Qiu Lingsong frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
[He can't even tell when someone says he's terribly ugly; he's hopeless.]
Xiaoruo suddenly chuckled.
Qiu Lingsong stared at her with a sinister look. He hadn't understood the meaning behind Tong Aning's words, but seeing Xiaoruo gloating here, he realized that Tong Aning was definitely not saying anything nice.
Qiu Lingsong glared at Tong Aning, "How dare you mock me?"
Enraged, Qiu Lingsong raised his hand high.
Tong Aning: "You actually hit someone? What a fine scholar you are."
"So what if I hit you? You were the one who started it by being rude."
Qinxin rushed over to stop him. "How could you hit someone?"
Unfortunately, she was weaker than Qiu Lingsong, Qiu Lingsong, despite being a stick insect, was still quite strong.
The slap was about to land on Tong Aning's face.
Yingtao: "Miss!"
Following behind Yingtao, Xue Lin shouted sternly, "Insolence!"
Sichen rushed over, but before he even arrived, Qiu Lingsong had already been knocked away.
Tong Aning clapped her hands and looked at Qiu Lingsong, who was scrambling to his feet, saying, "Did you think I practiced martial arts for nothing?"
Qiu Lingsong, like a thief crying "stop thief!", grinned and pointed at Tong Aning, saying, "How could you hit someone?"
Tong Aning blinked innocently and said, "If you don't like hitting people, I can stab them."
Qiu Lingsong: "?"
This isn't what he imagined, and... where did this lady get those silver needles from?!
Tong Aning's hand, which was holding the silver needles, was grasped. She met Yingtao's worried eyes. "Miss, are you alright? You scared me to death just now."
"How could anything happen to me?" Tong Aning nodded her chin forward. "The one who's in trouble is him."
Yingtao burst into laughter through her tears, "Miss, I've brought Heir Xue here."
Tong Aning looked at Xue Lin, Yingtao whispered, "He was also very worried just now."
Tong Aning raised an eyebrow.
Xue Lin asked, " Miss Tong, are you alright?"
"It's alright, don't worry," Tong Aning said smugly, "I'm pretty capable."
Xue Lin lowered his eyes, secretly relieved. His wildly beating heart gradually calmed down. He said, "That's good."
Tong Aning leaned closer to him and smiled gently, "Are you that worried about me?"
Xue Lin was taken aback. Looking at the smiling face so close to his, he suddenly felt a little awkward and didn't know what to say.
"Not bad, not bad," Tong Aning said with a smile, "No wonder you're a regular at my house, you haven't eaten all that food for nothing."
Xue Lin asked in a low voice, "Do you think it's because of this?"
Tong Aning retorted, "What else could it be?"
Xue Lin fell silent.
Yes, what else could it be for?
Tong Aning pulled Xue Lin and said, "Quickly, arrest this person!"
Qiu Lingsong could tell at a glance that Xue Lin was someone of considerable influence. His legs trembled, but he still forced a smile and asked, "What right do you have to arrest me?"
Tong Aning withdrew her hand and counted on her fingers. "Because you plagiarized, impersonated someone else, and deceived women..."
[The more you calculate, the more you gain!]
Tong Aning, hands on her hips, said, "Any one of these incidents wouldn't warrant having you arrested?"
Tong Aning went to see Xue Lin, " Heir Xue, don't you think so?"
Xue Lin glanced at Tong Aning's hand secretly, then nodded and said, "Yes."
When Sichen arrested Qiu Lingsong, Qiu Lingsong was still shouting that he was innocent.
On the way here, Yingtao had already told him the whole story. Xue Lin said, "The two of you must go together."
Qinxin and Ye Lü exchanged a glance and nodded.
It turns out that Ye Lü worked odd jobs at the Cold Mist Pavilion. The crumpled paper he threw into Qinxin's room was an accident, but it forged a bond between him and Qinxin.
In those days when they couldn't see the way forward, they relied on these verses to support each other and keep living.
On the day Qinxin was redeemed, Ye Lü originally planned to go to Qinxin, but Qiu Lingsong beat him to it. Ye Lü was furious and wanted to expose Qiu Lingsong's lie.
Qiu Lingsong, however, said that he was just a handyman, so why should he bring Qinxin happiness? Only he could bring Qinxin true happiness.
Tong Aning: "?"
"And then, you were convinced?"
Ye Lü nodded.
[I didn't expect mind control to exist here; he's just belittling you.]
Tong Aning was exasperated and didn't know what to say to Ye Lü.
Tong Aning took a deep breath and said, "Why can't you be braver? If you keep looking back and forth like this, you'll end up with nothing. That Qiu Lingsong is clearly not a good man. You think you're doing Qinxin a favor, but you're actually aiding and abetting evil! If Qiu Lingsong really becomes successful, do you think he'll let you and Qinxin go?"
Tong Aning spoke with heartfelt sincerity, and Ye Lü knew he had made a grave mistake. He dared not look Qinxin in the eye, nor did he dare to hope for Qinxin's forgiveness.
Qinxin sighed and said, "Let's talk about the future later."
She is exhausted, both physically and mentally, and all she wants is to rest.
Is there a future for him and Qinxin?
Ye Lü's eyes lit up, and she nodded.
Tong Aning took Qinxin and Xiaoruo back.
Qinxin said, "If it weren't for you, young lady..."
Tong Aning said gently, "It's alright. You can't tell if someone is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Besides playing the piano, you should also be more wary of people in the future."
Qinxin nodded. "I understand."
It's laughable that she, having witnessed the grotesque faces of so many people in brothels, still believed Qiu Lingsong had genuine feelings for her.
Seeing Qinxin's dejected look, Tong Aning took Qinxin hand and comforted her, "Don't be so hard on yourself. I'll come here to listen to music tomorrow."
Meeting Tong Aning's clear eyes, Qinxin suddenly felt relaxed and smiled brightly, "Okay."
*
"Is it inappropriate for me to come when your cousin is looking for a partner?"
Lou Yingyu gripped Tong Aning's arm tightly, refusing to let go. "Originally, my cousin was looking for me, but I brought you here to give us both courage!"
Tong Aning: "..."
Lou Yingyu said seriously, while Tong Aning said helplessly, "But I'm also a bit of a scaredy-cat."
Lou Yingyu's eyes widened. "You're a coward?"
She circled around Tong Aning and asked earnestly, "Where is the smallness?"
Tong Aning: "... If you keep doing this, I'm not going to talk to you anymore."
"Alright, alright," Lou Yingyu said to Tong Aning in a coquettish tone, "I'll grant you whatever you want from now on."
"Really?"
"Of course it's true. When have I ever lied to you?"
[Great! I'll bring the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion over as soon as I get back today.]
"That's really greedy," Lou Yingyu said resentfully, pinching Tong Aning's chin. "You can't go too far."
Tong Aning: "... Okay, okay."
The two entered the private room, Lou Yingyu's cousin Lou Yiyuan, greeted them, " Yingyu, you've finally arrived! My heart was pounding... This must be Aning, right?"
Lou Yingyu nodded, " Aning, this is my cousin, Lou Yiyuan."
Tong Aning said obediently, "Hello, Sister Yuan."
Lou Yiyuan was deeply moved. "Thank you, Aning. You're here to give me courage, aren't you?"
Tong Aning: "..."
Oh my, this world needs courage.
Lou Yiyuan:?
What was that sound?
Lou Yingyu chuckled and said, "Let's sit down. Where is everyone? Haven't they arrived yet?"
Lou Yiyuan shook his head.
Lou Yingyu said angrily, "They haven't come yet? They don't seem like good people."
After sitting down, Tong Aning asked, "Sister Yuan, have you met before?"
"No, it's an arranged marriage by my family. I heard he came to the capital to fulfill the engagement, so I definitely have to meet him before my parents. If I'm not satisfied, I'll kick him out!"
Tong Aning and Lou Yingyu secretly gave Lou Yiyuan a thumbs up.
A dull sound came from the doorway--
"Miss, who do you want to get out of here?"
The three of them looked towards the doorway.
[She's quite good-looking.]
Lou Yiyuan to the man and asked, "Are you Mu Yue?"
"It's me. Are you Lou Yiyuan?"
"It's me."
"And who are the remaining two?"
Lou Yiyuan introduced them one by one, and then said, "Then I'll get straight to the point. The reason I'm meeting with you this time is to decide whether or not I want to marry you."
[Does Sister Yuan really need to muster courage? She's the bravest person I've ever met.]
Lou Yiyuan was somewhat smug. She looked at Mu Yue, her distinctive phoenix eyes fixed on Mu Yue.
Mu Yue was actually a little embarrassed by such a direct gaze, and he asked, " Miss Lou, have you made up your mind?"
To be fair, Mu Yue wasn't the kind of terrible person Lou Yiyuan imagined.
He was handsome and spoke gently, with a righteous look in his eyes that made people uncomfortable. He seemed to be a gentleman.
Lou Yiyuan an awkward "hmm".
Mu Yue's heart pounded, and he asked nervously, "What decision?"
Lou Yiyuan, "I've decided to let you meet my parents."
Mu Yue chuckled. "So, I never even had a chance like this before?"
"Of course."
"Thank you, Miss Lou. It's my honor."
Lou Yiyuan somewhat lost in thought.
Lou Yingyu went to whisper something to Tong Aning.
"Oh no, I think my cousin has fallen for him."
Tong Aning nodded. "I think so too."
Lou Yiyuan patted their shoulders, "What are you whispering about behind my back? We're about to leave."
The two nodded obediently.
Tong Aning thought she had successfully completed her mission, but unexpectedly, the two had a disagreement over a collection of poems.
Lou Yiyuan asked, "You like poetry too?"
Mu Yue said, "Poetry contains mountains and rivers, poetry contains the homeland; who can not love poetry?"
"Well said! So, whose poetry collection do you like the most? Why don't we say it together and see if we're on the same page?"
Bai Ziqi.
Wen Shuyuan.
An awkward, tense silence fell over the room.
Just a moment ago Lou Yingyu was teasing, "Tsk tsk tsk, you're so in sync."
The next moment she was completely confused, "What's wrong with those two?"
When I went to check again, the two of them were already arguing.
[Those who like Wen Shuyuan all wish Bai Ziqi were dead, and those who like Bai Ziqi all wish Wen Shuyuan were dead... The die-hard fans and the haters will definitely fight fiercely later.]
Lou Yingyu: "...?"