Ashes to Crown

Chapter 125: Chapter 81: Uproar

Chu Zhao was completely bewildered by the verbal assault.

She knew that Liang Qin’s marriage prospects had been ruined. The Xie family had supposedly rejected a marriage proposal, and back at Chu Garden, some girls had even mocked Liang Qin, saying the man found her ugly. Chu Zhao had even put a stop to it.

She knew what a devastating blow it was for a young woman to be rejected for marriage, especially for her looks. Some might be so ashamed they’d never show their face in public or marry for the rest of their lives.

Liang Qin hadn’t been seen in days. For a girl in her teens, Chu Zhao feared the shock might have driven her to the brink of madness.

Chu Zhao didn’t strike her. Instead, she frowned at Liang Qin. "I’ve heard about what happened to you, but why are you here yelling at me? You should be yelling at the Xie Family’s son."

Liang Qin shrieked with laughter. "Me? Yell at the Xie Family’s son? Wouldn’t your heart just ache for him? Could you bear to see that happen?"

’What is all this nonsense! Has this girl lost her mind?’

Chu Zhao glanced around. The other girls had all risen to their feet, but strangely, none of them rebuked Liang Qin for her outburst. Instead, they all wore peculiar expressions.

"Qin," Qi Leyun said, stepping forward to take her arm. "If you have something to say, say it calmly. Stop shouting."

The other girls chimed in with similar pleas, and one of them moved to close the door—

"Don’t you dare close that door!" Liang Qin screamed, all traces of a well-bred young lady gone. She shoved the girls by the doorway and yelled at her maids, who had just caught up. "Open the door! Why are you closing it? Let everyone see what kind of person Chu Zhao really is!"

Liang Qin’s maids and servant women scrambled over, evidently having been chasing her the whole way.

They wanted to restrain Liang Qin but didn’t dare. Nor did they dare obey her and block the other girls. The maids of the other young ladies, who had been waiting outside, also crowded around, and the scene inside and out instantly dissolved into chaos.

Ah Le fought her way through the scrum. "Don’t any of you get near my lady!"

Chu Zhao raised her voice and yelled, "Ah Le, close the door!"

Ah Le heard the command and immediately fought her way to the entrance, scattering the crowd. The door slammed shut with a BANG, and she braced her body against it.

"Wretched servant!" Liang Qin cursed and lunged forward to brawl, but before she could get close, Ah Le sent her stumbling back with a kick.

Liang Qin’s maids and servant women rushed forward to catch her, refusing to let go and allow her to charge forward again. Liang Qin collapsed into their arms, screaming shrill, furious curses.

Chu Tang whispered a few words to the girl beside her. The girl’s brows knitted in disapproval as she stood up. "Qin, if you still consider us your friends, then speak properly."

The seemingly crazed Liang Qin, still lying in her attendants’ arms, heard this, and her eyes flickered. The whole reason she was causing this scene was to clear her name. Only by clearing her name could she resume her old life.

But if the other girls stopped associating with her, her life could hardly be considered back to normal.

Liang Qin covered her face with her sleeve and wailed, "Chu Zhao has ruined me! Her character is so vile, and you’re still going to defend her?"

At least she had stopped screaming curses.

Chu Zhao’s ears were ringing from the racket. As quiet finally fell, she glanced at Chu Tang, who gave her a subtle gesture before shrinking back behind the other girls.

’Chu Tang would never get directly involved in something like this,’ Chu Zhao thought. But she knew her sister had fed that girl the line to stop Liang Qin.

It was for the best. It wouldn’t have been effective for Chu Tang to speak up as her sister. It was better coming from someone else.

Chu Zhao ignored Liang Qin and turned to the other girls.

"You all know what she’s talking about, don’t you?" she asked. "What is going on?"

’So this is why they asked me here today, isn’t it?’

Qi Leyun was the first to speak up. "We didn’t ask Liang Qin to come. We had no idea she’d be here."

Chu Zhao shot her a glare. "I’ll deal with you later."

Qi Leyun could tell Chu Zhao believed her, and she was secretly pleased. She huffed, "Why so fierce? We only tricked you into coming for your own good. We all wanted to discuss this with you."

"Ah Zhao," one of the girls volunteered, "the Xie Family’s son who called off the engagement with Liang Qin... it was Xie Yanlai."

Xie Yanlai. Chu Zhao rubbed her still-ringing ears. The name didn’t register for a second, then it hit her who Xie Yanlai was.

"Ah Jiu?" she asked.

The girls had no idea who Ah Jiu was.

"He’s that Young Master Xie you ran down to protect with your own body that day."

"Ah Jiu? Is that his childhood name?"

"She’s even calling him by his childhood name! They must be close—"

The room erupted in a buzz of chatter.

Chu Zhao waved her hands dismissively. "What do you mean, ’close’? I know him, yes, but—" She stopped and looked at the group. "What exactly is the rumor?"

Qi Leyun looked at her. "The rumor is that you and Xie Yanlai secretly pledged to spend your lives together. When you found out he was engaged to Liang Qin, you flew into a jealous rage and beat Miss Liang. Then you eloped with Xie Yanlai, leaving the Capital City."

Chu Zhao’s eyes widened. ’Now that’s what I call a rumor.’

Every piece of it had happened, and yet every piece of it was a lie.

...

...

"When I fought—when I had that conflict with Miss Liang, I didn’t even know who Xie Yanlai was," Chu Zhao said, looking at everyone in the room. "I only met him on the road after I fled the Capital City. We were strangers then. He was just a posthouse soldier going by the alias Ah Jiu."

The girls seemed to accept this immediately. "Oh, so that’s how it was."

Chu Zhao found this a bit curious. ’Why did they believe me so easily?’

Qi Leyun, in particular, had a look of complete understanding. "Befriending this Ah Jiu on the road, rushing out to protect him on the street... it was all for the same reason: to get acquainted with Third Young Master Xie."

When Third Young Master Xie was an option, who would care about any other man from the Xie family?

Chu Zhao let out a stunned laugh.

"Qin, do you understand now? Don’t listen to rumors," Qi Leyun said, turning back to Liang Qin. "Why would Chu Zhao ever be interested in someone like Xie Yanlai?"

"That’s right! Back at Chu Garden, when we heard that son of the Xie family mocked you for being ugly and rejected the proposal, Ah Zhao was the one who condemned it," another girl testified. "She has nothing but contempt for him."

Liang Qin, still hiding her face in her maid’s arms, was surprised to hear this. How had everyone come to believe Chu Zhao so completely in such a short time?

’Was it because of the Chu Garden Literary Meeting?’

Although she had been hiding at home, she’d heard about the Chu Garden Literary Meeting from her siblings. It was others who had stolen the show there; Chu Zhao’s scholarly talents were said to be merely average.

But looking at Chu Zhao now, standing there as the unconscious center of attention, with everyone gathered around her...

And thinking back to what Qi Leyun had just said—when these girls heard the rumor, they hadn’t ostracized or confronted Chu Zhao. Instead, they had gathered to come up with a plan to deal with it!

’What kind of spell has Chu Zhao cast on them all!’

As for what Chu Zhao said—that she hadn’t known Xie Yanlai before, that she looked down on him with contempt—Liang Qin couldn’t care less. It didn’t matter to her at all.

What she cared about was that she had finally found a way to wash away the shame of being rejected for her looks.

It wasn’t that she, Liang Qin, was lacking in talent or looks! It was that this man and woman were morally corrupt, carrying on a secret, illicit affair!

No matter what Chu Zhao said today, she wouldn’t back down. Besides, she had more evidence.

"Chu Zhao, do you think we’ll believe whatever you say?" Liang Qin looked up and sneered. "Then tell me this: did you or did you not say that you would die for Xie Yanlai without any regrets, that even in death, you would still be his?"

Now *those* were some damning words.

Every eye in the room instantly fell on Chu Zhao.

Chu Zhao’s expression froze for a moment. Then, as if remembering something, she let out a snort of laughter.

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