The sun was high in the sky.

Chu Xiaoye came out of the room.

Lanisi and the others were sitting in the small yard, chatting with the eldest daughter of the Qin family, Qin Mo.

Qin Zhitan took the carriage to the pier early in the morning.

Qin Yu followed the housekeeper to the store.

The eldest young master of the Qin family, Qin Wen, who had not returned for the night and did not appear at the Wen Meeting, returned early this morning. He had just returned and went out again.

Qin Mo was saying to Lanisi, “My brother returned this morning and was asking you. He originally said that he would visit you in the morning, but he had something urgent and went out in a hurry. Sister Lanisi, why don’t you play here for a few more days? My brother knows many friends and brought you around to play.”

“No need.”

Chu Xiaoye had just walked out of the room when he heard this sentence. “We don’t like to play.”

When Qin Mo saw him coming out, he hurriedly got up and looked at him with bright eyes. “Young Master Chu, you still don’t know, right? Your butterfly love flower last night has already spread throughout the entire Suhang. Everyone is praising you. Many people are asking about your residence and want to visit you.”

Chu Xiaoye frowned and hurriedly asked, “Did Uncle Qin go out?”

Qin Mo was a little unhappy and nodded. “Father went to the harbor to help you find the boats to sea.”

Chu Xiaoye thought for a moment and said, “Then, we should go. Let’s go to the harbor and wait. If Uncle Qin finds it, we can board the ship directly.”

He did not doubt the ability of those cultured and talented people to find people. If they were blocked in Qin Manor, it would be troublesome.

“Ah, so fast?”

When Qin Mo heard this, her face was filled with shock. “Father said that those boats will only set off in the evening. Young Master Chu, did our Qin Manor do something wrong and offend you?”

Chu Xiaoye looked at this pure girl and did not want to explain too much to her. He said, “You did very well. I’m very grateful for your hospitality and thank Uncle Qin for helping us find a boat. However, we still have a very important thing to do. We can’t stay here for long. We have to leave immediately.”

“But…”

Qin Mo had a reluctant expression and said, “Brother hasn’t seen you guys yet. When Brother left in the morning, he told me to look after you guys well. He will return to visit you soon.”

“Look after us carefully?”

Chu Xiaoye was stunned and his expression suddenly turned serious.

Qin Mo hurriedly said, “Brother means that he wants me to treat you well. Young Master Chu, if you leave like this, Brother will definitely scold me for not treating you well and making you angry.”

Right at this moment, noisy footsteps and voices suddenly came from outside the small yard.

Chu Xiaoye narrowed his eyes and looked out of the yard. He immediately said, “Lanisi, bring Fei’er, the others, and Catherine back to the house. Before I let you out, don’t come out!”

Although Lanisi was puzzled, she did not hesitate at all. She immediately got up and pulled Fei’er, saying to the other girls, “Let’s go in!”

She looked at Catherine.

Catherine looked at her king and rushed into the house with a whoosh.

Qin Mo had a puzzled expression. She stood up and looked out of the yard. “Young Master Chu, what’s wrong?”

Just as he finished speaking, a tall and straight young man in a green shirt stepped into the small yard first and said, “Mo’er, where’s Young Master Chu and his friends? I’m here to visit.”

Then, the young man saw Chu Xiaoye in the yard and was stunned. He thought to himself, Could it be him? He’s so young?

This person was the eldest son of the Qin family, Qin Wen.

“Brother, this is Young Master Chu.”

Qin Mo hurriedly explained and smiled at Chu Xiaoye. “Young Master Chu, this is my brother. He said that he would visit you early in the morning. Brother heard your poem last night and praised you endlessly.”

Just as they were talking, another group of young men held folding fans and walked into the small yard in cultured clothes. When they saw Chu Xiaoye, their eyes lit up and they laughed out loud. “Young Master Chu, you made us search so hard. We agreed last night that we would not return until we were drunk, but you left first. You’re really not enough of a friend. Let’s continue today.”

The young men looked into the room as they spoke.

These few people were the young men who had stopped him from leaving on the ship last night and were slapped to the ground by him. At this moment, their faces were filled with smiles and enthusiasm, as if they had seen an old friend. They seemed to have long forgotten about being slapped last night.

Qin Wen was rather respectful to these young men and said with a smile, “I only knew that Young Master Chu was my guest when I returned this morning. Otherwise, I would have gone to the ship last night.”

Actually, it was not that he did not go last night, but he was from a merchant’s family and everyone looked down on him. That Young Master Mei did not invite him at all.

He spent the night in a brothel near the Qinhuai River.

He originally thought that he would never have the chance to make friends with these noble young masters again. Unexpectedly, as soon as he returned this morning, he discovered this great news and immediately ran out, telling these young masters eagerly and fawningly.

Coincidentally, these young masters had been asking about this youth’s residence and background since last night.

Hearing him say this, these few young masters, who usually ignored him, immediately became very warm. They even took the initiative to hook arms with him and chat passionately. He was flattered and excited.

“Brother Chu, this is Young Master Yang Shaoqing. His father is the blue sky lord of Suhang. This is Young Master Mo Ziqi. His father is the commandant of the southern gate of Suhang. This is Young Master Jiang Cong. His family is impressive and is the role model of the scholars of Suhang. They have been scholarly for generations. His two brothers are both officials in the capital…”

Qin Wen immediately introduced the young masters one by one eagerly and turned from “Young Master Chu” to “Brother Chu”.

Chu Xiaoye counted. Including Qin Wen, there were a total of nine people. Other than Qin Wen, the other eight were all young masters with status and background. Although they could not cover the sky in Suhang, they could at least cause quite a stir. No wonder this Young Master Qin was fawning over them.

“Young masters, nice to meet you! Nice to meet you!”

Chu Xiaoye hurriedly cupped his hands and made small talk.

“Young Master Chu, I did not drink well last night. I must be drunk today! Let’s go, I’ve found a good place. I guarantee that you’ll like it!”

The young master named Yang Shaoqing immediately came over affectionately and pulled him back. After saying that, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something and looked into the house. He slapped the back of his head and said, “Aiya, look at me. I almost forgot. Young Master Chu, don’t you have a few friends? I heard that you all came from afar and it’s your first time coming to Suhang. Quick, call them together so that we can be good hosts.”

The other young masters hurriedly echoed, “Right, right, right, right. Call them up together. We can’t favor one over another. Young Master Chu’s friends are our friends. Quick, call those friends out.”

The young man named Mo Ziqi actually walked into the house as he spoke.

Qin Mo realized that something was wrong and hurriedly chased after him. “Young Master Mo, there are girls inside. You can’t go in.”

When Mo Ziqi heard this, he was delighted. He stopped in his tracks and looked at the other young masters. He immediately smiled and said, “It’s okay for girls. Our Southern Tang women can still go to school and serve the country like men. Miss Qin, go in and call them out. Let’s go out and play.”

Qin Mo frowned and stood in place without moving.

When Qin Wen saw this, he hurriedly reprimanded, “Mo’er, Young Master Mo is talking to you? Go in quickly and invite those girls out. Come with us and play. I’ll send someone to talk to Father. He’ll be fine.”

Qin Mo looked at his brother’s fawning expression and a complicated expression appeared in her eyes. It was as if she knew him for the first time. Her heart ached and she said, “Brother, we haven’t seen each other for a year. You seem to have changed.”

Qin Wen frowned. Seeing that the young masters were looking over, he immediately pulled a face and shouted, “What are you talking about? Quickly go in and invite the few guests out. When Brother has the time, I’ll teach you how to read.”

Qin Mo shook her head and rejected her brother for the first time. “If I don’t go in, you can’t either!”

Mo Ziqi, who was beside him, suddenly sneered and said, “Brother Qin, you’re not being nice. We have good intentions and invited your guest to play. Your sister seems to think that we’re all bad people?”

Qin Wen was immediately covered in sweat. He widened his eyes and said to his sister, “Mo’er! Move! If you’re not going in, I’ll go in myself!”

Qin Mo opened her arms and blocked the door. She said with tears in her eyes, “Father and I brought these guests back. Brother, they are not your guests. Furthermore, they are girls and you are a scholar. You should know how to avoid arousing suspicion.”

“Qin Wen, does your sister look down on us? Or do you, Qin Wen, and your Qin Manor look down on us?”

Yang Shaoqing said coldly.

“Bam!”

Qin Wen suddenly slapped Qin Mo and said angrily, “Move!”

With that, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, causing her to fall to the ground.

Qin Mo cried.

The muscles on Qin Wen’s face twitched a few times and he immediately went forward to push the door open.

At this moment, a hand suddenly extended from behind and grabbed his collar, sending him flying with a whoosh. He fell heavily onto the green stone slab four to five meters away with a bang.

Qin Wen was dizzy from the fall and his entire body was in pain. For a moment, he could not get up.

“What are you doing?”

Chu Xiaoye stood at the door and looked at him. “Young Master Qin, the people inside are all my people. I haven’t even spoken and you want to go in?”

Qin Wen lay on the ground, his face distorted in pain. He gritted his teeth and said, “You… you…”

This scene frightened the other young masters.

Chu Xiaoye walked over and helped Qin Mo up from the ground. He helped her wipe the tears on her face and said, “It’s okay. I’m here. Miss Mo’er, go out first.”