"This restaurant looks pretty good." Qi Jianqiu glanced at the restaurant in front of her, but her eyes slowly shifted their focus to Moonglade down the street.
"We can go to Moonglade if you want to!" Feng Luodi laughed. "I know you'd want to head in there to check out the pretty artistes."
"But I'm dressed as a girl today!" Qi Jianqiu pouted.
"Oh come on." Feng Luodi rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows that you love the zither parlours."
"Luodi! How can you say that in public!" Qi Jianqiu hissed.
Feng Luodi shook her head and was just about to head into Moonglade with her friend when a familiar voice sounded off to the side.
"I see that we're heading to Moonglade today?"
"Of course. Miss Linglong is beautiful, while Miss Crystal is pure of heart. I say that it's best if we visit Miss Linglong today." That was a voice Qi Jianqiu was familiar with. The two girls turned to their right and saw Situ and Gan Qingjia.
"Hey! Didn't see you there just now, Jianqiu." Gan Qingjia stared at Qi Jianqiu intently, putting on his charismatic smile that's known to make girls swoon.
Unfortunately for him, Qi Jianqiu was unaffected by it. She glared at Gan Qingjia. "Who gave you the right to call me like that? Are we very close?"
"Are we not?" Gan Qingjia shrugged. "You're so adorable even when you're mad, Jianqiu."
"Hmph! I am beautiful, not adorable! Please get that right!" Qi Jianqiu huffed.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere between Feng Luodi and Situ was much more awkward. Feng Luodi looked at the man in front of her, unsure of what to say. Despite not having met him at all since their return from the North, Situ had sent many gifts of zithers to her. Every day, the Feng residence will receive zithers of all shapes and sizes from Situ, to a point where there's not enough room in her courtyard to house the zithers anymore. She'd tried to stop the attendants from bringing the gifts, but they only took orders from Situ.
What should I say right now? Feng Luodi racked her brains for a solution, but nothing came to her mind. She looked to Qi Jianqiu for help, but saw the two of them still engaged in a heated banter. Qi Jianqiu's face was flushed, but Gan Qingjia was clearly enjoying it, fondness evident in his eyes.
Fondness? Feng Luodi shuddered and decided to turn her attention back to Situ. What is he even doing! Why is he just staring at me like that? It's making me uneasy...
"Luodi! I'll be heading into Moonglade with this fella' over here right now to see which one of us is more popular! Wait a while before you come in with Situ!" Before Feng Luodi could reply, she turned and stalked off towards Moonglade. Gan Qingjia smiled as he bowed at Feng Luodi, quickly catching up to Qi Jianqiu already ahead of him.
Ahhhhh Jianqiu! Feng Luodi took a deep breath and turned around to face Situ, forcing a smile onto her face. "It's been some time."
Situ continued to stare at her, silent but intent. It was a while before he spoke up. "It has, indeed."
Pedestrians stared as they walked by, wondering to themselves. Is that couple over there arguing?
"Can you stop staring at me like that?" Finally, Feng Luodi could not stand it any longer. Before Situ could answer, a commotion broke out right in front of them. A young woman dressed in extravagant clothes was standing in front of the restaurant, her cheek flushed red. Despite her good looks and expensive clothes, she came off as arrogant and rude.
"You lowly servant! How dare you feed my previous steed with such low-grade hay!" The woman raised the horsewhip in her hand and swung it through the air, hitting an attendant kneeling in front of her. The attendant flinched visibly but did not cry out. Beside them, the owner of the restaurant could only watch on in horror, too afraid to stop the young woman.
He was too afraid of the woman to act, but Feng Luodi was not. She stepped forward and gripped the woman's hand, stopping her from landing another whip on the attendant. She helped the attendant to his feet and turned to the woman again.
"It is normal for a restaurant to feed the horses with whatever hay they have. If you feel that it isn't of a good enough quality, you can bring your own hay! Who gave you the right to whip him like that?"
"Who do you think you are?" The woman jerked her whip out of Feng Luodi's grip. Bystanders started to gather around, whispering amongst themselves in hushed tones as they shot looks at the woman. The woman's face was flushed, embarrassed from the judgement she was receiving from the crowd.
"Do you know who I am? How dare you talk to me like that!"
"It's my first time seeing you, young miss. How will I know who you are?" Feng Luodi was calm. "But your actions are atrocious, harming an attendant over such a small matter."
"How is this a small matter?" The woman raised her chin arrogantly. "I am the daughter of the Huaiyang Commandery Prince, Chu Xiaoxiao. I am a Commandery Princess, a noble that the likes of you peasants should feel honoured to lay your eyes on. This hay is suitable for the horses of you peasants, but my horse requires the best hay."
Well, my mother is a Commandery Princess herself, but I'd never seen her act in this way before.
"So what if you're a Commandery Princess?" Feng Luodi did not falter. "You are dining at this restaurant, and it is only right if your horse gets fed the same hay as the rest of the horses. If you are unsatisfied with that arrangement, you can get whatever hay you like yourself. At the end of the day, the attendant is not at fault."
The attendant knew that Chu Xiaoxiao was a Commandery Princess and quickly tried to make things right. "No need to get all upset, your Highness. I'll buy some high-quality hay for your horse right away."
Chu Xiaoxiao smirked at Feng Luodi. "Did you hear that? That's how you should be speaking to me, peasant." She turned to the attendant. "What are you waiting for? Get to it now!"
The attendant bowed and turned to leave, but Feng Luodi called out to him. "Hold on."
The attendant stopped and looked at Feng Luodi. "Thank you for helping me just now, young miss. But if I can handle the situation by just buying some hay, I wouldn't trouble you any further."
"Well, well. The peasant here is telling you to mind your own business!" Chu Xiaoxiao laughed mockingly. "Do you really see yourself as a messiah?"
The crowd's focus was now on Feng Luodi. Situ stepped forward to interrupt but saw Feng Luodi waving a hand at him, telling him to leave it to her.
"I'm surprised to see someone bullying the citizens of Xuan in the capital of our kingdom." Feng Luodi stared at her. "Does your status as a Commandery Princess give you the right to act in such a manner right under the watchful eye of his Majesty?" Feng Luodi tried to pressure her with the Emperor.
Chu Xiaoxiao laughed. "There's a difference between us nobles and you peasants everywhere, even before his Majesty himself. You lowly peasants should speak to me respectfully and obediently."
Feng Luodi was enraged. "What gave you the right to draw a line between the nobles and the civilians?"
"It's simple, really. The blood that flows in my veins is pure and noble, while that of yours is vile and disgusting. That's why you have to listen to me." Chu Xiaoxiao looked at her smugly, but her words had angered the civilians around her.
Feng Luodi rolled her eyes. This woman is crazy! Not even the Emperor will say things like that; It's my fault for trying to reason with her. But I guess some do think like that in the Xuan dynasty; nobody can understand my views that'd come from the 21st Century.
Feng Luodi smiled at her mockingly. "Then why don't you cut open your wrists for us to see? We can check if the blood that flows out is red like the rest of us."
"How dare you mock me!" Chu Xiaoxiao glared at her.
"I'm surprised that you even knew that I was mocking you." Feng Luodi decided to go all out. After all, the situation can't get any worse, can it?
Situ smiled. That's the first time I've seen her smiling like that. She's cute. His smile disappeared in the next instant when the enraged Chu Xiaoxiao lashed her arm out at Feng Luodi, her whip swishing through the air. Frantically, Feng Luodi barely managed to dodge the first stroke but before she could back away, the whip came flying towards her again.
A hand reached out from behind her and grabbed the whip, yanking it from Chu Xiaoxiao's grasp.
"You're still causing trouble everywhere you go, huh?" Situ's voice sounded from behind her. The next thing she knew, she was yanked into his embrace.
"If you're not going to show yourself, I'll have to take your silence as your approval of your sister's actions, Heir of the Huaiyang Commandery Prince. The feast set for you in the residence of the Eighth Prince would be in vain, then." Situ said calmly, facing a window on the second floor of the restaurant.
A man dressed in an indigo robe and a jaded crown on his head leapt out of the window, landing gracefully in front of Situ. "Your reputation precedes you, Duke of Anping. It's my pleasure to meet you." The son of the Huaiyang Commandery Prince, Chu Huaicai, greeted Situ.
"But you're very different from what the rumours say about you." Situ's face was stoic. Chu Huaicai had gentle features and a scholarly air around him, but his eyes were hard and arrogant.
"I fear that I have doted on my sister too much when she was growing up; please forgive her for offending you, Anping Duke."
"Hey! I didn't do anything to him!" Chu Xiaoxiao glared at Situ, pointing at her whip that lay on the floor. "So what if he's the Duke of Anping? That doesn't give him the right to bully girls like me!"
"Xiaoxiao." Chu Huaicai whispered urgently.
Situ's face was as cold as ever. "The Commandery Princess is right: she did not do anything to me. However, she'd offended Luodi and this attendant here. The Commandery Princess should apologise to them."
"I'm not going to apologise to these two lowly peasants!" Chu Xiaoxiao screamed.
Situ's face darkened.