The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

“This is inappropriate, Your Highness.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu looked troubled.

Lin Yao dared to say that, but Zhou Chu wouldn't dare to call her that.

This is the daughter of Princess Deqing, a dignified county princess.

How could I casually call her by her maiden name? Wouldn't that ruin someone's reputation?

"How about this, in front of outsiders, you can call me County Princess, and when it's just the two of us, you can call me Yao Yao."

Lin Yao naturally knew why Zhou Chu said that. She was not ignorant of etiquette and understood Zhou Chu's dilemma, so she proposed a compromise.

"May I ask what brings you here, Your Highness?"

Zhou Chu immediately changed the subject.

"My mother asked me to come and see how my brother is doing."

Lin Yao smiled.

In fact, Princess Deqing never asked her to come. Since she had placed Lin Zhi with Zhou Chu, Princess Deqing knew that it would not be something that could be done in two or three days to get Lin Zhi to turn over a new leaf.

Lin Yao's real intention was to find Zhou Chu; seeing Lin Zhi was just an excuse.

"Princess, please come with me."

As Zhou Chu spoke, he turned and went back into the house.

Lin Yao entered the inner courtyard and found no servants around, which puzzled her.

"Why doesn't Brother Hengqi have any servants at home?"

It's no wonder Lin Yao was puzzled.

Although Zhou Chu's new residence was not on the same level as the princess's mansion.

But no matter what, there are several small courtyards.

In typical households like this, each small courtyard needs to be staffed with several servants.

Maidservants, personal maidservants, etc.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to manage.

“I used to live at my uncle’s house. My uncle and aunt needed those servants more. I’m not from a pampered background, so I didn’t feel I needed so many servants and stopped buying them.”

Zhou Chu said casually.

Lin Yao nodded upon hearing this, naturally knowing who Zhou Chu's uncle and aunt were.

The two quickly arrived at the entrance of the courtyard where Lin Zhi was.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, the two saw Lin Zhi squatting in a horse stance.

Although his legs were trembling, his face was flushed, and he was covered in sweat, he still persevered.

Xiao Dao, who had been looking at Lin Zhi with disdain, hurriedly came over to greet Zhou Chu when he entered.

"Master."

This scene surprised Zhou Chu and his companion.

Lin Zhi originally practiced martial arts but was always slacking off and cheating, mainly because in the capital, apart from Lin Yao and Princess Deqing, no one dared to hit him.

Even if he couldn't beat Lin Yao, Lin Zhi could still use the excuse of not arguing with women to fool himself.

But what he experienced in the past two days made him realize just how bad his martial arts skills were, and he could no longer find any excuses.

As a man, Lin Zhi really didn't want to encounter someone he couldn't beat.

Coupled with Zhou Chu's disdainful attitude last night, Lin Zhi was thoroughly provoked.

Lin Zhi always knew he was pretty useless, neither good at literature nor martial arts.

However, no one had ever made him realize how useless he was as directly as Zhou Chu had in the past two days.

Most people are like this; unless the stark reality is right in front of them, they can always find various excuses and reasons to numb themselves.

I just don't want to learn. If I put in a little effort, I'd be better than them. I'm actually very talented, I just don't want to learn.

One of the main reasons Lin Zhi refused to learn was that he didn't want to face his own mediocrity.

As long as you don't study, you can tell yourself in your heart, "It's not that I can't learn it, it's that I don't want to learn it."

A classic case of being too clever for one's own good.

The problem is that if he were truly intelligent, that would be one thing, but clearly he isn't.

Lin Zhi had lived a muddled life, and his privileged family background meant that he had never truly found his purpose from birth until now.

The contrast with his older brother, who seemed to never make a mistake, made him feel powerless like never before, and he could only seek a sense of existence by constantly making trouble.

Zhou Chu's words last night made him much more clear-headed.

So this morning, when I saw Xiaodao practicing martial arts, I joined in.