I still can’t wrap my head around it. Why on earth did Lin Yu drop to his knees before me?
Maybe his legs just gave out?
If so, the man seriously needs to get more sun and boost his calcium.
Inside the carriage, the three eavesdroppers exchanged baffled glances as Tong Anying’s internal monologue echoed in their heads.
Su Zhouyue bit back a laugh, terrified she would give herself away. Gave out? Lin Yu looked like he’d had his soul frightened right out of his body.
Still, a guilty conscience was the only thing that could make a grown man crumple like that.
Su Zhouyue cast a pointed sideways glance at Tong Baibo. He was already watching her. She signaled furiously with her eyes, and Tong Baibo apparently catching her drift nodded knowingly, slid over, and tenderly took her hand.
Su Zhouyue stared at their linked fingers in sheer disbelief.
He’d better not just be pretending he understood!
System, how about you bring me up to speed? Who are those three juicy gossip targets? The suspense is killing me!
The three riders leaned in imperceptibly. They were dying to know, too.
Well, you see.
Before the System could finish, the carriage jolted violently. Tong Anying pitched forward, and Su Zhouyue scooped her up just in time. The sudden swerve left Tong Anying’s head spinning.
Ugh, I almost got motion sick.
Su Zhouyue stroked her daughter’s head, her voice laced with concern. “Anying, are you alright?”
Tong Anying shook her head to clear it.
Tong Yibin pushed aside the curtain. “A’shu, what happened?”
“Young Master, I’m not sure,” the driver replied apologetically. “Another carriage cut right in front of us out of nowhere.”
Tong Yibin peered through the window.
A nobleman clad in rich silks had stepped out of the opposing carriage and was currently dressing down his servant.
“Of all days to space out! Do you have any idea how important today is?”
“Master, I’m sorry, I won’t ever do it again!”
“If I didn’t still need a warm body to run errands, you’d already be packing your bags!”
“Thank you, Master! Bless you, Master!”
The man smoothed his embroidered robes, only to freeze when he spotted the Marquisate’s emblem on the carriage opposite his. He scurried over, cupping his hands in respect toward Tong Yibin. “Vice Minister Tong! My apologies, it was my clumsy servant’s fault for getting in your way.”
“No harm done,” Tong Yibin answered smoothly.
“Much obliged, Vice Minister.”
The man quickly ordered his driver to pull to the side to clear a path.
Su Zhouyue watched him through the screen. “And who might that be?”
Tong Baibo scratched his beard, drawing a total blank, and turned to his eldest son.
“Zhuang Chi,” Tong Yibin supplied. “A director in the Ministry of Justice.”
Su Zhouyue murmured thoughtfully, “Why does that name sound familiar?”
She had an impeccable memory for names, though she often struggled to attach faces to them.
“He married last year,” Tong Yibin reminded her. “Took the Shen family’s daughter. It was quite the grand affair, a ten-mile dowry trail. The whole capital talked about it.”
Recognition sparked in Su Zhouyue’s eyes. The Shen family were renowned merchants in the capital, and Shen Tang was their only daughter. The wedding had been dazzlingly extravagant; even the onlookers lining the streets had received silver coins.
She turned to her son, raising an eyebrow. “And how do you remember the details so clearly?”
Tong Yibin coughed and fell silent.
Rather than pressing him, Su Zhouyue signaled, “Let’s move on.”
A wealthy merchant’s daughter. Why do I smell fresh tea brewing?
Brilliant instinct, Host! This Zhuang Chi definitely has juicy dirt on him.
Tong Anying’s eyes sparkled. But how could she get the carriage to stop without looking suspicious?
Suddenly, Su Zhouyue pressed a delicate hand to her brow. “Wait, my head is spinning all of a sudden.”
Tong Anying immediately chimed in, “Mother, are you feeling unwell? Should we pull over and rest for a bit?”
Su Zhouyue nodded softly. “Yes, let’s.”
A’shu pulled on the reins, bringing the carriage to a halt once more.
Su Zhouyue glanced pointedly at her husband and son, gently cupping her daughter’s cheek. “Our Anying is the sweetest after all. Not like your father and elder brother, who didn’t even bother to ask.”
Tong Baibo: “?”
Tong Yibin: “??”
Tong Yibin muttered dryly under his breath, “Mother, isn’t this just because you wanted to—”
Before he could finish, an uproar broke out on the street.
Curious, Tong Anying parted the curtain.
It turned out Zhuang Chi’s carriage had stopped right in front of the Nanfeng Pavilion—the city’s premier courtesan house for men.
Just as Tong Anying peeked out, an ethereal young courtesan stepped through the brothel’s ornate doors, casting a shy, lingering glance toward Zhuang Chi.
Tong Anying’s eyes went wide. System, don’t tell me this guy is the star of the ‘keeps a male concubine in a brothel’ scandal?
The System responded with immense pride: Host, you finally guessed right!
Tong Anying: ?
Honestly, I wasn’t particularly eager to get this one right.
Su Zhouyue leaned close, pressing her cheek against her daughter’s head as they both peeked through the window crack.
She frowned. “Is he actually planning to bring that boy into his manor?”
The courtesan’s slender hand had already slipped into Zhuang Chi’s.
Su Zhouyue sighed under her breath. That poor Shen girl.
Whoosh!
A feathered arrow tore through the air, grazing Zhuang Chi’s cheek before thudding into the wooden post behind him.
Zhuang Chi went rigid.
A thin line of blood welled on his face. The boy, A’ze, scrambled to press a silk handkerchief to the wound, but Zhuang Chi shoved him aside. He whirled on the newcomer, trembling with fury. “Shen Tang! Have you lost your mind?”
Galloping through the dust came a woman in riding attire, a composite bow in one hand and leather reins gripped tightly in the other.
Shen Tang offered a cold smile. “Not nearly as mad as you are.”
Dismounting smoothly, she strode toward him, took one dismissive look at her husband, and turned to the brothel’s male madam. She cocked a brow. “Tell me, does this Nanfeng Pavilion of yours welcome women?”
The madam frowned initially, but taking in her opulent furs and posture, his face melted into an obsequious grin. “Of course, Madam! Absolutely!”
“Shen Tang! What kind of disgrace are you courting?” Zhuang Chi hissed, red-faced. “You’re a married woman! How dare you show your face at the Nanfeng Pavilion!”
Shen Tang slapped his reaching hand away. “If you can walk through these doors, why can’t I? Let me make one thing crystal clear: with the Shen family’s wealth, buying out this entire pavilion wouldn’t even dent my purse.”
Sister Tang, I’m with you! Buy the whole place and pick a new boy toy for every day of the week!
Su Zhouyue’s eye twitched.
Where did my daughter pick up such scandalous ideas?
The voice had cut through the tension out of nowhere. It wasn’t grating, it was crisp, bright, and crystalline, like a mountain spring rippling over smooth pebbles.
Shen Tang snapped her head toward the sound. Her gaze locked onto a pair of equally bright, innocent eyes peeking out from a nearby carriage window.
Huh? Why is she staring at me?
Shen Tang paused. It really was this little girl speaking?
Wait, her lips aren’t moving at all.
A wave of bewilderment washed over Shen Tang.
Seeing her distracted, Zhuang Chi sneered, “What are you gaping at? Don’t think your silver makes you untouchable!”
Shen Tang shot him a venomous look. “Silver makes me untouchable enough to have a fresh face every day. Can you do that, dear husband?”
Zhuang Chi puffed with outrage. “Shen Tang, you!”
“Tangtang, please! Let’s talk this through calmly!”
Zhuang Chi’s parents finally rushed onto the scene, panting.
Madame Zhao looked horrified at the cut on her son’s cheek. His father, Zhuang Xin, scowled deeply. “Even if Chi’er made a mistake, shooting an arrow at him in broad daylight is beyond the pale!”
Ever since Shen Tang had married into the household, her in-laws had treated her reasonably well. While Zhao’s tone was harsh, Shen Tang assumed it was merely motherly panic talking.
She softened her stance slightly. “I apologize for distressing Father-in-law and Mother-in-law.”
Zhao grasped Shen Tang’s hands consolingly. “Tangtang, men taking wives and concubines is the way of the world. But I swear to you, I will never let a rooster that can’t lay eggs cross our Zhuang threshold!”
Zhuang Xin chimed in supportively, “That’s right, Tangtang. Rest assured, we will handle this and see justice done for you.”
“Thank you, Mother-in-law. Thank you, Father-in-law.”
Zhuang Chi stamped his foot, defiant. “Father, Mother, my mind is made up! Today, A’ze enters our gates, and nobody is going to stop me!”
“You insolent beast!”
Zhuang Xin ground his teeth and cracked a stinging slap across his son’s cheek, catching Shen Tang entirely off guard.
Zhuang Chi held his stinging face. “Beat me all you want, Father! It won’t change anything!”
“You little—!”
Zhuang Xin raised his hand to strike him again, but Zhao threw herself between them, shielding her son desperately. “Let me talk some sense into him first!”
Zhuang Xin waved his sleeve in bitter disgust.
Holding her son’s hand, Zhao pleaded with genuine despair, “Chi’er, what is so great about an actor from a boy’s quarter? If your heart is really set on taking a concubine, why couldn’t you find someone decent from Spring Breeze Brothel instead?”
Nursing his cheek, Zhuang Chi whined, “Shen Tang is ready to murder me as it is! You think she’d let me take anyone?”
Zhao turned back toward Shen Tang, adopting an earnest, pleading look. “Tangtang, listen to me. Chi’er is just chasing a passing novelty. Once this whim fades, your mother-in-law will set things right for you.”
With matters pushed to this brink, Shen Tang found herself on the verge of relenting until that crisp voice rang in her head once more.
Damn, that is sinister! First, push an unacceptable male courtesan on her, then ‘compromise’ down to a woman from the Spring Breeze Brothel. A tactical retreat just to force a concubine through the door!
Shen Tang’s heart seized.
System, so the male lover is just bait in their little trap?
The System responded with utter satisfaction: You bet! It’s all a staged act by the Zhuang men. Their real prize is the top courtesan at Spring Breeze Brothel.
Why not just be straight with Shen Tang?
Because they want the pretty face and the merchant money! They want to force her into paying the concubine’s redemption fee while playing the martyr!
A chill shot down Shen Tang’s spine.
If she had yielded just now, wouldn’t she have spent the rest of her life dancing in the palm of this shameless family’s hands?
Tong Anying marveled in genuine awe: Who on earth came up with such an evil, genius scheme?
Who else? Zhuang Chi’s father.
Wait, don’t tell me the old man has his own side piece stashed at the Spring Breeze Brothel too?
Whoa, Host! How did you know that?
Just an educated guess.
Truly, dragons breed dragons, phoenixes breed phoenixes, and rats only know how to dig holes.