Tong Aning asked anxiously, [What about my father? Is he all right?]
[Don't worry, host. The ones trying to kill the Heir of Prince Yong aren't those traffickers.]
Tong Aning felt slightly relieved, but then she paused and guessed, [Don't tell me the heir has run into assassins again?]
[That's right.]
Tong Aning: ...
She had to admit, the heir really was unlucky.
[Who keeps trying to kill him?]
[It's...]
The system stalled.
Tong Aning understood. It was the Gossip System, not the Assassination System.
The system: ...
Its host had even learned to answer ahead of it. It was very gratified.
The carriage suddenly stopped.
Had Yingtao not grabbed Tong Aning in time, Tong Aning would have struck the little table.
Still shaken, Yingtao asked, "Miss, are you all right?"
Tong Aning shook her head.
Yingtao's expression changed completely as she turned around. Bristling with anger, she was about to demand an explanation from A Shu.
Just then, A Shu's voice came from outside. "Miss, there's someone here!"
Tong Aning lifted the carriage curtain and, sure enough, saw someone lying on the main road. She got out, with Yingtao and A Shu flanking her, their arms held protectively in front of her.
It was a man, covered in blood and grime, his features barely distinguishable.
To be honest, Tong Aning was a little frightened.
Yingtao asked apprehensively, "Miss, is he dying?"
The man's breathing was indeed faint, but Tong Aning could see him slowly raise his head and glance at her.
His eyes were quite beautiful, but they were pitch-black and rather frightening at first glance.
Tong Aning's heart jolted. Was he... asking her for help?
But...
[This man isn't a bad person, is he?]
[But he's dying. I can't just watch him die without helping.]
Tong Aning cautiously approached. [His hands look so dirty.]
Hearing Tong Aning's thoughts, the man wiped his hand and held it out again.
Tong Aning took his hand. Seeing this, Yingtao and A Shu hurried to help their mistress lift him up.
A Shu kept feeling that the man looked familiar, but blood and grime obscured most of his face, leaving only his fine brows and eyes visible.
With only a pair of eyes to go on, A Shu could not remember where he had seen this man.
A Shu put him into the carriage.
The man lay furthest inside, while Tong Aning and Yingtao sat nearest the entrance.
"Miss, if anything seems wrong, call me," A Shu reminded her from outside.
"His injuries are rather severe. He can't hurt us. A Shu, hurry."
Although Tong Aning was only half-trained, she could still assess injuries.
Picking up random people was unwise, unless they were visibly incapable of hurting you.
But if they did not hurry, the man they had picked up might not survive.
"Miss, Yingtao, hold on tight."
The carriage headed toward the city gates as Tong Aning studied the man.
He had completely lost consciousness and knew nothing of Tong Aning's scrutiny.
[Host, you've picked up the Heir of Prince Yong.]
Tong Aning: ...?
[He's the Heir of Prince Yong?]
[Yes.]
Tong Aning stared at that face again, thinking that this was far too much of a coincidence.
The carriage stopped outside Prince Yong's Residence.
When the assassins attacked, only Sichen had been beside Xue Lin. Sichen had drawn away most of them, but even after returning wounded himself, he still had no news of the heir.
Sichen's heart sank. Something must have happened to the heir.
He had now sent out everyone available at Prince Yong's Residence. Standing at the entrance, he looked at the marquis's carriage.
What were people from the marquis's residence doing here now?
Just as Sichen hurried down the steps, Tong Aning poked her head out. "I picked up your heir."
Sichen: "!!!"
Tong Aning and Yingtao got out first. Sichen had someone enter the carriage and carefully carry the heir out.
When Tong Aning was about to leave, Sichen stopped her, saying the heir would surely want to thank his lifesaver in person when he woke.
Tong Aning nodded.
It was not that she coveted gratitude for saving his life. She simply thought that one should see a good deed through to the end, escorting the Buddha all the way to the Western Paradise.
Sichen: ...
Why did that sound rather inauspicious?
[...Host, the "Xi" in my name doesn't mean that West, does it?]
[No, your "Xi" is the "xi" in watermelon. We're always eating melon, after all.]
The system: ...
That did not seem much better.
A Shu went to park the carriage, while Tong Aning and Yingtao entered Prince Yong's Residence.
Prince Yong's Residence looked grand, but it was very desolate.
Not because there was no one there, but because it lacked even a trace of life.
Recalling how Prince Yong and his consort had both died young, Tong Aning felt somewhat wistful, and her expression gradually grew solemn.
As Sichen served Tong Aning tea, he heard her murmuring something.
She was probably praying that the heir would not die.
The Jade Emperor, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Tathagata Buddha-he had heard of all those, but what did "God" mean?
An hour later, Xue Lin woke, and Sichen invited Tong Aning to come over.
When Tong Aning arrived, Xue Lin was drinking his medicine. He had changed clothes, and all the blood and grime had been wiped from his body.
Without warning, Tong Aning met Xue Lin's eyes. They were bottomless, without a trace of light or hope, just as they had been when she saw them earlier.
Only back then, they had at least held a little desire to live.
Seemingly realizing that he had frightened Tong Aning, Xue Lin lowered his eyes. "Miss Tong, please sit."
His voice was weak.
Tong Aning sat on the stool Sichen brought over. Glancing at Xue Lin, she asked, "Are you all right now?"
Xue Lin looked at Tong Aning. Concern was plain in her eyes. This was no mere courtesy; she truly was worried about him.
"I'm all right now. Thank you for saving me, Miss Tong," Xue Lin said.
"It was hardly any trouble. Besides, if it weren't for me..."
Tong Aning still felt a little guilty.
Why did Tong Aning feel guilty? Xue Lin thought it over and soon understood the chain of events. Tong Aning had discovered the traffickers. Without her, perhaps none of this would have happened, and he would not have been injured.
"This has nothing to do with you, Miss Tong. In fact, you deserve the greatest credit for this."
Tong Aning's eyes widened. "Me?"
Xue Lin smiled and nodded. "If not for you, Miss Tong, how would we have learned of so many disappearances?"
"I only passed along a message. It wasn't that important."
But that tiny trace of guilt had already vanished for Tong Aning. If she had to do it all again and choose between the Heir of Prince Yong getting injured and the lives of so many girls, she would still choose the latter.
She would find another way to warn the Heir of Prince Yong.
Unaware of Tong Aning's thoughts, Xue Lin continued earnestly, "Passing along a message is very important. Some people know secrets but let them rot inside their hearts for a lifetime, costing many innocent people their lives. Miss Tong, you are very important."
The praise left Tong Aning rather embarrassed. She blushed, wondering whether she really was that important.
Catching sight of Tong Aning's flushed cheeks out of the corner of his eye, Xue Lin swiftly looked away as though scalded.
"Get some rest."
"All right."
As Tong Aning left the residence, she saw Eunuch Wang hurrying along another covered walkway.
She saw him, but he did not see her.
By the time she returned to the marquis's residence, Tong Aobai had long since come back.
Tong Aning dashed up to him and asked worriedly, "Father, are you all right?"
Tong Aning examined him from every side.
Warmth filled Tong Aobai's heart. Smiling, he patted his daughter's head. "What could have happened to me?"
"That's good. That's good."
"Speaking of which, it was all thanks to you, Aning."
"Me?"
"Yes." Father and daughter sat down in the courtyard. Looking at Tong Aning with affection and admiration, Tong Aobai said, "All the missing girls were in that Daoist temple. Without you, Aning, they would all have been sold."
Tong Aning could not help asking, "Am I really that important?"
"You are," Tong Aobai said solemnly.
There was something else Tong Aobai did not say: besides receiving Heaven's blessing, Aning must have gained such an ability because their Aning had been a very good person to begin with.
Tong Aobai's gaze sent a tremor through Tong Aning's heart, followed by a surge of joy.
"All right, Aning." Tong Aobai stood and patted Tong Aning's head again. "I'm going to the palace."
Tong Aning nodded.
Tong Yi'an came over, looked this way and that, then finally pouted. "Fourth Sister, where are the pastries?"
"I couldn't buy any. They were all sold out. I'll buy you some next time, all right?"
"Next time, I want to go with you, Fourth Sister."
Tong Yi'an's warm little hand held hers. Tong Aning's eyes curved. "All right."
Tong Aning knew nothing of what happened in the palace.
"Good. Very good."
The emperor flung the things seized from Prince Jing's Residence down before Prince Jing. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Look for yourself! What a fine younger brother you are."
Prince Jing took none of it seriously. He was only panicked at having been discovered by the emperor.
"Your Majesty, you are the supreme sovereign. Everyone under heaven is your subject. I am your own younger brother. I merely asked the people to pay a tiny price. Your Majesty, think carefully."
The emperor stared at Prince Jing in disbelief. "What did you just say?"
In his eyes, those commoners' lives were merely a tiny price?
"I speak from the bottom of my heart."
"If selling innocent girls to distant places, even selling them to the powerful as playthings to win their support, counts as speaking from the bottom of your heart, Prince Jing, is there a single truthful word left under heaven?"
"Shut up!" Prince Jing glared at Tong Aobai in furious frustration.
"Your Highness, so many eyes witnessed the search of your residence. Will you silence them all too? Will you silence every commoner under heaven?" Cen Yu stared fixedly at Prince Jing.
He and Tong Aobai were like two wolves intent on tearing a chunk of flesh from him!
"Uncle Jing, do you admit your guilt?"
Right, how had he forgotten Xue Lin, that venomous snake? Prince Jing turned to look at him.
Xue Lin's injuries had not healed. Weak and pale, he sat in a wheelchair. After all those questions, this single question from him effectively sealed Prince Jing's guilt.
"What crime have I committed?"
Prince Jing looked at the emperor on his elevated throne. "Your Majesty, everything I did was for you! I was helping you win support! I was filling the state treasury!"
He was innocent. How could he be guilty? Heaven had made him a prince, proving that he stood above those commoners.
They should count themselves fortunate that they still had value to him.
The emperor looked at Prince Jing, frenzied to the extreme after finding a sliver of hope.
He knew Prince Jing's crimes were unforgivable, yet a bleak sorrow suddenly rose from the depths of his heart.
Five years ago, he had lost a younger brother.
Five years later, he was about to lose another.
The emperor's voice held both authority and helplessness. "Prince Jing trafficked in people, causing numerous disappearances in the capital, then used his power to suppress others, leaving the commoners nowhere to seek redress. By law, he shall be beheaded."
"Brother-" Prince Jing stared incredulously at the emperor on his elevated throne. "You're going to kill me? How will you answer to Mother?"
At the mention of the empress dowager, the emperor snapped, "I am the Son of Heaven. To whom must I answer?"
"Admit it, Brother. You're simply jealous!"
He was the supreme sovereign. Why would he be jealous of a prince?
Veins bulged on the emperor's forehead. Before he could erupt, Xue Lin said, "Guards, take Prince Jing into custody. He will be executed on a chosen date."
As the guards seized him, Prince Jing unleashed a torrent of abuse. "Xue Lin, you're no better! You're nothing but a blade your imperial uncle uses. He pushed you forward because he intends to sacrifice you."
"I don't care," Xue Lin said calmly.
Prince Jing paused, then his face suddenly twisted hideously. "If I were your father or mother, I'd have ended my life too, you heartless monster."
Xue Lin's hand briefly tightened on his wheelchair. Then he said with perfect composure, "Don't twist the truth, Uncle Jing. I lost my parents first, and only then became a heartless monster."
Xue Lin leaned forward slightly, his clear black-and-white eyes resting quietly on Prince Jing, making one's scalp prickle. "My parents were proud of me. That's better than you can say, Uncle Jing. That son you dote on so much has his eye on your concubine."
Prince Jing slumped on the ground and was dragged out.
"Aning, you've heard about the disappearances that have stirred up a storm all over the city, haven't you?"
Tong Aning nodded. Lou Yingyu pulled her close and buried her face against her chest, nuzzling her. "My father's been so worried that his hair's been falling out by the handful."
That made sense.
Prince Jing's Residence had only been the mastermind. There were still the other buyers who had taken part in the trade.
Tong Aning had always believed that buyers and sellers were equally guilty!
"So you came especially to buy things for the prime minister, Yingyu?"
Tong Aning glanced at the things beside Lou Yingyu. Most were medicinal herbs for calming the mind.
Lou Yingyu raised her head and happened to catch Tong Aning looking at her with smiling eyes.
Oh, their Aning was simply too beautiful. Who could withstand being looked at like that by her?
Lou Yingyu nodded. "That's right."
"The prime minister will surely be very touched when he finds out."
"He'd better be touched. At least then he won't scold me," Lou Yingyu muttered.
"Did you skip school again?"
"Aning, could you have a little faith in me? Aren't we attending school together now?"
"Oh, true."
Lou Yingyu: "..."
Tong Aning's soft, gentle voice made Lou Yingyu's fingers itch to pinch her cheeks.
Before she could, the sound of smashing came from downstairs.
Whoever dared cause trouble right under her nose must have grown tired of living.
Lou Yingyu slapped the railing and leaned over with Tong Aning to look down-
A man in splendid clothes had his arm around someone dressed as showily as a flowering branch.
He declared smugly, "I'm the Heir of Prince Jing. Who dares make trouble for me?"
Lou Yingyu was stunned. He asked, "Hasn't Prince Jing's Residence been confiscated yet?"
Tong Aning said, "My father said that he, the Heir of Prince Yong, and Lord Cen deliberately kept quiet to fish for a while first."
"How's the fishing going?"
"It should be within the next day or two."
Reassured, Lou Yingyu sat down. Let him strut. It would all be fine once he was taken away.
His title certainly carried weight. The teahouse fell silent for a moment before voices rose in flattery.
Cracking melon seeds, Lou Yingyu said, "His father hasn't come back, and their residence was searched in full view of everyone. Doesn't he think anything's wrong?"
Tong Aning whispered, "He can't wait for his father not to come back."
What did that mean?
Was there a melon to eat?
Lou Yingyu looked at Tong Aning with shining eyes.
How am I supposed to tell Yingyu that the Heir of Prince Jing has long been involved with his father's concubine? His happiest times are whenever his father goes away.
Lou Yingyu: "..."
She shook her head. "What a family misfortune."
Tong Aning nodded vigorously.
But he won't get to throw his weight around much longer. The people coming to arrest him are already on their way.
Lou Yingyu sighed again. "When the heavens run wild, rain must fall; when people run wild, someone will rein them in."
Tong Aning: "...?"
Was this dynasty so advanced?
Even its rhymes sounded so modern.
Here they come, here they come.
Lou Yingyu and Tong Aning leaned over the railing at the same time. Xue Lin was there too, and Tong Aning accidentally met his eyes.
Tong Aning waved openly at him.
Xue Lin nodded.
"What right do you have to arrest me? I'm the Heir of Prince Jing!"
Xue Lin said, "Yes. It's the Heir of Prince Jing we're arresting."
Xue Lin raised a hand. "Take him away."
"Wait."
Tong Aning and Lou Yingyu came down from the second floor.
Xue Lin asked, "Is something the matter, Miss Tong?"
Tong Aning glanced at the Heir of Prince Jing and said earnestly, "He broke so many things in the teahouse. He ought to pay for them, shouldn't he?"
The teahouse proprietor thought, Is Fourth Miss Tong a bodhisattva?
Xue Lin looked around, his gaze pausing on the damaged tables and chairs and shattered crockery. "He should."
The teahouse proprietor thought, I really have met my benefactors today.
Xue Lin looked at the Heir of Prince Jing. "Cousin, will you pay with the money on you, or shall we deduct it when your property is confiscated later?"
The Heir of Prince Jing: "..."
He had known it. Xue Lin had always been a little beast!
The two had never gotten along since childhood. Xue Lin had good looks and excelled in his studies, and everyone praised him to the skies. He was clearly a royal descendant too, yet he could only live in Xue Lin's shadow!
Things had finally improved when both Xue Lin's parents died. They had not seen each other for several years, yet he was still such a beast!
The Heir of Prince Jing untied his money pouch and tossed it into the proprietor's hands, saying with a smile, "Do you know why I'm paying so readily? Do you think Prince Jing's Residence is finished? Even if my imperial uncle really wants to do something, there's still my imperial grandmother!"
The current empress dowager, the reigning emperor's birth mother, had borne two sons and a daughter.
Her eldest son was the reigning emperor, her second son was the late Prince Yong, and her third child was the eldest princess, Xue Shang.
As for Prince Jing, after his birth mother died, he had been raised at the empress dowager's knee from childhood.
Strangely, the empress dowager was rather indifferent toward her three biological children, yet treated Prince Jing very well.
If blood ties could be falsified, some might even have suspected that Prince Jing was the empress dowager's biological son.
"Now we're done for." Lou Yingyu had also heard about the empress dowager's indulgence of Prince Jing. Frowning, she whispered, "The empress dowager will definitely step in to protect Prince Jing's Residence."
The more Lou Yingyu thought about it, the angrier she became. "That's not fair at all to those abducted girls!"
Tong Aning took Lou Yingyu's hand and said softly, "She won't be able to protect them."
"That would be good."
But Lou Yingyu held little hope. The emperor put filial piety first. Even if he could harden his heart for a while, what if the empress dowager resorted to crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang herself?
Lou Yingyu had heard genuine accounts of the crying and scenes. Just because the emperor refused to marry the woman she had chosen, she had gone on a hunger strike, and the emperor had ultimately been forced to compromise.
Because Prince Jing is the son the empress dowager had with another man. He isn't of royal blood at all.
Wait, wait, wait!
Lou Yingyu's eyes widened. What had she just heard?
The imperial family had a melon this huge?
Xue Lin, who was escorting the noisy Heir of Prince Jing away, also paused.
Before entering the palace, the empress dowager already had someone she loved. But the late emperor fell in love with her at first sight. The empress dowager wanted to stay with her beloved, but she wanted power even more. After weighing her options, she entered the palace after all.
After the empress dowager entered the palace, the late emperor was indeed infatuated with her. In just a few months, she rose from Beauty to Noble Consort. The late empress had died young, and the empress dowager held sole power over the harem. Then she remembered her beloved, so she disguised him as a eunuch and brought him into the palace.
The late emperor today, her beloved tomorrow. The empress dowager had both men spinning in circles around her.
Good heavens. Lou Yingyu almost wanted to applaud the empress dowager.
Xue Lin was already far away, wondering whether his imperial uncle knew about this.
Prince Jing was sentenced to beheading. Everyone else in Prince Jing's Residence was sentenced to exile, never to return to the capital.
At first, the empress dowager refused no matter what, almost kneeling before the emperor.
But yesterday, for some unknown reason, the empress dowager had agreed.
On the day Prince Jing was beheaded, she stayed in her Palace of Compassion and Tranquility and never came out again.
Tong Aning wondered, Has she accepted her fate?
Huh, the emperor threatened her with her beloved, and the empress dowager actually compromised... She can have another son, but she has only one man.
Huh? What kind of mind-blowing values are those?
"Aning."
Tong Aning raised her head and looked at Su Zhouyue. "Mother, what is it?"
"Eat more and read more."
Su Zhouyue thought that although heaven's blessing was a good thing, there were so many filthy affairs in the capital. She must not let them sully her daughter's pure heart.
Tong Aning: "...Oh."
"Madam, the Heir of Prince Yong is here."
Su Zhouyue was about to ask what he had come for, but looking at Tong Aning's face, she suddenly remembered that Tong Aning had saved the Heir of Prince Yong twice!
Perhaps he had come to thank her.
Su Zhouyue rose. "I'll go see him."
Before leaving, Su Zhouyue added, "Aning, come with me."
"All right."
This was not Su Zhouyue's first time meeting the Heir of Prince Yong.
Several years ago, when tragedy struck Prince Yong's Residence, she had gone with Tong Aobai to offer condolences.
Su Zhouyue would never forget the misery of that scene.
Prince Yong and his consort had only one child, their heir. Amid a sea of mourning white, a boy of barely thirteen or fourteen had stood in mourning robes before his parents' coffins, watching the people coming and going with a pale face.
Su Zhouyue had even felt that he was merely a wisp of a ghost.
Several years had passed. Xue Lin had grown taller, but his face was still pale.
He had undergone no earth-shaking transformation. He was still like a pool of stagnant water.
Xue Lin cupped his hands. "Madam, Miss Tong."
"There's no need for such courtesy, Your Lordship."
Su Zhouyue led Tong Aning past Xue Lin and took the seat of honor. Tong Aning stood beside her.
Su Zhouyue asked, "Have your injuries improved, Your Lordship?"
Xue Lin said, "They have. I came today first to thank Fourth Miss for saving my life, and second to discuss some matters with Marquis Tong."
"The marquis is in his study. As for saving your life..."
Su Zhouyue looked at Tong Aning. "Aning, what do you think?"
Tong Aning said, "It was only a small matter. You needn't keep it on your mind, Your Lordship."
"I must," Xue Lin said solemnly.
In that case...
Tong Aning blinked. "I like gold and silver. Please give me some gold and silver, Your Lordship."
Su Zhouyue: "..."
Xue Lin lowered his eyes, the faintest curve lifting the corners of his lips. "Sichen."
Sichen clapped his hands, and servants from Prince Yong's Residence carried in two large chests.
Tong Aning's eyes lit up. At that moment, she did not yet know that someone would spend his entire life repaying her for saving his.
Su Zhouyue had A Shu lead Xue Lin to the study.
Turning back to find Tong Aning standing before the two large chests, touching them over and over, she said helplessly, "Hurry up and put them in the storeroom."
Su Zhouyue tapped Tong Aning on the head.
Clutching her head, Tong Aning said, "Mother, I know."
Su Zhouyue looked at her daughter and asked again, "What were you thinking?"
"What else would I be thinking? I saved His Lordship, so of course he wants to repay me. If I refused, what if he kept worrying about it? I might as well accept openly and put his mind at ease."
Su Zhouyue was immensely gratified.
Who said her daughter was stupid? Her daughter possessed great wisdom beneath a foolish exterior. She understood things perfectly well.
It was just that...
She looked a little too money-mad when she grandly ordered people to move the chests.
Xue Lin stayed in the study for two hours before coming out.
By then, the sun was sinking toward the western mountains, and brilliant sunset light spilled over Tong Aning in the middle of the courtyard.
Noticing Xue Lin's gaze, Tong Aning looked at him and asked, "Have you finished your discussion, Your Lordship?"
"Yes. I benefited greatly from Marquis Tong's words."
Tong Aning nodded with great solemnity. It's just that sometimes I can't understand them.
Xue Lin: ...
He glanced at Tong Aning. The young did not know the taste of sorrow. This Fourth Miss Tong probably had few worries.
Xue Lin felt neither envy nor jealousy, as though Tong Aning ought to be just like this, forever happy.
Tong Aning said, "Let me see you out, Your Lordship."
"Sorry for the trouble, Fourth Miss."
On the walk from the courtyard to the entrance, Tong Aning chatted with Xue Lin for a while.
She was someone who could never stay idle, but she only chatted about everyday matters and never pried into the secrets of whoever she was speaking with.
Talking to her felt warm without being intrusive. By the time they reached the residence's entrance, Xue Lin actually found himself wishing it could continue.
Night had fallen completely.
Lamps began to be lit throughout the marquis's residence, and the two large red lanterns hanging at the entrance were lit as well.
Their reddish glow resembled the lingering light of the sunset moments before.
Unexpectedly, even after night fell, this mortal world did not lose its colors in Xue Lin's eyes.
Tong Aning watched Xue Lin board his carriage before turning to leave.
Xue Lin lifted the carriage curtain, only to catch the disappearing hem of Tong Aning's skirt.
Sichen said, "Your Lordship hasn't smiled like that in a long time."
Xue Lin: "..."
Had he smiled?
Five days later, the affair involving Prince Jing came to a complete end.
Quite a few positions at court were left vacant as a result, and the officials who had been on tenterhooks, fearing they would be implicated, began stirring restlessly again.
Tong Aobai said firmly, "Your Majesty, this subject does not want this assignment."
The emperor chuckled. "Everyone out there is fighting over this assignment."
Tong Aobai said earnestly, "This subject cannot think of that many people."
"True enough. When We asked you to think of someone for Minister of War, it took you three to five days."
The emperor's words made Tong Aobai sigh with relief. He thought the emperor would drop the matter, but instead, the emperor said, "Then how about We only ask you to think of one person again?"
Tong Aobai: "..."
Minister of Revenue was a fine post that everyone flocked to like ducks.
"What's happening up ahead?"
Tong Aobai lifted the carriage curtain.
Uncle Zhao said, "My lord, carriages have surrounded our entrance so tightly that not even water could get through."
Had these people gotten the news so quickly?
Tong Aobai promptly dropped the curtain. "Quick, go to the back entrance."
"Yes, my lord."
After a scare but no mishap, Tong Aobai stepped into his own courtyard through the back entrance.
"Honestly," Su Zhouyue scolded him, "it ends up like this every time."
"What can I do when His Majesty acts like this?"
Tong Aobai had a headache himself.
He had clearly been conducting himself cautiously, doing everything he could to avoid the fate of the marquis's household being exiled that Aning's inner voice had mentioned. Why did His Majesty value him even more instead?
Tong Aobai could not fathom it, no matter how he racked his brains.
Noticing out of the corner of his eye that Su Zhouyue was still frowning, Tong Aobai slipped an arm around her shoulders and gently massaged her temples. "My dear, don't dwell on it. Your husband can handle this."
Su Zhouyue glanced at him. "All right."
She chose to trust Tong Aobai.
Tong Aobai had Uncle Zhao send those people away.
But those people soon discovered that the overt approach would not work, so they began taking covert routes.
Those covert routes came in all sorts of bizarre forms.
The best one was to propose marriages for the young ladies and young masters of the household.
Over the course of a day, countless people sought Tong Siyan's hand, and countless others wanted to marry Tong Fengye and Tong Yibin.
Neither Tong Aning nor Tong Yi'an had reached hairpin age, so they were not targeted, but Tong Aning stared at the pastries from the First Rank Pavilion, dumbfounded.
They must have bought out the entire First Rank Pavilion.
"People have even found out your daughter's preferences." Frowning, Su Zhouyue poked Tong Aobai's arm. "Hurry up and think of something!"
"Yes, yes, yes." Knowing that Su Zhouyue was truly angry, Tong Aobai hastily said, "Rest assured, my dear. I'll definitely think of something."
Su Zhouyue huffed, making it clear that she no longer trusted Tong Aobai quite so much.
With nothing to do, Tong Fengye was leafing through the cards that had been sent over.
He complained miserably, "Why are there so few for me?"
Although he was not as old as his eldest brother, he was more handsome!
Tong Yibin cast Tong Fengye a brooding glance, and Tong Fengye immediately shut his mouth.
Only Tong Aning answered him. "Probably because you're young, Third Brother."
Tong Fengye nodded cautiously.
He flipped through the cards, doing no more than glancing at the names, while Tong Siyan and Tong Yibin did not even look.
Noticing Tong Fengye's actions, Tong Siyan teased, "Do you want to get married, Third Brother?"
Tong Fengye shook his head vigorously. "Second Sister, I mean nothing of the sort!"
"Ohh~"
Tong Fengye: "..."
Why did he feel that his second sister had picked up bad habits lately too?
Remembering Cui Heng's fate, Tong Fengye shuddered and suddenly understood: his second sister had always been this formidable. She did not need to turn bad.
Su Zhouyue actually grew a little anxious.
She looked at Tong Aobai. "Should I really start making arrangements for the two of them?"
Siyan could be left out of it; she had long since said she had no intention of remarrying. But Fengye and Yibin... especially Yibin!
Tong Yibin had already undergone his capping ceremony long ago. Other men his age had children who could already run around.
Tong Yibin: "..."
Seeing Su Zhouyue turn her gaze toward him, Tong Yibin coughed. "I have no such plans at present."
Su Zhouyue said, "...All right. If a young lady from any family catches your eye, remember to tell me so I can propose the marriage for you."
If her child did not want to start a family, she could not force him.
Tong Yibin nodded.
Tong Aning had already joined the ranks of those leafing through the cards.
She loved these names! Every single one sounded so lovely!
"Mei Xiangyu. Was a piece of jade found beneath a plum tree?"
Tong Fengye murmured.
Tong Aning: "..."
Third Brother's reading comprehension was quite good!
Wait, why does this name sound a little familiar?
Host, have you forgotten? This is the young lady the Heir of Duke Anguo fell for.
Then doesn't that mean she likes my third brother???
Tong Fengye's hand shook, and the card fell from his grasp. All the others looked over.
Host, she doesn't like your third brother. It's just that the Heir of Duke Anguo couldn't understand human speech. She rejected him repeatedly, but he kept declaring his feelings for her. Helpless, she happened to see your third brother ride past and said that he was the one she liked, and she would marry no one but him in this lifetime.
So Third Brother was just an excuse...
An excuse, an excuse, an excuse...
Tong Fengye suffered quite a blow.
But he soon thought it through.
The Heir of Duke Anguo was clearly a pervert. If this Mei-something-yu really married him, that would be a calamity.
In that case, hadn't he helped shield that young lady from a calamity?
It was only his name. She could use it all she liked.
Tong Aning truly admired her third brother's attitude.
Tong Aning looked at him and said earnestly, "Third Brother, you really are a good person."
Tong Fengye scratched his head. Why did he feel as though he had been praised, yet somehow had not?
Now that the Heir of Duke Anguo is paralyzed, she won't be harassed anymore. Her situation must be much better, right?
No. Ever since the Heir of Duke Anguo became paralyzed, he's constantly clamored to marry Mei Xiangyu. Duke Anguo's Wife ignores him completely. She even said that, crippled as he was, any young lady willing to marry him must be blind.
Tong Aning: ...
So Duke Anguo's Wife attacked on every front. When she got ruthless, she did not even spare her own son.
Then Mei Xiangyu...
Mei Xiangyu's birth mother passed away early on. Her father elevated his concubine to wife. That concubine had a son and a daughter, and her position in the household blazed like the sun at noon. The only thorn in her eye was this legitimate daughter left behind by the first wife.
Tong Aning thought of a possibility. She isn't planning to marry Mei Xiangyu off to him, is she?
Yes, host. Today is the day the Heir of Duke Anguo marries Mei Xiangyu.
Tong Fengye was the first to run out.
Tong Aning ran out right after him. Now that the Heir of Duke Anguo was paralyzed, he was surely even more twisted.
It was easy to imagine what Mei Xiangyu would face after marrying him. This was a human life!!!
Tong Aning and Tong Fengye thought only of getting to the Mei Residence and made no preparations at all.
The Heir of Duke Anguo sat in his wheelchair, staring at the two of them with sinister eyes. "Tong Fengye, you actually dared bring your younger sister to steal the bride?"
Tong Fengye: ???
Tong Aning: ???
Author's note: Upcoming story: "The Palace Maid Is Eating Melon Again Today." If you're interested, sweethearts, you can head over to my author page and take a look! [Scattering flowers][Scattering flowers][Scattering flowers]