While Zhou You and the other person parted ways, in another place at the same time, a “young man” was hiding in an alley, peeking out toward the entrance of the horse gang.
Passersby who saw this all stepped aside, wearing complicated expressions as if looking at an oddity.
But Liu Yao, who was secretly spying, didn’t pay any attention to these circumstances.
She frowned, then hesitated, but the one thing that didn’t change was the girl’s behavior, which was especially easy to misunderstand.
Behind her, Xiao Hua had been standing for a long time, arms crossed, lips pressed together, looking at the “young man” in front of her with a puzzled expression.
Xiao Hua opened her mouth but hesitated. However, after glancing at the expressions of the neighbors around, she blushed, tugged at Liu Yao’s clothes, and whispered, “Let’s go.”
“Young Master, can you stop standing here and staring? It’s so embarrassing…”
Xiao Hua pouted and muttered under her breath.
She lifted the basket in her hand and deliberately put on a serious expression.
But to others, this delicate little face wasn’t scary at all; instead, it might tempt someone with peculiar tastes to kidnap her.
“Master Lu, you were the one who volunteered to come with Xiao Hua to visit Leader Li of the horse gang. So what’s with hiding in this alley now?!”
Seeing the young hero’s hesitant look, Xiao Hua couldn’t help but get angry.
It turned out that that very morning, Miss Wang had suddenly summoned Xiao Hua, who was busy in the courtyard, to the study and given her a task.
“Xiao Hua, I heard that Leader Li of the horse gang recently returned from Lin’an Prefecture.
“Go tell the steward to prepare some things and send them to Leader Li.”
“Say… my father has been unwell lately, but I heard that the leader has been blessed with many happy events recently. I send my congratulations.”
“At the same time, if he is free, I invite him to come to the Wang residence for a chat. Consider it… an apology for not being able to drink together properly last time.”
Xiao Hua took the written approval and looked at the young lady, who had dark circles under her eyes from recent household troubles. She didn’t know what to say.
She had no choice but to nod in agreement and withdraw from the room.
And as Xiao Hua walked toward the horse gang carrying half a basket of goods, she ran into the “young master” who was standing dumbly on the street, looking around.
As soon as he heard she was going to visit the horse gang, his eyes lit up.
“Hey! Miss Xiao Hua, what a coincidence! I was just about to go to the horse gang too. How about we go together?”
“You ask why I’m going? Hah, I know someone there!”
“Besides, I’m also helping Miss Wang investigate her missing husband. Let’s go?”
The memory ended, and Xiao Hua snapped back to the present.
She looked at Master Lu, who was still craning his neck, and couldn’t help but twitch her mouth. She felt that the image of Liu Yao as a graceful and righteous young hero in her heart had instantly crumbled.
The person standing in front of her now looked like nothing more than an ordinary person torn over a matter.
“Master Lu, are you going in or not? If you keep standing here, it’ll get dark,” Xiao Hua pouted and said discontentedly.
“In broad daylight, how could it get dark so fast…” Liu Yao muttered.
The girl was pulled and swayed, finally retracting her neck and turning around with an awkward smile on her face.
“Xiao Hua… I’m just mentally preparing myself, aren’t I? Don’t rush… Once I’m ready, we’ll go in together!”
“No!” Xiao Hua puffed out her cheeks in protest.
“What do you mean ‘mental preparation’? It’s clearly you, young master, who insisted on dragging Xiao Hua along, so Xiao Hua has been wasting all this time with you. Otherwise, I would have already gone in to visit!”
Xiao Hua pointed at the street and lifted the gift basket in her hand, her tone firm.
“If you still want to stay here, Xiao Hua won’t keep you company. Just keep fretting!”
With that, she was about to step out of the alley and head straight for the horse gang’s entrance.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Liu Yao hurriedly pulled Xiao Hua back and clasped her hands together. “Miss Xiao Hua, just do me a favor. Let’s go in together, okay? Please?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to go with you, young master…” Xiao Hua looked at the “young man” bowing to her and let out a long sigh.
“It’s just that you’re really taking too much time like this. Young master, you should know that I am a servant. I can’t just keep slacking off on my work, can I?”
“Um… sorry.”
Hearing Xiao Hua’s words, Liu Yao felt a pang of guilt and couldn’t help but bow her head in reflection.
‘Even though I’m really sorry to Xiao Hua, I can’t exactly say that I stood up my apprentice, so I’m afraid to go in because it’ll be awkward, right?’
‘The highly skilled young hero Liu Yao actually stood up his apprentice, simply because he really couldn’t teach proper martial arts.’
‘If that gets out, what face would I have left!’
Thinking this, the girl took a deep breath, straightened her collar, and checked her men’s clothing for anything amiss.
“By the way, Master Lu, didn’t you say you knew someone in the horse gang? Why are you still hesitating?” Xiao Hua tilted her head in a puzzled expression. “Young master, you couldn’t be…”
“No! I didn’t stand anyone up!” The girl was startled into defending herself.
Liu Yao’s sudden outburst startled Xiao Hua. After a moment of shock, she covered her mouth and started laughing.
“Hahaha… Young master, you’re so funny. I didn’t even say anything yet, and you’ve already confessed. Isn’t that protesting too much? Hahaha…”
Seeing Xiao Hua laughing so hard she couldn’t close her mouth, Liu Yao could only smile helplessly.
Go ahead and laugh. ‘Anyway, I’m not using my real face right now.’
The girl grumbled inwardly.
After a while, Xiao Hua finally stopped laughing.
She patted her chest to calm her slightly excited emotions, wiped the tears from her eyes, and said in an unsteady tone:
“Ha, ha… No wonder you didn’t dare go alone. So you were afraid of embarrassment. I thought a chivalrous person like you, Master Lu, would be more carefree. Instead, you’re like a child full of worries.”
She looked up and smiled at Liu Yao.
“I’m human too…”
Liu Yao scratched the back of her head, embarrassed.
After being teased like that, the girl’s tension eased quite a bit.
“Alright, alright!” Xiao Hua finished laughing and then pushed Liu Yao’s back, trying to propel her forward. “Young master, don’t be afraid. Xiao Hua is here with you. If it gets embarrassing, Xiao Hua will help you out. Let’s go!”
“Huh?!”
Liu Yao was pushed forward by Xiao Hua, and this mismatched pair drew the stares of passersby.
Everyone murmured among themselves.
But the girl was already too flustered and anxious to hear what others were saying.
The horse gang’s gate was close at hand, slightly ajar, with voices coming from inside.
Just as Xiao Hua and Liu Yao were approaching, the door was suddenly pulled open from within.