The matter of the An Kingdom capturing Emperor Wu was, after all, the talk of the town, a favorite subject for gossip on every street corner. And the news of the Wu Kingdom's delegation, led by a special envoy, arriving to retrieve their emperor was naturally part of this juicy gossip. People had heard bits and pieces of the story of how Marquis of Jining, Wei Tingyu, a special envoy from the Central Plains, had first traveled to the Wu Kingdom and then accompanied the delegation to the An capital.
So, when Wei Tingyu revealed his identity, all doubts vanished.
"What a man of passion!"
"Truly a thoughtful gentleman!"
The onlookers began to whisper and murmur, especially the women. A handsome, dashing, and brave man like Wei Tingyu, who dared to stand up for a woman he liked, naturally won their deep admiration! The An Kingdom's customs were more open than those of the Central Plains or the Wu Kingdom, so these women spoke their minds without fear of being overheard.
"So it's the Marquis of Jining, Marquis Wei!" The Censor's daughter, who knew more about the Marquis of Jining than the others, her eyes darted around, and she said with a smile, "But does the Marquis know County Princess Chu Yue?"
With her words, the chatter in the room instantly died down again. Everyone could sense a major piece of gossip about to be revealed.
"I do, of course!" Wei Tingyu smiled and nodded. "This Marquis has long heard of the reputation of County Princess Chu Yue, the jewel of the Xisha tribe. Upon arriving in the An capital, I was fortunate to meet her and was utterly captivated!"
"So today, finding myself with some free time, I asked the County Princess to accompany me on a stroll through the marketplace."
"As the host, the County Princess agreed to join me in order to promote the friendship between the Central Plains and the An Kingdom!"
Wei Tingyu had seen what the Censor's daughter was trying to do as soon as she spoke, and he directly answered her question. His response made two things very clear:
First, his affection for County Princess Chu Yue was his own business and had nothing to do with her!
Second, County Princess Chu Yue was accompanying him on a stroll for the sake of the friendship between the An Kingdom and the great nation of the Central Plains!
Although the relationship between the Central Plains and the Wu Kingdom seemed closer at the moment, they had not yet officially severed ties with the An Kingdom! So Chu Yue's actions could be interpreted as performing a service for the An Kingdom!
Everyone in the room instantly understood this, and their gazes toward Chu Yue now held a hint of admiration.
When Chu Yue heard Wei Tingyu's words, the stunned look on her face only deepened. Good heavens! So I did nothing at all, and a merit was just handed to me?
If this matter were to reach the court, even her father and the Emperor himself would not blame her! They might even praise her or reward her! After all, if she could truly sow discord between the Wu Kingdom and the Central Plains, even if she had truly cuckolded Li Tongguang, the An Emperor would personally step in to protect her.
Thinking of this, Chu Yue's goodwill toward this newly appeared Marquis of Jining, Wei Tingyu, deepened by several degrees. No matter how much she believed herself to be a woman who was equal to any man, at her core, she was still a woman! It would be impossible for her not to be moved by a man who considered her interests in everything he did!
"But does the Marquis know that County Princess Chu Yue is already betrothed?" The Censor's daughter's brows furrowed, and she spoke again.
At this moment, her heart was filled with intense jealousy! She couldn't believe that County Princess Chu Yue, this wild girl whom everyone in the An capital's noble circles had always ridiculed, actually had such an outstanding gentleman as her admirer?! She couldn't stand it and was determined to ruin everything!
With the Censor's daughter's words, Chu Yue's gaze, which had not been averted before, suddenly shifted to the side, instinctively avoiding eye contact with Wei Tingyu.
She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt a little guilty!
At the same time, her beautiful brows furrowed slightly, and Wei Tingyu could visibly notice that her small chest was rising and falling faster than before.
"Of course I do!" Wei Tingyu chuckled.
"You know?" The Censor's daughter was startled, a look of bewilderment on her face. "Then why do you still..."
Hearing this, Chu Yue unconsciously pursed her lips, and a hint of injustice appeared on her face. After all, this betrothal was not her choice, but a direct decree from the An Emperor. She had no say in the matter!
"Whether the County Princess is betrothed or not is her business! What does that have to do with whether this Marquis likes her or not?!" Wei Tingyu directly quoted a line that would become the motto of a 'scumbag' in a later era, speaking with an air of righteous indignation.
As soon as he said this, everyone in the room was stunned, because what Wei Tingyu said... actually made a little bit of sense!
"After all, the County Princess is not yet married! This Marquis always has a chance!" Wei Tingyu said, a smile on his face as he looked at the bewildered expressions of the crowd. He continued, "Besides, isn't the rule of the Xisha tribe that the strong are revered?"
"In a few days, this Marquis will go to the palace to ask the An Emperor for permission to duel the Marquis Changqing. The winner will claim the beauty!"
"Doesn't that also comply with the rules of the three An tribes?"
As soon as Wei Tingyu said this, everyone in the room nodded in agreement. After all, this rule did indeed exist among the An tribes, though it had not been mentioned for a long time since the government transitioned to an agrarian one. But the rule had never been abolished. Wei Tingyu had essentially found a loophole in the An Kingdom's system!
"But..." The Censor's daughter blinked, seemingly wanting to say something else, but Wei Tingyu had no time to waste on her. He pointed his finger in the air and sealed her pressure point.
"Ah... wah... ah..." The Censor's daughter opened her mouth and babbled for a long time but couldn't utter a single word, her face filled with terror.
And when Chu Yue saw this magical scene, her eyes also widened. She couldn't understand how a woman who had just been so eloquent that she had almost defeated her could suddenly become mute?!
"Don't worry!" Wei Tingyu, of course, did not want to offend someone without reason. Besides, the Censor's daughter's offense wasn't so severe as to warrant her losing the ability to speak for the rest of her life. "She'll be back to normal in an hour. In the future, do not gossip about others so recklessly!"
As soon as Wei Tingyu finished speaking, he nodded to County Princess Chu Yue, then elegantly fanned himself with his folding fan and walked out of the shop.
The Censor's daughter calmed down after hearing his words. Thankfully it's only an hour! Otherwise, with her personality, if she couldn't speak, she would surely go mad! But at this moment, she had indeed learned a great lesson and resolved never to gossip and insult others again!
Meanwhile, County Princess Chu Yue seemed to wake from a dream and turned to look at Wei Tingyu's retreating figure. To silence a person with a single gesture for an hour—what kind of magical technique was that? Chu Yue was desperate to learn it!
At the same time, her curiosity about Wei Tingyu had increased tenfold! And was it true what he had just said, that he would go to the palace and ask the An Emperor for permission to duel Marquis Changqing for her hand?
If it was true, should she be happy? Or angry?
Even Chu Yue herself couldn't figure out her feelings at this moment!
But the moment Wei Tingyu's figure vanished from her sight, Chu Yue finally came to her senses.
"Hey! Hey!" she shouted loudly, then quickly chased after him.
"And they say she can't find a man? Look, even a marquis from the Central Plains is chasing her!"
"I think the Marquis of Jining is actually the true love of County Princess Chu Yue! They clearly look like a couple having a spat!"
"Indeed! Marquis Changqing and County Princess Chu Yue were never a good match. I think the Marquis of Jining is a much better fit!"
"And he said, 'If you don't like it, just throw it away.' Is the Marquis's way of哄ing people so overbearing?!"
"What's overbearing about it? It's clearly gentle! Can't you hear it?"
"Are all men from the Central Plains this gentle?"
After seeing County Princess Chu Yue's figure also leave the shop, the crowd began to chatter and discuss again.
Only the Censor's daughter, who was unable to speak, looked at Chu Yue's retreating figure with an angry expression, stomping her feet in impotent rage.
…
"Hey! Hey! Wait for me!..." Chu Yue followed closely behind Wei Tingyu, shouting as she chased him.
But he didn't stop, letting the little girl chase him for half a street.
Finally, just as Chu Yue was becoming very frustrated, Wei Tingyu's steps suddenly halted. He turned to face her.
"Don't call me 'hey'," Wei Tingyu said with a smile, looking at this little wild horse waiting to be tamed. "You are a County Princess, after all. What kind of etiquette is that?"
Etiquette? You're talking about etiquette to me now?
Chu Yue was stunned, then began to grumble in her heart. You're a man I just met for the first time. You just put a flower in my hair in front of so many people and said that I was accompanying you on a stroll today, even though you never even asked me!
And now you're talking to me about etiquette? So you get to say all the good and all the bad words, is that it?
But even though Chu Yue was angry, she knew that Wei Tingyu had just stood up for her. So she couldn't bring herself to say those words of complaint.
"This is the marketplace, after all, not a place for you to practice with your riding slaves!" Wei Tingyu smiled again, seeing the frustrated Chu Yue who couldn't say a word. "Picking a fight with a Censor won't do your Xisha tribe any good, will it?"
Good heavens! And now he's lecturing me?
Although Chu Yue felt that Wei Tingyu's words were condescending and a bit "dad-like," which made her feel very rebellious, she had to admit that what he said was the truth!
Her Xisha warriors were not afraid of anyone on the battlefield, but when it came to politics in court, any random Censor could easily outmaneuver her father, the Duke!
Seeing Wei Tingyu finish his lecture and turn to walk away again, a frustrated Chu Yue gritted her teeth and stood directly in front of him, blocking his path.
"Just now in the shop... Thank you!" Chu Yue said, her two small hands tightly gripping her leather whip with such force that it looked as if she might snap it in half.
Her maid next to her looked at Chu Yue with a bewildered expression, filled with disbelief. She had been with Chu Yue since childhood and had never seen her County Princess look like this before! Where was the brave female hero who rode her steed across the plains? This was clearly a young woman who was in love!
Wei Tingyu was also a little surprised that this little wild horse had actually thanked him. But there was no expression on his face, for he knew that with this kind of girl, he had to play hard to get!
With that in mind, Wei Tingyu simply smiled faintly, which was his way of acknowledging her thanks, then he tried to walk around her and continue on his way.
"Hey!" Chu Yue had not expected that after her sincere apology, he would simply ignore her. She was immediately anxious! She didn't know why, but she just wanted to spend a little more time with Wei Tingyu, even if they just stood there without speaking, Chu Yue felt her heart was filled with a sweet joy!
So she quickly called out again, then continued to block Wei Tingyu's path.
"Um... calling you 'hey' on the street... that was wrong of me!" Not knowing what else to say, she actually took the initiative to admit her fault again. "I'm just too... too hot-tempered! Please don't be offended, Marquis!"
Upon hearing this, the maid next to Chu Yue's eyes widened even more, as if they were about to pop out of her sockets! She even began to wonder if her County Princess had been possessed by something unclean. Should I go back and tell the Duke right away so he can ask a Shaman to perform an exorcism for the County Princess?
The idea of the County Princess standing in front of a man, making such a demure posture and apologizing to him... The maid had always thought that such a thing was impossible! She would have dismissed it as a rumor.
Yet this scene was now truly happening right in front of her, and there was no way she could deny it!
"If this Marquis had truly been offended..." Wei Tingyu smiled helplessly at Chu Yue's demure posture. "You wouldn't have been able to say 'hey' at all!"
Chu Yue heard this, and her little eyes rolled around. She realized that what he said was the truth. She recalled the Censor's daughter's plight in the shop! Wei Tingyu had a way to make her speechless for an hour, too! And he didn't do it. Didn't that mean that his feelings for her were completely different from his feelings for that Censor's daughter?
"But why... Marquis, why did you help me just now?" Thinking this, the corners of Chu Yue's mouth couldn't help but turn up. She bravely looked up at Wei Tingyu and asked.
"Because I was in a good mood!" Wei Tingyu saw the little girl's expression and knew that she was close to taking the bait. Of course, he couldn't pull the rod just yet; he needed to cast an even more enticing lure!
"Oh! Is that so?!" Chu Yue was visibly disappointed by Wei Tingyu's answer. The smile on her face flattened. She had expected a different answer, perhaps that he had long admired the "jewel of the Xisha tribe" and had fallen for her at first sight. She had even mentally prepared herself for a declaration of love, but she never expected Wei Tingyu to change the subject and attribute the entire day's events to him being "in a good mood."
Although Chu Yue was disappointed, her beautiful eyes still stared unblinkingly at Wei Tingyu's face, as if she wanted to imprint his appearance onto her heart.
"Then what you said just now... about going to the palace to ask the Emperor for permission to duel Marquis Changqing..." Chu Yue suddenly asked, "Is that true?"
At this moment, she could hear the intense pounding of her own heart!
"Well..." Wei Tingyu knew he had to let this big fish bite the hook on its own! He smiled and winked, then slowly leaned his face closer, almost whispering into Chu Yue's ear, "What do you think?"
Chu Yue hadn't expected Wei Tingyu to be so intimate with her on the street, but she wasn't at all shy. She held her ground and didn't take a single step back! When his warm breath touched her ear and neck, her face only turned a slight shade of red.
But the ambiguous answer he gave made Chu Yue instantly unhappy!
What do I think? How am I supposed to guess?! If you don't tell me clearly, I won't let you leave today! Chu Yue's eyes suddenly hardened. I'm not afraid of anything. What haven't I done before? I don't care if people see us tugging and pulling on the street!
"Or perhaps the County Princess should ask herself?" Of course, Wei Tingyu couldn't be held back by this little wild horse's willful nature. He saw the look in her eyes and knew what she was thinking. He immediately smiled and whispered again, "Do you want me to really go? Or do you want me to have just said it?"
"I..." Chu Yue was stunned by this question. She never expected Wei Tingyu to turn the question back on her! And the problem was, she didn't have a correct answer in her heart!
Her mind was a tangled mess of different thoughts, and she couldn't sort out her own feelings! To say that she didn't want Wei Tingyu to go... was a lie! Even Chu Yue herself wouldn't believe that.