The Qin family was seated in the viewing stand prepared for them.
At the very front were the Qin family's first wife and third wife, with some of the Qin family's younger generation seated to their left, right and below.
Some had gone down to the tournament grounds to find their friends and play.
On the first day of the preliminaries, it was most lively, with practically every prominent family, upstart and wealthy merchant in the capital coming to watch the competition.
For this year's capital preliminaries, there was also royalty present to liven things up, namely the Twelfth Princess and the Sixth Prince.
Qin Chuyuan and several other young masters from prominent families were accompanying the Sixth Prince.
Qin Chuyuan was seated to the lower left of the Sixth Prince. The attendant who had come with Qin Chuyuan this time was no longer Li Zichen.
On his recommendation, Li Zichen had gone to the military camp to serve as a petty clerk.
In Qin Chuyuan's eyes, Li Zichen had real ability and talent. Keeping him by his side long-term would be a waste, so he was willing to give Li Zichen an opportunity to develop his talents. How far Li Zichen would go in the future depended on his own efforts and luck.
The Sixth Prince was surrounded by the sons of various prominent families, discussing who among them would have the chance to make it to the finals this year. The one called Balu from the Ministry of War was garnered the most support.
That Balu fellow was nine chi tall, muscles bulging, and possessed exceptional strength - able to easily lift a 100 jin weight with one hand. Anyone who came up against him in the tournament would consider themselves unlucky.
Qin Chuyuan sat alone drinking his tea, seeming out of place among the lively atmosphere.
Just then, an attendant quietly entered and made his way over to Qin Chuyuan's side. In a low voice, he said, "Master, outside, a maidservant of Miss Lin is here on her mistress' orders to invite you to go speak with her."
"Tell her I'm not going," Qin Chuyuan replied.
"Yes, master."
The attendant was just about to leave when Qin Chuyuan called him back.
"Wait."
"Master?" The attendant turned back around to await his orders.
"Stay out there and wait."
"Yes, master." The attendant then withdrew from the viewing stand.
Qin Chuyuan went before the Sixth Prince. "Your Highness, I have something to attend to outside for a moment. Please pardon me."
Upon hearing this, the Sixth Prince laughed and said, "Qin darling, who are you in such a hurry to go meet outside? Hahaha!"
Qin Chuyuan bowed to the Sixth Prince. "If it pleases Your Highness, I am simply stepping out briefly."
From within the crowd, someone else chimed in, "Your Highness, I bet Master Qin is rushing out to meet a beauty - too shy to admit it openly."
He gestured towards the beauty waiting outside, and everyone understood his implied meaning.
"I see, how nice. Go on then, don't keep your sweetheart waiting," the Sixth Prince said.
With arched brows, Qin Chuyuan responded seriously, "She is not my sweetheart. I take my leave." And without regard for the reactions of those present, he promptly walked out.
"What a cold and indifferent fellow. That Miss Lin is a renowned beauty that countless men long for. How pitiful that her affections are so ill-placed," lamented the Sixth Prince.
Outside, Lin Yueru saw Qin Chuyuan emerge and immediately went up to curtsy. "Master Qin."
The two then withdrew to a secluded area behind the tournament grounds.
"What business did you have? Speak," said Qin Chuyuan.
"Regarding my family's previous proposal to form a marriage alliance with your Qin house - why did your aunt say to postpone discussions until after the tournament? A union between our Lin and Qin houses would be well-matched and raise both our families' standings. Why did you reject it - could it be your heart is already occupied by someone?" inquired Lin Yueru.
"Miss Lin, I came to make clear that I have no intention of marrying you. It has nothing to do with anyone else, so please do not persist in this notion," replied Qin Chuyuan.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yueru's body shuddered involuntarily a couple times. Seeing this, her handmaiden moved to support her mistress.
Lin Yueru's face had gone deathly pale. Trembling, she asked, "Why? Am I lacking somehow?"
"Whether you are lacking or not has nothing to do with me," Qin Chuyuan stated plainly.
"How could it have nothing to do with you? After so many years of rejecting offers from prominent and powerful suitors, I waited for you. And now you say it has nothing to do with you?" Lin Yueru's expression was twisted with madness as she shouted her questions at Qin Chuyuan.
"Miss Lin, you should understand - I came to inform you, not to discuss this with you," he said. Then he turned to leave.
Suddenly, there came the sound of a dry branch snapping from nearby.
"Who's there?" Qin Chuyuan halted his steps, calling out towards the source of the noise.
Gong Xiaohua was extremely glum. She had come out to clear her head, intending to rest awhile leaning against this tree. But she accidentally overheard people's private conversation instead.
Standing here now was awkward whether she stayed or left, so she figured she may as well keep still until they finished talking and departed. But then she had inadvertently stepped on and broken a small branch on the ground.
"If you don't come out, don't blame me for being impolite," said Qin Chuyuan again when no one emerged. At the same time, he signaled to the attendant behind him.
"Oh dear, sorry about that! Please carry on - I was just leaving."
Gong Xiaohua awkwardly stepped out from behind the large tree she had been leaning against and addressed the two people before her.
Just as she was about to beat a hasty retreat...
"Stop. What are you doing here? And how long have you been here?" Qin Chuyuan halted her departure to ask.
"I just came out for a walk, not for long, just a short while," Gong Xiaohua explained with an awkward laugh.
"Nonsense. In such a remote, empty area, we would have noticed if someone came by midway," Lin Yueru cut in angrily.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I have to admit I overheard everything since I was here first before you two showed up. I was an unwilling audience, so not all the blame lies with me," Gong Xiaohua declared.
"And what young miss might you be? I shall have to pay a visit to your family one of these days," said Miss Lin.
"Alright, you should head back for now. No need to linger outside meaninglessly," Qin Chuyuan interjected, addressing Gong Xiaohua.
"You know each other?"
"We're acquainted. I'm Gong..." Before Gong Xiaohua could even finish speaking, Qin Chuyuan interrupted her.
"It's none of your concern," he dismissively told Lin Yueru, then turned and silently glared at Gong Xiaohua.
Gong Xiaohua awkwardly shrugged her shoulders, taking the hint that she ought to tactfully take her leave.
But before departing, she left the beautiful young lady with some parting words: "Miss, I'm telling you - don't waste your time pining over a worthless scumbag who doesn't care for you."
"Two-legged toads may be hard to find, but a beauty like you could easily get yourself a better man than that. No need to hang yourself over the likes of him."
And with that, she shot an angry glare at Qin Chuyuan before turning back to the other girl, curtsying farewell, and taking her leave.
Qin Chuyuan's eyeballs nearly burst from twitching with fury as he watched Gong Xiaohua depart. Without even glancing at Lin Yueru, he promptly followed after her.
Leaving Lin Yueru and her handmaiden standing dumbfounded on the spot.
"Her surname is Gong? Could she be that vile woman Qin Chuye has helped repeatedly?" Lin Yueru murmured to herself.
It seemed Qin Chuye's words rang true - Qin Chuyuan did have an unusual relationship with that Gong girl.
With vengeful hatred, she watched the two figures disappearing into the distance. So cold and heartless! Don't blame me for being ruthless in return. I will make you pay a price!
"Cui Xi - go find Balu from the Ministry of War. Tell him..."
"Yes, mistress."
Seeing Cui Xi off, a sinister smile crept onto the corners of Lin Yueru's mouth. Wretched girl - I'll make sure you never come back once you're gone.
