Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 142 Fermentation

"Have you heard? Shen Qingxi wasn't sick for the past six months; she eloped with Jing Chuan, the third prince of Qi Kingdom!"

"That can't be, right?"

“Why not? A few days before Jingchuan returned to the country, I saw him waiting for Shen Qingxi at the gate of the palace school. The two of them talked for quite a while…”

The two noble ladies whispered to each other, their voices quite loud, and could be clearly heard from a distance of ten feet.

Li Wan gritted her teeth as she listened. Having been caught up in rumors herself, she knew that trying to defend herself against such "romantic affairs" would only make things worse. Saying nothing only made her feel stifled, and her beautiful face became somewhat distorted from holding back.

She took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, but the resentment in her heart was hard to quell. She slammed the cup in her hand onto the table with a dull thud. Then she abruptly stood up and left her seat.

People around her cast ambiguous glances, but Li Wan didn't care anymore. She just wanted to leave this lousy tea party as soon as possible, lest she lose control and tear their mouths apart!

As autumn deepened and the engagement was just finalized, it wasn't a good time to get involved in trouble. She quietly asked her best friend, "What do you think?"

Lin Chisu looked up at the azure sky and said, "Why don't we go back to the manor and read some books?"

He thought to himself that Yanling's tea party was boring and noisy.

Seeing Lin Chisu's perfunctory and uninterested expression, even the eloquent Qiu Yinong was momentarily speechless and awkwardly silent.

The two noble ladies watched Li Wan walk away, then continued gossiping without a care in the world.

"Ah~ a down-on-his-luck hostage and a noblewoman from another country, that sounds like a story..."

"Then why did Shen Qingxi come back again?"

"We can't just let someone start something and then abandon it, can we?"

"Snapped--"

"what--"

A whip lashed out at the feet of the two noble ladies, startling them into screaming.

"Ding Min! What are you doing!"

"Excuse me, I just saw a rat run past your feet, it stank horribly! I just couldn't help it."

"you!"

Ding Min spoke insincerely, spouting veiled lies and making insincere accusations. He casually put away his whip and walked away with his head held high under the angry glares of the two men.

Li Wan, seething with anger, strode out of the Yan residence. The servants waiting there immediately went to greet her. Just as she was about to get into the carriage, she heard a familiar call. Her foot, which had just stepped onto the low stool, stopped. She looked up and saw Su's carriage coming towards her.

"Jinyu, what brings you here?"

Sukh jumped nimbly off the carriage and laughed, "I was thinking of seeing you, and I actually saw you."

Li Wan blushed and scolded, "You're always wandering around aimlessly, and when I catch you in the act, you start spouting nonsense."

“Wan’er, you’ve wronged me,” Suhe said, taking out a wooden box about half a foot long from his pocket and handing it to Li Wan. “Today, the Treasure Pavilion received new goods from the south, and I thought of you as soon as I saw them.”

Li Wan took the hairpin, opened it, and saw that it was a Lingzhi Ruyi tourmaline hairpin. The corners of her downturned mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly. "It's really beautiful."

"I'm so glad you're not angry. What made you so angry?"

It would have been better if she hadn't brought it up, because this incident reignited Li Wan's temper, and she began to recount what she had seen and heard at the banquet to Su He.

Upon hearing Li Wan's words, Su He was surprised. How come there was a new version again? Just as he was wondering whether he should tell Li Wan what he had heard in the teahouse, Li Wan continued.

"How could my cousin, who is well-educated, beautiful, intelligent, virtuous, gentle, and frail, do such a rebellious thing!"

"..." Never mind, since we have different perspectives, Suhe changed the subject, "It's getting late, let me take you home."

"No, I need to go find my cousin. If she's heard the rumors too, I wonder how heartbroken she'll be!"

Su He hesitated, wanting to say not to get involved in this mess and ruin his reputation, but seeing Li Wan's angry expression, and thinking that he would not be able to remain indifferent if his brother got into trouble, the words of dissuasion rolled around in his throat, but he only opened his mouth with a single word.

"Go."

Shenfu Training Ground —

"Ah owe~"

Shen Qing sneezed, and Wen Ying stepped forward and draped the cloak that had been prepared for her over Shen Qing.

"Young lady, rumors are rampant these days. People's words are terrifying, and slander can destroy a person. Should we send someone to stop them?"

Shen Qing casually drew an arrow from the quiver, nocked the arrow, and aimed at the target a hundred paces away.

"A great story always begins with a climax."

"call out--"

Wen Ying looked in the direction of the arrow and saw that the wooden target hadn't even suffered any superficial wounds.

Shen Qing awkwardly touched his nose, "The main problem is that this bow is no good."