilling gaze.
He stepped forward and stood in front of Jiang Rui.
“This young lady may question my conduct,” Zhu Yunxiao said coldly, “but please do not hurt my fiancée.”
Jiang Rui reached out and took hold of Zhu Yunxiao’s sleeve, saying urgently, “Yunxiao, this has nothing to do with you. Go to the banquet quickly.”
A quarrel between women could be handled any way, but if a man got involved, he would be criticized and lose the demeanor of a gentleman.
Seeing Zhu Yunxiao speak, Qin Ying could no longer remain dazed.
“Young Lord Zhu, you misunderstood. We were just joking, no quarrel.” She said hurriedly, then signaled to Yang Luo, “Miss Liu, quickly apologize to Miss Jiang.”
But Yang Hui nearby would not let go of this opportunity and shouted, “She wasn’t joking at all. Miss Liu looks down on all of us. In her eyes, there is only the princess.”
The other young ladies also reacted. Although they resented this Liu Chan’s rude speech, making a scene in front of Zhu Yunxiao would bring shame to everyone’s face. Some pulled at Yang Hui, “Don’t say anymore, don’t stir up trouble.” Others, like Qin Ying, advised and explained to Zhu Yunxiao, “Young Lord Zhu misunderstood. Don’t be angry. This is a misunderstanding.”
Jiang Rui also shook Zhu Yunxiao’s sleeve forcefully, urging him, “Hurry and go.”
Amid the noisy chaos, Yang Luo remained silent, her expression calm, not avoiding Zhu Yunxiao’s gaze at all.
Zhu Yunxiao frowned slightly, withdrew his gaze, took Jiang Rui’s hand, and turned to walk outside. “I’ll take you back.”
Jiang Rui didn’t react in time and was pulled away outside.
Qin Ying cried out a few times and chased after them, but Zhu Yunxiao was tall with long legs and great strength, pulling Jiang Rui quickly downstairs and away.
At this time, Dengyun Tower was bustling with people coming and going. Qin Ying didn’t dare shout loudly, as making a big scene would bring even more shame to her face. She could only watch the two walk away.
It wasn’t until downstairs, when he had a servant fetch the carriage and horses, that Zhu Yunxiao released Jiang Rui’s hand.
“Yunxiao, this is a small matter,” Jiang Rui said helplessly. “Why bother getting angry with a woman.”
Zhu Yunxiao looked at her. “This is not a small matter. She was bullying you.”
Seeing his tense face and knowing he was protecting and worrying about her, Jiang Rui, though cold in front of outsiders, was just a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old young girl at heart. Her heart felt soft and sweet, yet tinged with sourness. “My family is of humble background, inevitably looked down upon. It’s also because of me that you’ve been implicated.”
“Nonsense. Who says your family background is humble? His Majesty would be the first to not forgive her,” Zhu Yunxiao interrupted coldly, then said solemnly, “A Rui, you must not belittle yourself, or else you belittle Uncle Jiang.”
At this point, he clenched his fist again with a cold face and looked up at the tower.
“I absolutely will not allow anyone to belittle Uncle Jiang.”
Jiang Rui smiled and gently shook his arm. “Alright, it’s not that serious. That Miss Liu is young and just arrived in the capital. It was just a little quarrel between us.”
At this point, she also glanced up at the tower.
“Actually, she still respects my father.”
As for why she had such a bad attitude toward her, she also didn’t quite understand.
“Don’t interact with her anymore,” Zhu Yunxiao said. “Just now it caused such a commotion, yet this woman didn’t say a single tactful word, and her eyes showed no apology.”
What kind of person was this woman? The hostility couldn’t have come out of nowhere.
The thought flashed through, and he hissed.
“Yunxiao, don’t be angry,” Jiang Rui said hurriedly. Seeing his somewhat pained expression, her heart ached too.
It was all because she had implicated him.
Zhu Yunxiao wasn’t pained because of a few words from a woman. It was the injury on his leg acting up again.
It was truly strange. After being hit with a stick by that beggar, so many days had passed without relief, and it was getting worse.
It was even somewhat affecting his horse riding.
Could the bone be cracked?
He should go see a doctor.
Of course, he wouldn’t tell Jiang Rui about these things or explain that it had nothing to do with her.
“I don’t care what she says about me,” he only said. “But if she speaks arrogantly to you again, tell the instructor immediately. Someone with such improper conduct cannot stay at the National Academy.”
Tattling like this… Jiang Rui hesitated for a moment.
“This concerns the princess’s reputation,” Zhu Yunxiao said. “Such a person cannot stay by the princess’s side. You doing this is protecting the princess, just like your father, bravely serving as a general.”
Jiang Rui burst out laughing. “What kind of bravery is this? How can it compare to my father?”
“Of course it counts. If you don’t believe me, go ask His Majesty,” Zhu Yunxiao said with a smile.
This small matter certainly couldn’t be brought before His Majesty. At this time, the carriage also arrived. Since Jiang Rui had already come out, she couldn’t go back, or it would slap Zhu Yunxiao’s face. After all, her fiancé was protecting her.
“Let’s go,” she said. “We’ll go home for dinner.”
Zhu Yunxiao nodded with a smile, helped her into the carriage, then mounted his horse himself. The two rode away.
Up at Dengyun Tower, Yang Luo was also bidding farewell to Qin Ying.
“Sorry, I ruined your banquet,” she said. “If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll repay you. If there’s no chance…”
She looked at Qin Ying and gave a bitter smile.
“Then you’re just unlucky to have met me.”
Hearing her say this, Qin Ying’s strange intuition bubbled up again, and suddenly she didn’t want to blame her.
She sighed helplessly. “Don’t overthink it. Although it was my banquet, you were the one causing trouble. I’m fine.”
“Your trouble is big—” Yang Hui shouted again from the side. “You offended the daughter of General Liwei. You bullied the orphaned widow!”
Two young ladies also showed undisguised displeasure. “Miss Liu, you went too far.”
Yang Luo didn’t speak unkindly to the others again, nor did she explain. She didn’t care at all how others saw her. She only bowed to Qin Ying and went straight out the door and downstairs.
Qin Ying didn’t try to keep her. At this point, Miss Liu really wasn’t suitable to stay.
After this commotion, those still there had no heart to drink tea and discussed in low voices.
“What’s wrong with this Liu Chan? Why was she so rude to Jiang Rui?”
“What’s strange about it! She was rude to me too, and certainly wouldn’t put Jiang Rui in her eyes!”
“Yang Hui, don’t talk nonsense. She was rude to you because you attacked her first for taking your companion reader spot,” Qin Ying corrected irritably, then frowned. “Strange. Miss Liu quite respects Miss Jiang’s father. She asked about him right when they first met.”
Then why was her attitude toward Jiang Rui so bad?
“What else could it be!” Yang Hui clapped her hands again. “Of course, it’s jealousy turning to hate!”
Huh? Everyone looked at her.
“Miss Liu must have fallen for Zhu Yunxiao!” Yang Hui said knowingly. “Seeing how good Zhu Yunxiao is to Jiang Rui, of course she harbors resentment and gives Jiang Rui a bad look.”
With that, she looked at everyone.
“Right? If you liked Zhu Yunxiao, wouldn’t you dislike Jiang Rui?”
Cough, they certainly wouldn’t answer that. The young ladies glared at Yang Hui irritably, but in their hearts, some realization dawned…
The feelings of young boys and girls could indeed be like that.
Qin Ying opened her mouth beside them as if to say something but swallowed it back. She also remembered that at their first meeting, Liu Chan did know about Zhu Yunxiao…
Clearly, it was possible, very possible, that it was jealousy turning to hate.
……
……
Yang Luo went downstairs, and the young guard had already brought the carriage over.
“They went that way,” Mo Zheng said in a low voice.
Yang Luo was stunned for a moment, not realizing who “they” were.
“That Zhu fellow and his fiancée,” Mo Zheng said. “I saw it all just now.”
When Zhu Yunxiao appeared, she, as her lady’s guard, had immediately followed into Dengyun Tower, so she saw her lady confronting Miss Jiang like a firecracker.
She lowered her voice again and lifted her chin toward a direction on the street.
“Want to take down two this time?”
Yang Luo was dazed, then burst out laughing.
Facing Zhu Yunxiao, thinking of the hatred from that life, she had a chest full of pent-up anger she couldn’t vent, leading her to do things that seemed abnormal to ordinary people.
But no matter what she did, this young guard always went along with her, helping her vent her anger.
She had been reborn, facing family who were her enemies that harmed her.
She was all alone in this world.
Only this youth seemed like a reliance.
Yet she kept many things from him.
“No need to take down two,” Yang Luo said softly. “That Miss Jiang is actually also a victim. Zhu Yunxiao is no good man, all false affection. In the future, to climb to wealth and status, he’ll kill her too.”
Oh, so that’s it. Mo Zheng thought thoughtfully. Then the wealth and status Zhu Yunxiao was climbing to was Miss Yang herself.
