Unintentional Surprise (GL) - Chapter 8
Since that banquet at the Prime Minister’s residence, life at the “Fuxian Lingyin Pavilion” had been calm and leisurely, nearly half a month had passed in the blink of an eye.
Wen Dinglan had been holed up in her room the entire time—refusing guests, avoiding outings—and instead, spent her days staring blankly at her beloved zither with a broken string, bored out of her mind.
Dong Qing, as usual, would drop by from time to time to help tidy up her room and tie up the tangled hair atop her head—
She also brought gossip and rumors from the outside world.
Most of it was trivial: things like the Prime Minister’s grandson Che Kuiyuan purchasing a new Ferghana horse, or a great fire breaking out in the courtyard of the esteemed Noble Consort in the emperor’s harem…
It made little difference whether Wen Dinglan heard these tales or not—none of it piqued her interest.
She’d rather go feed the cats in the courtyard.
Dong Qing came again today. Wen Dinglan yawned, already planning to take another nap after enduring today’s round of dull stories.
Dong Qing looked utterly thrilled.
She had brought something explosive. Wen Dinglan’s nap was doomed.
“My lady!” Dong Qing’s startled exclamation didn’t even faze Wen Dinglan anymore—she was used to the girl’s dramatics.
Dong Qing excitedly pounced onto Wen Dinglan’s bed, squeezing in beside her.
The dust in the room could wait. The tangled hair? Later.
There was something urgent she needed to ask:
“My lady! Tell me—why did you change the music that day? And even danced, of all things? Was it because you already knew you were going to do a ‘beauty saves the hero’ act, right?”
“What are you talking about?” Wen Dinglan was baffled by the sudden questioning.
Her gaze accidentally landed on the zither with the broken string, and only then did she recall what incident Dong Qing must be referring to.
“Still playing dumb with me?” Dong Qing’s voice rose so loudly that it startled the eavesdropping birds in the courtyard into flight.
“…” Wen Dinglan had no choice but to face the matter head-on. “How did you find out?”
“How didn’t I? The whole capital knows! From officials to commoners, everyone’s heard. If Jiang Shunyao hadn’t gone to the Court of Judicial Review to beat the drum and declare her grievance, exposing the truth, were you planning to keep lying to me?” Dong Qing scolded her.
Wen Dinglan’s previously indifferent mood began to stir, and she sat up on the bed: “She solved the case?”
That fast? She solved it already?
She had worried that Jiang Shunyao, with her shy and timid demeanor, might be too soft and hesitant.
But now it was Wen Dinglan who couldn’t sit still. She urged Dong Qing to hurry and speak:
“How did she solve it? Who was trying to harm her? And what did the emperor decree?”
Dong Qing was being shaken so hard she felt dizzy. She had completely underestimated how much Wen Dinglan cared about Jiang Shunyao:
“My lady, stop shaking me! I’ll tell you, alright?”
Wen Dinglan relented, but didn’t let go of Dong Qing’s arm.
“The top scholar, dressed in the crimson robes bestowed by the emperor, with a black crown and a qilin-embroidered belt, walked on foot from his own residence all the way to the gates of the Court of Judicial Review.” Dong Qing teased, knowing full well that Wen Dinglan’s “concern” was far from ordinary.
“That ostentatious?”
Wearing imperial-bestowed robes, and walking the whole way?
Clearly wanted everyone to see.
“And that’s just the beginning!” Dong Qing was excited, as if she’d witnessed it all herself. “Jiang Shunyao beat the grievance drum for a full half hour!”
“The Chief Justice didn’t show up?” Wen Dinglan was beginning to regret not leaving the house these past few days.
“He did, of course he did!” Dong Qing gripped Wen Dinglan’s hand in return. “Jiang Shunyao was just making sure it was dramatic enough! She kept beating that drum for an hour, just to attract the emperor’s attention!”
“The emperor actually went to the Court of Judicial Review?” Things had escalated so much—Wen Dinglan was desperate to know how Jiang Shunyao handled it all.
“He did. More than anyone could’ve expected. The emperor truly favors this newly appointed top scholar!”
The emperor personally listened to the case. A judgment handed down by the Son of Heaven himself—
Ensuring that the innocent would not suffer unjustly;
And that the guilty could no longer escape justice.
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