On the streets of Anning in Wudu (Wu Capital), a young girl in a long dress strolled alone.
As she looked at the various shops around her and the shameless courtesans enticing customers, she frowned deeply.
“This place isn’t any different from our Chu Kingdom. It’s not even as grand as our imperial capital,” Tang Ningzhi commented with dissatisfaction.
In her view, her own dynasty was the greatest among the ten major human kingdoms. This kingdom, which had only been established for 300 years, lacked any real heritage—it was nothing more than an upstart.
To be honest, Tang Ningzhi could hardly imagine what it would be like if she actually had to marry into this place. She found it utterly unappealing.
Fortunately, she wouldn’t have to. This was merely a matter of political maneuvering.
Even so, she knew that marrying Xu Ming was inevitable.
Thinking of him, Tang Ningzhi didn’t find him particularly disagreeable. He was tall, his features were rather handsome, and given his current renown across the land, it was no surprise that so many women admired him.
But what truly irked her was the way he had looked at her with wariness when she fought Wu Yanhan, as if he was ready to intervene the moment anything happened to her.
The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became.
She knew full well that Xu Ming and Wu Yanhan had always had a somewhat ambiguous relationship.
She also understood that she had never had any prior connection with Xu Ming before this engagement.
But no matter how she reasoned with herself, she couldn’t shake the displeasure in her heart.
After all, whether or not the Chu Kingdom allied with the Wu Kingdom through marriage was irrelevant to her. But at the end of the day, she was the one who would have to marry this man—one who was already entangled with another woman.
Tang Ningzhi sighed. She just wanted to return and rest, waiting for the plan to unfold.
She didn’t even want to leave the embassy again.
Yet Mr. Liu had insisted that she explore the imperial capital, to familiarize herself with the city, which only frustrated her further.
“Miss, would you like to have some tea and listen to storytelling?”
As Tang Ningzhi passed by a teahouse, a waiter at the entrance greeted passersby with a respectful smile.
She glanced up at the sign: Green Leaf Teahouse.
Feeling somewhat tired from walking, she decided to take a break and stepped inside.
“The second floor is open for you, Miss. Our best storyteller is performing there right now. And the story he’s telling today is an adaptation of some of Lord Xu’s great deeds, based on popular tales.”
Tang Ningzhi raised an eyebrow. “Are you talking about Xu Ming?”
“Oh, you must be from out of town, Miss! Here in our Wu Kingdom, when we say ‘Lord Xu,’ there’s only one person we mean—our top scholar, Lord Xu himself.”
As he spoke of Wu Kingdom’s esteemed Zhuangyuan Lang (top scholar), the waiter’s eyes gleamed with pride.
Tang Ningzhi found this amusing.
“Alright then. I’ll go up and hear how your storyteller portrays this so-called Zhuangyuan Lang.”
Lifting the hem of her skirt, she ascended the stairs.
The second floor was spacious. She casually chose a seat and sat down.
She ordered two plates of osmanthus cakes and a jug of Wu Kingdom’s famous Pear Blossom Wine.
Despite its elegant name, Pear Blossom Wine was actually one of the strongest liquors in the world, widely favored by military men across various nations.
Soon, the waiter brought over the refreshments, and the storyteller stepped forward to begin his tale.
Beside the storyteller stood a young woman.
She had a striking beauty—so much so that even Tang Ningzhi had to admit she was quite exceptional.
However, the woman kept her eyes closed as if she could not see, likely someone who was blind.
The elderly storyteller sat at the front, rhythmically clapping his wooden clappers, while the woman beside him held a pipa in her hands.
“Today, we will tell the tale of our esteemed Zhuangyuan Lang (Top Scholar), Lord Xu Ming, and his deeds in the Northern Sea.
Not long ago, our Zhuangyuan Lang was sent as an envoy to the Northern Sea. And what kind of place is the Northern Sea? It is one of the Four Seas!
The people of the Northern Sea have never thought much of us humans, looking down upon us.
Especially their Eternal Dragon Empress—she has held the top spot on the Beauty Rankings for ten thousand years, and her strength ranks among the top ten in the world.
Yet, during the recent Four Seas Grand Ceremony…”
The storyteller’s voice, firm and powerful, filled the teahouse.
The audience listened with rapt attention, sipping tea and nibbling on pastries.
Whenever the story reached a climactic moment, the blind woman would strum her pipa, adding to the dramatic effect.
The tale being told was of Xu Ming’s diplomatic mission to the Northern Sea and the unexpected crisis that erupted during the Four Seas Grand Ceremony—how he turned the tide in the face of disaster.
As Xu Ming listened from the side, he began to feel that something was off.
After all, the incident where he had saved the Dragon Empress was something only she and a few of her personal attendants knew about.
So how had this story gotten out?
And not only was it being told, but the storyteller was vividly painting a picture of how Xu Ming had rescued the Dragon Empress from danger, the two of them standing side by side against powerful foes—portraying an unspoken bond between them, a mix of admiration and romance.
Even though the storyteller never explicitly stated that there was anything between them, in the minds of the audience, there was already a certain level of intrigue.
On top of that, the reason Xu Ming had remained in the Northern Sea for a few days was now being spun into a tale of how he had developed feelings for the Dragon Empress.
There were even hints that something intimate had happened between them during his stay in the Dragon Palace.
The truth was, his time in the Dragon Palace had indeed been filled with some ambiguous moments with the Four Seas Dragon Clan.
But these matters should never have been made public.
Which meant there was only one possibility—
The Northern Sea must have deliberately leaked this information, allowing it to spread through the mouths of storytellers.
“Great… just what I needed…”
Xu Ming rubbed his temples, realizing this was trouble.
Even though this was just a storyteller embellishing the truth, he didn’t need to think twice—this rumor would spread like wildfire through every teahouse before long.
And then he’d have to explain himself to Yanhan again.
Meanwhile, in a seat by the window, Tang Ningzhi let out a cold scoff.
So it’s not just that princess…
He’s tangled up with the Dragon Empress of the Northern Sea too, huh?