Below the Sky Canopy, in Wuchang City, at the Marshal's Mansion.
Hearing that Su Yu was too embarrassed to see Yin Ning because of the scar on his face, Su Lei burst into laughter again. He said to Wen Changrong, his voice full of obvious teasing:
"I never thought that after getting married to Her Highness the Princess, this kid would become so vain! When he gets back from Jingshi this time, I'm going to make sure to mock him properly. He's always putting on airs in front of me, pretending to be cool, but he can't even squeeze out a fart when it matters!"
Wen Changrong gave Su Lei a helpless look and said, "Is it possible that he's not putting on airs, but simply doesn't want to talk to you? And speaking of vanity, you weren't any better than him in the past!"
Wen Changrong said disdainfully, "I still remember when you first met your wife, you even stole my clothes to wear, saying you wanted to look like a refined man, afraid that your rough demeanor would scare her off!"
Su Lei's deceased wife, Ruan Mingzhen, came from a scholarly family. Her father had opened the only private school in Wuchang City. Su Lei had accidentally seen Ruan Mingzhen outside the school back then and fallen in love at first sight.
Hearing Wen Changrong's complaint, Su Lei looked confused: "Old Wen, are you getting senile? When did I ever steal your clothes? Those flimsy clothes of yours are nowhere near as comfortable as my own!"
Seeing Su Lei shamelessly denying the obvious, Wen Changrong sneered in anger: "Fine, I'm senile. So that favorite blue shirt of mine—I wonder which rat chewed through the sleeve back then, leaving a big tear that I had to stitch up myself, thread by thread!"
"Oh, Old Wen, that was so many years ago! Why do you keep bringing up old grudges? And besides, didn't I buy you two new sets of clothes later?"
"Hmph, don't flatter yourself. That was clearly Sister-in-law who, after finding out, made you compensate me!"
Wen Changrong even rolled his eyes at Su Lei. Su Lei rubbed his nose and chuckled: "What Sister-in-law means, that's what I mean. We're husband and wife, no need to separate things. It's all the same!"
"Bah! Don't insult Sister-in-law. She's not as shameless as you!"
"Oh, Old Wen, what's wrong with you? Weren't we just talking about Su Yu? Why are you now targeting me? Aren't you curious how Su Yu would answer the Princess's question?"
Seeing Wen Changrong suddenly go silent after his words, Su Lei pressed on: "Why aren't you saying anything? Don't keep it to yourself!"
Wen Changrong: "...Maybe silence is my answer."
"Oh, you think Su Yu might keep quiet, right?" Su Lei stroked his chin. "Hey, you know what? That kid does tend to clam up when he doesn't know how to answer."
Wen Changrong: "..."
Wen Changrong could almost laugh in exasperation at Su Lei's self-dialogue and his way of finding a way out for himself. But Su Lei's guess about Su Yu's reaction did hit the mark.
Of course, Su Lei wasn't the only one curious about Su Yu's response. But unlike Su Lei, who could speak freely in the Marshal's Mansion, Luo Chuan, under Su Yu's gag order, was sitting restlessly in a tea shed, fidgeting as if he had needles in his seat, constantly making exaggerated expressions at Zheng Jin beside him.
Although Zheng Jin was also surprised that Su Yu would be afraid to see Emperor Jingwu because of his disfigurement, seeing Luo Chuan's vivid gossiping expression, he couldn't help but feel Luo Chuan deserved a beating.
And if even Zheng Jin felt that way, Su Yu, as the person involved, naturally found Luo Chuan infuriating to the extreme. If not for the fact that they were only a third of the distance from Jingshi, Su Yu would have almost kicked Luo Chuan back to Wuchang City.
Of course, what Su Yu wished for even more at that moment was for Liu Sanqi on the Sky Canopy to hurry up and end the livestream.
However, Liu Sanqi's next words on the Sky Canopy instantly grabbed his attention.
"I know, because of Emperor Jingwu's extraordinary charm, besides the official CP of Su Yu, many fans also heavily ship Emperor Jingwu with others from the same period, believing that those are true love."
"As for the marriage between Emperor Jingwu and Su Yu, they think it's just a political marriage based on interests, not a true soulmate bond that transcends reality."
"I am not Emperor Jingwu or Su Yu, so of course I can't really know what's in their hearts."
"But I also find it hard to agree with the claim that there was no affection between Emperor Jingwu and Su Yu."
Below the Sky Canopy, Su Yu's gaze seemed calm as he looked at the Sky Canopy, apparently unmoved by Liu Sanqi's words. But the thumb and index finger of his left hand, which was resting lightly on the table, kept unconsciously rubbing against each other.
Liu Sanqi's voice from the Sky Canopy was still clear and distinct:
"In my view, Emperor Jingwu, who could say such words to Su Yu on the eve of the coronation ceremony, was clearly waiting for him to return to the capital."
"Moreover, even after a scar crossed Su Yu's entire face, she still chose him as her prince consort and didn't replace him."
"Not to mention, as everyone knows, Emperor Jingwu, as a monarch, had only one prince consort in her harem from beginning to end."
"If, in the early years of Emperor Jingwu's reign, she might have been afraid of falling out with Su Yu because he held military power and so didn't add anyone to her harem, then in the middle and later periods of her reign, no one in the court could shake her throne, yet she still never held a large-scale selection for the harem."
"We don't need to doubt Emperor Jingwu's personal charm. After all, historical records clearly describe her eyebrows as kingfisher feathers, her countenance as clear moonlight, as if she were a fairy from Mount Guye!"
"Even before she ascended the throne, she was a renowned beauty in the capital!"
Below the Sky Canopy, in the palace, Yin Ning didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about Liu Sanqi's praise of her appearance. After all, the 007 System had previously revealed to her that the reason it had chosen her to bind the Palace Intrigue System was that, according to its detection, Yin Ning's looks far exceeded ordinary people, giving her an advantage in completing palace intrigue tasks.
Emperor Jingming and Empress Xu were also not surprised by Liu Sanqi's description of Yin Ning's appearance. In their eyes, Yin Ning had been the most beautiful child in the palace since she was little. Emperor Jingming's obvious partiality toward Yin Ning in the past was partly because she was his youngest daughter and partly because of her looks.
Being a lookist is a human nature from ancient times to the present; people always tend to be softer toward those who are good-looking.
On the Sky Canopy, Liu Sanqi's tone was full of confidence and certainty:
"Based on my years of experience surfing the internet, a natural beauty like Emperor Jingwu, even as she aged, would definitely not become ugly. Instead, her aura would become even more unique!"
"So, the fact that Emperor Jingwu chose to be with her prince consort Su Yu for a lifetime, one man and one woman, definitely indicates that she had feelings for Su Yu!"
"As for Su Yu, the more I learn about him, the less I doubt his feelings for Emperor Jingwu."
"Let me analyze with a piece of historical material that you might not have heard of."
"I don't know if you remember, but about two years ago, some media reported the discovery of an ancient tomb from the Great Jing Dynasty at a construction site."
"And I happened to come across a research report published last month by the archaeological team that excavated that tomb."
"Because it was a tomb from Emperor Jingwu's period, I specifically ordered a copy of the book online."
"Before buying the book, I didn't read much about it. So when I opened it and found that the tomb owner had been an imperial guard in Emperor Jingwu's palace, I was naturally thrilled."
"What surprised me even more was that this imperial guard, named Tang Zhiyuan, had many of his diaries buried in his tomb."
"Although many diary entries were damaged by time, thanks to the meticulous research of the archaeological team and the assistance of advanced technology, the contents of these diaries were perfectly restored."
Below the Sky Canopy, in Jingshi, at the Tang family.
Tang Zhiyuan, only 15 years old this year, felt as if struck by lightning. His only thought at that moment was to beg Heaven to protect him! He must not be the 'Tang Zhiyuan' that Liu Sanqi mentioned on the Sky Canopy!
Having his tomb dug up by descendants was a minor matter, but the existence of those diaries—that was truly something that could not see the light of day!