The flower thief howled, "Your Honor, she's prejudiced!"
Grievance, resentment, anger, and other emotions crossed the flower thief's face in succession. Finally, two trails of clear tears streamed down his cheeks.
Clearly, no normal person could bear such humiliation!
Seeing him like this, Peng Chunlan asked dubiously, "Is that real or fake?"
Tong Fengye trusted his little sister unconditionally. He clicked his tongue twice. "With that acting, you could join an opera troupe."
Seeing that the flower thief was about to argue with Tong Fengye, Cen Yu hurriedly said, "Fourth Miss Tong, do you have evidence that he's the flower thief?"
Of course Cen Yu believed Tong Aning, but the flower thief's case was a serious matter. Evidence was still needed to convict him.
Tong Aning said, "Your Honor, the evidence will be here shortly."
The flower thief laughed. "Who are you trying to fool?"
He had worn a mask and used a knockout drug, after all. Who could possibly know he was the flower thief?
He had merely slipped up while plucking a flower and been mistaken for a petty thief. Otherwise, he would have swaggered out of the capital long ago.
"Your Honor." Sichen came in from outside and declared clearly, "I can prove that he's the flower thief."
The flower thief glanced at Sichen as he spoke and noticed him nodding a greeting to Tong Aning. As though he had discovered some incredible secret, he pointed at Sichen and Tong Aning. "Those two are in it together! They're both framing me!"
Sichen's eardrums nearly burst. Folding his arms, he said, "Who's framing you?"
[Who would have thought that even someone as cunning as the flower thief would get scammed by a man in women's clothing?]
Women's clothing?
Scammed?
Was it what he thought it was?
Tong Fengye's gaze shifted between Sichen and Xue Lin, who entered after him. So, which one had dressed as a woman?
Sichen immediately felt a little embarrassed. Miss Tong really did have remarkable powers. She even knew about this.
The flower thief was still shouting. Cen Yu said, "Sichen, explain exactly what happened, down to the last detail."
Sichen stepped a little closer to the flower thief and raised an eyebrow. "Don't you recognize me?"
The flower thief scoffed. "Why would I recognize you?"
He plucked women, not men. Not just anything could catch the flower thief's eye.
Sichen suddenly shot him a flirtatious glance.
The flower thief: "...?"
That gesture actually felt terribly familiar.
Sichen lifted a lock of hair and brushed it across his face.
As though struck by lightning, the flower thief said incredulously, "You're-you're Miss Si?"
"It's me," Sichen said in a deliberately high voice. "Didn't you offer to take me stargazing and moon-gazing? How could you forget me so soon?"
The flower thief: "..."
He turned around and began dry-heaving.
Sichen said, "Hey, was it that bad? You were calling me pretty just yesterday."
The flower thief's face turned green, and he kept dry-heaving.
[I really want to fast-forward through this part.]
Xue Lin gave a light cough. Sichen restrained himself a little and turned to Cen Yu. "Your Honor, yesterday I dressed as a woman to lure this fellow in, and he actually took the bait. The victims couldn't remember him because he used a knockout drug."
The flower thief trembled. "Bullshit! How could I fail to tell a man from a woman?"
He really was on the verge of going mad.
Sichen took a little bottle from inside his robes and shook it. "Because I drugged you too."
"Aaaaaaah!"
The flower thief broke down completely. "I'll kill you!"
His lifelong reputation! If word got out, he would become a laughingstock in the martial world!
Sichen seized the flower thief as he lunged over and winked at him. "Are you really not taking me stargazing and moon-gazing anymore?"
The flower thief looked up at the sky, tears streaming down his face. He asked in anguish, "Last night, did we really..."
Sichen felt a little sick. "In your dreams."
The flower thief immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
[For a flower thief, he actually cares quite a bit about his chastity.]
[I suppose you never truly understand until it happens to you.]
[Sichen's move, turning his own methods back on him, was brilliant.]
Sichen proudly straightened his chest.
Xue Lin said evenly, "Your Honor, the flower thief was cunning. I had no choice but to resort to this inferior measure."
Sichen: "...?"
Wasn't the heir telling Miss Tong that he had come up with the idea?
How petty.
What if Miss Tong thought he was a pervert?
[So the heir has this side to him too? He feels more alive now.]
Xue Lin's lips curved.
Sichen: "..."
Fine, fine, fine. He conceded.
Cen Yu smiled. "How could this count as an inferior measure? You've only been deputy prefect for a short time, yet you've already accomplished one remarkable feat after another. Even I must bow to your superiority."
Xue Lin looked at Tong Aning. "It's all thanks to Miss Tong."
[Me again?]
Tong Aning gave a guileless smile.
The flower thief was led away.
Sichen even deliberately called out, "I'll wait for you! I'll wait for you!"
The flower thief squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could die on the spot!
Peng Chunlan asked, "Your Honor, what about me? What about me?"
Cen Yu said gravely, "Just now, you and the flower thief..."
Peng Chunhua: "..."
If only she had known, she would never have struck up a conversation with that man. She gave an awkward laugh. "Who knew he was the flower thief?"
"If Miss Tong hadn't stopped you in time, you would probably have been deceived by him. With a granddaughter like this, what more could you possibly want?"
[Exactly. With such a sweet, well-behaved granddaughter as me, what more could you want?]
Peng Chunlan was rather embarrassed. "I-I was just..."
The problem was, she had long since severed ties with the eldest branch. However well-behaved this granddaughter was, she wasn't hers.
Peng Chunlan was positively seething inside.
Cen Yu had someone escort Peng Chunlan home, and Tong Aning and Tong Fengye went home as well.
Only, just as they entered the residence, they passed Tong Weiran and Tong Shengrui.
Tong Aning asked, "Mother, what did Second Uncle and Cousin come for?"
"They wanted us to help find someone."
"Who's missing?"
"That woman and the young lady from yesterday."
[Second Uncle and Cousin are so naive. Those people have left, and yet they're still thinking of finding them and bringing them back.]
"Mother, did you agree?"
Su Zhouyue pinched Tong Aning's little cheek. "Your mother isn't stupid."
Tong Aning's eyes curved.
[Who told Second Uncle to be so greedy? He had one at home and still wanted another outside. Well, now neither of them is his.]
That afternoon, Eunuch Wang arrived.
"Madam, miss, there's no need for such ceremony. His Majesty ordered this servant to deliver rewards to you and Fourth Miss."
Su Zhouyue and Tong Aning were both a little bewildered.
Eunuch Wang smiled. "Madam and Fourth Miss made great contributions at Quiet Heart Temple previously, and this morning Fourth Miss also discerned the flower thief with her keen eyes at Jingzhao Prefecture."
Su Zhouyue said, "Those were only small matters..."
Eunuch Wang disagreed. "How could serving the country and its people be a small matter?"
Eunuch Wang had the rewards carried in. The dazzling array of jewels and chest after chest of gold captivated Tong Aning.
Su Zhouyue even thought her Aning's eyes looked like two gold ingots.
Su Zhouyue led Tong Aning in offering thanks. "Sorry for troubling you to make the trip, Eunuch Wang."
"There's more, madam."
Eunuch Wang took out an invitation and handed it to Su Zhouyue. "This is an invitation to Her Highness the Noble Consort's flower-viewing banquet. Her Highness asked this servant to bring it along."
"Sorry for the trouble, sorry for the trouble."
After Eunuch Wang left, Su Zhouyue looked at the rewards. For some reason, she felt uneasy.
Aning was capable, but being placed on a pedestal might not be a good thing for her.
"What's wrong, my dear?"
That evening, Tong Aobai returned from bathing to find Su Zhouyue sitting before the mirror with her chin in her hand, her brow furrowed with worry.
Su Zhouyue turned toward him. "I'm worried about Aning."
"Don't dwell on it. Aning still has us."
"I can't help it. They say possessing a jade is itself a crime. Our Aning..."
Unable to continue, Su Zhouyue leaned into Tong Aobai's embrace.
Tong Aobai patted her back. "Possessing a jade is a crime only when you lack the ability to protect yourself. As long as our marquis's household stands firm, nothing will happen to Aning."
Su Zhouyue nodded. "We must all protect Aning. She came to this unfamiliar world alone. We're the only family she has."
"Rest assured, my dear."
On the day of the flower-viewing banquet, Su Zhouyue took Tong Aning to attend.
Wei Mingning and the Princess Royal, Xue Shang, were both among the invited guests.
The moment Wei Mingning saw Tong Aning, she waved her over. "Aning, come here."
Tong Aning walked over to Wei Mingning and greeted her obediently. "Godmother."
Wei Mingning affectionately stroked Tong Aning's dangling little braid. "We haven't seen each other in days. Aning has grown even prettier."
Tong Aning couldn't take praise; it easily made her blush.
Xue Shang laughed. "Aning truly is a rare beauty in the making. She looks even prettier when she blushes."
[Help me, help me.]
Wei Mingning and Xue Shang burst out laughing. Su Zhouyue said, "I've only got one Aning. Don't tease her until you break her."
"Defending her already?" Wei Mingning raised an eyebrow.
Xue Shang looked at her, then at Su Zhouyue. Covering her lips with a silk handkerchief, she chuckled. "You two aren't going to have another fight, are you? This is my noble consort sister-in-law's flower-viewing banquet. If you ruin it, who's going to apologize to her?"
"Indeed. Who's going to apologize to me?"
The noble consort's voice came from behind them. The women gathered in conversation dispersed, and all except the Princess Royal paid their respects.
"Enough. I don't care about these empty formalities."
Su Zhouyue said, "You don't care about these flowers either, do you?"
The noble consort: "..."
"Always so quick with your tongue. When shall we have another bout?"
Wei Mingning and Su Zhouyue exchanged a glance.
Su Zhouyue asked, "Finding being noble consort uncomfortable again? Who's upset you this time?"
The noble consort pressed her temple and said languidly, "Who could upset me? Who would dare?"
She had barely finished speaking when someone without eyes blundered right into her.
"Noble Consort, dear sister~"
The noble consort rolled her eyes. Turning to look at the person behind her, she asked, "Why are you here? Didn't His Majesty tell you to stay in your palace and look after your pregnancy?"
"I saw how lovely the weather was today and came out for a stroll. Then I heard that you were hosting a flower-viewing banquet..."
[A flower-viewing banquet, insisting on going out, pregnant... Xixi, doesn't this setup feel awfully familiar?]
[Aren't these the three ingredients of a frame-up in palace intrigue novels? Something's definitely going to happen in a moment.]
Hearing that something was going to happen, the noble consort instantly moved a little farther away from Consort Lin.
She gave a perfunctory smile. "Then stay here and enjoy the flowers, little sister. We'll go take a look over there."
Tong Aning turned back and saw that Consort Lin really had sat down quietly in the pavilion to drink tea.
[Strange. Why didn't she follow us?]
The noble consort breathed a sigh of relief. Her not following them was the best possible outcome.
[What? She's planning a secret rendezvous with someone!!!!]
The noble consort: "..."
She'd been a fool.
Was there still time to turn back now?