Tang Hua was still talking on and on. Only when he realized Yu Wan had not responded for a long time did he stop, turn to her with a smile, and ask with concern, "Miss Yu, what's wrong?"
His smile was gentle, and he looked every inch a gracious gentleman. Though puzzled, Yu Wan was unwilling to conclude just like that that Tang Hua was a bad person. Frowning, she asked, "Did you really have the same dream as me?"
"Yes. In the dream," Tang Hua lightly tapped the custom-made gold hairpin on the right with the folding fan in his hand, "you wore a gold hairpin just like this."
Yu Wan lowered her head. Unlike the pearl on her own gold hairpin, the Bright Pearl dangling from Tang Hua's was clearly worth a fortune. It was an eastern pearl, the kind Yu Wan had always loved.
The dreams were broadly the same, but this little detail seemed more like a calculated touch.
[This Tang Hua certainly has plenty of little tricks. He changed the Bright Pearl on the gold hairpin to take the opportunity to win Yu Wan's favor. Careful—his cleverness might trip him up in a moment.]
Yu Wan said, "Cui'er, put the gold hairpin away."
Cui'er stepped forward, took the gold hairpin from Tang Hua, and placed it in the brocade box.
[Xixi, was Cui'er the one Tang Hua bribed?]
[No, it was Yu Wan's household steward. Tang Hua promised him that once the matter was settled, he would take his daughter into his residence.]
[Tang Hua certainly knows how to scheme.]
Not only was he eyeing her, but he was also eyeing the maids in her household?
Did he want to enjoy bringing others together?
Yu Wan bit her lip and tightened her grip on her handkerchief. Her voice turned somewhat cold. "Young Master Tang, I'll be leaving now."
With that, Yu Wan walked past Tang Hua and swept out, her skirts floating behind her, without giving him any chance to speak.
Watching Yu Wan leave, Tang Hua frowned. Her reaction was somewhat beyond his expectations.
He had already made thorough inquiries. This young lady of the Yu family liked storybooks, and her favorites were their romantic love scenes.
According to Tang Hua's plan, Yu Wan would certainly fall for him. Then they could exchange gold hairpins and take their relationship a step further. But now...
The servant asked quietly, "Young master, what do we do now?"
Tang Hua looked at him. "What's the hurry? If this one doesn't work out, there's always the next."
The servant said, "...Young master, you clearly said this Yu Wan was the best."
"Don't worry. Your young master isn't someone who settles for second best."
Tang Hua straightened his cuffs, only to discover that everyone in the shop was looking at him rather strangely.
He still did not know that Xixi had just relayed his conversation with his servant word for word to Tong Aning.
Tong Fengye folded his arms. "Utterly shameless."
His voice was loud, and Tang Hua heard him. Tang Hua turned toward him. "Young master, what are you saying?"
Tong Fengye was not afraid of him at all. "I said you're shameless."
"You..."
Tang Hua shot his servant a look, and the servant immediately stepped forward. "Let me tell you, our young master is good-tempered, but I'm not."
Tong Fengye was utterly dismissive. "Your young master is good-tempered? I thought he was a mountain bandit, with all that bandit swagger."
[Tsk, Third Brother's words really pack a punch. Tang Hua's face is twisting with anger... He's actually a mountain bandit???]
Everyone backed away a little.
An older woman said softly, "Just a □□ dressed in gold, after all."
"Exactly. That Yu Wan just now was the current Grand Tutor's granddaughter. A toad dreaming of eating swan meat."
Tang Hua said, "...Who are you calling a toad?"
"The people from Jingzhao Prefecture are here."
Tong Aning and Tong Fengye looked back, and both happened to see Xue Lin walking at the front.
Xue Lin saw them too. It was inconvenient for him to greet them, so he merely gave a slight nod.
He wore a black robe that day, his expression cold and his entire bearing stern and forbidding.
Everyone knew this newly appointed deputy prefect was the heir of Prince Yong's Residence, impartial and incorruptible.
The person who had called Tang Hua a toad gloated, "You're done for."
Tang Hua's legs trembled beneath his robes. He forced himself to remain calm. "What do you mean, done for? Even the Heir of Prince Yong can't just falsely accuse people."
The person rolled their eyes. "Then stop shaking. A dead duck's beak stays hard."
Xue Lin walked up to Tang Hua and took the household registration document Sichen handed him. "Cheng Wang, you married Miss Cui long ago. The Cui family is looking for you."
[Even his name was fake?]
Cheng Wang's expression changed. "I'm not going back. What would I go back for? Miss Cui is already buried."
Xue Lin said, "Weren't you the one who said, 'We shall live and die together; I will never fail you'?"
Cheng Wang said, "..."
[Xixi, what's going on now?]
[Back then, he pursued Miss Cui to get his hands on the Cui family's wealth. His heartfelt devotion won her heart. Unfortunately, she had been frail since childhood and died after they performed the wedding rites. He wailed to heaven and beat his head against the earth before her, saying he wished he could go with her.]
[And then?]
[The Cui family took him at his word and wanted to bury the two of them together.]
[...Does this count as seeking benevolence and receiving it?]
Tong Aning gave a light cough and added fuel to the fire. "You have to keep your word, you know."
Who was that? Who was that?!
Cheng Wang looked toward Tong Aning. These two living kings of hell.
"If you keep pushing me, I'll..."
This fellow wasn't going to assassinate the heir, was he?
Sichen hurriedly stepped in front of Xue Lin and demanded sternly, "You'll do what?"
With a thud, Cheng Wang dropped to his knees before Xue Lin and said shamelessly, "I feel more comfortable talking like this."
Sichen said, "?"
He had seen spineless people before, but never anyone this spineless!
Xue Lin beckoned. "Take him away."
The people from Jingzhao Prefecture dragged Cheng Wang away.
Xue Lin turned back to look at Tong Aning. She smiled at him, and he nodded and left.
Tong Aning nudged Tong Fengye's elbow. "Why do I feel like the heir wanted to say something to me just now?"
Tong Fengye had not noticed. "Say what?"
"He didn't say it. That's why I don't know."
"All right, stop thinking about it. The heir isn't the sort to keep things hidden. Perhaps he'll tell you next time."
Tong Aning thought that made sense. "True."
"Still want to buy anything?"
Tong Aning was shocked. "Third Brother, exactly how much private savings do you have?"
Tong Fengye merely smiled without answering.
Tong Aning asked furtively, "Third Brother, you're not planning to put yourself up as collateral with the shopkeeper, are you?"
Tong Fengye said, "..."
He was so annoyed that he laughed. "Could you aim a little higher?"
Tong Aning pursed her lips.
At the Yu residence.
Yu Wan asked, "Has everything been investigated?"
Cui'er handed what she was holding to Yu Wan. "Yes, miss. I also found a letter between the steward and Tang Hua."
Yu Wan leafed through it, propping a hand against her forehead as she said angrily, "Someone like this was right beside me, and I never knew."
Worried that Yu Wan would make herself ill with anger, Cui'er hurriedly said, "Miss, what matters is that we know now. Bad people are bad people. Don't take it to heart."
Yu Wan said, "Go and bring the steward here."
Two days had passed since her encounter with Tang Hua, but with this evidence, there was no fear of the steward denying it.
The steward was over fifty, hale and vigorous, and looked highly capable. He stood before Yu Wan with a smile. "What can I do for you, miss?"
Yu Wan looked at him. "Uncle Zhou, my grandfather has treated you well all these years, hasn't he?"
"The Grand Tutor gave me a new lease on life. Even if I died, I could never repay his kindness."
At that moment, Yu Wan truly wanted him to die.
She threw everything down in front of Uncle Zhou. "Take a good look."
Uncle Zhou unhurriedly picked everything up. After looking through each item, he showed no sign of nervousness. Instead, he shamelessly declared, "I did all this for your own good, miss."
Yu Wan's brow twitched with anger. "How was it for my good?"
"Miss, your parents passed away long ago. You can't live here forever, can you? A young woman should make plans for herself early. Young Master Tang has an excellent character and is a fine-looking man. There could be no better husband."
Had she not known the man before her was the steward, she would have thought some elder of the Yu family was standing there spouting such nonsense.
Yu Wan slapped him outright.
Her hand turned red from the blow, but it still did little to quell the anger in her heart.
"Do you think I'm some soft persimmon you can squeeze however you like? Let me tell you, the very first storybooks I read were about swordswomen roaming the world, upholding justice!"
Yu Wan shook out her hand. "Take him away!"
Before Uncle Zhou could argue, someone gagged him and took him away.
There was still the Grand Tutor. The Grand Tutor would surely stand up for him. Just as Uncle Zhou was thinking this, the Grand Tutor walked past him without so much as a glance.
Yu Junhuai looked at Yu Wan, his eyes full of gratification. "My Wan'er has grown up."
Yu Wan asked apprehensively, "Grandfather, how do you think Wan'er handled it?"
"It couldn't have been better. He dared to deceive my Wan'er. He deserved such an end."
"Grandfather..."
Yu Wan hugged Yu Junhuai. She saw that her grandfather had even more white hair than before.
"All right. There was one thing he wasn't wrong about. Wan'er should make more plans for herself. Marquis Tong's fourth daughter is holding her coming-of-age ceremony the day after tomorrow. Choose some gifts to send over."
"All right."
Yu Wan also wanted to properly thank Tong Aning. Had Tong Aning not been there that day, she might really have fallen for Tang Hua's deception.
Yu Junhuai stroked his granddaughter's hair and said meaningfully, "Wan'er, the Tong household will be no ordinary family in the future."
"I know."
The father and sons of the Tong family were now so influential that their touch could burn.
Yu Junhuai looked at Yu Wan and narrowed his eyes. Perhaps Wan'er did not understand yet, but she would in the future. Befriending Fourth Miss Tong early was no bad thing.
"Our Aning has turned sixteen in the blink of an eye."
Su Zhouyue held Tong Aning's shoulders. She had been smiling at Tong Aning's reflection in the mirror, but suddenly turned her head aside and wiped her eyes.
"Mother."
Tong Aning rose and took Su Zhouyue's hand. "I'll always stay by your side, Mother."
"That's a promise, then. Even after you marry, you mustn't abandon your mother."
"Mother!" Tong Aning stamped her foot. "Am I that sort of person?"
Tong Aning nestled into Su Zhouyue's arms, nuzzled against her chest, and muttered, "Besides, marriage is still a long way off."
"When you were little and had only just learned to walk, I thought it was a long way off too. But time flew like a shuttle, and here we are at your coming-of-age ceremony."
Tong Aning mumbled, "How is that the same?"
"Mother," Tong Siyan said as she came in from outside, "everything is ready."
Su Zhouyue went out first to welcome the guests with Tong Aobai. Tong Siyan stayed with Tong Aning, and the two left the room and stood behind the screen.
Tong Aning glanced over the seated guests and exclaimed in surprise, "So many people came?"
"Yes." Tong Siyan looked at Tong Aning. "They all came for you, Aning."
Tong Aning felt a little embarrassed. "What if they came out of regard for Father and Mother?"
"Some people can't be invited on regard alone. It takes affection." Tong Siyan patted Tong Aning's shoulder. "Go on, Aning."
"Mm."
Tong Aning walked to the center and bowed to the guests. She saw that Wei Mingning, Xue Shang, Mingyue, Lou Yingyu, and Azhu had all come, as well as Shen Tang and Yu Wan, whom she had only met once.
Tong Aning was very surprised.
Su Zhouyue stepped to the side, washed her hands in a bronze basin, and picked up the comb.
Tong Aning could feel her mother's slender fingers passing through her hair.
It was so, so warm.
The coming-of-age ceremony was a grand occasion, yet Tong Aning was thinking what a heartwarming birthday this was.
Ever since she had come to the Tong family, every passing year had been like this.
It had to stay this way in the years to come.
"The ceremony is complete-"
Su Zhouyue embraced Tong Aning and whispered in her ear, "Dear Aning, happy birthday."
Author's note: In this setting, girls come of age at sixteen.