Chapter 141: Déjà Vu

Liu Yan'er stood up on her own, subconsciously glancing in the direction of Chu Junhan.

Their eyes met. Chu Junhan's teacup slipped and shattered on the floor as a deafening buzz erupted in her head, feeling as though something was about to tear her apart and cause her skull to split open.

Seeing this, Tang Chen hurriedly pressed down on Chu Junhan's shoulders, calling out, "Junhan, Junhan..."

The sound of the zither paused for a brief moment. Behind the screen, the young woman's hands trembled slightly, and she made a move to rise, only to be stopped by a single glance from the shouting youth outside.

The young woman remained seated, and once again, the melodious and graceful notes of the zither drifted out.

If Fang Mengruo were to come out now, all their previous efforts would be wasted!

Clenching her teeth, beads of fine sweat crawling across her forehead, Chu Junhan shook her head with great effort and murmured, "Brother Ziyun, I'm fine."

That glance from Liu Yan'er just now... where on earth had she seen it before? The Jiuling Firm...

"I... I said, when I first saw the Jiuling Firm in Yecheng, why did it feel so familiar? As it turns out... have I seen it before?"

"Junhan, what are you talking about?"

Chu Junhan raised her head, her eyes laced with bloodshot veins, wearing a look of complete bewilderment. What had she just said?

She had never set foot on this street of the Ten Thousand Flowers Brocade House before, let alone the Jiuling Firm. Why... why had those fragments suddenly surfaced in her memory just now?

"Junhan, why don't we just go back! Let's find a physician to take a quiet look," Tang Chen urged, anxious as an ant on a hot pan, terrified that something might happen to Chu Junhan. If she came to any harm, how would he ever answer to the General?

Struggling to her feet, Chu Junhan picked up the collection of poems on the table and sighed, "Without the musical score of the *Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River*, these poems lack their true charm. It seems the tunes of Pingzhou are not as pleasing to the ear as those of our Liaozhou."

With that, the two departed, while the music of the zither continued to drift from within the pleasure house.

Once they had walked far away, the Crown Prince's secret guards also withdrew one by one, hurrying back to the Crown Prince's Mansion.

"Did he really just utter a few words and leave?" Xiao Shengjie wore a look of utter disbelief, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

What kind of game was his sworn younger brother playing? Going to the Ten Thousand Flowers Brocade House just to listen to music?

Meanwhile, news had also reached Liu Yan'er.

Inside the boudoir of the Liu residence, a young girl patted her chest with a small hand, sweet dimples dotting her cheeks. "Junhan only went to listen to music and didn't do a thing! Oh, thank goodness..."

Taohong handed over a cup of tea from the side, comforting her, "As the Young Miss saw with her own eyes, the young General Chu sat right there reading poetry without shifting his gaze even once."

Liu Yan'er covered her mouth and chuckled softly. "Junhan is truly amusing. To go to a place like a brocade house solely to listen to music and appreciate poetry."

"I heard that the courtesans in the brocade house possess extraordinary zither skills, making one feel as though they were right there in the scene. Perhaps Young General Chu..."

*Smack.* A crisp, sharp sound echoed. The maidservant grievance-strickenly covered her face. In all her memories, this was the first time Liu Yan'er had ever struck her. "Young Miss..."

Liu Yan'er's expression turned ugly. "How is my zither playing?"

"Y-Young Miss's zither skills are naturally the finest in the capital. How could anyone else... how could anyone else possibly compare to Young Miss..." Taohong cradled her cheek, trembling and timid, terrified of saying the wrong word and receiving another blow.

"Remember this: Chu Junhan is only allowed to like me!"

"But... Young Miss is the designated Crown Princess. The Master said... said he would betroth Young Miss to His Highness the Crown Prince." The maidservant shrank her neck back. Even in her terror, she had to fulfill a maidservant's duty and remind her mistress.

Liu Yan'er sneered coldly, refraining from striking the maidservant again. What Crown Prince's consort? That was merely her father's wish... "If I can marry Chu Junhan, Father may not necessarily continue to support the Crown Prince."

At this thought, a ruthless glint flashed in the young girl's eyes. She, Liu Yan'er, was not a commodity for Liu Shuming to toss back and forth. She would prove that choosing the Chu family was the right choice!