“Qing’er.” Early the next morning, Xiao Qianyin stretched lazily. After finishing breakfast, she called out.
Qing’er was her personal maid, utterly loyal to her. Xiao Qianyin remembered that when she had first woken up, the little maid had clung to her and cried until she was a mess. Clearly, Xiao Qianyin’s reputation outside was poor, but toward her own maidservants, she had still been very good.
Yesterday, after practicing swordsmanship, she had felt refreshed and clear-headed; the grogginess of the past few days had vanished without a trace. She planned to go out and take a look around. After all, aside from recuperating, she had not gone anywhere. She needed to understand the situation outside, lest she remain like a frog at the bottom of a well.
“Miss, what are your orders?” Qing’er jogged over to her and asked with a smile in her voice.
“I’ve rested in the residence for quite some time. I want to go out for a walk. Have the old steward prepare a few things.”
“Ah? Miss, you want to go out? This… I’m afraid that might not be very good.” Qing’er’s face showed some difficulty. Well, her young miss’s reputation was not very good; if she went out, she would inevitably suffer grievances!
“What’s not good about it? Grandfather never forbade me from leaving the residence. Don’t tell me you intend to stop me?”
Xiao Qianyin raised a brow. Though there was a smile on her face, her words carried a faint pressure and an intimidating aura, startling Qing’er somewhat. She even felt as though she could not control herself.
This was the Longevity Art of Shushan. A cultivator’s aura would gradually strengthen as they advanced. The more formidable one’s swordsmanship, the more one would possess an aloof pride that looked down upon the world, seeking longevity between heaven and earth, transcending all things.
“Qing’er, are you worried I’ll hear things I shouldn’t hear and end up in a bad mood?”
Hearing this, Qing’er nodded and said, “Those people outside don’t understand you, Miss. The current you aren’t a useless good-for-nothing anymore—you’re terribly formidable. You even beat up the Southern Tang Crown Prince’s envoy. In the past, although you were unruly and willful, you were very eager to please the people around the Southern Tang Crown Prince. They always loved to strike you down.”
“Other people’s mouths grow on their own faces. What does that have to do with me? Let them say what they want. Is your young miss someone so easily affected?”
Xiao Qianyin stood with her hands clasped behind her back, turned her head slightly, and smiled. “Qing’er, your young miss will not be bullied so easily anymore!”
That smile was exceptionally bright. As her eyes shifted with vivid spirit, there was actually a noble and awe-inspiring air about her.
“Yes. Qing’er will immediately have someone prepare a carriage. The peach blossoms outside the city have bloomed these past few days; Miss may as well go take a look.”
Along the way, because she had ordered them to find an inconspicuous carriage, no one recognized that the person sitting inside was the good-for-nothing young miss of the Marquis Dingguo’s estate. These past few days, the imperial capital had been in an uproar over nothing other than the matter of the attendant sent by the Southern Tang Crown Prince being thoroughly beaten by Xiao Qianyin and then driven out with a flurry of blows. Everyone was dumbstruck.
One had to know that the good-for-nothing young miss liked the Southern Tang Crown Prince to the point of near madness. Why had she suddenly gone against her usual nature and beaten the person the Crown Prince sent until his face was bruised and swollen before throwing him out? This news filled every street and alley. As the saying went, wherever there were people, there was gossip; all manner of fresh speculations had emerged.
Some said love had turned to hate, some said she was playing hard to get, some said the good-for-nothing young miss had risen up, and some said it was the Marquis’s intention. In short, all kinds of rumors were flying everywhere.
Xiao Qianyin heard quite a few versions along the way—refined editions, deluxe editions, and realistic editions. She clicked her tongue, unable to help admiring the gossiping spirit of the imperial capital’s commoners. If they were placed in modern times, they would absolutely qualify as paparazzi!
Qing’er listened, caught between laughter and restraint. But when she heard someone say that her young miss was only putting on an act, that she was being coy and playing hard to get, if the situation had not been inappropriate, she would have wished she could rush up and beat them fiercely. How could her young miss be so unbearable?