The Key

Two blossoms bloom; each tells its own tale.

After parting with Li Wan, Sun Shaozong entered the East Wing Courtyard through the main gate and saw dozens of people beneath the corridor, roaring their approval.

One fellow was so intoxicated by the spectacle that he leaped more than three feet into the air and lunged straight at the railing, craning his neck and clapping wildly. If someone beside him had not grabbed him in time, he might well have toppled over the edge.

Sun Shaozong could not help sighing helplessly at the sight. With that rosy complexion, how did he look like a man gravely ill?

That was right. This nearly crazed gentleman was none other than Uncle Xing, who had claimed illness and lingered at the Sun residence.

That day, he had only gotten halfway through his proposal before his daughter shut him down. Sun Shaozong had originally planned to decline tactfully when Uncle Xing brought it up again, then politely see him out of the manor.

Who would have thought Uncle Xing was such a character?

After several days of fine food and hospitality at the Sun residence, he seemed to have forgotten his original purpose entirely, looking utterly unwilling to leave.

Since he had not raised the matter again, and was Jia Yingchun's uncle in name, Sun Shaozong naturally could not take the initiative to drive him away.

And so the matter remained at a stalemate.

Sun Shaozong was not in any hurry. The household lacked neither food nor clothing, so he could simply treat Uncle Xing as another idle mouth to feed—his daughter could also keep Jia Yingchun company.

As he was mulling it over, someone sharp-eyed spotted him, and people immediately rose to greet him with cupped hands.

Sun Shaozong hurriedly put on a smile