Halfway there, she stopped, looked at Chi Liyin sitting beside her, and said softly, "Let's go somewhere else together."
Suddenly hearing her name mentioned, Chi Liyin put down the peanuts in her hand, glanced at Cheng Xiran, nodded, and followed her away.
Even after they left the old place, Cheng Xiran could still hear the noble ladies in the pavilion gossiping about them. They were bad - mouthing them and occasionally comforting Xiao Qi, as if it was Cheng Xiran and Chi Liyin who had done something wrong.
At this time, Chi Liyin followed behind and whispered, "Why did you take me with you? If you do this, they'll like you even less in the future."
Cheng Xiran found it funny. "What you said makes it seem like they like me a lot. Haven't you noticed that ever since I came, Xiao Qi has been leading the charge?"
"Leading the charge?" Chi Liyin tilted her head and asked, "What does that mean?"
Cheng Xiran remembered that she was from ancient times and might not understand, so she explained, "It means Xiao Qi started something, and the others just followed and echoed."
"So that's it. I did notice that they don't seem to like you very much."
"Also?" Cheng Xiran was a bit curious. "Why did you use the word 'also'?"
"They don't like me. They dislike my accent because it's different from theirs. Although I was born in the capital, I was raised elsewhere, and I got used to speaking like this. They often make fun of my accent." Chi Liyin walked slowly behind, with a hint of embarrassment on her face.
Only then did Cheng Xiran realize that her accent was indeed different from others', but it didn't really matter. Moreover, when she tilted her head while speaking, the pom - poms on her hairpin would move, making her look extremely cute. "I don't think your accent is unpleasant. I actually quite like it."
"Really?" Chi Liyin said in surprise, "You're the second person who said they like my accent."
"The second?" Cheng Xiran frowned and looked at her. "Who else said that?"
"Brother Duo. He's the only one who's been nice to me since I came to the capital. Everyone else hates me." Chi Liyin pouted as she spoke, as if recalling something unpleasant.
She must be talking about Helian Duo. Cheng Xiran didn't expect him to have such thoughts.
As they were talking, they heard someone shouting from down the mountain, "Helian Duo! Can't you wait for me? I'm in poor health. I really can't climb this mountain!"
Cheng Xiran's heart skipped a beat. It was Helian Duo. Was he really here? She followed the sound and saw that the fiery red leaves covered half of the mountain. Vaguely, she could see two figures climbing up the mountain on the stone steps.
On the winding mountain steps, Xue Lian was gasping for breath as he followed Helian Duo. He kept muttering, "I'm not a martial artist. How can I have your good footwork? You insisted on walking when I said we should take the sedan chair."
"Why are you so talkative? Do you believe that one day I'll cut your tongue out?" Helian Duo was annoyed by his nagging. He reached out and grabbed Xue Lian's collar, dragging him forward.
"Hey, I can't walk anymore. Why are you pulling me like this? Let go quickly!" Being grabbed by the collar in front of so many people, Xue Lian cared about his own reputation even if Helian Duo didn't.
Chi Liyin tugged at Cheng Xiran's sleeve and whispered, "Should we go up and greet them?"
"His purpose for coming here isn't us. Why should we go up and invite their dislike?" After saying that, Cheng Xiran turned around and walked back. Just then, she happened to meet Zhu Que coming back with Cheng Zhiyue.
Seeing Cheng Zhiyue sitting there with red and swollen eyes from crying, Zhu Que lowered her voice and said, "Miss, I don't know why the second miss is crying like this. No matter how I tried to persuade her, it was no use."