Chapter 133 - 132: Turns Out I Really Was Drunk (First Update)

Chapter 133: Chapter 132: Turns Out I Really Was Drunk (First Update)

Xu Jing had a look of realization.

Yes, it’s just a false reconciliation, nothing worth dwelling on.

At this moment, Xianyun approached with a beaming smile. Seeing the seemingly "harmonious and warm" interaction between his lord and Miss Xu, he couldn’t help but let out a giddy laugh. Had Miss Xu not quickly noticed his presence, he would have hesitated to approach.

He slowly shuffled in front of Miss Xu, bowed, and said, "Miss Xu, the room is ready. Would you like to have some more tea, or go over now?"

Xu Jing immediately put down the teacup in her hand and said, "Let’s go there now."

Xianyun regretted not making up an excuse, like saying the bed in the room collapsed or the floor caved in, just to let Miss Xu and the lord spend more time together. He sighed silently and said, "I’ll take you there right away."

It was a long time after Xu Jing and Xianyun had left that Xiao Yi finally raised his hand slowly, rubbed his forehead, and sighed softly.

Sure enough, he had drunk too much. What was he saying earlier?

The next day, when Xu Jing woke up, Xiao Yi had already gone to the early morning court session.

In ancient times, the officials attended the morning court even earlier than people went to the market. They had to get up before dawn and wait outside the palace gates for ages. Just thinking about it was tiring.

Knowing the man wasn’t home, Xu Jing felt a bit relieved. After finishing breakfast, she took Xiao Huai’an and left.

Chen Hu and Cheng Xianbai naturally found it strange that Xu Jing wasn’t home last night. If it weren’t for the guards at home assuring them of her safety, they might have rushed to the Western Capital’s yamen to file a report.

Xu Jing didn’t explain much, only simply said she visited a friend in the Western Capital last night. Chen Hu and Cheng Xianbai exchanged a glance, knowing Xu Jing didn’t want to elaborate, so they didn’t press further.

In their minds, Miss Xu had always been very mysterious. They knew almost nothing about her life before she came to Anping County, only that she had been forced to drift there due to changes in her family. But who doesn’t have a past they are unwilling to speak about? As long as Miss Xu returned safely, it was enough.

Cheng Xianbai soon put the matter aside and brought up the main issue, "Miss Xu, I found out what you asked me to inquire about yesterday. As it turns out, Mr. Zhou from Tianyi Hall is indeed in the Western Capital!"

Xu Jing smirked and said, "Just as I thought."

When investigating Zheng Shouyan’s case earlier, she knew that Mr. Zhou from Tianyi Hall had always wanted to restore the former glory of Tianyi Hall. His first aim was to reopen the branch in the Western Capital. For this, he would travel to the Western Capital almost every month to check on things.

The Lin Family of Guangming Hall could brazenly suppress them because they bullied them for being poorly established and weak in power.

When your own strength is insufficient, the best, most effective method is to align with a strong and powerful ally!

However, cooperation is mutually beneficial, and the choice of ally should not be taken lightly.

First, ensure the ally is reliable and principled, someone who won’t turn around and stab you in the back at a crucial moment. In Anping County, Xu Jing had Cheng Xianbai investigate the conduct of the three major medical halls and the opinions of their partners. The conclusion was that the Zhou Family of Tianyi Hall had the most respect for chivalry and medical integrity among the families running medical halls in Anping County. Those who had partnered with them almost never had a bad word to say.

Secondly, the partner shouldn’t be significantly stronger or be entirely without needs from them.

The premise of cooperation is that the parties need to accomplish something they can’t achieve alone and need to leverage each other’s strengths. On this premise, a stable and reliable cooperative relationship can be formed. Merely draining or supporting one side isn’t cooperation; that’s charity and creates an imbalance.

At this time, Tianyi Hall, whose strength had been severely weakened a few years ago and was now determined to restore past glories, was undoubtedly their best cooperation partner.

Xu Jing immediately decided, "Later, I will write a letter of invitation. Can I trouble you to find a way to deliver it to Mr. Zhou?"

Cheng Xianbai hesitated, "Miss Xu, do you really think the Zhou Family would be willing to cooperate with us? Even if Tianyi Hall’s strength and scale have reduced over the years, they’re still beyond our Xinglin Hall."

"Don’t worry, they’ll be willing, and even if they’re not, I have ways to make them willing."

Xu Jing raised her eyebrow and said, "Moreover, Mr. Zhou previously showed good intentions toward me. I think he might have considered looking for us. Whatever he wants, we’ll know after talking face-to-face."

The Zhou Family had their residence in the Western Capital, so delivering the letter wasn’t difficult for Cheng Xianbai. However, what surprised him was that as soon as he handed the letter over, the Zhou Family’s steward in the Western Capital personally came out and received him as an honored guest.

It was not until the afternoon, when the sun was about to set, that Cheng Xianbai returned. He walked quickly to Xu Jing, full of admiration, and said, "Miss Xu, you were right again! Guess what, as soon as I handed over the letter, the Zhou steward immediately had me stay and hurriedly sent someone to fetch Mr. Zhou. When he saw it was only me, he seemed a bit disappointed. But as the master, his demeanor and handling style were impeccable!

He invited us to have lunch tomorrow at the Moon Viewing Tower in the Western Capital and specifically said he hoped Miss Xu would personally honor us with her presence."

During the conversation, Cheng Xianbai was also amazed to find out that Mr. Zhou even knew what they were doing in the Western Capital! Only people closely associated with their Xinglin Hall would know that! No one would believe he wasn’t closely watching their Xinglin Hall’s movements!

It seems, as Miss Xu said, that Mr. Zhou had long intended to find them.

However, Cheng Xianbai still couldn’t understand why the Zhou Family had set their sights on their small Xinglin Hall. While Miss Xu was impressive, Tianyi Hall wasn’t short of skilled doctors!

He voiced his doubts to Xu Jing, who merely narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled, "Why rush? We’ll find out tomorrow, won’t we?"

In the Western Capital, there are countless famous restaurants, and Moon Viewing Tower is renowned for its Jiangnan cuisine, usually attended by dignitaries.

The next day, Xu Jing and her group arrived promptly at Moon Viewing Tower. Zhou Qi had already prepared a private room and was waiting for them. It was only after being led to the room by the staff that Xu Jing realized Zhou Qi wasn’t alone. With him was someone who looked very familiar—Zhou Xian, the Zhou Family’s fifth son, who had caused trouble at Xinglin Hall before!

He was dressed in an ostentatious royal blue brocade, sitting defiantly next to the gentle and elegant Zhou Qi. His face was sullen as if everyone there owed him ten thousand taels of silver, turning his head to one side petulantly, his whole aura screaming displeasure.

It was clear Zhou Qi had forcibly brought him along.

Xu Jing’s mouth twitched slightly. Zhou Xian’s presence was entirely unexpected for her, and she couldn’t figure out Zhou Qi’s reason for bringing him along.

Cheng Xianbai also remained silent, his fists slowly clenching.

He didn’t understand why, but upon seeing such a brat, he just felt like punching him.

Hearing the door open, Zhou Xian finally moved his distinguished head. Upon seeing Xu Jing enter, his eyes widened, and he abruptly stood up, exclaiming, "Ah! Aren’t you that wretched woman from Xinglin Hall?!"