Chapter 295

Chapter 295: Toe-Curling Embarrassment

Jiang Liu Yun planted his fists on his waist, ready to force Han Lian Qiao to spell out exactly how they had mistreated Chen Xin Yue.

This kind of trap, where you must prove yourself, was scary. In vague matters, if you refuted one point, the other side would throw out another.

Proper explanations could be twisted into endless misunderstandings.

Yu Zhi Yi knew this too well. Back at Yu Manor, Yu Jiao Jiao often played this game. At first Yu Zhi Yi argued back, later she stopped bothering.

Sometimes, when pushed too far, she would even make the false charge true. If Yu Jiao Jiao lied that Yu Zhi Yi had shoved or hit her, Yu Zhi Yi would simply give her a real shove or a slap.

Over time, Yu Jiao Jiao grew afraid of being hit and no longer dared to use those lies. She only dared to say vague things.

As for those harmless little tricks, Yu Zhi Yi ignored them. Some people’s hearts were tilted from the start, or they made up their minds too early.

Unless you put hard proof under their noses, they never realized they were being led around by the nose.

Some people would not see or hear the truth even if you handed them evidence.

Yu Zhi Yi patted Jiang Liu Yun’s shoulder, stepped forward to stand beside him, and asked evenly, “Miss Han, do you know the Martial Alliance’s affairs well?”

Han Lian Qiao lifted her head with pride and said, “Xin Yue and I grew up together. With her there, I may not know everything about the Martial Alliance, but I know at least seven or eight parts out of ten.”

She spoke with pride, but Chen Xin Yue’s face turned pale. The heir apparent of Marquis Wu’an showed a meaningful look.

Several elders nearby also exchanged odd glances.

To know seven or eight parts out of ten about the Martial Alliance’s affairs meant what, exactly?

Did Chen Xin Yue often speak to outsiders about the Alliance?

What had she told?

She was a young girl and might not touch secret letters, but she lived in the Alliance and could still come across things others could not.

Had she spoken of those, too?

Jiang Liu Yun realized this as well and felt uneasy.

Only Jiang Liu Bin still looked clueless, not even noticing how the people around them had changed expressions.

Yu Zhi Yi did not push the point. Sometimes it was better to let others draw their own conclusions. Saying it aloud would look petty.

She only asked mildly, “Since Miss Chen is your close friend and tells you everything, how is it that she never told you I am the daughter Second Master Jiang just found? As the proper Second Miss of the Martial Alliance and the younger sister of these two young masters, what is wrong with them treating me well?”

Han Lian Qiao’s face changed and she blurted, “What? You are Second Master Jiang’s daughter?”

Yu Zhi Yi looked at her with a curious gaze and said, “Is that not obvious?”

She had not used a mocking tone, yet Han Lian Qiao felt as if she had been slapped. Her cheeks burned.

Yu Zhi Yi did not study the young miss’s face in detail. One glance told her the girl’s eyes were clear. She was not someone crooked or cruel.

Yu Zhi Yi stepped up and patted Han Lian Qiao’s shoulder, then tilted her head slightly and said in a cool, airy voice, “People in the Martial World are not like those in the Imperial Court. Trouble finds us easier. Miss Han, it is best to be careful, or you will be used as someone else’s tool. If only you suffer, that is still luck. I am afraid it might also drag down your family and friends. What do you think?”

Chen Xin Yue’s face turned even uglier as she cried, “Lian Qiao, I did not.”

Yu Zhi Yi ignored them. At this point, the one caught in the trap of proving herself was no longer her or her two silly brothers, right?

Jiang Liu Yun gave Chen Xin Yue a complicated look, then said nothing.

Jiang Liu Bin finally sensed something was off. Even he understood those words about being used as a gun. Thinking back to Han Lian Qiao’s actions and Chen Xin Yue’s reactions, he realized that the girl who had grown up alongside him might not be so simple.

The time that followed was torture for Chen Xin Yue. Everyone’s eyes on her turned strange, and people seemed eager to avoid her.

Han Lian Qiao wanted to rush over and ask for the truth, but members of the Han Clan pulled her away.

In the end, Chen Xin Yue slunk back to where Yu Zhi Yi and the others sat.

She tried to sit beside Jiang Liu Bin. At the moment, he might be the only one willing to listen to her excuses.

Too bad the heir apparent of Marquis Wu’an and the other bodyguards had taken all the seats around Yu Zhi Yi and her brothers. Chen Xin Yue could not squeeze in and had to sit on the outer edge.

Watching Yu Zhi Yi being surrounded like a star at the center, the hatred in Chen Xin Yue’s heart grew stronger and stronger.

Yu Zhi Yi asked after listening to her brothers for a while: “So, both of you signed up to compete?”

Just now, the two brothers had been chattering to her like seven hundred ducks, telling her about today’s events.

There were two rounds in total, one for mounted archery and one for polo.

Mounted archery needed no extra words. It tested shooting arrows while riding.

Unlike the nobles in the Capital, who liked to release rare beasts in the hills as live targets, Juxian Manor used dead objects as targets.

When the match began, people on both sides would throw wooden plaques into the air as targets.

Each contestant had fifty arrows, and every target carried a mark unique to that contestant.

In the end, they decided the winner by the number of targets the contestant hit.

Polo was a team event. But it was different from the Capital’s version.

Here, polo was two-on-two. The pair on one team rode side by side to face the other team, and whoever scored higher won.

[My ears are about to pop.]

She had heard that the aunties at the market could be fierce talkers, but she had not known that two teenage brothers could be just as overwhelming.

Thankfully, there were only so many rules to explain. Once the silly brothers finished, they ran out of things to say.

Jiang Liu Bin pulled two oil-paper packets from somewhere and grinned: “Sister, I brought nuts and pastries just for you. If you get bored, you can snack while you watch.”

Jiang Liu Yun went speechless, then scowled. He hated that he had not thought of it first.

Suddenly he seemed to remember something and asked Li Rou a quick question. Li Rou nodded.

Jiang Liu Yun threw Jiang Liu Bin a look of contempt, then dashed down the mountain.

People in the Martial World were fast. In less than a quarter of an hour, he returned carrying a large tray.

On the tray sat a small warmer, a purple clay teapot, and two teacups.

“Sister, you must be thirsty. Come, have some tea.”

Yu Zhi Yi stared in silence. [This is so awkward my toes could curl into the floor.]

She did not need to look to know that the people around them were giving odd looks.

Jiang Liu Bin only glared at Jiang Liu Yun and huffed: “How shameless. You are using sister’s own things to butter her up.”

Jiang Liu Yun, instead of feeling ashamed, looked proud: “That is because I am closer to sister and understand her better.”

Jiang Liu Bin sputtered: “You only spent a few more months with her. What is so great about that?”

Jiang Liu Yun chuckled: “It is great. At least I know sister likes tea. I know her skills are vast. And from the start, I never doubted her.”

Jiang Liu Bin fell silent.