They're All Rumors!

[P.S. A few minor inconsistencies in the character details may crop up in these chapters. That's because I often go back and revise my drafts as I write, and while I fix some things, I sometimes miss others, which can lead to contradictions. If you spot any, please let me know. I'll fix them when I see them.

As for the poem you all criticized, I knew before writing it that people might complain, but it really did fit the plot, so I used it anyway. Changing it would have caused inconsistencies elsewhere, so I didn't have much choice. Still, since so many of you have complained, I'm adding an extra chapter today to show my sincerity...

One more thing: if any readers decide to drop the novel because of this plot point, I understand. That's every reader's choice. But as an author, I don't think there's anything to regret. Even if they stay this time, they'll leave for some other reason next time. If someone can't be kept, then let them go...

One last thing: I'm actually an author with very limited writing ability, as you all know. So please be a little more forgiving toward this lousy author. I'm adding an extra chapter as thanks!]

"Interesting, interesting..."

Old Madam Song laughed and laughed, thoroughly amused by this wonderfully winding, strange poem. After she'd finished laughing, she even gave Li Nuo one of the Longevity Peaches Song Yu had presented.

Song Yu's heart bled at the sight. These weren't ordinary peaches. He'd paid a fortune to buy them from a great master of the Agricultural school. They were worth more than any other gift presented that night, and he hadn't even gotten to taste one. Yet his grandmother had given one to the person he hated most. He couldn't have been more miserable.

By now, some of the people in the hall were looking at Li Nuo differently.

If the first poem might have been prepared in advance by Li Xuanjing, then the second had certainly been composed on the spot.

The Yaochi Holy Mother Birthday Painting and the Longevity Peaches were both gifts the Song Family's younger generation had presented to Old Madam Song that night. When backed into a corner, Li Nuo had used those two gifts as material and improvised a playful poem. Not only had he cheered up the old madam, he'd also gotten himself out of a bind...

Put yourselves in his shoes. How many people here could have reacted so cleverly?

If someone like that was a fool, then there were hardly any normal people in the world.

After presenting the two poems, Li Nuo led Song Jiaren to one side and discreetly let go of her hand, feeling a weight lift from his own heart as he did.

He hadn't wanted to do something so awkward, either. Those were hackneyed tropes used in who-knew-how-many transmigration novels. Even if they appeared in an online novel, countless readers would mock them. But he'd truly been driven into a corner.

That damned thief could've stolen any number of valuable things, but he just had to steal their congratulatory gifts.

And Song Qian really did have a loose tongue. Li Nuo seriously wondered if she had some kind of grudge against his wife...

Fortunately, they'd made it through that hurdle without incident.

Next, the sisters Song Mu'er and Song Ninger presented Old Madam Song with a birthday dance together. Their performance made the old madam laugh merrily, and she bestowed a jade bracelet on each of them.

And with that, the birthday tributes came to an end.

The banquet moved into its second half. The guests took their seats and began enjoying the lavish feast.

Old Madam Song's birthday banquet had gone perfectly that night. Li Nuo's two poems had brought the festivities to their peak, especially the second one. It had livened up the gathering and made the old madam happy, and the poem itself was so clever that people couldn't help applauding.

The Confucian guests who were well-versed in poetry praised the two poems highly.

The first was a quatrain worthy of being passed down for generations. The second, improvised on the spot, was even more clever and entertaining. It was admittedly strange, but might well be recited even more widely than the first.

In years to come, whenever people mentioned the poem, they would surely remember the scene at Old Madam Song's birthday banquet that night.

Old Madam Song would thus go down in history in her own way.

After all, the two poems were titled "A Birthday Tribute to Old Madam Song from Jiaren and Her Husband," forever tying her to them.

Even more astonishing, Li Nuo had left his own name off these poems worthy of being passed down to posterity, but included his wife's. That spoke volumes about how deeply he cared for her.

People had assumed their marriage was a case of a toad getting its hands on a swan. That night, they realized the two were a perfect match in talent and beauty.

All that talk about the Minister of Justice's son being a fool...

It was obviously a rumor, a complete and utter rumor!

In the hall, Li Nuo and Song Jiaren sat beside each other at a long, low table laden with fragrant, colorful dishes. Song Yu, his wife Song Qian, and the sisters Song Mu'er and Song Ninger were seated with them.

Everyone wore a different expression.

Song Yu looked disgruntled and resigned. Song Qian furrowed her brow, clearly in a foul mood. Song Mu'er and Song Ninger kept staring at the Longevity Peach in front of Li Nuo, swallowing nervously every so often.

Li Nuo was sorely tempted by its fragrant aroma, too.

He reached out to split the peach in half, but after struggling for quite a while, he found it was incredibly firm. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break it apart.

Song Jiaren took the peach from him. With a crisp crack, she split it in two and handed him the halves.

Li Nuo took only one and said, "You have the other half, my dear."

Song Jiaren shook her head, split her half into two again, and handed the pieces to the sisters Song Mu'er and Song Ninger, who had already swallowed more times than they could count. The two girls snatched them up eagerly, then immediately started bickering over who had gotten the bigger piece. They ran to their parents' table to ask them to settle the matter.

Now that the peach had been split open, dividing it again was easy. Li Nuo broke his half in two and offered the other piece to Song Jiaren.

She hesitated for a moment, then accepted it.

Li Nuo took a bite of the peach. It was wonderfully crisp and fragrant, and the juice filled his mouth. In both his lives, he'd never eaten anything so delicious. He polished off a quarter of the peach in just a few bites, without noticing the pained look on Song Yu's face across from him.

Beside him, Song Jiaren had only just taken her first small bite.

Maybe it was his imagination, but after a few mouthfuls, Li Nuo noticed the wound on his shoulder, which had been aching faintly, no longer hurt. The spot where he'd hit his head against the pillar seemed to have stopped hurting, too. He touched his forehead, and his expression suddenly froze.

The bump he'd gotten on his head two nights ago had vanished...

He pulled open his clothes and removed the bandage. The wound on his shoulder had already healed more than halfway. It felt as if a warm sensation had spread through his body when he'd eaten the peach...

Li Nuo exclaimed in surprise, "This peach can heal injuries?"

Song Yu shot him a look and said crossly, "Of course it can. It was grown by a Fourth Realm master of the Agricultural school. Each one is worth a thousand taels, and you can't even buy one if you have the money. You really got lucky..."

Looking at his mostly healed wound, Li Nuo marveled once again at how wondrous this world was.

He'd eaten only a quarter, and his wound had nearly healed. If he ate a few more bites, wouldn't he recover completely?

Song Jiaren glanced at the wound on Li Nuo's shoulder. After a moment of silence, she held out the peach in her hand and said, "Here. You eat it..."

This time, Li Nuo didn't refuse. His wound still hurt, after all. He gobbled down the peach, then stared fixedly at his shoulder. Sure enough, once the peach was in his stomach, it turned into a gentle, flowing warmth that traveled to his wound. After just a few breaths, the last of the wound on his shoulder had completely healed, leaving only a faint white scar.

This was even more shocking than Steward Wu pinning him in place.

Song Jiaren had meant to ask Li Nuo to cut away the part she'd bitten, but before she'd finished speaking, he'd eaten the whole peach. Her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing.

"I'm full!"

Song Qian had watched the two of them flaunt their affection right in front of her, and the bitterness in her heart had grown even sharper. She grabbed her husband's arm and left in a huff.

"I'm full, too."

He'd spent several thousand taels on those Longevity Peaches, hadn't gotten a single bite, and had been forced to watch the two of them flaunt their love. Song Yu had lost his appetite as well, and followed them away.

In the blink of an eye, only Li Nuo and Song Jiaren remained at the table.

Li Nuo was still marveling at the Agricultural school's wonders when someone came over. After glancing at him, the man turned to Song Jiaren and asked, "What happened?"

Song Lian knew that he and his wife had given Old Madam Song a pair of Jade Ruyi as a birthday gift, but had suddenly replaced them with two congratulatory poems. There had to be a reason.

Song Jiaren didn't answer. She merely lifted the red silk covering the wooden tray beside her, revealing two stones underneath.

Song Lian was taken aback. Anger then rose in his face, and he demanded in a low voice, "Who did this?"

Someone had replaced Jiaren's birthday gift with stones. If Li Nuo hadn't improvised those poems, the couple would've been utterly humiliated in front of the guests, and Old Madam Song's sixtieth birthday would've been marred by a serious stain. Whoever had done this had acted with truly vile intent.

None of the Song Family's servants would have dared do such a thing. The first person he suspected was his own daughter.

After all, Qian'er had never liked Jiaren, and she'd deliberately made things difficult for them when they went to offer their birthday wishes just now. Even though he didn't believe his daughter would do such a thing, she was clearly the most suspicious.

Fortunately, Li Nuo had been quick-witted and resolved the crisis in time, allowing the old madam's birthday banquet to end on a high note.

But if that was the case, hadn't he improvised the first poem, too?

He'd come up with poems so highly praised by the Confucian guests while under such pressure—and not just one, but two...

Did that mean he really wasn't a fool anymore?

Song Lian was privately delighted for his niece. Then he said, "I'll get to the bottom of this."

After giving Li Nuo another couple of glances, he turned and left.

Once they were alone, Song Jiaren looked at Li Nuo and said softly, "Thank you for that."

Li Nuo was happily enjoying a table full of delicious food by himself. At her words, he waved a hand and said, "No need to thank me, my dear. We're family..."

If he hadn't stepped forward just now, both of them would've lost face. Besides, she'd saved his life. Compared with that, improvising a couple of poems to save the day was nothing. Even if she'd asked him to marry her, he wouldn't have hesitated for a moment...