Tong Aning turned to look at Xue Lin, Xue Lin was also looking at him, his gaze calm and his expression composed.
[This is terrible! How could I lead a prince like him into doing something like this?]
Xue Lin curled his lips into a smile.
Tong Aning steeled herself and said in a barely audible voice, "Your Highness..."
She recounted the entire incident clearly, expecting Xue Lin to leave in a rage.
Unexpectedly, Xue Lin asked, "Then what should we do?"
Tong Aning paused, then slowly said, "You're asking me..."
Before she could finish speaking, she heard an angry shout from behind her. Startled, she instinctively flinched and hid behind Xue Lin.
Clutching tightly at Xue Lin's clothes, Tong Aning dared to peek out. The two people who had been searching for the bracelet had somehow spotted them and were now approaching with wooden sticks.
"What audacity!"
The man had already gone around behind the tree. Seeing the two people huddled together, he paused, then looked on with understanding. "So it's the young lady and young gentleman here..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but just chuckled twice with ill intent.
"Here's what we'll do: each of you give me one string of cash, and that'll be the end of it. I promise I won't tell anyone."
"Ha."
Tong Aning stood with her hands on her hips in disbelief, "You two were sneaking around in my Radiant Youth Garden, and you want me to pay you to shut your mouths?"
"Your Radiant Youth Garden? What evidence do you have?"
Tong Aning fumbled for her keys on her person. The man said arrogantly, "Don't tell me you're making this up. Let me tell you, I'm not that easy to fool—"
The man felt a slap on the back of his head. He looked behind him, suppressing his anger, and asked, "What are you doing?"
Hua Yao tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Stop talking."
"Don't say anything, just don't stop me from making money."
Shut up.
Hua Yao slapped Ke Jing hard across the face, making his head buzz, and he temporarily shut his mouth.
Hua Yao breathed a sigh of relief, curtsied before Xue Lin, and said, "Greetings, Young Heir Xue."
He ignored Tong Aning.
very good.
Tong Aning bit her lip, [ Azhu's "third aunt" persona is still intact; I play with Azhu, and she dislikes me because of it.]
Xue Lin asked, "What are you doing in Miss Tong's Radiant Youth Garden?"
Oh no, it really is Tong Aning's Radiant Youth Garden.
Hua Yao said shamelessly, "I don't know. I came here to visit that day at the invitation of others, and I accidentally lost my bracelet, so my cousin and I came to look for it."
Hua Yao pulled Ke Jing. Anyone with a brain would know that these two people in front of him were not to be trifled with.
Ke Jing: "Ah, yes."
Hua Yao immediately felt a bit disgusted; how could he act like an idiot?
Tong Aning suddenly appeared and said, "The bracelet, I gave it to Azhu, hasn't Azhu given it to you yet, Third Aunt?"
Hua Yao: "..."
This is bad.
She disregarded all manners and grabbed Ke Jing to leave, only to bump into Meng Xun, who was rushing over.
Azhu, panting behind, saw Tong Aning as if she had seen a savior. She quickly ran to Tong Aning's side, her little face tense, and grabbed Tong Aning's hand.
Tong Aning asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
"After I gave the bracelet to my third uncle, he flew into a rage and insisted on coming to Radiant Youth Garden. I couldn't stop him."
Tong Aning patted Azhu on the shoulder and said, "Alright, don't worry, just watch."
The great battle of the century is about to erupt.
Meng Xun pointed at Hua Yao: "Well, well, you actually dared to come here on a date with someone else behind my back."
"Pah, what are you saying? You're just spouting baseless rumors and making yourself a laughingstock."
"A joke?" Meng Xun spread his arms wide in anger, like a roc spreading its wings, looking somewhat comical. He gritted his teeth and said, "I am a joke right now. Let me see who the adulterer is!"
Hua Yao: "Don't touch me."
The scene descended into chaos.
Meng Xun didn't care about appearances anymore and slapped Ke Jing twice. Ke Jing screamed and, with scratches all over his face, was grabbed by the collar by Meng Xun. The two stared at each other.
"You!? It was you!"
Meng Xun freed his other hand from Hua Yao's grasp, and almost lifted Ke Jing up with both hands. "I treated you like my wife's cousin, and I was kind to you in every way. How could you... how could you steal my wife?"
[Actually, it's not really...]
Meng Xun looked at Tong Aning warily. What did she mean?
Xue Lin shielded Tong Aning and Azhu behind him, and Tong Aning's inner thoughts brought explosive news.
[They were childhood sweethearts, inseparable since they were little. If they weren't broke, they wouldn't have conspired to scheme to marry Hua Yao off to Meng Xun.]
Meng Xun:?
Huh?
Tong Aning clicked her tongue and glanced at Meng Xun subtly.
[Sigh, it seems Azhu's third uncle was tricked into marriage.]
Meng Xun: "..."
[Although my third uncle isn't a great man, he's incredibly generous. Half of the money he gave my third aunt was used by her to support Ke Jing and the children.]
There are children too?
Meng Xun staggered a few steps, then suddenly gripped Hua Yao's arm tightly, gritting his teeth as he asked, "Aren't you infertile?"
[It's not that I can't have children, it's that I don't want to have children with you, Third Uncle.]
"Eh eh eh..."
Azhu ran to her collapsed uncle's side, her face contorted with grief, and said, " Aning, my third uncle fainted from anger."
Tong Aning: "You two are so awful! You've made me so angry I could faint."
Azhu: "..."
She felt that Aning bore a greater responsibility.
*
Lou Yingyu asked curiously, "Is your third uncle alright?"
Azhu was still very troubled. "He said he wanted to become a monk."
Lou Yingyu: "..."
Tong Aning asked, "Where is he going to become a monk?"
Azhu thought for a moment, "Let's choose the temple outside the city."
Tong Aning said with feigned seriousness, "Don't go into the den of lewd monks."
Lou Yingyu and Azhu gasped, both looking at Tong Aning. They couldn't understand how someone with such a beautiful face could say such things.
Tong Aning touched her face, puzzled, and asked, "... Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Azhu rested her chin on her hand, looking troubled, and said, "I'll think of something and try to persuade my third uncle again."
Lou Yingyu disagreed. "Why are you trying to persuade him? Is he going to be in the general's mansion right now, trying to kill himself?"
Azhu held up her fingers and counted. "The night before last, he tried to kill himself with a sword; last night he banged his head against a pillar; and this morning he tried to hang himself again."
Lou Yingyu pressed down on Azhu's hand, "Let your third uncle try harder. He's almost mastered every possible way to die, but in the end, he still can't die."
Lou Yingyu has a somewhat sarcastic and unpredictable personality, which is understandable, since her third uncle seems to be able to die no matter what; it's obvious she's acting.
"In my opinion, your third uncle should become a monk."
Azhu blinked at Tong Aning.
Tong Aning said, "My third brother was like that before. My mother never stopped him. She let him do whatever he wanted, and he would behave himself when he ran into trouble."
Azhu opened her mouth wide, "Let me think about it some more."
Thankfully, Third Uncle is at their house. If he were at the Tong residence, he'd probably already been ordained as a monk, and his Buddhist name would be ready by now.
*
When Tong Aning got home from school, she heard a loud, wailing sound.
She paused, then moved slightly behind a pillar, asking softly, "Who is it?"
Yingtao ran up to Tong Aning and said, "It's Madam's confidante and her daughter."
Who is crying?
"The two of them."
Tong Aning: "..."
" Aning, now that you're back, why don't you come over here?"
They had all been discovered, Tong Aning obediently walked over.
Su Zhouyue said, "This is Wu Shan, my mother's close friend. You should call her Aunt Shan. This is Aunt Shan's daughter, Sang Yingxin. You should call her Sister Yingxin."
Tong Aning said obediently, "Aunt Shan, Sister Yingxin."
She sat down next to Su Zhouyue, and soon after, Tong Siyan and Tong Yibin returned.
Wu Shan looked at them expectantly.
Tong Siyan shook her head, and said apologetically, "Aunt Shan, the Murong family refuses to annul the engagement."
"What?" Wu Shan slammed her hand on the table.
Tong Yibin said, "When we returned, Young Master Murong was about to hang himself."
[Why is someone trying to hang themselves here?]
Tong Yibin: "..."
Are many people hanging themselves?
Upon hearing that Young Master Murong had hanged himself, Sang Yingxin immediately welled up with tears. She bit her lip and looked at Wu Shan, Wu Shan said with exasperation, "Why are you crying? It's Murong Tao who has wronged you, and he still wants to hang himself. Let him die then."
Tong Siyan, "Seeing things had come to this point, we returned first, fearing that we might really harm Young Master Murong's life."
The Tong family had already done more than enough, so Wu Shan didn't say anything more.
She said, "Thank you for making this trip."
Tong Siyan shook her head, "I didn't help Aunt Shan either, I feel guilty."
Wu Shan: "Good child, what are you feeling guilty about...?"
" My Yingxin, my Yingxin..."
Uncle Zhao and Murong Tao came into view together.
Uncle Zhao said, "I'm sorry, Madam, I couldn't stop him."
Su Zhouyue nodded slightly. "You may leave now."
Murong Tao knelt down outside and crawled to Sang Yingxin. Behind him was a long trail of blood.
He held Sang Yingxin's hand and cried, " Yingxin, I really didn't do anything to betray you, you have to believe me."
Looking at her beloved's pale face, Sang Yingxin wanted to help him up, but as soon as she touched Murong Tao, she was reminded of the day he slept in the same bed with his brother. Overwhelmed with nausea and fear, she pushed Murong Tao away forcefully.
"Don't come looking for me again. If you have any conscience at all, agree to annul the engagement. We..." Sang Yingxin closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. Heartbroken, she said, "Let's part amicably."
If I cannot be with you in this life, I would rather die.
Wu Shan grabbed Murong Tao, "Don't even think about using your life to force my daughter. Let me tell you, my daughter is soft-hearted, but I'm not. Don't even think about bullying us, a widow and her child."
Murong Tao's lips trembled as he said, "I... I didn't mean that."
Tong Aning stared at it for a long time.
She asked, "[ Xixi, what exactly happened? Could it be that this Murong Tao really has homosexual tendencies?]"
He was deceived by his best friend, who was actually his love rival.