"Were you a soldier? Have you killed on the battlefield?"
That question instantly put Ye Zhen on guard. His gaze turned somewhat hostile as he sized the man up.
Presumably, the other man had judged from Ye Zhen's earlier move that the aura of military slaughter about him was too heavy.
Seeing that Ye Zhen did not answer for a long while, the man everyone called Jiang Qianyi suddenly smiled at him. "I once shared the same mess pot with a band of brothers in the barracks. But after returning from the battlefield, most of those old brothers were gone. Today, sensing that barracks aura from you again, I feel especially close to you. Would you be willing to share some wine and talk?"
Ye Zhen could tell that the talk about a barracks aura was complete nonsense, nothing but an excuse.
What mattered most was the phrase "share some wine and talk." This man wanted to speak with Ye Zhen alone.
Ye Zhen did not agree immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Lü Qingzhu, Ding Chi, and Lü Zitong.
The three of them were still surrounded by several noble youths led by Chen Yang.
Jiang Qianyi immediately understood. His expression darkened. "What are you standing around for? Waiting for me to invite you to drink?"
"Young Heir, you jest. Farewell, farewell!"
In the time it took to say one sentence, Chen Yang and his group of five had vanished from the Seven-Colored Tower. Jiang Qianyi gestured for Ye Zhen to follow him.
"Wait here for me."
Lü Qingzhu gave him a sweet smile in response, and Ye Zhen followed Jiang Qianyi into a private room.
Lü Qingzhu was kind-hearted. Since she could help Ye Zhen conceal those matters from her grandfather and grandmother—and had kept concealing them until