good season

Chapter 170 Testing the Waters (Two chapters combined)

Yan Xia looked down and saw that there were two dogs lying under the table, and two cats sleeping on the two seemingly empty chairs.

No wonder they don't share tables; how can they share tables when the place is already full?

He muttered "Excuse me" and sat down at the table opposite him, which was only half a step away from the other table.

He reached out and called the waiter over, ordering a pot of Maojian tea and four kinds of snacks. When he looked up, he saw that the waiter looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, wasn't this the boy who was reading the storybook?

By the way, the boy mentioned his name that day; it was Shen Wangxing.

Shen Wangxing grinned at him, revealing a set of white teeth.

Yan Xia subconsciously looked around. He had just thought there wouldn't be many customers at this hour, but now he saw that there were indeed few customers. However, these few customers all looked like martial arts practitioners.

Based on his experience in solving cases, he knew these weren't guests at all; they were all guards—the guards of this grandfather and grandson!
At this moment, the storyteller who was energetically telling his story was actually only telling it to this grandfather and grandson.

This teahouse has been booked by this grandfather and grandson!

No, if it were a private booking, Shen Wangxing wouldn't be working as a waiter, would he? Could it be...?
He looked at Zhao Shiqing and asked, "You bought this teahouse?"

Zhao Shiqing: "I didn't buy it, my maternal grandfather did."

Zhen Wuduo: "Yeah, I just bought it yesterday."

Yan Xia chuckled. As expected of the famous Zhen Wuduo, he bought such a large teahouse without hesitation. Yan Xia even suspected that the reason Zhen Wuduo bought the teahouse was because his granddaughter had chosen this place to meet.

Since there were no outsiders here, Zhao Shiqing's act of shoving him to this table was simply naughty.

Yan Xia suddenly understood why his mother still wanted to have a daughter even in middle age. It would be so much fun to have a clever and mischievous little sister at home.

He stood up again, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhen Wuduo, and said, "Yanxia greets Old Master Zhen. I am very grateful for your hospitality."

Zhen Wu smiled and said, "Young Master Yan, there's no need for such formalities. Please sit down and have some tea."

At this moment, the storyteller slammed his gavel: "To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next episode!"

Zhen Wuduo shouted loudly, "Good, there's a reward!"

Shen Wangxing ran fast and delivered a silver ingot that he had prepared beforehand to the storyteller. The ingot was worth ten taels. The storyteller thanked him profusely before leaving.

Now, there really is no one else here.

Zhen Wuduo stood up and said to Yan Xia, "Young Master Yan, please enjoy your meal. This old man is going out for a stroll."

Zhen Wuduo led the two dogs away, and Yan Xia said with some envy, "Your family takes such good care of your cats and dogs."

He has loved dogs since he was a child, but he has owned three dogs, all of which died after two or three months. His mother said that he was destined to bring bad luck to dogs and forbade him to keep any more.

Zhao Shiqing's eyes sparkled: "Oh, you like cats and dogs too?"

Yan Xia nodded: "I also like horses."

Zhao Shiqing's eyes lit up: "My sister does too. She also likes horses. She has more than a dozen horses, all of which are rare and excellent steeds."

Yan Xia was intrigued; a dozen fine horses! He really wanted to see them with his own eyes.

But her sister? Zhao Shiqing was talking about her sister?

Zhao Yunnuan?
Yan Xia suddenly remembered what Madam Yu had told him, and the usually carefree Prince Yan suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

Zhao Shiqing then moved on to the next question: "I've heard that sons of noble families have concubines as young as fourteen or fifteen, and fathers as young as fifteen or sixteen. Is that the case for you too?"

Yanxia thought to herself, "If I were like that, my mother would scratch me to death."

He shook his head: "No, I didn't."

Zhao Shiqing looked at him and continued to ask, "You are the eldest grandson of the eldest son, bearing the great responsibility of continuing the family line. If your wife cannot give birth to a son, will you take a concubine?"

Yanxia: Can't have a son? So you'll have a daughter? Is that even possible?

He shook his head again: "Our family has no shortage of men, and we have no custom of taking concubines."

If Yan Xia hadn't grasped the meaning when Zhao Shiqing asked the first question, then if he still didn't understand now, he shouldn't be working in the Ministry of Justice.

Could it be that what Mother said has already reached Zhao Shiqing's ears?
What about the Liang Prince's Mansion?

Where is the eldest princess?

Did they all know?

He said seriously, "Miss Zhao, did you call me here today because of the First Princess?"

Seeing that he had guessed it, Zhao Shiqing stopped beating around the bush and said, "Someone wants to arrange a marriage between you and my sister, and wants to use this marriage to force you to submit. Prince Yan, what do you think?"

She didn't name names, but how could Yan Xia not have guessed?

"The person Miss Zhao is referring to is a prince, isn't he? Our Yan family has an ancestral rule that we will not participate in the struggle for the throne among princes. Whoever becomes emperor, we will protect him. If anyone wants to make a big fuss about this, our Yan family will not sit idly by and wait for death."

Thinking of her sister's death in that previous life, Zhao Shiqing said, "The Yan family is upright and honorable. But what if someone used you to harm my sister and then used that as leverage to threaten you?"

Upon hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Yan Xia's eyes. Although Zhao Shiqing was young, after these few interactions, it was clear that she was not someone who spoke carelessly. Since she said this, she must have discovered some clues and someone really wanted to harm Zhao Yunnuan.

"First of all, I will do everything in my power to protect the First Princess. She married me, so she is my wife, my family, and a member of the Yan family! How could I possibly harm her? As for being used against me, hehe, if I were really stupid enough to be schemed against and even lose the First Princess's life, then that person would not have the chance to threaten me. I will risk dying with him to avenge the First Princess, until the very end!"

Yan Xia's voice, firm and resounding, carried the anger of a young man and echoed in the teahouse.

Zhao Shiqing paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Who said my sister would definitely marry you? You haven't even met my sister, how can you be sure she would like you?"

Yan Xia then realized that he had said the wrong thing in a fit of anger. He had actually said that if the eldest princess married him, she would be his wife. How could he say such a thing?

Zhao Yunnuan is such an extraordinary woman, a woman who is no less capable than any man, yet he actually said such offensive words in front of her sister. "Well, it was just a slip of the tongue. I really didn't have any designs on her. No, this matter is still far from settled. Miss Zhao, I'm a rough man and don't know how to speak properly. If I have offended you, I will apologize to you."

As he spoke, he stood up to bow, but Zhao Shiqing quickly said, "The person you should apologize to is not me, but my sister. If you are lucky, you might be able to meet my sister. You can apologize to her when you meet her."

Yan Xia was at a loss for what to do. Zhao Yunnuan was far away in Liang. Unless she married and moved to the capital, how could he possibly see her, let alone apologize in person?

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: if the emperor really arranged a marriage between him and Zhao Yunnuan, it would be a good thing.

Yan Xia felt as if a thousand horses were galloping through her heart, but Zhao Shiqing was very satisfied with today's meeting. She had given the reminders she needed to, and had also tested Yan Xia.

At least for now, Yan Xia seems like a decent person.

But that's only for now; who knows what will happen in the future?

People change. Who knows if Yanxia will become the very thing he hates now?

However, Zhao Shiqing didn't dwell too much on these things that hadn't happened yet. She could leave the future to time, but the most urgent matter was what was happening right now.

Yanxia came out of the teahouse, looked at the sun in the sky, and knew without a doubt that he had missed the time to draw the red circle again today.

The person in charge of supervising the attendance book, who had drawn a red circle, was very strict. Once the appointed time arrived, he would lock up the attendance book.

The room where the attendance book was kept originally had an ordinary lock, but it was later pried open. The lock that was replaced is said to be made by a master craftsman, and even a god couldn't open it.

Yes, every student in the Imperial College driven mad by the red circle, except for Yan Xia, had thought about picking the lock. As for Yan Xia, he was a great hero, and a great hero wouldn't sneak in and pick the lock.

Although Yan Xia was a holdout at the Justice Hall, he hadn't felt embarrassed about it until today.

How many people in this world can study at the Justice Hall? He has been studying at the Justice Hall for six years, what is there to be ashamed of?
But today, he suddenly wanted to pick the lock and fill in all seven hundred red circles so that he could graduate from the Hall of Justice.

Sigh, if Zhao Yunnuan knew that he had been in the Justice Hall for six years, she would probably look down on him. Looking down on him is one thing, but wouldn't she think he's an idiot?
Yan Xia stood there for a while before finally deciding to go to the Imperial Academy. As soon as he arrived, he saw Li Jiancheng, who was in charge of attendance.

Yan Xia walked over and put his arm around Li Jiancheng's shoulder.

Li Jiancheng was startled. When he saw that it was Yan Xia, he became even more frightened: "Master Yan, there is no criminal in my family, really none."

Yan Xia: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I'll invite you to have some tea. Let's go."

Li Jiancheng's legs went weak. "Master Yan, please have some tea. Are we going to the Ministry of Justice for tea?"
Emperor Yongjia walked out of his study, intending to go to the Empress's palace, when he heard that the Third Prince had entered the palace.

Liu Daban said with a smile, "Knowing that you were discussing matters in the Imperial Study, the Third Prince did not dare to disturb you, so he kowtowed outside the door. He should be on his way to pay his respects to the Imperial Noble Consort now."

Emperor Yongjia felt a pang of pity when he thought of the recent grievances suffered by his third son, after all, this was his most beloved son.

Of all the princes, the third prince resembled him the most.

"Let's go, let's go there too. I haven't visited Consort Qiao for two days."

Liu Dapang hurriedly said, "Oh dear, if the Imperial Noble Consort knew that you went to see her as soon as you came out of the Imperial Study, she would be overjoyed. This old servant will send someone to inform her right away."

Emperor Yongjia was in a great mood. He said, "There's no need to send word. Let's go directly there."

A moment later, Emperor Yongjia saw Consort Qiao and the Third Prince. The mother and son were somewhat surprised to see him suddenly appear. Emperor Yongjia was suspicious by nature, and he saw a hint of embarrassment on the faces of Consort Qiao and the Third Prince.

"What, did I arrive at the wrong time?"

The Third Prince hurriedly said, "No, no, it's because I was asking Mother for help, but before Mother could agree, Father arrived. I had a whole bunch of things to say to please Mother, but now I can't use any of them."

Emperor Yongjia laughed heartily: "So that's how it is. Tell me, what favor do you want your mother to do for you?"

The Third Prince was a little embarrassed: "It's like this, the Imperial Consort has a close friend whose father is Lang Jing, who was transferred to the capital last year. She is about the same age as the Imperial Consort, but she is still unmarried and longs to marry a good man from the capital. Now that she has found someone she likes, she wanted to ask the Imperial Consort to help match them up, but the Imperial Consort just won't agree."

Emperor Yongjia frowned deeply: Lang Jing? Isn't that Feng Ke's man? Lang Jing's daughter is said to be exceptionally beautiful. He heard that the Lang family is determined to send their daughter to the Third Prince's residence, and Miss Lang is always by the Third Princess's side. However, Consort Qiao seems to disapprove and has been holding back her approval of the marriage.

Why does Miss Lang have someone she likes now? Does she no longer want to marry into the Third Prince's household?
For the powerful and wealthy, marriage has never been about love and romance, but rather about the complementary strength of two families.

Even though Lang Jing was only a fourth-rank official, he was Feng Ke's man, so his daughter's marriage was not a simple matter.

Emperor Yongjia asked, "Who has the Lang family taken a fancy to?"

The Third Prince subconsciously looked at Consort Qiao, with a troubled expression as if he didn't know what to say.

Consort Qiao snorted, her tone still gentle, but with a hint of resentment.

"You were quite eloquent when you were telling me this just now, so why are you so hesitant to speak now that your father is asking? So you knew this favor wouldn't be easy to do, and yet you still came to me for help?"

The third prince quickly pleaded, "Mother, I was only doing this on someone's behalf. Please don't blame me in front of Father."

Consort Qiao rolled her eyes at him and said to Emperor Yongjia, "It's that Lang Yuyu that I told you about last time. Why did she have to fall for Yan Xia of all people? If it were anyone else, I could have summoned the head mistress to the palace to have a word with her, but that Madam Yu... sigh, she's so unreasonable and domineering."

Emperor Yongjia had a headache when it came to Lady Yu, the wife of the Duke of Wei. During the New Year, the noblewomen all had to enter the palace. On that one morning alone, Lady Yu scratched three people, made two people cry, and even made one of them faint. That person was an old noblewoman of the same generation as her mother-in-law, who had already worn down two daughters-in-law. But she never expected that Lady Yu would make her faint. She really fainted, not pretending.

Those noblewomen who were scratched, scolded, and furious by Madam Yu both hated and feared her. Not daring to confront her directly, they had their husbands submit memorials impeaching the Duke of Wei for failing to manage his household properly. When the memorials were delivered to Emperor Yongjia, the emperor had no choice but to summon the Duke of Wei to reprimand him. Unexpectedly, the Duke of Wei arrived with his face covered in fingernail marks, scratched by his wife!
Emperor Yongjia sighed. With Consort Yu being so ruthless, the frail Consort Qiao was naturally afraid and had no desire to confront her. At this moment, one had to praise the Empress. Only the Empress could speak a few words calmly with Consort Yu.

However, no matter how cruel Yu was, she was just a woman in the inner quarters and not worth fearing, so Emperor Yongjia did not take her seriously.

And now there are even more important things to do.

"The Lang family has taken a liking to Yan Xia? What are they planning to do?" Emperor Yongjia's expression was grave.

To him, the Yan family was different; they were loyal subjects who would always stand faithfully by the emperor's side.

Emperor Yongjia looked at the Third Prince with a gloomy and uncertain gaze. He asked in a deep voice, "Is this your father-in-law's intention?"

The third prince seemed startled and knelt on the ground with a thud.

The Third Prince and his mother are putting on an act; they're both master actors.