In the palace.
After hearing everything Eunuch Wang had to say, the emperor frowned. He studied Eunuch Wang's face closely and finally found a wrinkle beneath the corner of his eye. "You're not young anymore. You can't withstand this kind of strain. Why don't I give you a few days off?"
Eunuch Wang was astonished.
They had been discussing the marquis's fourth daughter. How had the conversation suddenly turned to time off?
The emperor raised an eyebrow. "You don't want it?"
His Majesty already sounded reluctant to offer. If he failed to respond now, the leave already in his grasp might be snatched back.
Eunuch Wang hurriedly said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The emperor gave a satisfied little hum. Eunuch Wang asked again, "Then, about the fourth young lady..."
"I heard the marquis's second daughter married last year. Her husband was..."
Eunuch Wang supplied, "Cui Heng, the Cui family's youngest son."
"Presumably, their marriage is harmonious and benefits the marquis's household as well."
After all his years by the emperor's side, this was the first time Eunuch Wang had no idea what the emperor was talking about.
Eunuch Wang emerged utterly bewildered and happened to encounter his young apprentice bringing in lily bulb and white fungus soup.
Eunuch Wang opened the food box. Seeing steam rising from it, he said, "His Majesty likes it comfortably warm on the tongue. Let it sit a little longer."
"Yes, Master."
Only after his apprentice went inside and he saw the emperor have the soup did Eunuch Wang leave. Halfway down the steps, he slapped his forehead.
His Majesty hadn't believed it at all!
Before they knew it, April had arrived.
In early April, Tong Aning and the others always grew excited. They could gather peach blossoms to make wine.
Su Zhouyue had just returned from outside when she saw Tong Aning and Tong Yi'an up in the peach tree, enthusiastically directing Tong Fengye below.
"Third Brother, over here, over here!"
"Third Brother, over there! There are some over there too!"
"This blossom is the prettiest."
Fortunately, Tong Fengye had good stamina. He bounded back and forth, with only a light sheen of sweat on his face, not even out of breath.
An arm slipped around her waist. Tong Aobai asked, "What are you looking at?"
Wasn't he asking what he already knew? Su Zhouyue gestured ahead with her chin. "There, look. That literary refinement of yours has led all the children astray."
Making peach blossom wine had been Tong Aobai's idea. How could he have known that a single chance occasion would become a tradition repeated year after year?
Tong Aobai smiled. "Then who drank the peach blossom wine buried beneath the tree last year?"
Su Zhouyue looked away. "No idea."
"My dear..."
Before Tong Aobai could finish, Tong Fengye ran over. "Mother, there are so many peach blossoms this year! You'll have enough to drink your fill," he said happily.
Su Zhouyue was wiping the sweat off Tong Fengye's face with a handkerchief. At his words, she plastered it over his entire face. "Don't talk nonsense."
Tong Fengye scratched his head. Had he said something wrong?
[So Mother secretly drank all that wine.]
Su Zhouyue's face grew hotter. She reached behind Tong Aobai and gave him a hard pinch on the back.
All she felt was firm muscle. She couldn't pinch it, and her fingers even ached.
How utterly infuriating.
"Mother, look..."
Tong Yi'an and Tong Aning gathered around Su Zhouyue, chattering away.
Seeing there was no room for him beside Su Zhouyue, Tong Fengye moved over to Tong Aobai. "Father, why are you gritting your teeth?" he asked in surprise.
Su Zhouyue turned to look, only to find her dignified, scholarly husband. She couldn't help chuckling softly.
"We can't use them all for wine. These peach blossoms are so lovely. They'd make good peach blossom cakes too."
"All right."
Tong Aning and Tong Yi'an both loved sweets, so naturally, they raised both hands and feet in favor.
After dinner that evening.
Su Zhouyue deliberately lingered a little longer in Tong Yi'an and Tong Aning's rooms.
The sisters' rooms were close together. Tong Yi'an had clung to Tong Aning since childhood, and even at her age, she still sometimes slept with Tong Aning.
At the moment, Tong Yi'an was propped up on Tong Aning's bed, eagerly waiting for her to come over.
Su Zhouyue combed Tong Aning's hair, then gave her a nudge on the back. "Go on."
Tong Aning went over to the bed, and Tong Yi'an hugged her. The two played around for a while. Su Zhouyue gently waved the round fan in her hand, watching them with tender eyes.
Resting her chin in her hands, Tong Aning asked, "Mother, why did someone from the duke's household come today?"
"To deliver an invitation. The duchess is holding a Hundred Flowers Banquet."
"Oh..."
[Host, there'll be quite a show to watch.]
[What show?]
[Well...]
Su Zhouyue, who had been listening with her ears pricked, grew anxious. Why had the voice stopped? What exactly was this show?
She looked at Tong Aning and couldn't help laughing.
It wasn't that the voice had stopped. Tong Aning had fallen asleep, with Tong Yi'an leaning against her.
Both had their chins propped in their hands, their sleeping faces sweet and docile.
Su Zhouyue tucked them both in, then blew out the two candles closest to the bed before quietly returning to her room.
The moment she entered, Tong Aobai gathered her into his arms. "I thought you weren't coming back tonight, my dear."
"You wanted that whole big bed to yourself? In your dreams."
Tong Aobai paused, then turned Su Zhouyue's face toward him. His burning gaze made her face grow hot.
Su Zhouyue couldn't help feeling a little guilty. "What sort of behavior is this?" she murmured.
But after some halfhearted resistance, she still gave in to Tong Aobai.
On the day of the duke's banquet, the Imperial Academy happened to have its ten-day break, so Su Zhouyue brought Tong Aning along.
Su Zhouyue wanted to know what exactly was going on in the duke's household.
But Tong Aning did nothing but eat or doze, the very image of a lazy pig.
Now, sitting beneath the crabapple blossoms, Tong Aning had begun nodding off again. Suddenly, a crabapple blossom landed on her face and jolted her awake. Still bleary-eyed, she held the blossom, at a loss.
Su Zhouyue laughed. Tong Aning puffed out her cheeks and looked at her. Feigning surprise, Su Zhouyue asked, "Didn't you sleep in today? Still not awake?"
Tong Aning: "..."
[I'm still young. I'm still growing. I'm supposed to sleep in a little.]
Su Zhouyue laughed even harder.
[Mother's actually still laughing at me!]
Tong Aning fumed. Su Zhouyue immediately restrained her smile and looked into the distance. "Aning, the duchess is coming," she said softly.
Tong Aning stood up with Su Zhouyue.
The duchess was nearly forty, yet she remained graceful and breathtakingly beautiful. Time had left almost no trace on her face.
Tong Aning sighed inwardly. [The duchess is so beautiful. Why does the duke still keep a mistress outside?]
Wei Mingning: "!"
The ladies and young misses in the courtyard: "!"
The duke kept a mistress?
What on earth was this spectacle?
Everyone knew this duke owed his current rank and position entirely to the duchess. How did he dare?
Only after walking some distance away did Wei Mingning grip the hand of the elderly servant beside her. "Did you hear that?" she asked quietly.
The servant was puzzled too. "That voice sounded a little like the marquis's fourth daughter just now," she mused.
Wei Mingning remembered that girl.
Her eyes were clear and pure, her smile bright and lovely. Only fifteen, she was already slender and graceful, a beauty in the making through and through.
Wei Mingning looked back. Tong Aning was gently waving her fan. Seeing Wei Mingning looking over, she even smiled at her.
[What a terrible pity.]
Wei Mingning and the servant continued forward without betraying anything. "Did you get a clear look?" Wei Mingning asked.
"The fourth young lady didn't open her mouth," the servant said.
Then what had she heard?
Tong Aning's inner thoughts?
Anyone else would have been mad to grow suspicious based on nothing but someone's inner thoughts.
But who was Wei Mingning? She was a tigress born to a military family, someone who had never tolerated so much as a grain of sand in her eyes. If Gu Zhenye hadn't betrayed her, so be it.
If he truly dared betray her, she would make certain he died an ugly death.
"Go find the duke. Tell him the banquet is about to begin," Wei Mingning said gravely.
"Yes."
The servant turned and withdrew. The skies over this ducal household were likely about to change.
Su Zhouyue was also utterly astonished.
The duke was famous for cherishing the duchess, yet he actually kept a mistress outside.
Su Zhouyue was so anxious it felt as though claws were scratching at her heart. She wanted to know exactly what had happened, but she couldn't simply ask Tong Aning.
Su Zhouyue took a sip of tea. What a shame Siyan hadn't come with her. Otherwise, she would at least have someone to talk to now.
Only after the banquet began did Gu Zhenye arrive in a hurry.
Wei Mingning's expression darkened slightly. "Why are you so late?" she asked casually.
Gu Zhenye wiped the sweat from his face. "Something held me up."
Wei Mingning smiled, but her eyes were cold. "What could be more important than my banquet?"
Wei Mingning's gaze was sharp, pressing down on Gu Zhenye until he couldn't lift his head. He hated it so much. He was already an esteemed duke, yet he still had to watch Wei Mingning's expression before doing anything.
Gu Zhenye hurriedly said, "Just a minor matter. No need to concern yourself, my dear."
[So bringing his mistress's child into the household counts as a minor matter too.]
Wei Mingning nearly ground her teeth to pieces. There was even a child!
[Host, that's not all. The duke plans to register his mistress's child under the duchess's name.]
[He even wants the duchess to raise his child for him? How thick can his skin be?]
Tong Aning seethed with indignation. [If the duke dares bring his mistress's child right into her home today, he'll dare poison the duchess tomorrow!]
Wei Mingning gripped her cup tightly. She couldn't believe the man who shared her bed would be so utterly depraved.
The duke hadn't moved. Suppressing her fury, Wei Mingning asked, "Why aren't you taking your seat? Is there something you want?"
Looking troubled, the duke said, "My dear, I know our being childless all these years has always weighed on your heart. Recently, I've taken a liking to a child. He's well-behaved, quick-witted, and exceptionally bright. Why don't we adopt him?"
[This maneuver really takes the cake.]
The ladies were equally awestruck. Wasn't he taking the duchess for a fool?
Wei Mingning narrowed her eyes. "What did you say?"
"My dear, this is the child. He..."
Looking at the child being led over by a servant, Wei Mingning could no longer refuse to believe it.
Very well.
Before Gu Zhenye could finish, Wei Mingning kicked him to the ground. He landed with all four limbs in the air, utterly bedraggled.
[He looks like a big turtle.]
Hearing this improved Wei Mingning's mood considerably. Watching Gu Zhenye struggle to get up, she raised her foot and ground it hard against his shinbone. Arching an eyebrow, she asked, "What did you say?"
Gu Zhenye let out an earth-shattering scream.
[Hello, no slaughtering pigs here.]
Wei Mingning laughed aloud.
Author's note: