Xia Qiao knew the reason why Duan Shuchun was so afraid of Yi Xue, and she was actually also afraid of the woman.
It was not like Yi Xue was like He Ehuang who had always bullied her ever since she joined Tiantang House. In fact, Yi Xue was the complete opposite of He Ehuang. The beautiful girl rarely spoke, but even her gaze was capable of frightening anyone who stood before her.
And the person standing in front of the cold girl now was Xia Qiao, and the young girl didn't even dare to look at Yi Xue's sharp eyes.
"It's been a while. How are you, Ah Qiao?" Yi Xue's voice didn't even sound cold, but Xia Qiao still couldn't relax as the older woman continued to stare at her with a slicing gaze.
Yi Xue said 'it's been a while,' and it had indeed been a month since Xia Qiao had met Yi Xue for the last time. Right after Duan Shuchun agreed to recruit her in Tiantang, Yi Xue immediately left the city and headed for her hometown.
The woman with the surname Yi was in her hometown for a month, and there was no news of her for a whole month until she suddenly appeared in the Tiantang hall tonight.
"I'm fine," a gentle answer came from Xia Qiao as she ventured to look at the woman in blue.
However, to her surprise, the woman suddenly sneered at her, "Are you sure you're fine? You dared to offend Fang Delun, and he almost took your virginity in front of dozens of pairs of eyes in Tiantang. You're still mentally weak, Xia Qiao. You can't just say that you're fine when your face is as pale as flour."
Xia Qiao felt embarrassed as she bit her lower lip. It wasn't just two or three days after she got to know Yi Xue, and the two of them knew each other very well.
Their destiny intersected with each other three months ago, and Xia Qiao could tell that Yi Xue was her hero. When she was about to give up and leave the world with a lot of regrets in her heart, the one who saved her was Yi Xue, and the woman also started training her to sing and play the pipa before taking her to Tiantang.
If it wasn't for Yi Xue, Xia Qiao would have died a long time ago, and even if she hadn't died, she probably wouldn't have had any hope in her heart.
"Are you really going to Master Fang tonight? It's all my fault, and I'm the one who has to take responsibility," the black-veiled girl replied gently.
Hearing the response from the younger girl, Yi Xue raised an eyebrow before asking, "Are you sure you want to go to Fang Delun tonight? I heard you said that you don't want to be his wife's replacement, so why should you go to him?"
Getting an unexpected question from the older woman, Xia Qiao widened her eyes in surprise. "You... you even heard when I said that to Master Fang? Have you been here for a while, Master? You knew from the start that I would cause trouble with Master Fang?"
Ever since Yi Xue started teaching her singing and playing pipa three months ago, Xia Qiao had seen Yi Xue as her master, and even if Yi Xue didn't like being called a master at first, she was used to the formal calling by now. Whether she liked it or not, she already had a disciple now.
"I just wanted to test you," Yi Xue replied calmly. "You have big goals in your life, and I think that bad guy could be your first test to prove that you are ready to achieve your goals in the future. You know that your life is not going to be easy, right?"
Of course, Xia Qiao knew about it ever since she decided to move to Chang City a month ago. Chang City was the closest city to the Imperial Palace, and her target was the palace.
"Don't you dare think of the Imperial Palace when you can't even handle Fang Delun, Ah Qiao," as if she was able to read Xia Qiao's mind, Yi Xue suddenly warned the girl.
Xia Qiao didn't even dare to rebuke Yi Xue, knowing that the older girl managed to hit the mark when the girl suddenly brought the Imperial Palace when she was just thinking about it.
No one in Tiantang knew her face, no one in the world knew her purpose, but Yi Xue knew everything about her.
Yi Xue knew the whole story about her. The older girl watched as she cried while telling her story, and the cold girl was also the one who had supported her for the past three months.
It might not be correct to say that Xia Qiao was afraid of Yi Xue, and the best word to describe her feelings towards the person she called 'master' was respect.
Therefore, even if Yi Xue were to publicly mock her for failing to stand up proudly when she faced Fang Delun earlier, she couldn't bring herself to snap at the woman.
"I heard the Imperial Palace would invite Tiantang to perform in the event to celebrate the Lantern Festival in the Imperial Palace," as if she was deaf, Xia Qiao continued to talk about the Imperial Palace even after she heard how Yi Xue told her not to think about it.
"You said you were my disciple, but sometimes you act like you are the master, Ah Qiao," Yi Xue replied sarcastically. "I know that Tiantang would be invited to the Imperial Palace, but so what? Do you want to join Tiantang's entourage to go to the palace? Do you want to go there and take revenge?"
"..." Xia Qiao couldn't immediately answer the questions, but her fists clenched tightly when she heard Yi Xue's sarcastic questions.
She knew that Yi Xue had no ill intentions with her sarcasm, and she also knew that the woman was only worried about her safety.
Xia Qiao could understand the good intentions, but she had been waiting for this moment for a long time, and she didn't want to back down just because of Yi Xue's words.
"Yes, Master. I want to join Tiantang's entourage to go to the Imperial Palace, and I want to take revenge there."