Ning Yan had thought Shen Tang would be angry about this.
Instead, Shen Tang suddenly burst out laughing.
It was a genuine smile that reached her eyes, not laughter born of fury.
Ning Yan was baffled. "Why are you laughing, my lord?"
The smile at Shen Tang's lips was almost impossible to suppress.
"Why aren't you laughing, Tunan? Don't you think this is pretty amusing? Wu Zhaode must have been a whetstone in his past life, or why would he attract so many people? Brother Zhaode, Brother Zhaode, just how badly did you behave to end up like this? You failed as a ruler, driving Gongsu and Da Yi away. You failed as a husband, and your marriage fell apart. And you failed even more as a father—your two sons turned against each other because of your foolishness. Now there's Mei Jinghe, too. We at least shared a past of 'deep affection between siblings,' so I shouldn't be laughing at him like this..."
She was a professional at holding back laughter—unless she couldn't.
As Ning Yan mentally leafed through Wu Xian's sordid history, there was certainly something comical about it. Then she thought of his reputation in his early years, and all she could feel was wistfulness. "Who would have thought Wu Zhaode was once a hero among men..."
She remembered Wu Xian had visited Xingning three times to recruit her.
If Wu Xian hadn't denounced Zheng Qiao as utterly worthless all three times—back then, Xingning had felt guilty toward Zheng Qiao and blamed his junior's misfortunes and descent on his senior brother's failure—then, given the respect for talent and righteous spirit Wu Zhaode had shown, Xingning might well have agreed to serve him. If Xingning hadn't felt even the slightest temptation, why would she have given him two more