“What’s all that noise outside?” Zhou Zhili had been anxiously waiting for a response from Zhou Yuxiu, growing more impatient by the minute.
“Master, it’s people from Xuandi Guan. They say they’ve come to thank the Heir Apparent and would like to invite you out to express their gratitude in person.”
Upon hearing this, the servants rushed to deliver the good news to Zhou Zhili.
These past few days, even as the household prepared for the eldest young lady’s Ji-ji ceremony, the atmosphere had remained tense.
Hearing this, Zhou Zhili’s furrowed brow finally relaxed.
“What are they thanking Yuxiu for?”
Zhou Yuzhi, standing nearby, chimed in, “Father, why not go out and see for yourself? It’s not easy to get people from Xuandi Guan to visit. For them to come in person to express gratitude is certainly a joyous occasion for our Jing’an Houfu.”
“Master, Yuzhi is right. It seems Yuxiu has indeed made some achievements since joining the Chengfang Junying.”
Zhou Zhili still felt something was off. Earlier that day, he had sent word to Zhou Yuxiu, instructing him to find a way to locate Gu Ruanci at Xuandi Guan—to cause trouble for her. So why would the people from Xuandi Guan come to express thanks?
“Let’s go take a look…” In the end, he couldn’t stay seated.
At the entrance, the representatives from Xuandi Guan carried themselves with an imposing air, drawing a crowd of onlookers.
Seeing the people from Jing’an Houfu emerge, the visitors from Xuandi Guan showed no sign of intimidation.
“Greetings, Houye…”
“Respect to the Daoist Master… I’ve just heard that my son seems to have done something at the temple, prompting your visit. I hope he hasn’t caused any offense?”
When Zhou Zhili put on airs, he truly had the refined demeanor of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
The visiting Daoist wore a serious expression and replied, “Houye, you misunderstand. I’ve come today on behalf of Xuandi Guan to express our gratitude to Zhou Heir Apparent. When no one else noticed anything amiss, Zhou Heir Apparent insisted that a thief had infiltrated Xuandi Guan. Despite the urgency, he took charge with just two or three men, diligently attempting to search the vast temple grounds. Moreover, upon encountering the daughter of Shouguogong, who had come to offer incense, he righteously and sternly accused her, refusing to abandon his suspicion even after learning she was the young lady of the Gu Family, insisting she was the thief.”
As the Daoist spoke, Zhou Zhili’s expression grew increasingly grim. Zhou Yuzhi, who had initially maintained a smile, also realized something was wrong.
The servant who had rushed in earlier to deliver the “good news,” once brimming with self-satisfaction, was now contemplating where his family should bury him…
The Daoist continued, “In the end, even though not a trace of the thief was found, Zhou Heir Apparent stubbornly insisted the thief had already fled. If not for Zhou Heir Apparent possessing a pair of eyes that only he can see with—eyes invisible to others—the Daoist disciples and lay followers of Xuandi Guan would have been in grave danger today.”
“Zhou Heir Apparent’s conduct—neither neglecting his duties, nor abusing his authority, nor exploiting the situation, nor filling a position without merit—has profoundly taught us at Xuandi Guan a vivid lesson.”
When Ye Lanxin heard these words, she inwardly cursed Zhou Yuxiu for being a fool, daring to act so recklessly even at Xuandi Guan.
Yet, she still considerately tried to smooth things over: “Daoist Master, there must be some misunderstanding. Yuxiu didn’t intentionally disrupt the temple’s order…”
The Daoist, however, replied with utmost sincerity, “Madam, you overstate the matter. Our gratitude is genuine and heartfelt. After all, when Zhou Heir Apparent interrogated the young lady of the Gu Family, he did so right in front of our temple master. The master said he had committed the error of judging by appearances—perhaps that Gu Family’s legitimate daughter truly is a thief, who knows? To express his remorse, from now on, he feels too ashamed to meet anyone from the Zhou Family or anyone associated with them.”
Having been subtly criticized by Xuandi Guan and looked down upon by Qingtuan Daozhang, the common people gradually understood what had happened, moving from initial confusion to clarity.
“This Zhou heir is too arrogant. Even members of the royal family who enter Xuandi Guan do so with reverence, and meeting Qingtuan Daozhang depends on fate. Yet this Zhou heir not only fabricated lies to force his way in but also spoke harshly and made things difficult for the Gu family’s young lady right in front of Qingtuan Daozhang?”
“When did the Gu family have a young lady? Don’t they only have four sons?”
The whispers among the common people finally grew loud enough to reach the ears of the Zhou family openly.
“Haven’t you heard? The Gu family’s long-lost daughter has returned, and the Renqin Yan is about to be held.”
“Moreover, this Renqin Yan is scheduled for the same day as the Zhou family’s eldest daughter’s Ji-ji ceremony.”
“…”
The increasing discussions gave Zhou Zhili a headache.
Eventually, someone mentioned that the Gu family’s young lady was actually the Zhou family’s true legitimate daughter who had left with Lady Ye years ago. However, Lady Ye had adopted her out to the Duke of Shou and his wife, given the close relationship between Lady Ye and the Lady of the State Duke back then.
“No wonder the Zhou heir made excuses to barge into Xuandi Guan and deliberately targeted the Gu family’s young lady…”
“Exactly. All these years, there’s been no word of the Zhou family searching for them. Now that she’s become the legitimate daughter of a Guo Gong’s household, they show up to scold her. Where do they get the nerve…”
“Daozhang, I apologize for the offense. When my son returns, I will certainly punish him severely. I will personally visit another day to apologize to Qingtuan Daozhang…”
Zhou Zhili knew that if he remained stubborn now, it would only bring more shame.
The Taoist added, “The abbot has said that if the Marquis wishes to meet him under the pretext of apologizing, there is no need. Xuandi Guan’s gratitude has already been conveyed. I take my leave…”
Watching the people from Xuandi Guan depart, Zhou Zhili ordered the gates closed and then kicked the servant who had brought the news.
“All of you are brainless fools!” he vented his anger.
Zhou Yuzhi didn’t know what to say. Eldest Brother’s recklessness had indeed taken him by surprise, but for Xuandi Guan to target the Zhou family like this—if it was for Gu Ruanci’s sake, he found it hard to believe.
“Marquis, they didn’t mean it. Hearing the Taoist’s words at the beginning, anyone would have thought they were genuinely here to express gratitude. Yuxiu must have fallen into their trap; otherwise, he would have returned long ago. At the time, Qingran… Gu Ruanci was present, wasn’t she? If she had been willing to step forward and explain, such a misunderstanding wouldn’t have occurred.”
Ye Lanxin appropriately defended Zhou Yuxiu while once again pinning the blame on Gu Ruanci.
Sure enough, both Zhou Zhili and Zhou Yuzhi were instantly enraged.
“She’s the one behind all this. She’s trying to intimidate our Zhou family, to draw our attention and get us to sincerely invite her back. She’s overthinking it—someone like her isn’t worthy of entering the Zhou family’s gates.”
Zhou Yuzhi’s analysis seemed logical to him.
“Has Lady Ye returned with her? Is this how she taught her daughter?” Zhou Zhili’s aura was dark and oppressive.
Zhou Yuxiu, having heard the news, finally rushed back to the Zhou family, only to see his father’s gloomy expression.
He knew his actions today would bring negative consequences to the Zhou family, but he still said, “Father, Lady Ye has returned. She’s at Xuandi Guan.”