The “Chǔ Shìzǐ” mentioned by the little servant, if I’m not mistaken, should be the one from the Yì Jūn Wáng family.

Although there are several princes and heirs in the capital, the Yì Jūn Wáng has the closest blood relation to the current emperor, so people flatter and curry favor by directly calling him “Chǔ Shìzǐ.”

Xiè Wényàn has quite a deep memory of this Chǔ Shìzǐ.

The reason is that in his previous life, when he destroyed the Chǔ Kingdom, he had persuaded the other party’s father-in-law to act as an insider!

And the fact that the other party was willing to betray the country ultimately stemmed from being forced.

Because the Yì Jūn Wáng’s residence is truly not a good place.

The Yì Jūn Wáng is an old playboy, and the princess is a sharp-tongued and controlling matriarch.

As for Chǔ Shìzǐ, he is charming and dashing on the surface, but if you look closely, he is just a flirt. He claims to have no concubines in his backyard, but in reality, he has a whole bunch of maidservants and young attendants.

There’s even a “true love mistress” from a brothel who has given birth to his eldest son and daughter…

Of course, all these romantic escapades are tightly concealed by the princess, as she still wants to find a capable daughter-in-law for her son to stabilize the declining Wang residence.

Unfortunately, this mother has good intentions for her son, but Chǔ Shìzǐ is not cooperating and is determined to marry his true love as his main wife.

But how could a woman from a brothel possibly become a princess?

However, parents ultimately cannot go against their children. After a quarrel between mother and son, they finally decided to hire a daughter from a low-ranking official’s family as the main wife, allowing the true love to be a concubine.

This is indeed a bit underhanded, but if the daughter from the low-ranking official’s family can maintain the dignity of the main wife after entering the household, they might be able to endure it. After all, the position of a princess carries significant weight.

But the mother and son just wouldn’t play by the rules!

After the daughter from the low-ranking official’s family entered the household, Chǔ Shìzǐ neglected her, and even allowed his true love, the concubine, to provoke and bully her.

The princess felt that her daughter-in-law was useless, unable to win her son’s heart. Not only did she control the household management, but she also set rules for her daughter-in-law every day, making her life miserable.

Eventually, even the servants in the residence could bully this officially recognized princess.

In the end, the daughter from the low-ranking official’s family could no longer endure the torment and ran out of the Yì Jūn Wáng’s residence to beat the drum of justice.

After crying out her grievances to the onlookers, she dashed headfirst into the palace gate and died!

This incident caused quite a stir.

Afterwards, the Yì Jūn Wáng’s residence naturally faced demotion and punishment, but since they were royal relatives and it was just a “small matter” of tormenting a daughter-in-law, they were only downgraded in title and still enjoyed wealth and honor.

The parents of the daughter from the low-ranking official’s family were naturally indignant!

Because she was their only daughter, they had agreed to the marriage proposal from the Yì Jūn Wáng’s residence, considering that their daughter had no siblings to support her. After they passed away, they feared their daughter would be bullied by relatives.

While the Yì Jūn Wáng’s low marriage might have some hidden reasons, high-ranking families still care about their reputation.

Even if their daughter had to endure some grievances after marrying, she should still enjoy the status of a princess and live a worry-free life for the rest of her days.

Who would have thought that the Yì Jūn Wáng’s residence would be so heartless as to drive someone to death!

The couple was filled with hatred but knew their own weakness, so they could only swallow their anger and lie low, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge.

Perhaps it was the hatred in their hearts that kept the father alive.

At seventy years old, he still held a position in the government and, through perseverance, managed to become a significant official in the capital, holding many court secrets.

So, when Xiè Wényàn extended an olive branch and used his silver tongue to persuade this official, who had been lying low and wanting to take revenge for his daughter’s death, he agreed to betray the country.

The Chǔ royal family had caused him to be childless; he didn’t care about the fate of the Chǔ Kingdom!

---

Although Xiè Wényàn is not a good person, he despises the actions of the Yì Jūn Wáng’s residence.

He wouldn’t associate with such people, but that doesn’t stop him from using them.

The Yì Jūn Wáng’s residence is still favored by the emperor, so if he can gain a favor from a member of the Wang family, it will make things much easier for him in the future.

If he wants to climb up, he can’t let his likes and dislikes control him.

He can’t follow the same principle as his cousin from his previous life, who completely avoided people he disliked.

After turning over a hundred thoughts in his mind, Xiè Wényàn put on the airs of a young master from a noble family, haughtily and impatiently scolding,

“You blind fool! You can’t even hold a wine jug properly and got my clothes dirty. What bad luck!”

“What are you kneeling for? Hurry up and get me a clean outfit! You’ve delayed my attendance at the poetry gathering, and I’ll deal with you later!”

After saying that, he stormed back to his room, waiting for a new outfit to be brought to him.

The little servant, seeing him return to the room, breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly nodded and bowed to fetch clean clothes.

Once Xiè Wényàn had tidied up his outfit, the little servant intentionally guided him, “Young Master, the poetry gathering hasn’t started yet. How about I bring you some tea and snacks? You can rest in the room and enjoy the river view. Today, the canal has been specially arranged by our master, and the scenery is quite pleasant.”

“Is that so? Alright then.”

Xiè Wényàn nodded without refusal.

The little servant, receiving his consent, immediately smiled and opened the window of the room, then went to serve the tea and snacks.

Casually pointing outside the window, he happily said, “Ah, Young Master, look! What a coincidence! The young ladies and gentlemen on the boat next to us are discussing poetry and competing in talents…”

The young ladies and gentlemen from noble families, whenever they attend gatherings, naturally cannot just stand by and watch.

The men want to make a name for themselves in their careers, while the women want to showcase their talents for marriage prospects.

So, during gatherings, the young ladies and gentlemen use poetry discussions as an excuse to perform their talents for the enjoyment of the ladies and gentlemen present; it’s quite an elegant affair.

Of course, there are no outside men around during these times, only the ladies and their companions; otherwise, the nature of the gathering would change.

Now, Xiè Wényàn can see this because the boat he is on is relatively large, while the boat of the ladies and gentlemen across is slightly smaller, allowing him to enjoy the view.

With this guidance from the little servant, Xiè Wényàn almost instantly guessed the other party’s intention!

If he’s not mistaken, today’s performance is likely to be a show put on by some young lady or gentleman who has their eyes on the position of the princess, trying to attract attention for a marriage proposal in front of Chǔ Shìzǐ.

After all, before the other party’s dirty laundry is aired, Chǔ Shìzǐ is indeed a decent marriage candidate.

But he wonders which young lady or gentleman is so confident that they think they can make someone fall in love at first sight?

Although he’s a bit curious, Xiè Wényàn has no interest in beauty. Thinking of this, he loses interest and prepares to leave.

But then he quickly dismisses the thought of leaving.

Because he sees a familiar figure on the boat across.

The unlucky young man who fell into a trap in the mountains, the third son of the Yǒngchāng Bó family, Qiáo Yùjǐng!

“Could it be that the one trying to attract Chǔ Shìzǐ is him?”

Xiè Wényàn pursed his lips, and as he guessed this truth, he suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.

What kind of eyesight does this young man have?

How could he be interested in something that looks good on the outside but is rotten on the inside?

—

Over there, on the boat of the ladies and gentlemen.

Qiáo Yùjǐng’s goal for attending the poetry gathering today is indeed to attract Chǔ Shìzǐ. The little servant who blocked Xiè Wényàn was also arranged by him.

But he doesn’t genuinely want to marry Chǔ Shìzǐ; he’s setting up a scheme for his half-sister.

As a person who has been reborn, Qiáo Yùjǐng naturally knows what kind of person Chǔ Shìzǐ is. In a situation like that of the Yì Jūn Wáng’s residence, whoever marries in will be unlucky.

He definitely won’t enter the Yì Jūn Wáng’s residence, but he can push his half-sister, who harmed him in his previous life, into it!

In his last life, his half-sister caused him great harm just to snatch his marriage.

This deep-seated hatred is impossible to forget; he hasn’t become kind enough to forgive his enemies.

So, after thinking it over, Qiáo Yùjǐng decided to attract Chǔ Shìzǐ to propose marriage. Since his half-sister likes to snatch his things so much, why not let her take the fire pit that is the Yì Jūn Wáng’s residence?

In the end, he can not only deal with his half-sister but also use this to threaten the Bó family to not interfere with his marriage.

It’s a win-win situation.

And attracting Chǔ Shìzǐ is actually quite easy.

Chǔ Shìzǐ loves beautiful women, especially those with slender figures. Although he has concealed his looks, he is still handsome, and he has many talents!

Now, the mother and son of the Yì Jūn Wáng’s residence are looking for a daughter-in-law they can easily manage, right?

As a talented young man from the Bó family who is not favored at home, isn’t he more suitable than the daughter of a low-ranking official from his previous life?

Considering all this, Qiáo Yùjǐng is at least ninety percent confident in the success of his plan.

So, after arriving at the poetry gathering and boarding the boat, Qiáo Yùjǐng walked over to the princess and subtly flattered her, making her develop a great fondness for him.

When it was time to perform his talents, he put on a dazzling painting and dance performance!

The dance and painting merged beautifully, elegant and stunning, providing a great visual feast.

In the end, with a flourish, he raised his head slightly, and his beautiful, affectionate eyes sparkled, stunning everyone present.

The flower painting he had just completed even attracted a few butterflies, fluttering down to land on the flowers in the painting, making it look incredibly lifelike!

No wonder he is known as the handsome young man of the capital.

The ladies and gentlemen on the boat applauded and nodded in satisfaction, clearly very pleased.

On this side, although Xiè Wényàn doesn’t care for beauty, seeing such a magnificent scene indeed left him a bit amazed.

After all, appreciating beauty is human nature.

But then he thought about how hard this young man was performing just to attract someone.

The amazement in Xiè Wényàn’s eyes quickly faded, replaced by displeasure.

He couldn’t help but grumble in his heart: With such excellent skills, how could his eyesight be so poor? There are so many good men in the capital; why would he choose to pursue someone like Chǔ Shìzǐ, who is such a bad catch?

What a fool!

No wonder he could fall into someone’s hunting trap during the day!

The more Xiè Wényàn grumbled, the more irritated he became. He felt he might be like his cousin said, just tired of foolishness.

This young man from the Yǒngchāng Bó family is a pawn he has his eyes on; how could he be so foolish?

No, he needs to be trained; otherwise, what will happen in the future?

Thinking this, Xiè Wényàn walked over to the desk in the room, ground the ink, and picked up a brush to write:

【Jūn wú fúróng miàn, dào shì qīngchéng zī, kěxī gù rén wù, fèi jūn yī fān sī.】

Then, he stuffed the note into the little servant’s hands and said, “Tell your master that after the poetry gathering, he should meet me in the peach orchard outside. If he doesn’t come, he’ll bear the consequences.”

He really can’t stand foolish people.

He must turn this young man around!

With that, he happily made his decision.

Xiè Wényàn finally felt better and left with a smile.

The author has something to say:
Xiè Gōng: How could such an outstanding handsome man not be attracted to me, but instead go after a fickle carrot? This eyesight needs to be corrected!
Qiáo Shòu: …What a sin!