Tong Aning was speechless, asking incredulously, "So the three of them lived happily ever after?"
Lou Yingyu: "No, I don't think so. The version I heard was that You Wenmei wanted the three of them to live together, but You Wenhuai absolutely refused."
Azhu nodded. "That's what I heard too."
Tong Aning: "..."
She looked at Azhu and asked, puzzled, " Azhu, why do you like listening to these things so much?"
Azhu smiled shyly, "It's very interesting."
"What?! It was clearly on your wedding day that Azhu and I got drunk and overheard it by chance."
Tong Aning's eyes widened. "You two heard that first?"
Lou Yingyu: "Hmm."
Tong Aning asked suspiciously, "That wouldn't be one of you... either..."
Lou Yingyu understood Tong Aning's meaning. She said leisurely, "I did want to spread the word, but when I woke up the next day, I forgot everything. I only remembered when I saw the two of them fighting in the court."
Tong Aning muttered to herself, "Perch... Yingyu..."
Lou Yingyu clung to Tong Aning's shoulder, leaned close to her, and asked, " Aning, what are you muttering about?"
Tong Aning looked up at Lou Yingyu and said earnestly, "Yu Ke and the other two."
Lou Yingyu: "..."
Even Azhu was amused by Tong Aning, and she chuckled.
Lou Yingyu: "Actually, there's another unlucky guy in here."
Tong Aning asked, "Who?"
Lou Yingyu gestured forward with her lips.
They were picking out jewelry in the Tong family's shop when a man, like a ghost, drifted past the doorway, his face bearing some bruises.
Tong Aning: "This can't be...?"
"That's right," Lou Yingyu said decisively, "It's that Lord Zhang."
[It's clearly a movie for four people, yet he doesn't even deserve a name~]
Tong Aning asked curiously, "Why is he so distraught?"
Azhu: "Does it mean you don't like sea bass?"
Lou Yingyu and Tong Aning both glanced at Azhu and found Azhu's words quite amusing.
[Case solved! He just tried to join the trio, but was rejected.]
Lou Yingyu hissed. Was this person just slow-witted, or simply brainless?
Xue Lin walked in, Lou Yingyu's eyes suddenly turned mocking as she glanced at Tong Aning.
Tong Aning blushed and whispered, "Didn't you say you didn't need to pick me up?"
Xue Lin smiled and said, "I was just passing by."
Tong Aning: "..."
Lou Yingyu clicked her tongue twice, then took Azhu's arm and said, "Before you two got married, Heir Xue often came to pick up Aning. I didn't expect that after the marriage, he would avoid her like this."
Thinking back to those days, Tong Aning hadn't thought there was anything wrong with it before, but now that she thought about it, it seemed to be true. Tong Aning's face suddenly turned even redder.
Seeing Tong Aning's face flush, Xue Lin changed the subject, asking, "Have you chosen the jewelry yet?"
Tong Aning hurriedly replied, "I've made my choice."
She was afraid that Lou Yingyu would say something she didn't want to hear.
Xue Lin: "Then, let's go home?"
Tong Aning: "Okay."
She pulled Xue Lin outside, then looked back and saw Lou Yingyu and Azhu still standing there.
Tong Aning: "Aren't you two going?"
Lou Yingyu: "What are we going to do there? Be something very bright?"
Tong Aning pretended to hit Lou Yingyu, Lou Yingyu laughed and dodged, waving at the two of them, "Let's go."
Tong Aning stamped her foot and left with Xue Lin.
Inside the carriage, Tong Aning lifted the curtain and saw Zhang Chihai, who was still looking lost and had almost been hit by someone who was cursing. Zhang Chihai didn't react at all.
Tong Aning asked, "Does he not want to be an official anymore?"
Xue Lin leaned closer to Tong Aning Tong Aning took over lifting the carriage curtain. He said, "He went to the You family and got beaten up by You Wenhuai."
Tong Aning: "No wonder, the scars on his face look quite fresh."
Thinking of something, Tong Aning turned her head to look at Xue Lin, "You went to bring the person back?"
" Sichen went there."
Sichen was driving the carriage outside, said, "Princess Consort, you don't know, before Zhang Chihai left, You Wenhuai was so ill that he couldn't get out of bed. After Zhang Chihai left, You Wenhuai was full of energy and wanted to beat Zhang Chihai to death. Even I almost couldn't stop him."
Is this the power of being a mistress... or a slut for love?
Sichen: Uh.
That's a very strong power!
Xue Lin suddenly said, " Aning, look."
Zhang Chihai, who was walking aimlessly in the middle of the street, was pulled aside by a young man, and the two began to tug and pull at each other.
Tong Aning, resting her chin on her hand, asked incredulously, "What is the relationship between these two?"
[Host, that's Zhang Chihai's stepfather.]
[Huh?]
[Here's the thing: After Zhang Chihai's mother passed away, his father remarried. After his father died, his stepmother remarried. After his stepmother died, his stepfather remarried. After his stepfather died, his new stepmother remarried. Now his new stepmother is dead, and the two of them are left to depend on each other.]
Tong Aning: [...]
[Host, host, are you listening?]
[Quiet, I'm thinking... So, the two of them actually have no relationship whatsoever?]
That's right.
[So what are you doing now?]
The new stepfather felt that now that he had entered the family, he should properly discipline Zhang Chihai.
[What a spoiled brat!]
Sichen was about to burst out laughing. How could the Crown Princess speak so accurately?
The carriage soon passed by Zhang Chihai and his stepfather. What happened to them afterward, no one knew. In any case, Zhang Chihai asked for leave the next day.
The emperor snorted, "It's better that the two of them aren't here; it saves me the trouble of seeing them."
The emperor looked down at Xue Lin and Tong Aning, feeling very pleased.
He said affectionately, " Alin, Aning, this is your first time attending court since your marriage. Are you getting used to it?"
Xue Lin: "Nothing's different."
Tong Aning: "It's a habit, I'm really used to it."
[It feels like I've returned to my battlefield.]
Tong Aning looked radiant.
The courtiers. "."
Little miss, whose name are you planning to call out today?
The Emperor then brought up another matter, " Alin, now that you are married, you should naturally inherit the title of Prince Yong's Residence."
Xue Lin paused, then pursed his lips and said, "Yes."
After the court session, the emperor kept Tong Aning and Xue Lin behind.
The emperor explained, " Alin, I know you're unwilling, but..."
Xue Lin said, "I'm willing."
The emperor was stunned. " Alin, what did you just say?"
Xue Lin grasped Tong Aning's outstretched hand, raised his head, and said with a faint smile, "Uncle, one must always look forward, mustn't one?"
He can no longer trap himself in that past.
Looking at Xue Lin like this, the emperor should have been pleased, but he felt a little uneasy.
He said in a hoarse voice, "Yes."
Xue Lin continued, "I have already looked forward, and my royal uncle should look forward too."
Compared to him, the emperor was clearly more unable to let go.
Meeting Xue Lin's eyes, which resembled those of Prince Yong, the Emperor choked up again. "Yes, in that case, you and Aning may return. I will have the Ministry of Rites make proper preparations for the succession of the Ministry of Rites."
Xue Lin nodded, took Tong Aning's hand, and walked out. The emperor watched their backs thoughtfully.
The autumn sky was clear and cloudless, with birds flying over the imperial city.
Xue Lin looked at the birds and suddenly felt a sense of ease.
The two walked forward and brushed past the crown prince.
Xue Lin said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
The Crown Prince stopped, glanced at Xue Lin, and said casually, "I haven't yet congratulated you on your marriage."
When Xue Lin and Tong Aning got married, the Crown Prince was away from home.
Xue Lin could sense the Crown Prince's hostility towards him, but he didn't care much. He simply shielded Tong Aning whenever the Crown Tong Aning's gaze intentionally or unintentionally swept over her.
He said, "Thank you, Your Highness. You must have had a long and arduous journey back."
The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes, feeling that Xue Lin's words were more like a provocation. He said expressionlessly, "I still need to see the Empress Dowager, so I won't talk to my cousin any longer."
Xue Lin nodded. "Your Highness, please take care."
After the Crown Prince had walked away, Tong Aning whispered, "I feel like the Crown Prince doesn't really like you."
He's never really liked me.
Tong Aning looked at Xue Lin, "How could this be..."
Xue Lin said, "After my parents passed away, my uncle, the Imperial Uncle, took pity on me and let me study in the Eastern Palace with the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince often made things difficult for me."
Tong Aning was somewhat surprised, "Is no one in charge?"
"It's not that nobody cares, it's just that I'm too lazy to say anything."
Tong Aning didn't understand. Her beautiful eyes were filled with heartache for Xue Lin. She asked, "Why?"
Xue Lin gripped Tong Aning's hand tightly and said, "My royal uncle has been good enough to me, why should I try to sow discord between them?"
Tong Aning still didn't understand. She looked at Xue Lin, then suddenly touched Xue Lin face and said earnestly, "You're so soft-hearted."
The places where Tong Aning had touched were burning hot. Even though Tong Aning was the most soft-hearted, Xue Lin had only said it casually, and it made her feel incredibly sorry for him.
Xue Lin's heart skipped a beat, and he asked Tong Aning, " Aning, what would you do?"
Tong Aning raised her fist, met Xue Lin's eyes, and said fiercely, "Then of course it's an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
[If he tears up my books, I'll tear up his. If he deliberately targets me, I'll give him a good dressing down. In short, I'll repay him for everything he's done to me!]
Tong Aning is kind, but this kindness is limited to those whom Tong Aning deems worthy of her treatment.
As for those bad people, Tong Aning will not be kind to them; she will only strike hard.
She studied medicine and martial arts; her fists are no joke.
Tong Aning squeezed Xue Lin's palm and said helplessly, "You, you... never mind, I'll protect you from now on."
Looking at the lively Tong Aning, Xue Lin thought that if he were to study with Tong Aning, he would probably have a lot of fun.
Xue Lin said softly, "Then I will retaliate in kind from now on."
Tong Aning glanced at him, [It's probably too late.]
Xue Lin paused. What did Aning mean by that?
The Crown Prince is secretly plotting a rebellion with the Empress.
Xue Lin: "!!!"