TGCFNM -Chapter 77 Verification

Chu Ling stepped back again, her back pressing against the private room door, her face dark and unreadable.

Wan Sanjin retreated as well, looking at her nervously. “My lord, what’s wrong?”

“I need to verify something,” Chu Ling murmured.

“How will you verify it?”

Chu Ling slowly returned to her seat and looked at Wan Sanjin. “Call the waiter up and say we’re adding a dish. I want to ask him about something.”

Wan Sanjin responded and opened the door to call the waiter. By coincidence, he ran into Xiao Lengjue passing by. He couldn’t help but steal a few curious glances.

Xiao Lengjue looked at him and narrowed his eyes. “Have I seen you somewhere before?”

Wan Sanjin nodded. “My elder brother once took me to Linquan Pavilion. I saw you from afar there. As for whether you saw me, I’m not sure.”

Xiao Lengjue didn’t think much of it. He simply nodded in greeting and went into the private room next door.

Wan Sanjin then went to summon the waiter to add a dish.

Cui Xi volunteered eagerly. “Miss, the two private rooms are so close. Maybe I can slip over. I’ll go and listen.”

Chu Ling’s eyes lit up. “Good. Give it a try.”

Just then, Wan Sanjin returned with the waiter and gave Chu Ling a subtle signal: he had already slipped him a few copper coins.

Chu Ling smiled. “That Miss Chu—you seem quite familiar with her. You greeted her warmly the moment she arrived.”

The waiter looked at Chu Ling cautiously. Lowering her gaze with a shy smile, Chu Ling said softly, “It’s just… I’d like to ask a bit more about her. Only what can be said, of course.”

The waiter immediately understood. “Miss Chu is stunningly beautiful. I understand, I understand.”

Chu Ling raised her eyes and smiled at him. “Has Miss Chu been here for quite some time?”

“Oh, Miss Chu is an honored guest of the Marquis family. She’s been here for a month now. Ever since she arrived, the Marquis family’s fortunes have turned for the better. They treat her with the utmost respect.” As he spoke, the waiter sized Chu Ling up. “Young master, Miss Chu is not someone people like us can covet. You’d better give up.”

Chu Ling’s expression was difficult to read. “Yes… you’re right.”

“Don’t be too upset, young master. The day after tomorrow, Qingyang will host its annual grand event—the Flower Boat Lake Tour. It’s the biggest occasion of the year here. This time, they’ve even invited the number one young master under heaven: Fu Qingyu. You should go take a look.”

Wan Sanjin’s eyes widened. He wanted to stop him, but it was too late. Chu Ling, however, appeared distracted, as though she hadn’t taken it to heart at all.

Speaking of Qingyang’s grand event, the waiter brimmed with pride and eagerly gave a full introduction.

“This Flower Boat Lake Tour even has a legend behind it. They say a long serpent once disguised itself as a dragon and plagued the people, who suffered terribly. Later, the Wine God Sanyang brewed Sanyang Wine and ventured alone into the serpent’s lair, luring the great snake to drink it. The snake became utterly drunk, and Wine God Sanyang beheaded it with a single stroke. The severed snake head rolled off a cliff and landed in Qingyang, becoming what is now the Qing River. Every year, the Flower Boat Lake Tour is held to suppress that snake head so it dares not cause trouble again, and to pray for blessings for the people.”

Chu Ling turned her head back and smiled. “Thank you for the information. Young Master Wan, a reward.”

Wan Sanjin handed over a few more copper coins. After the waiter left, he looked at Chu Ling nervously. “As for Qingyu coming to Qingyang—I only found out after I checked into the inn.”

Chu Ling rested her chin on her hand and tapped lightly on the table, frowning in confusion. “If everything you’ve said is true—that I donated for an official post because of Fu Qingyu—then why did I choose Sishui County? And why would Fu Qingyu go to such a remote place?”

Wan Sanjin was also stunned. “I’ve never heard that Fu Qingyu was going to Sishui County. It was only because you went there, my lord, that I followed to gather information.”

“So… I was deceived?” Chu Ling asked.

Wan Sanjin looked blank. He truly didn’t know anymore.

Chu Ling smiled and arched a brow at him. “You’ve given so much for that Fu Qingyu. Now I’m curious what he looks like. I’ll stay to watch the flower boat tour of the lake before leaving.”

Wan Sanjin covered his face with both hands. A miscalculation.

.

After drinking two cups of wine, Chu Ling finally saw Cui Xi return. She stood up, picked up the remaining wine, and said, “Bring this back for them to taste. Let’s go.”

On the way back, Cui Xi floated beside Chu Ling and sighed. “That Young Master Xiao is already betrothed to the eldest young lady. How can he speak so intimately with the second young lady? And the second young lady even called herself ‘Nameless.’”

Chu Ling nodded. When Chu Yue first met Xiao Lengjue, she had also called herself “Nameless.” But Chu Yue had only wanted to get rid of him quickly, worried that her identity might be exposed. This Chu Rou, however, had carefully plotted her approach.

In that case, either this Miss Chu Rou, like her, had transmigrated into a book—or she had been reborn.

Judging from all her behavior, Chu Rou was likely reborn—and reborn as the Chu family’s second young lady, not as the younger sister she had once been in her previous life, after being saved and acknowledged by Chu Yue.

“I thought the two sisters were deeply affectionate,” Chu Ling murmured. Yet because of a man, Chu Rou had struggled upward, reshaping herself into the perfect substitute for Chu Yue.

Cui Xi relayed every word of the conversation next door. At the end, she added, “When the second young lady is at home, everyone praises her. Whether standing still or moving, her etiquette is flawless. But outside… she seems, well… bold and unrestrained. As if she’s become a different person.”

“And what about Xiao Lengjue? How is he?” Chu Ling asked softly.

“Miss, when I was a maid, I lived comfortably because I followed you. But I also accompanied the second branch to visit the main household several times. The servants there dared not raise their voices. The rules were numerous. The First Madam was decisive and ruthless in her methods. To survive, I learned to read my masters’ expressions.”

“This Young Master Xiao—though he smiles and appears somewhat close—always carries deep suspicion. Even when he smiles at others, it doesn’t feel sincere. It’s like he’s testing them.”

Chu Ling couldn’t help but snort with laughter. Chu Rou was probably planning to replicate everything Chu Yue had once done. But since she hadn’t killed Chen Huai, she couldn’t obtain the martial arts manual. Without that, she couldn’t investigate the Marquis family’s secret treasure alongside Xiao Lengjue. She could only try to persuade the Marquis family to offer up the treasure themselves.

Chu Rou went to Zuixian Tower every day—most likely waiting for Xiao Lengjue.

But inviting him to drink so abruptly, without the foundation of a “fight that leads to friendship” beforehand, inevitably created a sense of awkwardness.

“Chu Rou likes Xiao Lengjue. She can’t hide it,” Chu Ling said quietly. And so, everything she did—once made deliberate—would inevitably arouse suspicion.

“My lord, what?” Wan Sanjin returned with some snacks and handed her a packet.

“I said Chu Rou likes Young Master Xiao and wants to snatch her own sister’s marriage engagement,” Chu Ling replied.

Wan Sanjin shook his head. “My elder brother once said that after the Great General died, the Chu family basically fell. Although no one knows what support the Chu family still relies on—since they haven’t panicked, and all the branches remain peacefully in the General’s residence—no one would marry into the Chu family now.”

Chu Ling: “So the engagement between Xiao Lengjue and Chu Yue has been directly annulled?”

“Even before the General’s residence collapsed, Young Master Xiao already wanted to dissolve the engagement. His heart belongs elsewhere—to Sun Taifu’s granddaughter, Sun Yingxiu.”

Chu Ling looked stunned. What kind of dramatic mess is this—you love me, I don’t love you, I love her—a full-blown tragic love entanglement.