An Jingxin thought her injury looked quite serious, yet she said aloud, "It’s good that it’s nothing serious."
Since Tobanya was lying, which meant she did not want An Jing to know, An Jing naturally would not be so tactless as to pry.
After chatting casually with Tobanya for a few sentences, An Jing and Xiao Changyi walked out of Tobanya’s courtyard.
Not long after they left Tobanya’s courtyard, they ran into Qin Yi.
On the surface, Qin Yi was the chief guard of Prince Yi’s Mansion, but he was actually an agent dedicated to death, one of a total of twenty such agents stationed at Prince Yi’s Mansion.
He was called Qin Yi, and the others were respectively known as Qin Er, Qin San, Qin Si, Qin Wu... up to Qin Twenty.
When An Jing learned the names of these agents, she just gave her husband an incredulous look.
She had heard that these names were all chosen by her husband, who, at the time, was too lazy to give proper names and simply numbered them instead.
Upon seeing them, Qin Yi came forward to pay his respects and reported in a low voice, "My lord, madam, last night, I saw a dark figure scaling the wall out of the Commandery Princess’s courtyard. I discreetly followed the figure and discovered it was Vice General Meng."
Greatly surprised, An Jing immediately exchanged a glance with Xiao Changyi before saying, "Okay, we understand. You may go back to your duties."
"Yes!" Qin Yi respectfully withdrew.
After Qin Yi had left, An Jing and Xiao Changyi continued their walk to the main courtyard where they lived, and along the way, An Jing spoke softly to Xiao Changyi, "Husband, the injury on Wild Goose Jade’s hand might be related to Meng Zhuqing. You also heard Qin Yi say that he saw him coming out of Wild Goose Jade’s courtyard last night."
Xiao Changyi spoke indifferently, "Regardless of whether there is a connection, it’s their own affair."
An Jing nodded in agreement, "Let them sort it out themselves. We’ll pretend as if we know nothing. Besides, it’s not something we can meddle in even if we wanted to."
Before one knew it, it was New Year’s Eve.
Originally, An Jing and Xiao Changyi had planned to have New Year’s Eve dinner at Prince Yi’s Mansion, but the Emperor of Xiyun insisted they come to the Imperial Palace to have dinner together, saying it would truly be a family reunion. Hence, that day, An Jing and Xiao Changyi took their four children to the Imperial Palace for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
At the dinner table, Su Chengyu raised a toast to his royal brother Yi, "May Brother Yi enjoy good health and all the best in the New Year." He paused for a moment before adding, "And, don’t always ignore me."
Su Chengyu had been aggrieved by his Brother Yi ignoring him for three months.
At first, no one thought much of it, but when Su Chengyu’s remark asking Xiao Changyi not to always ignore him was voiced, everyone burst out laughing.
In the spirit of the New Year, Xiao Changyi decided not to hold a grudge against Su Chengyu and drank the toast offered by him.
An Jing and Xiao Changyi, along with their four children, had a joyous New Year’s Eve dinner in the Imperial Palace, while at Meng General’s Mansion:
Meng Zhuqing, Meng Lanqing, Gong Juese, Gong Juechen, and Old Lady Meng were having New Year’s Eve dinner together, with Gong Juese holding her and Meng Lanqing’s child in her arms; everyone seemed very cheerful.
Of course, that was only on the surface.
At least, two people—Gong Juechen, Meng Zhuqing—were not as happy as they appeared to be.
After the New Year’s Eve dinner, Gong Juechen first played around with Gong Juese and the others for a while before retiring to his room.
Not long after returning to his room, he came back out and climbed up to the rooftop.
Lying on the rooftop, he quietly watched the night sky.
The cold wind was piercingly chill, but Gong Juechen lay there as if he felt nothing at all.