Su Ye lifted her eyelids, her gaze sweeping over Xue Liang, her voice slow and measured.
"These young masters of the Four Great Families don't seem all that impressive. Where do you get the confidence to mock others?"
After she finished speaking, she looked around at the people on the boat with a half-smile.
The people on the boat looked at each other, for a moment unsure of whom she was actually talking about.
Su Ye turned her gaze to the shore; the riverside scenery was beautiful, but the people she viewed it with were rather uninteresting.
Just as she was thinking, Xing came rushing over from afar, panicked,
"Young City Lord, Young City Lord."
Behind Xing was a group of guards from the City Lord Mansion, following closely.
The group approached with great momentum and quickly stopped right in front of Su Ye.
Usually when no outsiders were around, Xing would call Su Ye 'Miss', but when there were outsiders, she used 'Young City Lord' to clarify her identity.
Now, as soon as she called out, everyone present immediately knew that she was indeed Su Ye.
Xing must have rushed too hastily, for the hairpin in her hair wobbled as she ran, nearly falling off.
Su Ye reached out and steadied the hairpin for her.
"Speak slowly."
As soon as Xing saw Su Ye, it was as if she had found her backbone, and hurriedly said,
"Someone's come to the City Lord Mansion, asking for the 'Secret Luo' recipe."
Secret Luo was the medicine pill Su Ye once gave Su Qing to relieve various poison symptoms.
A family recipe passed down through the Su Family, never shared outside.
Currently, only her father knew how to make 'Secret Luo'.
Su Ye listened, and asked,
"How many people came?"
Xing raised her fingers,
"T-two."
When Su Ye heard this, she let out a small breath of relief.
Two people—then it shouldn't be Su Qing.
In the original book, Su Qing, using the excuse of avenging Su Ruoruo, didn't bother with pleasantries; he brought his men and barged right in.
To get the Secret Luo recipe, dig out Su Ye's Dantian—he took action, swift and ruthless.
Killing, exterminating families, arson—all completed in one go, not even a scrap of evidence left behind.
Oh, and there was a half-dead Su Ye left hanging above the city gate, too.
From behind came a startled voice—
"You're the Young City Lord? Su Ye?!"
Hearing Yang Xuan's outburst, Su Ye turned around to look.
The emotions on those faces were complex and inscrutable.
The person they'd just been mocking and ridiculing on the boat was now right in front of them, and they hadn't even recognized her.
The whole atmosphere shifted from tense confrontation to awkward embarrassment.
Su Ye's lips curled in a faint smile.
"It's been a real pleasure, everyone. I do hope we'll have another chance to tour the lake together."
The people on the boat suddenly understood—no wonder this woman had been aloof and indifferent since she'd boarded.
No wonder she'd said those biting words to Xue Liang.
To think, they'd bad-mouthed her right under her nose and hadn't even realized it.
Her calm tone made the atmosphere even more awkward.
So embarrassing, it made people wish they could crawl into a hole in the ground.
After she finished, she didn't bother to observe their reactions.
She left in a grand procession with the guards and Xing, heading home.
As Su Ye walked, she asked Xing,
"Spring-Welcoming House was burned down?"
Xing nodded repeatedly.
"I heard that three nights ago, a sudden fire killed everyone inside."
Su Ye glanced at her.
"Why didn't you mention it to me?"
Xing was surprised.
"Miss, you didn't know?"
Su Ye smacked her lips and rubbed her face.
"Too busy. Apparently, I didn't even hear about something this big while trying to raise money."
The moment she mentioned raising money, Xing quickly spoke up,
"Miss, the money's been raised! The set in our main hall was said to be made from thousand-year-old South Sea timber—we sold it for sixty thousand gold leaves!"