Chapter 327

Chapter 327: If Your Brain Isn’t Right, Go Check Your Eyes

Jiang Si Ying didn’t think so deeply. Seeing the two Song young masters look only at Yu Zhi Yi, she dug her nails into her palm so hard she almost broke the skin.

Yu Zhi Yi was used to people bowing now. She swept a calm look over the two and was about to tell them to rise when she saw the elder brother’s face and let out a soft, “Huh.”

Commandery Governor Song had been watching the three of them closely. He asked at once: “Second Miss Jiang, do you know my son?”

Yu Zhi Yi shook her head: “We haven’t met before.”

She looked once more at the eldest and then drew back her gaze: “Eldest Young Master Song, are you meeting someone later?”

The eldest blinked, then smiled, his dimples deep: “Yes. I planned to go boating with friends. Second Miss Jiang, are you interested? Tian’an Commandery has a fish called luosha. Fresh-caught luosha tastes great no matter how you cook it. We were going to fish and eat by the lake.”

Yu Zhi Yi thought for a beat: “Then you should bring more bodyguards-and it’s best to wear a Heart-Guard Mirror.”

She counted it as returning the favor for the Song couple coming in person to help her earlier. Whether they believed her wasn’t her problem.

Though the eldest agreed, he clearly didn’t take it to heart. Commandery Governor Song, however, thought a lot. He had heard that this Official Yu was valued by today’s emperor for her uncanny insight. He didn’t really believe in omens or fate, but since she had spoken, they had to at least act like they believed.

After they went home, he told the steward to stop the eldest at the door and make him take twenty bodyguards and wear a Heart-Guard Mirror.

Only when Commandery Governor Song finished arranging things did Madam Song ask softly: “Do you truly believe that Official Yu can tell fortunes?”

He neither admitted nor denied it, only said: “Better to believe than not.”

Madam Song nodded, thoughtful. That meant he didn’t really believe. But she didn’t press it. As a good helpmate, she knew her husband’s biggest wish: to return to the capital and report his work. Official Yu was the best help for that. If they could earn even a little of her goodwill, the chances of going back to the capital would rise. And even if they couldn’t return, the Martial Alliance is here, and her parents are in Tian’an Commandery. Shouldn’t she try to win some benefits for the region? No matter what benefits the court grants, the commandery governor-the top official here-will get a share. To please someone, you don’t always have to barter favors; emotional value works better than lifeless gifts.

So the eldest, who had planned to go out with just one page and one bodyguard, ended up taking more than twenty people. And there was also the Heart-Guard Mirror on his chest.

The mirror wasn’t from the steward. Madam Song knew her son too well. A group that large was hard to refuse, but a small thing tucked in a pocket? He might defy her and “forget” it. So she called her son to her and personally tucked the Heart-Guard Mirror into his left breast: “It’s better to be careful. Even if nothing happens, carrying this won’t bother you.”

The eldest sighed: “Mother, do you and Father really believe in fortune-telling?”

He didn’t. When he was little, he once paid a fortune-teller out of curiosity. After taking his silver, the man said his luck that day was excellent and he’d meet a noble person. Then… he met his father’s enemy.

Years ago, his father had handled a brutal murder case. The killer looked like an honest old farmer, but he had actually been a savage bandit ten years earlier and had gone into hiding because the Imperial Court wanted him. Later that same man killed again. His father took the case, peeled back every layer, and gathered all the evidence. Everything pointed to the old farmer. In the third year after his arrest, a sudden flood hit Tian’an Commandery. The prison walls fell and the farmer escaped.

The “noble person” the eldest met that day was that escaped killer. Commandery Governor Song may be a civil official, but he isn’t weak in martial arts. The old farmer couldn’t beat him, so he came after his son for revenge. If Commandery Governor Song hadn’t arrived in time, the eldest would’ve died that day. Since then he never believed in fortune-telling and hated those fortune-tellers. But he couldn’t refuse his mother’s good will, and as the eldest son-unlike his pleasure-loving younger brother-he knew his father’s hopes and why his father wanted to befriend Official Yu. So he wore the Heart-Guard Mirror.

…

“Stop.”

Yu Zhi Yi turned. Jiang Si Ying strode over with a cold face.

“Do you need something?”

Jiang Si Ying glared at her lovely face, anger boiling: “The Martial Alliance isn’t some small house. It stands for the face of the whole Martial World. As the Alliance’s second young miss, you should watch your words and actions.”

Yu Zhi Yi looked puzzled: “How did I not watch them?”

Jiang Si Ying sneered: “To draw Eldest Young Master Song’s attention, you dared to talk nonsense. Did you think about this: if nothing happens during his boat trip today, what will he think of us? What will Commandery Governor Song think? The Alliance is under Tian’an Commandery’s rule, and the commandery governor is strong in martial arts. My father has been trying to befriend their family. Your stunt today could ruin his plans! Even if you want to please the Song family, you shouldn’t use such low tricks that are easy to expose. When it blows up, you’ll be the Alliance’s criminal!”

Yu Zhi Yi rubbed her brow: “Eldest Miss Jiang, if no physician here can check your brain, then have one check your eyes. Anyone who isn’t blind can see it’s the Song family who are trying to befriend me.”

Jiang Si Ying’s face turned ugly. She had thought she only misread the mood at the table, but Yu Zhi Yi dared to say it out loud. She choked and couldn’t answer for a moment.

By the time she found her voice, Yu Zhi Yi had already walked away, leaving behind a clear line: “You don’t have to treat me like your enemy. I’m not interested in either Eldest Young Master Song or Second Young Master Song.”

There was one more thing Yu Zhi Yi didn’t say: [Neither of those two is Jiang Si Ying’s fated match. Second Young Master Song’s destined person hasn’t appeared yet, and Eldest Young Master Song already has a hint of one-but not within the Martial Alliance.]

Jiang Si Ying watched that unhesitating back. The anger in her chest suddenly drained away, leaving only confusion and helplessness.