“My brother will take responsibility!”
Jun Yaotiao truly had a gift for saying the most shocking things possible. The moment the words left her mouth, her neck was seized in a chokehold so tight she nearly stopped breathing—in short, she could no longer speak.
Situ Jing’er realized she’d encountered a troublemaker even more formidable than she herself had been as a child.
Playing dumb, playing innocent!
Both of them had been through enough to know better—she could see at a glance that Jun Yaotiao was neither foolish nor naive.
“Your brother can’t afford to take responsibility!” Situ Jing’er retorted without a hint of courtesy.
Jun Buli’s face turned completely dark. And infuriatingly, there was no way for him to respond to that—no way to push back.
If he said something like “who says I can’t afford it,” the matter would blow up even further.
Just then, Ziqing burst out laughing. “Situ Haonan, is our family really unable to afford this?”
Situ Haonan put on an exaggeratedly serious expression, clearing his throat with the air of a stern patriarch. “In my opinion, if this were true, your family really would need to take responsibility!”
“Father!” Situ Jing’er cried out furiously—what kind of father was this, whose side was he even on?
“So is it true or not, exactly?” Baili Xiaosheng asked eagerly. This whole group hadn’t gathered together in ages, and whenever they did, there was always good entertainment to be had—so lively.
Ziqing turned serious too, looking toward her own son, about to speak, but then noticed Jun Yaotiao in his arms, being yanked so hard she was nearly in tears.
She couldn’t help but laugh again. “Son, tell the truth—was it real or not, and what actually happened! She’s a young lady, you can’t just do as you please with her!”
Jun Buli, thoroughly infuriated by this point, blurted out, “She’s the one who bit me first—and I’m supposed to take responsibility?” The moment the words left his mouth, the room fell silent for the second time. Situ Jing’er’s face turned red enough to bleed, and no doubt her heart was bleeding right along with it.
Jun Buli, you absolute scoundrel!
The instant the words were out, Jun Buli regretted them so deeply his intestines practically turned green with regret. He was about to explain himself, but Situ Jing’er beat him to it.
“Fine, it’s true—I did bite him. On the butt.”
Situ Jing’er admitted it, but then continued with sudden earnestness, “Big Brother Buli, your little sister here was young and foolish back then. Don’t hold it against me, and please don’t go spreading it around—preserve your little sister’s good name. I’m all grown up now, and I still need to get married someday.”
At those words, Jun Buli found himself at a loss for words again. Yet for some inexplicable reason, he felt a faint pang of disappointment, a hollow sort of emptiness.
Big Brother?
Little sister?
It really was true, wasn’t it. Though she didn’t look particularly young, she was indeed six or seven years his junior.
With Situ Jing’er putting it this way, there was no longer any reason to pursue the matter further. Everyone reached a peaceful resolution, and that was that.
A flicker of admiration crossed Ziqing’s eyes. This girl was truly clever—with one “Big Brother” and one “your little sister here,” she’d completely defused the awkwardness.
A little sister biting her big brother was perfectly normal, after all—nothing to make a fuss over.
But what made her even more clever was that, while excusing herself, she’d also managed to needle Jun Buli a little in the process.
How could Jun Buli possibly go around telling everyone about this? Who knew how Jun Yaotiao had even found out in the first place!
With Situ Jing’er putting it this way, it made Jun Buli look rather petty and small-minded, didn’t it?
And infuriatingly, Jun Buli had no room left to argue the point—arguing further would only make him look even more small-minded, more petty than a woman.
Watching her son thoroughly subdued by a girl several years his junior, Ziqing, as his mother, couldn’t help feeling a strange sort of delight. A thought couldn’t help but surface in her mind—wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a daughter-in-law like this?
But Ziqing had no idea that, at that very moment, a pair of blood-red eyes on the rooftop were fixed on her and Jun Yaotiao, brimming with disdain and hatred.
Li Qinqin had just arrived and happened to witness this whole farce. She hadn’t even known Jun Buli was capable of looking so flustered and red-faced.
Situ Jing’er—heh, how time flew. This troublesome girl had grown up too.
A flash of arrogant disdain crossed Li Qinqin’s eyes, her gaze flickering back and forth between Situ Jing’er and Jun Yaotiao before finally settling on Jun Yaotiao, locking onto her.
There. That was the one.
Compared to Situ Jing’er’s laxative prank from years ago, this troublesome Jun Yaotiao infuriated her far more.
Jun Buli—if you won’t give this old lady her rightful supreme privilege, then don’t blame this old lady for showing no mercy.
Inside, with Situ Jing’er’s little speech, the joke had been explained away and resolved. Though Jun Buli was a hundred, a thousand times unwilling, he still said flatly, “Sister Jing’er has misunderstood. I won’t tell anyone. Today was an accident—I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine!” Situ Jing’er’s lips curved into a smile. She’d won!
At this moment, her small face was flushed pink, her smile radiant, her lively and spirited demeanor now carrying an added touch of delicate beauty. Jun Buli’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment before he abruptly, almost hastily, looked away, seeming somewhat flustered, as if afraid Situ Jing’er might notice.
“Alright, alright, where’s my big gift!” Baili Xiaosheng began demanding her present.
Situ Jing’er kicked open the crate sitting on the floor, revealing a pure white-furred Xijing wild wolf lying quietly inside.
At the sight, Baili Xiaosheng couldn’t help but gasp sharply—she never would have guessed it would be a Xijing white wolf!
This was an extraordinarily noble breed—among tens of thousands of Xijing wild wolves, not even one such specimen might emerge!
The wolf’s eyes were bright and clear, its fur pristine and white as snow, without a single stray hair of any other color anywhere on its body. It lay quietly in the crate, and facing everyone’s stunned gazes, showed no trace of alarm—instead, it looked every bit like a noble king accepting the reverent gazes of its subjects.
“Amazing!” Baili Xiaosheng couldn’t help but exclaim.
Situ Jing’er looked proud. “I told you it was a big gift. Well, are you taking it or not? If not, I’m taking it back!”
“I’ll take it!” Baili Xiaosheng said hurriedly, immediately crouching down and reaching out carefully. The white wolf, seemingly extraordinarily well-trained, showed no resistance at all to its new owner.
Before Baili Xiaosheng’s hand even reached its head, the wolf leaned in on its own, nuzzling gently against her fingers.
The white wolf was a rare breed known for being uniquely gentle toward its owner while being especially vicious toward enemies.
It wasn’t only Situ Jing’er’s gift that left Baili Xiaosheng astonished—everyone else’s gifts were equally rare treasures. Ziqing’s gift in particular caused the whole room to gasp—she produced a tiger tally.
This was a tiger tally unique to the Da Zhou military, and judging by its shape, it was specifically for the troops stationed in Nanzhao!
Baili Xiaosheng was overjoyed, clutching it in her palm, eager to share it with Guxi right away. If Auntie Ziqing was handing over the tiger tally, it meant that control of the Nanzhao army in the future would rest in their hands—in other words, they would essentially become half the masters of Nanzhao. They could even use this authority to build up a poison army straight out of Duku!
Seeing Baili Xiaosheng’s obvious joy, Ziqing said with a smile, “Girl, a bride has plenty to keep busy with. Don’t stand on ceremony with us—go on and help Guxi. Otherwise, as your elder, I’ll worry about you.”
Baili Xiaosheng nodded, a little embarrassed, greeted everyone, and left.
Getting married truly did involve a great deal to attend to—a bride never had a moment’s rest. Even fitting a single dress could take a full day. Ziqing had been through all of this herself.
In that most beautiful dream A’Li had once woven for her, she had experienced all of it.
She couldn’t help it—unbidden, she found herself reminiscing. So many years had passed, yet that man never seemed to have truly gone far. Their parting felt as if it had happened only yesterday, and the endless longing seemed to have only just begun.
Ziqing gave a light sniff and said quietly, “That infuriating scholar—still hasn’t come?”