Yes, it must be that way.
If Su Qiao weren't sharp, she couldn't have opened such a thriving shop—one that even his mother and younger sister praised endlessly.
"Young Master, shall we still go?" the servant asked cautiously, watching the Young Master's face shift from pale to flushed.
Zhou Tianyou's expression darkened. "Go. Send word to Brother Xia that I'm coming to pay him a visit."
"Yes." The servant accepted the order and hurried toward Willow Tree Village.
A little less than half an hour later, the servant returned alone.
He lowered his head, looking timid. "Young Master, the Xia Family said that Young Master Xia had gone up the mountain and might not be back for a while."
It was obviously just an excuse from the Xia Family. Perhaps... the Xia Family simply didn't want any connection with the Young Master.
Even the Young Master's classmate and close friend, Xia Yubin, seemed to be deliberately avoiding him.
It was the middle of the day. Who would go up the mountain?
Besides, Xia Yubin was a scholar and would be leaving by carriage for the prefectural examination tomorrow. No matter how muddleheaded the Xia Family was, they wouldn't make Xia Yubin do manual labor at a time like this.
Zhou Tianyou had no time to think about any of that. He anxiously seized the servant's arm. "Did you see Xiao Die?"
The servant's arm hurt terribly, but he didn't dare make a sound.
"I did not."
After a pause, the servant said softly, "I didn't dare ask."
He was a man, and it would have been improper for him to visit and ask about a young unmarried woman.
"However... when I left, I quietly asked around among the Xia Family's neighbors. The Xia Family really is arranging a marriage for