Proud Feather

Chapter 86 Tavern
The night was deep, the crowds of people who had been enjoying themselves dispersed, and the capital slowly fell asleep.

Lanterns hung in front of the small tavern, like a spark in the quiet night, becoming one of the few still-awake sights.

A carriage, heavily guarded, drove up and stopped in front of the gate.

"Princess." The masked man eagerly stepped forward to help her, but was glared at by Qingcha. The accompanying eunuch quickly brought out a stool to help the princess get out of the carriage.

The masked man touched his nose and gave a dry laugh.

So pretentious.

As soon as Chu Ling arrived at the door, before the curtain was even lifted, a zither melody came from inside. Immediately afterwards, a flowing melody emanated from within, as if a stream was rushing through blooming flowers to welcome the princess's arrival.

Qingcha's complexion improved somewhat, but she remained vigilant.

"Princess, I'll go in first." After saying that, she stepped in first, and then stared in astonishment.

This is a small tavern with only five or six tables, but it is very clean.

A wooden menu hangs on the wall, the tables and chairs are neither new nor old, and under the dim candlelight, everything seems to be veiled in a light gauze, sinking into a gentle dream.

Amidst flowing music and gentle lamplight, a young gentleman sat at a table by the window, the moonlight shining in perfectly, illuminating his jade-like face. A gentle breeze stirred, lifting the veil covering his eyes, making him appear like a fairy who had unintentionally entered a dream, someone one dared not disturb.

As soon as the music stopped, Qingcha snapped back to reality and quickly turned around to apologize: "Princess, please forgive me, I..."

She was filled with regret. If the other party had malicious intent, that was a huge mistake! How could she have made such a big error?

Chu Ling didn't care. How could she not know how lethal Xiao Yu's appearance was? Especially since he had deliberately arranged this today.

However, she was very curious: whose idea was this? With Xiao Yu's arrogant personality, could he really pull off such a move? This wasn't a celestial being descending to earth; it was practically a daring adventure!

"Young master! Young master, please speak!" someone urged desperately in a low voice.

Then Chu Ling discovered Mr. Gongsun hiding in the corner.

She walked over and tapped on the table.

Mr. Gongsun raised his head, gave her a fawning smile, and stood up to bow: "Greetings, Princess. I am Gongsun Hong, and I am our young master's... steward."

Chu Ling frowned.

Gongsun Hong? That name sounds familiar.

The masked, burly man followed in, momentarily stunned: "Why are you the one who came out to greet us? Didn't we say that you, young master, should put on a show and intimidate everyone first?"

The atmosphere was already ruined, and Gongsun Hong had no choice but to glare at his young master: "He's aloof, he won't cooperate, what can I do?"

Sigh, all that effort he put in all night—arranging things, adjusting the lights, finding a perfect spot—was wasted. He was stunned by the result.

In his vision, as soon as the music stopped, the young master would raise his head, and without even smiling, simply say softly, "Your Highness, it is my great honor to meet you today."

He simply didn't believe any woman could resist being fooled!

Unfortunately, it was all just a figment of imagination. The young master stood there like a piece of wood; he was beautiful, but he was just an empty shell.

"Cooperate with what?" The wooden beauty by the window finally spoke. "I'm just a blind person, so my reactions are naturally slower because I can't see."

Having said that, he groped his way to his feet and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, please forgive my abrupt invitation." "So you can be this polite sometimes," Chu Ling said, walking over and sitting down opposite him. "Weren't you going to apologize? Bring some wine!"

This assertive attitude, turning the tables on the guests, made Gongsun Hong and the burly man mutter to themselves. Indeed, she was of noble birth; this princess acted both proactively and domineeringly.

The servant quickly stepped forward and poured them wine.

"What are you still standing for? Sit down!" Chu Ling picked up her cup. "You promised to let this princess use this face as a drinking companion, so sit down and let me take a good look."

Hearing this, Xiao Yuqian curled the corners of her lips slightly, revealing a hint of helplessness: "My subordinate is being foolish, please forgive him, Princess."

“This isn’t exactly nonsense.” Chu Ling rested her chin on her hand, looking at him with a half-smile. “Young Master is indeed handsome.”

"..." Xiao Yu could only pretend not to hear, and fumbled to pick up the wine cup. "I am deeply grateful that the princess would grace us with her presence. We were the ones who offended you that day. We said we would help, but in reality we interfered with you in a high-handed manner, which was disrespectful. Today, we have set up this small banquet to apologize to the princess."

After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.

Chu Ling watched with a smile, neither responding nor expressing her opinion.

Xiao Yu turned around and called out, "Old Wu, what are you standing there for? Come over here and apologize."

The burly man responded and hurriedly came over: "Princess! I acted rashly that day and was disrespectful to you and the lady beside you. I apologize to you both."

After saying that, he kowtowed repeatedly without the slightest hesitation.

Chu Ling was fine, but Qing Cha had never seen anything like it before and immediately jumped away.

After the burly man finished kowtowing, seeing that they remained silent, he asked, "Princess, is there anything else you are dissatisfied with? Just tell me, and I will do as you say!"

Qingcha glanced at her master and said, "How can you apologize like that? Your face is covered, you have no manners at all."

The burly man suddenly realized what had happened, raised his hand to pull off the veil from his face, and said with a forced smile, "It was my rudeness. I forgot just now. Please forgive me, Princess."

His face, with its thick eyebrows and broad eyes, exudes a strong masculine and upright aura, perfectly complementing the features of a military general, making him truly heroic.

Chu Ling's gaze immediately sharpened, staring intently at him, and even Gongsun Hong noticed something was amiss.

Before he could even step forward, Chu Ling had already uttered a name: "Wu Zhiyong?"

The burly man was taken aback: "How does the princess know my name?" He was just a minor deputy general, far away on the border. Where did the princess, who grew up in the capital, hear of it?

Xiao Yu and Gongsun Hong were also stunned, wondering if their identities had been exposed. Even their names were known. Was it the Imperial City Guard that investigated? This situation was more serious than they had imagined. They had thought that they had given themselves away that night and that the Imperial Guards were just guessing because they were looking for someone surnamed Xiao. But now it seemed that things were not so simple.

"It really is you!" Chu Ling exclaimed inwardly as she looked at the face that was younger than she remembered.

Wu Zhiyong was a trusted commander of Prince Xining, Xiao Zhen. In her previous life, when she was in Shangyuan, he had come to pay his respects on behalf of the Xining army.

By the way, Gongsun Hong seems to be a member of the Xining Army as well, no wonder the name sounded familiar to her.

Wait, Prince Xining, Xiao Zhen, Xiao Yu—Xiao Zhen?
"Are you a member of the Xiao clan?" She looked at Xiao Yu, many things flashing through her mind.

No wonder she always felt that Xiao Yu was contradictory. Judging from his demeanor and temperament, he was obviously from a noble family, but he did not take the imperial examinations and instead focused on martial arts.

No wonder he disappeared without a trace after leaving the Sanqing Temple in his previous life; he must have gone to inherit his ancestors' business and joined the army for training. Afterwards, the war raged on, and he was separated by thousands of miles, making it even more difficult to hear news of him.

"Who is Xiao Zhen to you? Uncle? No, he's not that old. Cousin? What's your birth order? Which branch of the family are you from?"