Talulah, I'm still a child.

"What kind of official is the Grand Tutor?"

"Anyway, all you need to know is that he's much older than Lord Liang, and I've never seen him."

"Then do you think that old man just now was the Grand Tutor?"

There was a moment of awkwardness, but everyone quickly dismissed the possibility. It was already absurd enough that Ning Ciqiu, a second-rank official, would appear. How could a great figure like the Grand Tutor be someone you just bumped into? It couldn't be that he came to visit after hearing that the fox spirit had come to Shangshu, could it? Haha, how could the fox spirit possibly stay at Xingyu Inn?

"Oh, I see! That old man must be an elder in Miss Ning's family. Perhaps... Lord Liang and Miss Ning will make it work this time!"

"That's wonderful! It just so happens that the Fox Fairy is also in Shangshu. Although she doesn't want to appear and disturb the lives of us common people, she will definitely bless Lord Liang and Miss Ning so that they can become a couple!"

The gossip of the people of Shangshu can be terrifying. As the voices outside grew louder and louder, Liang Xun and Ning Ciqiu remained calm and composed, but in reality, they wished they could dig a three-bedroom apartment into it with their feet. (Fourth layer: It can be used as a wedding room)

As for Ning Ciqiu and Liang Xun's affair, although they didn't say it themselves and always maintained a close yet distant relationship, Ning Ciqiu frequently visited the Liang residence, and the two often went to the mountains to watch plays. Unless you're like Cecilia and Mei Xue, who wouldn't know what they were up to?

"I have met the fox spirit."

The Grand Tutor spoke in a calm tone, as if he were meeting an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time. He sat down in a very casual manner, which was very different from what Liang Xun remembered.

He remembered when he first entered officialdom, he was chosen by the Grand Tutor for some reason and became a recorder by his side. He followed the Grand Tutor to the court and learned a lot. It was only natural to call him teacher, but he had never seen him show such a friendly expression for a whole year.

"Hmm, it's been a long time. You... well, you've gotten a bit older. I've told you before not to always work so hard. You're the pillar of Da Yan, but Da Yan has more than just you as a pillar. Take better care of yourself."

"I know, but I don't feel comfortable leaving some things to younger people or others."

"That's what makes you so troublesome."

A boy who looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old was talking to an old man with white hair. Their tone was like that of friends, and there was even a hint that the former was in control. Ning Ciqiu and Liang Xun thought to themselves that he was indeed a fox spirit. Apart from Mei Xue, no one else in the Great Yan could speak to the Grand Tutor like this.

"Is he Liang Xun?"

Mei Xue looked at Liang Xun. This was the first time he had seen him, but he had known of his existence since the time he returned to Da Yan.

"As you said, he is indeed a promising talent, Liang Xun. Haven't you always wanted to know why I chose you as the recorder back then? The answer is here."

The Grand Tutor's words cleared up Liang Xun's doubts. Back then, he inexplicably became a person by the Grand Tutor's side. Although he was just a recorder, he had seen a lot and was watched by many officials, which was somewhat uncomfortable, but he gained a lot, which made his path to becoming the Prefect of Shangshu relatively smooth.

Only now did he realize that it was actually the fox spirit who had personally recommended him. Besides surprise, Liang Xun also felt some...worry. He didn't think he could have gotten involved with such a big shot as the fox spirit back then, so the matter must be of great importance. Of course, he should still thank Mei Xue for the recommendation.

"Thank you for the recommendation, Fox Fairy."

"You're welcome. It's just that a friend of mine thinks you're a talented person."

Mei Xue was referring to the Doctor, of course. The little fox is now using her brain, and her tone of voice, manner of speaking, style of dealing with people and attitudes have all become much more mature. Well, the little fox likes to call this version of herself "adult mode".

Even in "adult mode," Mei Xue's mind was still lively. The little fox's tail wagged happily, and she rested her chin on her hand, looked at Ning Ciqiu, then at Liang Xun, and gave a mischievous and cunning smile.

"So, do you need my blessing for your marriage?"

"puff!"

"Cough cough!"

Ning Ciqiu and Liang Xun were both taken aback by these words. They never expected to hear such things from a fox spirit. When did this little ancestor become such a gossipy person?

Fortunately, the Grand Tutor did not pursue the matter of their rudeness. He simply waved his hand to indicate that they did not need to apologize for his little incident, and then looked at Nian and Ling on the second floor.

"Oh dear, I was hoping I wouldn't have to go down."

Ling scratched her head in annoyance and went downstairs with Nian. She sat down next to Mei Xue, but before she could reach out to untie the wine gourd, Mei Xue tapped her on the head with her tail.

"When guests are discussing business, please tone it down."

"……All right."

Seeing Ling's helpless expression, the Grand Tutor glanced at Nian again and found that she, who was usually free-spirited and unrestrained by external things, was actually more obedient. Not only was she sitting upright, but she also had a business-like smile on her face. However, the emotion in her eyes was probably, "How annoying, but I'm afraid of being beaten, so I'll just fool her."

"As expected, only you can keep them in check."

"A few troublemakers have caused everyone a lot of trouble."

There's a reason for it.

The Grand Tutor only said this one sentence, but it was clear that there were other factors involved in that incident back then. Mei Xue gently wagged her tail and remembered this sentence, and then suddenly realized that there was a table full of fine wine and food laid out here.

Let's have dinner together.

After the little fox finished speaking, Liang Xun and Ning Ciqiu finally relaxed a bit. Their faces flushed slightly, which was quite unnatural. The key was that something went wrong at this time, and it was fortunate that the other party was a fox spirit, otherwise, things would have been very different.

Neither Ning Ciqiu nor Liang Xun were originally qualified to listen to such a conversation, but the Grand Tutor and Mei Xue did not treat them as outsiders. Moreover, the two of them sat on a bench in a subtle way. The Grand Tutor and Mei Xue sat facing each other, each occupying a chair, while Nian and Ling sat together. In this way, a square table was divided into four parts.

"The doctor didn't come?"

"Rhodes Island shouldn't interfere in the family affairs of the Great Yan."

Although Rhodes Island is now considered by most people to be backed by Great Yan, as long as Great Yan doesn't speak up and Rhodes Island doesn't agree, its neutral stance will remain unchanged, and what is written in official documents is what matters.

During breakfast, six people chatted casually with Mei Xue and Tai Fu, while Ling Ye occasionally chimed in. Nian, to avoid being pulled on the ear by the little fox for saying too much, simply kept his mouth shut from beginning to end.

Only Liang Xun and Ning Ciqiu felt utterly helpless. Mei Xue's teasing was one thing, but what happened between the two of them... was likely to spread throughout the entire Shangshu.

Chapter 10 The Little Fox's Pressure to Get Married

To be honest, Mei Xue and the Grand Tutor didn't have much to talk about. They had only met once, and because their conversation involved some secrets, even Mei Xue's memories were deliberately obscured. The little fox was more like having a casual chat with him.

The Grand Tutor didn't talk about work, people's livelihood, or the development of the Great Yan Dynasty; he just asked about certain things from time to time.

"You mean Xi? She's always been aloof and doesn't like to associate with people, but she was much cuter when she was little."

"Oh, those stories and festivals, these are just like the materials preserved by the Great Yan Dynasty. Many of them were compiled by me back then."

Mei Xue gently bit her chopsticks, reminiscing about the past. Many ancient festivals of the Great Yan Dynasty originated from it, passed down for thousands of years and evolved into various legends, but the Great Yan Dynasty must have preserved the original versions, such as the New Year, New Year's Eve, and firecrackers to drive away the year.

"What's the reason for doing this?"

"Festivals and culture are closely related. People need festivals. Qingming Festival is for remembering deceased relatives and friends, Mid-Autumn Festival is for remembering distant relatives, and New Year's Eve and Spring Festival are even more so. People entrust their expectations, helplessness, happiness and sorrow in life to festivals and embellish them with legends. Isn't this a good thing in itself?"

Because these things were done while raising Nian and others, when Mei Xue regained her memories of taking care of them, she naturally remembered them and recalled her feelings when she proposed establishing these festivals.

"That's true."

The Grand Tutor stroked his beard. He didn't eat much, but Nian and Ling were loyal eaters. They couldn't waste this table full of good wine and food. Ning Ciqiu and Liang Xun, on the other hand, ate at a leisurely pace.

As for Mei Xue? All I can say is that she is truly breathtaking.

The dishes on this table were all made by Mei Xue, who also ate them himself. So, although the flavors weren't particularly vegetarian, there were quite a few desserts, such as water chestnut cake and osmanthus cake. The little fox ate very quickly, practically devouring everything. Yet, his movements and eating manners were so refined that no one could find any fault with them; on the contrary, they were pleasing to the eye.

"If we're talking about osmanthus cake, Yonghelou's is the best. It's a pity I came in such a hurry that I couldn't bring you a serving."

The Grand Tutor smiled slightly, while Mei Xue shook her head and popped a pastry into her mouth.

"Forget it, I ate it once when I came back, and it wasn't my favorite taste."

"The princess was quite proud of this back then."

"...She can't even tell the difference between sugar and salt, and she ended up eating the laundry detergent. She could drive all the chefs in the Great Yan Dynasty crazy."

Although the time when Zhenlong was hunting differed from the time when he was taking care of Nianxi and the others, Meixue had gone down the mountain to see some old friends, including Zhenlong's little princess. Moreover, she would occasionally dream of the past. However, as time had passed, she was already old and gray.

Hearing about this embarrassing history, Ning Ciqiu and Liang Xun could only try their best to hold back, and they somewhat regretted coming to visit with the Grand Tutor.

"It seems the fox spirit has a deep impression of what happened back then."

"I don't even know how much of my tail hair she bit off."

Mei Xue was still somewhat indignant when she talked about it. The little fox had always valued his tail, and from beginning to end, apart from that hateful crab back then, no one had ever really dared to bite his tail hard.

"Speaking of this matter, and considering what happened between Ning and Liang just now, Mei Xue, do you still remember what Da Yan mentioned about the fox fairy bride?"

"..."

The Ning and Liang duo, who were called out, lowered their heads slightly, their lips twitching involuntarily. Really, they shouldn't have come here. They could apologize to the fox spirit later.

Mei Xue stopped what she was saying and the pastry in her mouth suddenly lost its deliciousness. The little fox, who was being pressured to get married, helplessly raised the ring on her hand.

"Da Yan already knows about this matter, but it has no impact. There are other hidden reasons behind the fox fairy bride incident. Of course, it is not a bad thing for either party."

As for the hidden reason, the Grand Tutor didn't say, and the little fox was too lazy to ask. He was being pressured to get married, and his face immediately fell, just like a child who had just been tricked out of all his New Year's money by his family.

No, it's more like how readers often come home to be asked, "When are you going to find a partner?" Of course, there are four other reasons as well.

"But I don't want to marry a stranger, and, well, the other person probably wouldn't agree anyway."

"Of course, even a fox spirit cannot force a marriage against someone's will, so we found someone you know."

After the Grand Tutor finished speaking, Mei Xue, who was still in "adult mode," started thinking and wagged her tail slightly.

"You mean... lily of the valley?"

"Of course."

Since Mei Xue had guessed it, there was no need to hide it any longer. The Grand Tutor didn't ask him how he knew. After all, with Mei Xue's name, he could guess the correct answer even if he just made a random guess.

However, this time the little fox didn't just guess randomly. He vaguely saw a fate line on Ning Ciqiu's body that originally belonged to Linglan. This proved that the other party must have had contact with Linglan recently. The line was very thin, indicating that they were not close friends.

"Is she in Shangshu?"

"Miss Linglan is currently staying at the Ning residence. She wanted to give you a surprise, but it seems that will not be possible."

Ning Ciqiu answered Mei Xue's question. The little fox twitched its ears. It was indeed a surprise for it, but it also felt a pity. If Linglan had been there last night... no, if Linglan had been there last night, that bed might not have been able to accommodate so many people. After all, Linglan's tail is quite big.

However, the little fox's mood improved considerably. It would be good to go find Lily of the Valley later and take her and Cecilia for a stroll.

"So, I'm going to marry Suzuran?"

"Yes, and you said it yourself a long time ago that the wedding arrangements would be entirely handled by Da Yan."

"Guh... I have no objection to marriage, but Suzuran is still young, and I want to get married to Talulah first."

At this point, it didn't seem like a big deal for Mei Xue to stop mentioning herself. After all, given the little fox's growth rate, who knows what Terra would look like by the time he grew into an adult.

"That's no problem at all; we can get engaged first."

The Grand Tutor wasn't in a hurry. Although according to the Great Yan's calculations, the Reunion Movement would need at least three more years to completely replace Ursus, and the subsequent handling and cleanup work would take a lot of time, Linglan was still quite young and needed to wait until she came of age before she could get married.

The Great Yan Dynasty tacitly approved of Talulah's situation. Love is a matter of freedom, and the Great Yan Dynasty couldn't interfere too much. Besides, Talulah had been kind to Mei Xue and even the Great Yan Dynasty, so they simply let it go.

"Then I'm fine."

"In that case, you two should go back first."

After glancing at Ning and Liang, who had already put down their chopsticks, the Grand Tutor conveyed a message: what follows is not for you to hear.

"Yes, we will take our leave now."

Liang Xun wished he had more legs, so he hurried back to find a way to suppress all the rumors and gossip. Although he really liked Ning Ciqiu, he wasn't ready yet. He wanted to rely on his own abilities to wait until the day he could propose marriage openly and legitimately.