Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Seeing the clear interest on the faces of the surrounding madams, the abbot contentedly withdrew his gaze and turned to righteously glare at the Marquis of Ji’an. “Your Grace! Though you may be of noble rank and we are but humble monks, we cannot allow you to slander us so!”

He spoke with conviction, “We are merely too compassionate and kind-hearted. Seeing the furrowed brows of madams who come here to offer incense, we help alleviate their worries and troubles, nothing more!” The cloudless sky and radiant sunlight reflected off his cleanly shaven head, nearly blinding the Marquis of Ji’an. Even so, Xu Yanmiao could vouch for him.

[“What he says… isn’t entirely wrong. Many of the noble ladies who come to Jade Dragon Temple are indeed looking for someone to lend a sympathetic ear… or perhaps a sympathetic shoulder.”]

Several officials whose faces had already turned green thought: Do we look like we’re happy about this? So what? Just talking doesn’t count as cheating now? Who exactly is involved—someone, tell us! We want to know!

The unbothered officials discreetly glanced toward Xu Yanmiao as well.

We… we want to hear it!

The Marquis of Ji’an didn’t want to hear it!!!

The Marquis snapped.

“Beat them! Beat this pair of adulterers!”

The noblewoman’s clan seemed to be low on male offspring, with only a sparse few relatives present. Meanwhile, the Marquis of Ji’an had brought thirteen sturdy men. Seeing the imbalance in numbers, tension escalated.

—There were also bodyguards on both sides, but their strength appeared evenly matched. The Marquis’ eight sons, however, looked visibly torn, hesitant to act—after all, the woman in question was their mother!

Xu Yanmiao curiously wondered, [“Why are these eight fools just standing there? The Marquis isn’t even their biological father.”]

The eight “fools”: Oh!

Suddenly enlightened, they thundered across the scene like a herd of iron bulls, running over to stand protectively in front of their mother and glaring furiously at the Marquis. [“Very good,”] Xu Yanmiao commented thoughtfully. [“The bloodline is questionable, and now the offense-defense dynamic has shifted.”]

The emperor and his officials: “…”

At this point, shouting for a fight might have seemed too undignified. The Crown Prince slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “Hey! Why is no one acting yet?”

The emperor coughed, “Ahem!”

The Crown Prince continued, “Ah, they’re fighting now! Wow, they’re really going at it! But why are only the bodyguards fighting? What about the main participants? Shouldn’t they do something too? Or are they planning to hide behind soldiers on the battlefield as well?”

The emperor coughed louder, “Ahem, ahem!”

[“They’re probably afraid, considering it’s ten versus five now.”]

The emperor: “Cough-cough-cough!”

The Crown Prince: “Look at that guard! He’s using ‘Monkey Steals the Peach!’ That’s outrageous! The man on the receiving end looks so young—what if he can’t have children after this? That’d be tragic… Oh! That eye-poke counterattack was vicious! Ah! But he dodged it!”

The emperor began hacking violently, “Cough-cough-cough-cough!”

Xu Yanmiao perked up: [“‘Monkey Steals the Peach’? Where? Where?!”]

The emperor, now nearly choking: “Cough-cough-cough-cough!”

The Crown Prince, about to point: “It’s right—”

“Cough-cough-cough-cough-cough!”

The emperor’s tuberculosis-like coughing finally caught the attention of the onlookers. Both the Crown Prince and Xu Yanmiao turned their heads. The Crown Prince hesitated for a moment before reluctantly pulling a handful of melon seeds from his sleeve and offering them. “Want some?” РΆɴó𐌱ĚⱾ

The emperor glared.

Is this what I’m trying to say?

Taking the seeds anyway, the emperor cracked one open. “Ptui!” Spitting out the shell, he began critiquing the fight. “They’re not fighting nearly as well as I did in my day. Look at that one in gray—if I were in his position, I would…”

—

The Marquis of Ji’an roared angrily, “You bastards! Do you think I’ll fear you just because you’ve brought eight illegitimate brats?!”

“Attack—”

Something felt off. He turned his head and looked around.

Huh???

Where is everyone? Why is the area around him so empty?

Turning back, he saw that the brothers and cousins he had brought had all quietly stepped back, leaving a wide circle around him. The Marquis’ face turned dark. “What are you doing?! Attack!”

The brothers and cousins exchanged glances, then silently stepped back a few more paces.

Are you joking? There are way too many strong men on the other side!

The Marquis turned to his eldest brother, the only one who hadn’t moved, and cried out in dismay, “Big Brother! You’re my real brother!”

His eldest brother replied coldly, “Yes, I’m your real brother—not an idiot willing to die for you.”

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