As the only genuinely innocent person present, Luo Shuyun let out a sudden sigh of relief.
Su Zhouyue stole a glance at Cui Ming. Seeing the utter bewilderment etched across his face, she could not help but furrow her brows.
Everyone in the room harbored their own unspoken thoughts, yet none could rival the burning curiosity burning in their minds: just whose child was this?
System, why did you lag?
The system apologized in its soft, milky voice, My apologies, Host.
Tong Anying was exceedingly generous. No worries, no worries. So, whose child is it?
Su Zhouyue looked down at her daughter. With bright eyes and pearly teeth, this little imp was still busying her mind with such scandalous affairs.
The child belongs to a man named Gu Xin.
Tong Anying was dumbfounded.
No wonder the system had lagged, it had just unlocked an entirely new character.
Good grief.
Old Wang, Old Cui, Old Gu, and Luo Shuyun—there was already a whole lineup of them, and yet here came another!
System, who on earth is Gu Xin?
Gu Xin is an attendant serving right by Gu Zhenye’s side, and Gu Zhenye’s most trusted confidant.
Wei Mingning’s face broke into a radiant smile, utterly elated. She knew Gu Xin well. Gu Zhenye had spent his entire life scheming, using her silver to keep a mistress and expecting her to raise that mistress’s child. And the result? His own trusted right-hand man had raided his home behind his back! Hahahahahahaha, serves him right!
Wei Mingning’s schadenfreude was far too blatant to miss. Gu Zhenye scowled. “Wei Mingning, don’t you get cocky!”
Wei Mingning cast a sideways glance at him. “Even His Majesty hasn’t uttered a word, so what are you flapping your gums about?”
Gu Zhenye turned nervously to read the Emperor’s expression, trembling with apprehension. Only when he saw that the Emperor did not intend to pursue the matter did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Wei Mingning said magnanimously, “Gu Zhenye, since you cherish this child so deeply and love your dear Liu’er so passionately, allow me to wish the three of you a long, blissful life together.”
Who knows, it might turn into a blissful family of five or six. For them, making a go of life together matters more than anything else.
Luo Shuyun wore an expression that practically screamed keep away from me. Whoever wanted this kind of life could have it; she certainly didn’t!
Those who knew the truth could barely hold in their laughter, while Gu Zhenye, blissfully ignorant, looked quite pleased with himself.
This sight turned Cui Ming green with envy and rage.
He never imagined Du Liu’er would dare betray him, let alone that she had boarded the grand ship of the Duke’s estate so long ago.
Fury churned in his chest.
With the Emperor still watching, Cui Ming and Gu Zhenye threw decorum aside and lunged at each other, trading blows right in the hall.
Eunuch Wang ordered the guards to pull them apart, his voice nearly hoarse with panic: “His Majesty is present! What brazen insolence!”
Catching the Emperor’s unruffled gaze, Gu Zhenye felt his knees go weak, while Cui Ming broke into a belated cold sweat.
The Emperor had had his fill of the spectacle.
Gu Zhenye, Du Liu’er, and the child were handed over to Wei Mingning to deal with as she saw fit.
Cui Ming was demoted three ranks on the spot. Furthermore, the Emperor decreed that Cui Heng must finalize an amicable divorce with Tong Siyuan by the end of the day, and that every piece of the Marquis estate’s dowry must be returned without delay.
Inside the carriage, Tong Anying rested her chin in her hands and remarked, “The Emperor seems like a rather decent person.”
Su Zhouyue quickly covered her mouth. “Whether His Majesty is a decent man or not is not for us to judge.”
Tong Anying nodded obediently.
Uncle Zhao, the driver, called back, “Madam, are we heading home?”
Su Zhouyue arched an eyebrow. “Not home. To the Cui estate.”
Pausing, she added with mild regret, “Had I known, I would have begged His Majesty for an imperial decree.”
Tong Anying’s eyes widened. Mother’s courage is even greater than mine!
Su Zhouyue chuckled softly.
She took Tong Siyuan’s hand into hers. “Fret not. As long as our Marquis’s residence stands, no one will dare lay a finger on you.”
Tong Siyuan nodded. Her smile remained gentle and composed, though her eyes were tinged with red. “I understand, Mother.”
Luo Shuyun and Cui Ming were the first to arrive back at the Cui residence.
The two had likely exchanged blows once more along the way; scratches marked Cui Ming’s neck, and his face was grim as he refused to even look at the woman beside him.
Armed with the Emperor’s verbal decree, the Marquis estate’s visit went without a hitch.
Watching the workers practically strip the residence bare, Luo Shuyun clutched her racing heart. Just then, Cui Heng emerged, supporting Cheng Wenmiao.
Luo Shuyun stepped forward and slapped him across the face. Cui Heng looked stunned, only to be kicked by Cui Ming right after. “Worthless scum!”
A father keeping a mistress, a mother sharing a mistress, a cousin watching the comedy unfold, and an utter failure of a son!
Tong Anying held no fondness for the Cui family. The son had long harbored feelings for his cousin and had already bedded her, yet kept it hidden while marrying Second Sister, was that not outright marriage fraud?
Tong Anying asked gleefully in her mind: System, are there any other juicy tidbits about the Cui family?
Indeed there are. Cui Ming’s elder brother was actually in love with Luo Shuyun, while Cheng Wenmiao’s mother only treated her own husband as a stand-in for his brother.
Tong Anying sucked in a sharp breath, marveling: Wow, talk about true brotherly affection and harmonious relations between sister- and brother-in-law!’
Tong Fengye and Tong Yibin paused in unison.
Tong Fengye’s mind could barely keep up; he simply sensed something was terribly wrong.
Tong Yibin shot his younger sister a glance. Were those two idioms supposed to be used like that?
Luo Shuyun stood frozen in shock. There was, there was even that sort of filth going on?
She collapsed onto the ground, sobbing and throwing a fit: “What sins have I committed in my past life to deserve this?”
Turning a deaf ear to the commotion, the Tong family filed out of the Cui estate’s main gates. To their surprise, they found Tong Baibo already waiting outside, a sedan chair stationed beside him.
Tong Baibo said, “I have come to take Siyuan home.”
Tong Siyuan’s eyes welled with tears as she stepped forward and whispered, “Father.”
“Mm.” Tong Baibo pressed down the front of the sedan chair himself. “Step inside.”
Tong Siyuan nodded.
With Tong Siyuan inside the sedan chair and the rest seated in the carriage, they set off down the central thoroughfare of South-North Avenue, passing another carriage traveling in the opposite direction.
Noticing how exquisite the passing carriage was, Tong Anying asked, “Whose carriage is that?”
Su Zhouyue peered out. “It looks to me like the Prince of Yong’s carriage.”
She turned to Tong Baibo. “Has the Heir of the Prince of Yong returned?”
Tong Baibo shook his head. “I wouldn’t know.”
Su Zhouyue clicked her tongue. “How is it you know nothing at all?”
Tong Baibo countered, “Didn’t both you and Fourth Daughter tell me to be careful in the court? I’ve been minding my words and deeds with the utmost caution lately.”
Su Zhouyue rolled her eyes. “Minding your words and deeds does not mean becoming deaf and blind.”
“Yes, yes, whatever my wife says.”
Tong Baibo lowered his gaze submissively and reached out to grasp Su Zhouyue’s hand. Su Zhouyue was rendered speechlessly exasperated, yet looking upon his handsome face, her anger vanished without a trace.
Tong Fengye chimed in from the side, stirring up trouble: “Is this what they call a honey trap?”
Su Zhouyue: “?”
Tong Baibo: “Did you feed your books to the dogs?”
Tong Fengye scratched his head. Tong Yibin chimed in, “Technically, it’s a male honey trap.”
Su Zhouyue: “?”
Why is my eldest son joining in on the nonsense now too?
Tong Baibo said darkly, “The two of you will transcribe books once we return home.”
Tong Fengye dared not voice his fury, while Tong Yibin remained utterly nonchalant.
Having escaped unscathed, Tong Anying giggled smugly.
Hearing her laughter, Su Zhouyue could not help but smile as well, pulling the girl warmly into her embrace. Yet right then, she heard that familiar little voice speak again.
Host, it was the Heir of the Prince of Yong who lured the Emperor to the Duke’s estate.
Inside the carriage, everyone except Tong Fengye and Tong Anying stiffened at once.
Why would the Heir of the Prince of Yong trick the Emperor into visiting the Duke’s residence? Did the Duke’s estate harbor some unspeakable secret?
The more they thought, the more unnerved they became.
Yet evidently, neither Tong Anying nor her little system harbored any real interest in the matter.
Tong Anying said, “Mother, I wonder if Little Fifth has returned yet?”
Su Zhouyue replied, “Your maternal grandmother only borrowed her for a bit of fun; she will send her back shortly.”
Tong Anying: “?”
Fun with whom?
With Little Fifth?
Is this even remotely reasonable?
Upon reaching the Marquis’s estate, the carriage from the General’s residence happened to arrive as well.
Tong Yi’an pushed aside the curtain. Clad in a vibrant red dress with her hair tied in two neat buns, she leapt down from the carriage, the red ribbons in her hair fluttering in the breeze.
Tong Yi’an threw herself straight into Su Zhouyue’s arms. “Mother, Father, Eldest Brother, Second Sister, Third Brother, Fourth Sister!”
Su Zhouyue stroked her head and asked, “Did Grandmother not come?”
Tong Yi’an clenched her tiny fist. “Grandmother wore herself out playing.”
Su Zhouyue burst into a soft laugh, holding Tong Yi’an’s hand as they walked inside.
That evening, having finished her bath, Su Zhouyue returned to the bedchamber, her hair still damp.
Tong Baibo gently patted it dry for her. Su Zhouyue murmured, “I observed them closely today. Neither Cui Ming nor Gu Zhenye seemed able to hear it.”
Puzzled, she added, “Could this thing actually discriminate by gender?”
Tong Baibo chuckled. “I can hear it, can’t I?”
Su Zhouyue dismissed the thought. “You are Anying’s father; it’s hardly surprising you can hear it.”
“What about those two rascals?”
“They are Anying’s brothers; naturally, they can hear it too.”
Tong Baibo thought of someone else and asked softly, “And His Majesty?”
Su Zhouyue hesitated vaguely. “How would I dare study His Majesty? I’m timid by nature.”
“You, timid? Didn’t you thrash His Majesty when you were children?”
Su Zhouyue pursed her lips, displeased. “Must you dig up old, moldy tales from the past?”
Tong Baibo wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling against the curve of her neck. “Come, let us sleep. For Anying’s matter, we can only take it one step at a time.”
“True,” Su Zhouyue agreed, nodding. “In any case, we are here to protect Anying. If anyone dares harbor ill intent toward her, I’ll slaughter them.”
“Yes, yes, absolutely.”
Gazing at his fiercely protective wife, Tong Baibo coaxed her gently, and the two turned in for the night.
Meanwhile, inside the imperial palace, the lanterns remained brightly lit.
Hearing footsteps approach, the Emperor tossed aside a memorial. “I assumed you weren’t coming.”
The memorial was caught midair and set back down before the Emperor. The newcomer was a youth of striking countenance—bright-eyed, tall, and straight as a pine, though his tight lips and knit brow lent his entire demeanor an unmistakable chill.
The youth asked, “Imperial Uncle, how did you find the spectacle at the Duke’s estate?”
“Splendid, indeed. The Fourth Young Lady of the Marquis estate is truly extraordinary; to think she can…”
The Emperor found himself unable to voice Tong Anying’s peculiar secret aloud. “Never mind. You will see for yourself in due time.”
The youth showed not the slightest hint of interest in the Fourth Young Lady of the Marquis estate. “I shall take my leave and return home.”
The Emperor frowned. “It is already this late; you might as well stay in the palace.”
“The residence is quiet. I must return to keep my father and mother company.”
The youth turned and departed, leaving the Emperor in silence.
Though he claimed he was returning home, the youth instead made a detour to the Duke’s estate.
Seeing his eyes scouring the overgrown grass, his personal guard asked, “Heir, what are you searching for?”
Without looking up, Xue Lin replied, “A woven grasshopper.”
It had been woven with lifelike precision, bearing a striking resemblance to the one kept in his room.
The guard joined the search, finally spotting it near the willow trees.
After a moment’s thought, Xue Lin stopped by Wei Mingning’s quarters to offer his apologies. Wei Mingning was preoccupied with putting her affairs in order; understanding Xue Lin’s predicament, she did not hold it against him.
Back at the Prince’s estate, Xue Lin placed the freshly found grasshopper beside an older, faded one, watching them both in quiet contemplation.