Since Tong Aning's heartfelt words did not name anyone, the court officials looked around and suddenly felt that everyone was suspicious.
[They even slept side-by-side; you can imagine what their relationship was like.]
Courtier: Wow!
This is enough to show that it wasn't just a simple request for lodging.
The court officials were at their wits' end wondering who these two people were, but Tong Aning, unfortunately, had no intention of revealing the matter.
[What should we eat after court?]
courtier:...
Don't eat yet, finish telling this story first!
Unfortunately, while the court officials could hear Tong Aning's thoughts, Tong Aning couldn't hear them; Tong Aning had already begun reciting the names of the dishes.
The news made the court officials a little hungry.
The emperor adjourned the court session, but kept Tong Aning and Xue Lin behind.
courtier:.
They suspected the emperor wanted to enjoy the melon alone, but they had no proof.
Deng Jiantong shamelessly tried to get a bite, but the Emperor said, "Go away! Alin is my nephew, Aning is Alin's fiancée. What makes you think you can get involved?"
Deng Jiantong turned and left.
Tong Aning and Xue Lin followed the emperor to the Changle Palace, where the imperial kitchen staff were already waiting. The three of them sat down, and Eunuch Wang ordered the imperial kitchen staff to serve the dishes.
[Strange, these... seem to be all foods I like to eat.]
She secretly went to see Xue Lin, suspecting that Xue Lin had betrayed her.
Xue Lin met Tong Aning's gaze calmly and placed a crab roe soup dumpling on her plate.
[It doesn't seem like it...]
Tong Aning realized what was happening and whispered, "Why are you putting food on my plate? You should be putting it on His Majesty's plate."
Xue Lin: "No need, Imperial Uncle."
emperor. "..."
Yes, he doesn't need to; he has Eunuch Wang serving him food.
The Eunuch Wang was very perceptive; he stepped forward to serve the emperor the dishes.
Looking at the emperor's benevolent expression, Tong Aning sighed inwardly, "[His Majesty is a rare and wise ruler, yet there are still people who speak ill of him.]"
The emperor narrowed his eyes, but didn't take the matter seriously. He held a high position, and the Great Xia dynasty was in his hands. When he implemented new policies, there were always dissenting voices.
If he cannot tolerate these voices, how can he be worthy of the title "wise ruler"?
[The reason these two people are speaking ill of each other is really bizarre: because the Great Xia Dynasty forbids men from marrying men...]
The emperor choked.
Eunuch Wang hurriedly poured water for the emperor.
The emperor drank the water and thought to himself, "To speak ill of him for such a reason is a bit much."
"Your Majesty, Official Zhu and Official He have arrived."
[They're here, they've arrived as a couple. If nothing unexpected happens, they'll probably be sleeping together tonight.]
As Tong Aning and Xue Lin left, they brushed past the two adults.
The emperor looked at the two of them, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "Do either of you have any grievances against me?"
Official Zhu and Official He: "...?"
*
The Imperial Astronomical Bureau calculated that the third day of the ninth month was an auspicious day, so the Emperor set that day as the wedding date for Xue Lin and Tong Aning.
It's only the beginning of spring; September is still a long way off.
But Su Zhouyue and Tong Siyan were already busy.
Tong Aning comforted the two of them, "Mother, Second Sister, there's no need to be in such a hurry."
She sat in the courtyard, smiling as she held a cup of tea, serene and unperturbed.
Su Zhouyue and Tong Siyan suddenly realized that it was right for them to be a little anxious. Given Tong Aning's unhurried nature, she probably had to cram at the last minute.
Tong Aning was both amused and exasperated by these words. "Mother, you can't just cram for a wedding at the last minute."
"That's true..." Su Zhouyue frowned and sighed, "I wonder if Fengye will be able to make it back in time."
Tong Fengye and Feng Chu had not returned home for the New Year for the past two years. They usually only reported good news in their letters and never bad news. When Tong Fengye heard that Tong Aning was getting married, he was very happy.
But he didn't mention a word about coming back.
Su Zhouyue had no idea what kind of great achievements he was going to create; she felt both gratified and anxious.
Mu Yao said softly, "Young Master Tong values his younger sister Aning so much, he will definitely come back."
Tong Aning rested her chin on her hand and said, "Whether Third Brother comes back or not is secondary; the best thing is that he's An'an, and that he defeats the Yu Kingdom decisively."
Su Zhouyue said, "That's true."
She then thought of something else and asked Uncle Zhao to go to the general's mansion to retrieve something.
Tong Aning asked curiously, "What is it?"
"I also have a whip, for your self-defense."
Tong Aning: "..."
She took a sip of tea. "I have something to do and need to go out."
Su Zhouyue couldn't stop her. "Why is she in such a hurry? Is she trying to avoid me?"
Tong Siyan, " General Meng returned today; she went to pick up Azhu."
Meng Yu's family originally lived in the north, where Tong Fengye and Feng Chu were also located. However, half a year ago, the south was eyeing them covetously, Meng Yu received a new order to lead troops to the south. Now that the south has been pacified, the emperor has decreed that Meng Yu should return to the capital.
"Did you see that?" Lou Yingyu asked, leaning close to Tong Aning.
Tong Aning was holding something that Tong Siyan's fleet had brought back—a telescope.
Tong Aning shook her head and handed the telescope to Lou Yingyu.
Lou Yingyu took it, and suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "I see it! I see it! We're almost at the city gate! My goodness, Azhu has become so handsome! So dashing and beautiful!"
Tong Aning glanced around. Meng Yu was in front, followed by Zhuang Qing and Azhu. Azhu was wearing snow-white armor, her black hair was tied up with a silver hairpin, her eyes were bright, and her expression was firm.
Tong Aning was somewhat envious, and when she looked at Lou Yingyu, she felt the same way.
Lou Yingyu murmured, " Azhu must have suffered a lot to become like this."
Tong Aning nodded.
"Waaaaah."
Lou Yingyu went to the innkeeper to order a few more dishes to properly nourish Azhu.
Azhu went to the palace first and met the emperor before she came to the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion to meet Tong Aning and Lou Yingyu.
The three of them hugged each other and cried for a long time.
Lou Yingyu choked back tears, saying, " Azhu, we miss you so much."
Azhu blinked. "Me too."
Tong Aning pulled the two of them down to sit, "Let's eat first."
The two nodded. "Okay."
During the meal, Azhu told them a lot about her experiences in the military camp.
When they got to the funny part, the three of them burst into laughter.
When the topic turned to the hardships, Tong Aning and Lou Yingyu both looked at Azhu with heartache.
Azhu didn't seem to mind, and she still smiled gently, "Before I came back, I was thinking of having dinner with you all at the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion. Now it's all come true. I wonder if there'll be any excitement to see."
Tong Aning and Lou Yingyu burst out laughing.
It turns out that everyone who comes to the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion now is just here to watch the show, even Azhu is like that.
It became noisy outside.
Azhu was somewhat surprised, "Is it really that accurate?"
Lou Yingyu whispered to her, "With Aning around, it's hard to refuse."
Azhu smiled, and the three of them walked out of the private room together, just in time to meet the innkeeper who was looking out from the railing on the second floor.
The shopkeeper, seemingly unfazed, watched the spectacle while greeting the three women.
The three walked over to the shopkeeper and looked down together.
On the first floor, two women were pulling at another woman.
The woman being pulled shouted, "I'll say it again, I've never seen either of them!"
A woman sneered, "Of course you won't admit it, but I found the letters you wrote to him in his room."
The woman took out the letter and slammed it into Tao Jiang's face. Tao Jiang was trembling with rage. "I've never seen such a shameless person!"
Another woman pulled out a handkerchief and demanded, "Do you dare say you didn't embroider this handkerchief?"
Tao Jiang picked up the letters and said frankly, "Yes, when I was young and naive, I did have a crush on Young Master He, and I did write those letters, but that was three years ago."
Moreover, ever since she realized her own feelings, she had intended to reply to these letters and burn them all... How come these letters are still here?
The woman who threw the letter shouted, "You admit it! You were the one who seduced my fiancé, making him stay out all night!"
She spoke with righteous indignation, as if it were the truth, as if she had witnessed the scene herself.
Tao Jiang: "..."
Why can't you understand human language?
Tao Jiang said impatiently, "I've been eating and sleeping at the girls' school these days; I'm not at home at all."
The woman with the handkerchief paused, then asked suspiciously, "Really?"
Tao Jiang was too lazy to argue with them any further. "If you don't believe me, you can go and check at the girls' school."
"So where did he go?"
Tao Jiang rolled her eyes. "How should I know?"
[Where did he go? He's in his best buddy's bed, of course.]
The three of them paused for a moment.
[ Zhu Qizheng and He Xi are such wicked people. They both have fiancées, yet they still got together. When the affair was exposed, Zhu Qizheng actually tried to shift the blame onto his own cousin.]
Both of them turned pale and were stunned.
How could that be? That's impossible.
The only one who remained calm was Tao Jiang.
Her eyes were cold. She had known for a long time that her cousin was no good, but she never expected that what he did would be even more outrageous than she had imagined!
Despite their initial disbelief, the two women couldn't sit still after learning that they had been eating, living, and sleeping together for the past few days. They rushed to question Zhu Qizheng and He Xi.
The next day at court, both men had a very obvious handprint on their faces.
Zhu Qizheng and He Xi were pulling up their sleeves, trying to hide themselves.
[Now you feel ashamed? What were you thinking before? After his fiancée found out they were sleeping together and had an unusual relationship, he actually said they would only be husband and wife in name, and in private they could each have their own affairs, without bothering each other... He's the original scumbag!]
[You only slapped them once? That's not enough!]
The court officials suddenly realized, "This must be the melon that hadn't surfaced a few days ago!"
If two people didn't have fiancées and slept together, people might just gossip about it. But knowing they had fiancées and were about to get married, they still...
They are truly despicable! Many court officials are ashamed to stand with these two.
These two men actually knelt down and begged the emperor to abolish girls' schools.
Wen Chensi: "???"
How did the fire suddenly turn on her?