What had happened here quickly reached Sima Dao’s ears.

He rushed over with his men and was immediately met with the sight of two bare bodies.

“Father.” Sima Pingting looked at Sima Dao as if she had seen her savior.

“Who are you calling father? Shameless thing!” Sima Dao’s face darkened as he imagined the mocking and scornful gazes that awaited him.

He quickly found some clothes to cover the two.

At this moment, the scholar had regained some strength and managed to retreat.

As soon as he got out, he snatched Sima Pingting’s clothes and fled in panic.

Sima Pingting was left completely exposed in front of everyone.

“Ah! Close your filthy eyes!”

She scrambled to find a piece of clothing, barely covering herself.

The guards who had followed soon cleared out all the onlookers from the courtyard.

Sima Pingting roared, “Father, kill them all!”

Those people had been looking at her with disgusting gazes.

If they were all dead, no one would be able to spread the news.

Sima Dao’s hands trembled, and he slapped Sima Pingting across the face.

“You disgraceful woman!” He almost spat out the words through gritted teeth.

Sima Pingting covered her cheek in disbelief. “Father, you… You actually hit me?”

At that moment, Sima Dao’s wife, Zhao Yue, arrived.

“Ting’er!” She rushed to her daughter, crying.

She had known her daughter kept a lover, but she had never imagined things would escalate to such a public scandal.

Sima Dao pointed at Zhao Yue furiously. “Look at the kind of daughter you raised! I’ve lost all my face!”

He dreaded the thought of facing the court officials tomorrow.

Especially because, just now, he had spotted the Grand Duke and Zheng Guang in the crowd.

Neither of those two were good people.

This was no longer something he could cover up.

..

Meanwhile, Jiang Yuanxi was riding a turtle through the streets, stopping to ask everyone she saw:

“Uncle, what is ‘Die Die Le’?”

The townspeople exchanged amused glances. “Little girl, where did you hear that term?”

Jiang Yuanxi pointed ahead. “In that alley. A kind old lady told me.”

Someone chimed in, “Oh yes, I just saw some soldiers going in there.”

Another curious bystander asked, “Little girl, do you know who was playing ‘Die Die Le’?”

Jiang Yuanxi eagerly raised her hand. “I know! It was Sima Pingting!”

By midday, the entire city was buzzing with the scandal—Sima Pingting had been caught keeping a secret lover outside.

Jiang Yuanxi, still riding her turtle, unknowingly became the source that spread the news far and wide.

Seeing the trouble successfully pinned on their rival, Jiang Yuancheng was thrilled and declared, “This young master is treating everyone to a meal today!”

..

A short while later, they were seated at a noodle shop.

Wang Hanqi poked at his bowl of noodles. “So this is the meal you’re treating us to?”

The soup was clear, thin, and had no meat—just a few floating chives.

Zheng Yu also hesitated to eat. Plain soup noodles? Too stingy.

The famous Fourth Young Master of the Jiang family turned out to be this frugal?

Jiang Yuancheng grinned, then placed a bowl full of minced meat noodles in front of his little sister, Jiang Yuanxi.

“The best flavors come from simple noodle soup,” he said with a straight face.

Wang Hanqi pointed at Jiang Yuanxi’s bowl. “Then why does hers look different?”

Jiang Yuancheng replied as if it was obvious, “Of course it’s different. Yuanxi is still growing.”

Wang Hanqi: …

After a long morning of running around, they were all tired.

And despite the lack of meat, the plain noodles tasted surprisingly delicious.

For someone like Wang Hanqi, who was used to luxurious feasts, even roadside food seemed flavorful today.

..

Meanwhile, inside the palace, the Emperor and the Crown Prince laughed so hard they could barely stand after hearing the report.

“You mean that little girl took a group of people to catch an affair in the act?”

“How come I don’t have such a clever child?” The Emperor chuckled.

Even though he knew Jiang Yuanxi was only helping her brother, it still felt satisfying to see Sima Dao embarrassed.

The Crown Prince glanced at his father wordlessly, feeling the unfair favoritism.

The Emperor suddenly sighed wistfully. “I should have another adorable little princess like her.”

The Crown Prince replied without hesitation, “Father, that’s impossible.”

The Emperor frowned. “What do you mean?”

The Crown Prince calmly said, “Yuanxi already predicted it. If you and Mother have more children, they will all be sons. Three of them.”

The Emperor’s laughter abruptly stopped.

“… Get out!” He was suddenly annoyed at his son.

The Crown Prince smirked as he stood up, but just as he took a step, he felt momentarily dizzy.

It passed in an instant, so he didn’t think much of it.

After the Crown Prince left, the Emperor mused aloud,

“Cao Cheng, tell me, which of my sons is worthy of Yuanxi?”

Cao Cheng hesitated. “But, Your Majesty, didn’t you already enter Princess Xihe into the royal records?”

Being in the records meant she was officially recognized as a royal princess—making her the Crown Prince’s legitimate sister.

The Emperor waved it off. “Yuanxi earned her title herself. I didn’t just give it to her. Besides, she isn’t related by blood to any of my sons. If she marries into the family, wouldn’t that just strengthen our ties?”

Cao Cheng nodded. “Back when Jiangnan was flooded, Chen Xinwan donated a large sum of money under the title of ‘princess.’”

“I also heard she opened a shelter in Shengjing, taking in many homeless children. She even hired teachers to educate them. Now, almost all of Shengjing’s street children are under her care.”

The Emperor nodded in approval. Such good deeds should be rewarded.

“Cao Cheng, draft an imperial decree.”

..

At the Jiang household, Chen Xinwan was still in shock as she held the decree.

How had she suddenly become an imperial noblewoman?

Madam Chen hugged her daughter, overwhelmed with emotion.

At such a young age, she was now the only woman in Shengjing to hold this honor.

Spring Branch and Spring Peach, the two maids, nearly jumped with joy.

“See? That An Guogong Manor was a den of vipers! The lady has only been gone a few years, and now she’s an esteemed noblewoman!”

An Guogong must be rolling in his grave with rage.

Master Chen carefully examined every word on the decree, still in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Autumn and Tao, the sisters-in-law, discreetly pulled out silver notes worth one hundred taels each and handed them to the eunuch Cao Gonggong.

Having experienced this before, Cao Gonggong accepted them without hesitation.

The Jiang and Chen families were truly generous.

With a beaming smile, he said, “In that case, I shall return to the palace to report back.”

Chen Xinwan finally came back to her senses.

“Sisters-in-law, you really shouldn’t have spent so much.”

Autumn and Tao took her hands with a smile. “We’re family. No need to be so formal.”

Years ago, they had been powerless to help her during her suffering in An Guogong Manor.

Now, seeing her thrive independently, they were overjoyed.

Madam Chen suddenly clapped her hands. “Go to the barracks and summon Fengyuan and the others home. Tonight, I will personally cook.”

Chun Zhi and Chun Tao cheered.

“Mother, why didn’t you cook for us back in Liangzhou?” Tao teased.

Madam Chen scoffed. “If you earn an imperial title, I’ll cook for you every day.”

Tao sighed dramatically. “Ah, then I guess I’ll never taste your cooking. I’m not as good at giving birth as Xinwan.”

Madam Chen playfully smacked her. “Enough joking! Go wash your hands and help me in the kitchen.”

“Yes, Mother!”