Hu Xiaotian nodded. "Yes, I'm Hu Xiaotian. I passed through Xiezhou on my way to Western Sichuan and heard Uncle Zhou was here, so I made a special trip to pay my respects." He was making it all up. Had he known Zhou Ruiyuan was in Xiezhou, he would have taken a detour before anyone could blink.
The woman smiled. "My elder brother and your father served at court together and have always been close. Although my brother resigned and returned home, he has never forgotten his old friend, Lord Hu, in these past three years!"
What lingered in the heart would surely find an echo-and the Zhou family's echo would most likely be revenge. Hu Xiaotian pondered this privately. Zhou Ruiyuan's younger sister was no ordinary woman either. Given her position, she could not possibly be unaware of the old grudge between Zhou Ruiyuan and his father. To speak so tactfully to the son of her enemy while keeping her blade hidden in her words was no easy feat. Women like this were soft on the outside and hard within; they seemed as gentle as water, but often had hearts of stone. Hu Xiaotian grew wary. Although Zhou Ruiyuan had been reduced to a commoner, Western Sichuan was still his home territory. Could the Zhou family resent his father for throwing stones down the well when Zhou Ruiyuan was already trapped, and intend to take revenge on his son now that he had come here?
Hu Xiaotian smiled. "I often hear my father speak of Uncle Zhou too. He frequently says that, if not for a strange twist of fate, our two families would already have become one." Hu Xiaotian was no saint. *Hide barbs in your words, will you? Then I'll hide a knife behind my smile. Get