In his letter, Tong Fengye wrote that Mu Yao and her family had been killed in the war. When Tong Fengye arrived, everyone except Mu Yao and her maid Danqing had been killed.
Tong Fengye killed those people and rescued Mu Yao and Danqing, but Mu Yao and Danqing had nowhere to go, so Tong Fengye asked someone to send them to the capital, hoping that Su Zhouyue and Tong Aobai could take care of them.
After reading the letter, the group felt a pang of sadness.
Su Zhouyue put the letter away and said, "Miss Mu Yao, please settle down and stay at the Marquis's residence."
Mu Yao was taken aback upon hearing this. She said, "Thank you for your kindness, Aunt, but I don't intend to stay at the Marquis's residence."
Su Zhouyue: "What?"
Despite having rested overnight, Mu Yao's face was still pale, but her back was ramrod straight, like a resilient reed. She slowly said, "I will remember Young Master Tong's great kindness, but I cannot trouble him to save my life and then disturb his family. The reason I agreed to come to the capital is because I know I cannot survive on the border."
Mu Yao's resolve grew stronger. "No matter what, I will live on."
Before she knew it, Mu Yao's face was covered in tears, and Danqing tenderly wiped them away for her.
Mu Yao held Danqing's hand, gently shook her head, and comforted her, " Danqing, I'm fine."
Mu Yao's words had already impressed Su Zhouyue, who clapped her hands and said, "Good, that's ambitious! I like ambitious girls like that."
Su Zhouyue hugged Mu Yao tightly, hoping to soothe Mu Yao's still-healing wounds.
Mu Yao's nose stung even more; the embrace was so warm, reminding her of her mother.
Su Zhouyue could feel Mu Yao hugging her too. "Oh, poor child," Su Zhouyue patted Mu Yao's back gently, just like when Mu Yao's mother used to lull her to sleep when she was a child.
Mu Yao's tears never stopped.
"Alright, alright," Tong Aning separated the two, saying, "Mother, if you keep hugging her, Miss Mu will cry her eyes out."
Mu Yao said softly, "It's my fault."
"It should be my fault, right? It's rare to meet such a compatible girl. How about I adopt you as my goddaughter?"
Su Zhouyue looked at Mu Yao intently.
Mu Yao was stunned. "That won't do..."
Tong Fengye saved her life in the first place, so how could she trouble his family?
Su Zhouyue said, "Why not?"
Tong Aning took Mu Yao's hand and asked, "Miss Mu, how old are you now?"
Mu Yao said, "Eighteen."
Tong Yi'an skipped over, counting on her fingers, "Older than Fourth Sister, younger than Second Sister, isn't that Third Sister?"
Su Zhouyue: " Yi'an, when did you become so good at math?"
Tong Yi'an stamped his foot, "Mom, I'm just playful, not stupid!"
Su Zhouyue chuckled and squeezed Mu Yao's hand, "It's settled then."
They didn't give Mu Yao a chance to back out.
Tong Siyan, "Then I will write a letter to my third brother to inform him of this matter."
Su Zhouyue: "We told him what to do, but he didn't write us a single word."
Mu Yao asked in confusion, "Auntie, wasn't what you were looking at just now a family letter?"
Su Zhouyue muttered under her breath, "What kind of letter home is this?"
It was all about Mu Yao; not a single word mentioned her family.
However, seeing Mu Yao's thoughtful expression, Tong Aning suddenly thought of a possibility—
"Sister Mu Yao, you didn't think this was a family letter, that's why you showed it to my mother, did you?"
[If it weren't for the letter, would Sister Mu Yao have ever even come to visit?]
Four people, eight eyes, all looking at Mu Yao.
Mu Yao said, "I..."
She didn't know how to start the conversation. She really didn't want to trouble the Tong family and thought she could leave after delivering the letter. But now, even if she wanted to leave, she couldn't.
*
When Tong Aobai and Tong Yibin returned from court, they learned that they had gained a goddaughter and a god-sister.
Mu Yao was a little nervous.
Tong Aobai exclaimed happily, "Hahahaha, that's great!"
Tong Yibin added, "Yes, now Miss Mu can rest assured and stay at the Marquis's residence."
Unexpectedly receiving such a response, Mu Yao's eyes welled up with tears. "I..."
She knew in her heart that the Tong family genuinely wanted her to stay, and Su Zhouyue's decision to adopt her as her goddaughter was even more sincere.
When she suffered this misfortune, she felt that fate was against her, but now, she suddenly feels that fate isn't so bad after all.
Mu Yao knelt down with Danqing and solemnly kowtowed three times, saying, " Mu Yao is here to thank you all."
Su Zhouyue helped the two of them up, saying, "Don't mention thank you. The most important thing is that you're pleasing to the eye."
Su Zhouyue patted Mu Yao's hand, "Alright, let's eat."
"Good."
Danqing watched Mu Yao sitting with the Tong family, feeling both moved and gratified. "Madam, Master, did you see that?"
The young lady will get better and better.
*
"Sister Mu Yao, will you go to study at the Imperial Academy in the future?" Lou Yingyu looked at Mu Yao expectantly.
Mu Yao shook her head. "I probably won't go."
Before the war, Mu Yao's family had hired a tutor, and she had learned almost everything she needed to learn.
Lou Yingyu was greatly disappointed. She sat back down next to Tong Aning, resting her chin on her hand and said dejectedly, "So annoying."
Tong Aning was overjoyed. " Yingyu, after spring arrives and you participate in the imperial examinations, you won't need to go to the Imperial Academy anymore."
Lou Yingyu felt even more annoyed. She said angrily, "Do you know what my father said? He said that if I win, it would be like my ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke. How could he say that?"
Thinking of Mu Yao's background, Lou Yingyu changed the subject, "Let's not talk about that anymore, let's try the new dishes at the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion..."
Lou Yingyu personally served food to Mu Yao and Tong Aning.
Mu Yao was somewhat surprised.
She knew that the woman in front of her was the Prime Minister's daughter; how could she be so easy to get along with?
[Tsk tsk tsk, Sister Mu Yao is so beautiful, she's probably already bewitched Yingyu, right?]
Lou Yingyu paused, then elbowed Tong Aning, "How about you give her some face?"
Is she the kind of person who gets carried away by the sight of a handsome man?
Tong Aning: "?"
Mu Yao smiled slightly, realizing that was the reason.
Lou Yingyu said, "Every time we come to the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, there's always something exciting to see. I wonder if there will be anything this time."
After saying that, Lou Yingyu winked at Tong Aning.
Tong Aning said with great interest, "I also want to see the excitement."
Lou Yingyu: "Don't worry, you'll get your share."
Wherever Tong Aning is, there's excitement—this is a conclusion Lou Yingyu has drawn from observing many such events.
Tong Aning: "...?"
"Something terrible has happened! Someone's been assaulted! They're causing trouble!"
Lou Yingyu's eyes lit up, "Isn't this the start of some excitement?"
Lou Yingyu held Mu Yao's hand with her left hand and Tong Aning's hand with her right hand as the three of them cautiously peeked out from the doorway of the private room.
Danqing peered out from behind them, and asked anxiously, "Won't this cause any problems?"
Yingtao comforted her, "It's alright, don't worry. Our young lady is very capable. Besides, we still have Songhua."
Yingtao whispered, " Songhua is Miss Lou's personal bodyguard."
Since they are all personal bodyguards, they must be very powerful, Danqing felt a little relieved.
The troublemakers were on the first floor.
The three walked onto the corridor and looked down from the railing. There were three people causing trouble, and they had already smashed the first floor of the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion to pieces.
Lou Yingyu sighed, "The last troublemaker is already in jail, and even his mansion was raided."
The person next door exclaimed, "Wow, the owner behind the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion is so powerful! They want to raid their place if we cause trouble here?"
Everyone couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the three people below.
Tong Aning knew that Lou Yingyu was referring to the Heir of Prince Jing, but their family's property was confiscated not because of trouble at the restaurant, but because Prince Jing was the mastermind behind several cases of missing girls.
Xue Lin has arrived.
He looked around the entire Drunken Fragrance Pavilion and saw Tong Aning and the others on the second floor.
Tong Aning waved to him, Xue Lin nodded slightly.
Lou Yingyu looked at Tong Aning and said with dissatisfaction, "Why does this Heir of Prince Yong always only greet you?"
Tong Aning: "? No, he nodded three times, didn't he?"
There are three of them here.
Lou Yingyu was shocked. "You even know how many times he nodded?"
Tong Aning: "..."
[Sigh, Yingyu's math skills have deteriorated again.]
Lou Yingyu: "...?"
Is this an arithmetic problem?
The three men had already been apprehended. Xue Lin asked, "Why were you causing trouble here?"
One of them said, "Because the waiter here said my brother looks a lot like me."
[That's it? That's way too sensitive.]
Xue Lin frowned and asked, "Your brother, isn't your biological brother?"
Niu Er said, "That's right, isn't the waiter putting my mother in an unjust and immoral position by saying that?"
[Someone just said something casually, and you immediately brought it up about your mother. You're something else!]
The waiter also felt wronged, "I didn't mean it that way at all. These three guests are clearly making a mountain out of a molehill."
Niu Er said, "You've insulted my mother; if I don't fight back, would I even be human?"
[She's very filial, but doesn't seem to be very bright.]
The onlookers were almost swept away by that one sentence, and some of them even cursed at the waiter.
The waiter was so upset; what kind of situation was this?
Xue Lin asked, "Who made the first move?"
"It's me."
It was the person the waiter said looked a lot like Niu Er.
Xue Lin asked, "Why did you hit someone?"
Xiong San said, "I can't stand by and watch. If I don't step up, am I even human?"
Tong Aning: "..."
[These two are even using the same lines! If they weren't so sincere, I would have thought they were deliberately trying to cause trouble.]
[I can't stand it... Has she broken down?]
[Tsk tsk tsk, this guy instigated Niu Er to hit someone. Everyone knows people only break down when faced with facts, could it be...]
[My God, these two are actually brothers?!]
Everyone around was shocked, except for one person who was completely baffled.
Niu Er asked, "After we become sworn brothers, will we become blood brothers?"
[Looks like Niu Er really isn't very bright.]