ebookland Chapter 469 Rumors in the Capital: Truth and Falsehood
Chapter 469 Rumors in the Capital: Truth and Falsehood
Back in the greenhouse, Renran Dan looked at Wenwen expectantly, "So? What did your father, my uncle, say?"
Wenwen replied with a smile, "Like I said, there are plenty of handsome young men in the military camp, so pick one."
"Haha, what a great 'pick whatever you want' offer!"
"Are you satisfied with Uncle's answer?"
The sisters started joking with each other.
We chatted until late at night before everyone went to sleep.
The next day, just after dawn, Master Zhou and Yao Changhao arrived at the Wen residence. The two of them, along with Wen Qikang, were responsible for taking a few children to the clan school and also saw everyone off.
Whether it was Wen Qilin and his group heading to the northern desert, or Wen Wen who was about to embark on a journey, they all saw them off together.
Everyone had already said what they were told before leaving, but before leaving, Wenwen still hugged her grandmother and whispered, "Grandmother, take good care of yourself at home. Wenwen will go out and find lots of medicinal herbs for everyone to bring home. Don't worry, Grandmother."
She also exchanged a few heartfelt words with Madam Ren, saying, "Mother, don't worry about me too much while you're at home!"
I couldn't show favoritism, so I said goodbye to my second and third aunts, my eldest and youngest aunts, and a group of sisters.
With their families watching them go, the group left the city before dawn.
After traveling more than ten miles outside the city, they split into two groups: one heading towards the school, and the other continuing north.
Before parting, the children surrounded Wenwen, extremely reluctant to leave.
Wen Chengyu, fighting back tears, choked out, "Sister, be careful out there. Your brother is waiting for you at home. Please come back soon..."
Wen Qing and Zhou Ruirui burst into tears, "Sister, we promise to cultivate diligently, and please take us with you next time you go out..."
"Sister, hurry home, your brothers will work hard to cultivate..."
Master Zhou and Yao Changhao also urged her to be careful in everything she did.
The group parted ways at the fork in the road.
Wenwen watched her younger siblings head towards the Zhou family academy until they were just a few black dots in sight. Then Wen Qilin led his guards and the rest of the group towards the northern desert.
......
The backyard of the Wen family mansion.
The women of the Wen family gathered in a group, chatting idly.
Madam Wei: "Sister-in-law, shouldn't we start preparing Xia'er and Yi'er's dowries?"
Madam Ye: "There's no rush with Yi'er's. We can prepare after her father and in-laws finalize the date. Let's focus on preparing Xia'er's first, and there's also Cheng Jian's betrothal gift!"
Grandmother Wen suddenly remarked with a touch of melancholy, "With each marriage, the house has become increasingly desolate. Alas!"
Once the Lantern Festival was over, the mansion suddenly became quieter, with more than a dozen people missing. The usually bustling Wen mansion was suddenly quiet, which was quite unsettling.
Madam Ye comforted her at the right moment: "Mother, think about it more deeply. Eldest son's wedding is a joyous occasion with the addition of a new member to the family. And there will be Second Son and Third Son in the future!"
Madam Wei: "That's right, we still have several younger ones in our family! In the future, we will definitely be a large and prosperous family. Mother, you just need to focus on your cultivation and live to be several hundred years old. Who knows how lively it will be then!"
Mrs. Ye: "Just because of this lively atmosphere, Mother is determined to lead us forward!"
Grandma Wen burst out laughing: "Good heavens! To live to be hundreds of years old, you guys really have wild imaginations!"
"Hahaha."
The three daughters-in-law exchanged glances and laughed.
"Wen'er said that everyone should have dreams, what if they come true, right!"
"Exactly, what if it comes true? So, we still need to make time for cultivation."
......
On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, after noon, a piece of news circulated throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, two men were seen admiring the lanterns together on a rooftop in front of the tower, which sparked two different opinions among busybodies in Beijing.
The opposing side criticized the act as morally offensive, arguing that it was clearly indecent for two men to be embracing and standing so close to the lanterns on the roof. They hoped the authorities would arrest the two men as a warning to others and prevent them from corrupting the atmosphere of the capital.
The affirmative side actually supports this behavior, raising a question: Who says that someone dressed in men's clothing is necessarily a man? What if one of them is a woman dressed as a man? Then, this is a man taking his beloved to enjoy the lanterns on the rooftop, how romantic is that?
Moreover, the man was also highly skilled in martial arts, which made the ladies of prominent families in the capital extremely envious.
These young ladies from wealthy families, with their hearts set on the strong, all voted in favor of the couple's lantern-viewing activity.
The cacophony of arguments between the two sides filled the lobby of the teahouse in the capital.
Today, the Wen sisters were assigned tasks by their elders to go out and buy necessities for the household. While resting, they went into a teahouse and overheard these remarks.
The four Wenxia sisters, the Yao Maimai sisters, and the Renran Dan sisters, a total of eight girls, were resting in a private room on the second floor, along with several maids and servants.
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Luckily, they knew the whole story; otherwise, based on what the people below were saying, they could have imagined a whole drama unfolding.
Some people confidently speculated, adding fuel to the fire, that the reason these two lovers were unwilling to show their true faces was entirely due to their families' opposition. Therefore, they had no choice but to evade their families' obstruction and wander the world. The woman must be the daughter of a high-ranking official, who had no choice but to disguise herself as a man and follow the man on his wanderings, thus composing a touching and moving love story between lovers in the world of martial arts!
The person in the restaurant, Zhengfang, started thinking outside the box and came to the conclusion that she should find a husband who is skilled in martial arts. Even if they are separated for long periods of time, at least they can still enjoy a romantic rooftop lantern viewing during festivals!
Wen Chengjian, who was galloping on horseback, had no idea that his heroic act on the night of the Lantern Festival had caused matchmakers to wear down the threshold of his house.
The girls in the private room, after hearing these baseless speculations, found them amusing, but also felt a faint sense of anticipation rising in their hearts.
"Bamboo has such a good life, I envy her!"
Yao Maimai looked on with envy and a dazed expression, grinning widely. Suddenly, her expression changed, and she slammed her hand on the table excitedly, saying, "Hmph, no one will take me to the roof. When my cultivation level improves, I'll jump up there myself!"
"Damn it, tell me, isn't it infuriating? I'm a beautiful young woman, and I've been back in the capital for so long, why hasn't anyone come to my house to propose marriage? I have a name and reputation!"
As soon as he said that, the group of girls burst into laughter.
Well, the fact that it has a nose and eyes has become a running joke among these girls.
Then came a chorus of taunts.
"MaiMai, your big eyes and small nose are just perfect!"
"MaiMai, put yourself in his shoes. If your husband won't take you to the rooftop, you can take him, right?"
"That's right! Nobody says it has to be a guy who takes the lead. If you're capable, taking the lead is no problem at all, and it'll make your girlfriends look good too!"
Yao Maimai: "......" You guys are really good at comforting people, no wonder you're a bunch of bad friends!
The group laughed and joked in the private room for a while before leaving.
Not long after 3 PM, the talk about the roof in the teahouse lobby gradually subsided, and a rumor quietly spread from the second floor.