With so many pairs of eyes fixed on her, Shen Tang showed no sign of fear.
She clasped her hands and said, "This junior, Shen Tang, pays her respects to Duke Gu."
Shen Tang didn't know Gu Ren's position or status, and she had no personal ties with him, so she chose a safe, conventional form of address.
Gu Ren smiled gently. "You're too polite, young friend. Please, have a seat."
"Thank you, Duke Gu."
Shen Tang glanced over the empty seats in the tent. The young woman lifted her hand to raise the hem of her robe slightly, then took the seat to Gu Ren's lower right, completely untroubled by the fact that she might not be entitled to sit there.
Qi Shan sat down behind Shen Tang, slightly off to one side.
Gu Chi raised an eyebrow, then followed suit.
Gu Ren didn't say a word, but one of the two unfamiliar men spoke up. "You young upstart, how arrogant and ill-mannered—"
Shen Tang followed the sound of his voice and looked at him, baffled. As she wondered what she'd done to offend him, she casually asked, "How has this junior been arrogant and ill-mannered?"
Gu Chi: "..."
He'd bet on that bastard Qi Shan's heart—
Shen Tang was absolutely doing it on purpose.
It was like beating someone in the street until his face was black and blue and he was wailing for his parents, then, when he asked why Shen Tang had beaten him, hearing her innocently say, "Huh? Why are you crying?"
Seating arrangements weren't something you could just ignore.
On someone else's turf, Shen Tang had gone straight for the seat second only to the host's—by the looks of it, the second-ranking seat among the thirteen brothers—and with her youthful appearance, it was only