Before Tan Wenhan could react, Tan Xinran let out another startled cry. "Zizhen?"
"Why are you here?" Tan Xinran hurried over. When she saw the ropes binding him, her eyes suddenly widened. "Father, what are you doing?"
A crack finally appeared in Tan Wenhan's composed expression. "What did you call him??"
On closer listening, even his voice had cracked.
Tan Xinran froze, only then belatedly realizing that although she and Weng Zizhen had privately pledged themselves to each other, no formal marriage proposal or betrothal gifts had been made, nor had they exchanged their birth details. By either sentiment or propriety, she should not be acting so intimately with him yet.
But...
Looking at the ropes wound around Weng Zizhen, loop after loop, she still could not resist protesting. "Daddy, why have you tied up Zi... why have you tied up Lord Weng?"
Tan Wenhan had a keen eye and had naturally already spotted the secret between them.
He sucked in angry breaths and gave a cold snort. "This man bribed a household servant and attempted to sneak inside. What's wrong with tying him up? Even if I sent him to the Court of Judicial Review, he'd have no choice but to take it!"
Both people at the center of everyone's attention were startled.
Su Hongzhen naturally wanted no dealings with the Court of Judicial Review at this point, while Tan Xinran bent her knees and dropped straight to the ground. "Daddy, Lord Weng must have come here to see me. Lord Weng and I have long shared mutual affection. Please grant us your blessing!"
Tan Wenhan stared steadily at the two of them, saying nothing for a long while.
This gave him quite a headache, too.
The people from the Court of Judicial Review had yet to bring the