After flaunting their affection outside, Li Nuo and his wife returned to the Song Residence.
Since some people liked to spread rumors, it was time to shut them up with facts.
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Why should his wife endure such indignity?
She liked poetry, so he gifted her poetry.
One poem wasn’t enough, so he gave her a whole book.
Given his wife’s literacy, she couldn’t see what was so good about these poems.
So, Li Nuo opened a bookshop and deliberately set the price of the poetry collections very low, accessible to those who understood their value.
In Chang’an, everyone knew "Phoenix Seeking His Mate," so the "Beautiful Lady Collection" couldn’t fall behind.
With this series of moves, no one spread rumors about him and Phoenix anymore.
His relationship with his wife had also grown stronger.
It was only when they walked back to the courtyard that their tightly clasped hands finally let go.
Even Song Mu’er had noticed the change between them over this period.
She was very pleased with it.
They were increasingly acting like a true married couple.
But it wasn’t enough.
What kind of married couple slept under two sets of bedding at night?
Her parents shared one blanket.
She swung on the swing in the courtyard, her eyes whirling around aimlessly, mulling over something.
Li Nuo was reading in the courtyard, and before he knew it, it was already mid-November. Although he was fully prepared, his writing was still his weakness, with plenty of room for improvement.
A maid from the Song Residence walked in carrying a pile of things; she approached Li Nuo in the courtyard and dumped them onto the table in front of him, saying, "Young Master, those women have sent things again..."
Most of these items were letters, with some handkerchiefs and scarves among them.
With the release of "Beautiful Lady Collection," his wife had become famous, and Li Nuo had gained recognition too.
Invitations to discuss poetry flew in like snowflakes every day.
These letters came from the oirans of brothels and the young ladies of Chang’an’s noble families.
The culture of Daxia generally valued scholarship over martial prowess.
Men admired talented women, and women admired talented men.
Even a martial prodigy like his wife preferred poetry and essays, even though she didn’t understand them at all.
As for these invitations, whether they were sincere about discussing poetry or had other intentions, Li Nuo ignored them all without exception.
One reason was his lack of interest.
Safety was another important factor.
Women from the outside world, none could be trusted.
An invitation could be a guise, the real intention being to take his life.
Although he had enjoyed a few peaceful days, he hadn’t forgotten the dangers he’d faced before.
Only by his wife’s side did he feel truly safe.
The other person who could give him a sense of safety, his fake wife, was not in Chang’an, so Li Nuo even seldom visited the Ministry of Justice.
Li Nuo glanced sideways at his wife, who was practicing swordplay.
The fact that these women were trying to whisk him away right in front of her didn’t anger her at all.
Truly, she wasn’t angered.
Not only was she not angry, but every night she would also sit with Li Nuo to open the letters and see what those women had written.
Li Nuo suspected she had trained herself to be unfazed.
The rumors that had spread so viciously at first, and had even been inadvertently promoted by Li Anning, they had still calmly gotten through.
Compared to those rumors, the subtle invitations in these letters were indeed nothing.
As the sky gradually darkened, Li Nuo turned back to his room to read.
He didn’t know what was up with Mumu today; usually at this time, she would have already gone to bed.
But today, until very late, she was still playing around in their room.
She sat on the bed, holding a cup in one hand and flipping through a picture album with the other.
"Ouch!"
Suddenly, Li Nuo heard her exclamation.
Turning his head, he saw her looking at the bed with a distressed expression, the cup in her hand had tipped over and the bedsheet was wet.
Song Mu’er turned back to look at Li Nuo, and said pitifully, "I accidentally wet the blanket..."
Li Nuo said, "It’s okay, if it’s wet, it’s wet."
In a large household like the Song family, they surely wouldn’t be lacking blankets.
He picked up the wet blanket Mumu had soaked and hung it outside to dry.
Meanwhile, Song Jiaren brought over a new blanket from the side room.
There were blankets prepared for guests in the adjoining room, which could be temporarily used.
Song Mu’er looked at Li Nuo and then at Song Jiaren, sighed helplessly, and said, "I’m going back to my room to sleep..."
When she returned to her room, Song Ning’er was not yet asleep.
Song Mu’er sat on the edge of the bed, her little face thoughtful.
Her own strength was limited; she needed Song Ning’er’s help.
But she wasn’t sure if she would agree.
Although she was uncertain, she still had to try.
Song Mu’er looked at her other self on the opposite bed and said, "Song Ning’er."
Song Ning’er was playing with a rag doll and glanced up, asking, "What’s up?"
...
The next morning, the blanket Mumu had wet and Li Nuo had hung outside had not yet dried.
It was now mid-December. Although no snow had fallen yet, the weather had already turned very cold.
Mumu was drinking syrup water, which even after it had dried, couldn’t be directly covered with a blanket. In order to avoid mold in the quilt, Li Nuo gave it to the maids of the Song Residence and simply had them wash it thoroughly.
During the day, Li Nuo went to the Ministry of Justice.
The Anti-theft Bureau functioned as usual, and over the past month, the number of thieves caught every day had stabilized at a very low number.
There would always be people thinking of getting something for nothing; the world would never run out of thieves to catch.
Even though there were fewer achievements, Li Nuo didn’t let them sit idle.
Every few days, he would have the personnel from the County Magistrate’s Office take them to the streets to inform the public about theft prevention knowledge.
Unless one could truly comprehend the essence of the Stealing Technique and manage to steal from afar, the majority of thefts could be avoided if the public were just a bit more cautious on a daily basis.
That month, several ordinary murder cases occurred in Chang’an.
There was no difficulty in solving them, but with Li Anning not around, Li Nuo was unfamiliar with the officials in the Ministry of Justice, so he didn’t have the opportunity to get involved in these cases.
Not having seen Li Anning for a month, he actually missed her a little.
Mainly because when she was around, he had more work to do.
Li Nuo stayed in the Ministry of Justice until it was time to end work. Although he didn’t find any opportunities, it wasn’t fruitless.
After practicing calligraphy with Gu for a month, his handwriting had greatly improved.
Although it was still far from comparable to hers, at least it looked respectable now.
Before long, Li Nuo left the Ministry of Justice and returned to the Song Residence.
At the same time, a caravan slowly entered through the gates of Chang’an City.
The guards at the gate bowed their respects upon seeing the carriage in front.
Li Anning sat in the carriage, returning to Chang’an with a faint sense of anticipation in her heart.
Although she didn’t know what she was looking forward to.
The carriage rode for a while, then slowly stopped and did not move for a long time.
She lifted the carriage curtain and asked, "What’s happening?"
The female official driving replied, "Your Highness, there are many people gathered ahead, and the road is blocked."
Li Anning looked forward and, indeed, saw that a crowd had gathered not far away.
She alighted from the carriage and said, "Since we’re almost there, I’ll walk the rest of the way."
When passing through the area where the crowd was gathered, she realized that they were in front of a shop.
The people were crowding there seemingly to purchase something, squabbling endlessly in the street outside the shop.
"I was here first!"
"Clearly, I was the first one here, sell to me first!"
"Don’t push, don’t push, we’ve printed many more copies this time, there’s enough for everyone!"
"Everybody line up, don’t obstruct the traffic!"
...
Most of those lining up here were young women, likely maids from wealthy families, judging by their attire.
Li Anning had thought that the shop was selling rouge and powder and such for women, but seeing them joyfully holding a thin book as they came out, her face showed a hint of curiosity.
What kind of book was it that they were competing for like this?
Driven by curiosity, she too lined up and bought a copy.
The price of the book was not expensive; it could be bought for 50 cents, which was quite a fair price compared to other expensive books.
Li Anning felt that the bookseller couldn’t really be making a profit.
She didn’t know what his intention was.
Beautiful Lady Collection.
The book’s title was rather strange; she casually flipped open a page.
"In the north there is a lady, unequaled and stands alone. One glance topples a city, another a state..."
Heh, pretty good at flattery, aren’t we? A woman so stunning she could make you forgo even your country... that’s quite an exaggeration...
Beneath the poem, there was another line in fine print.
In the thirty-third year of Zhisheng, for my wife, Jiaren.
So it was a love poem, a gift for a wife named Jiaren? She knew of only one person with that name.
Li Anning suddenly realized something and flipped back to the book’s cover.
At the very bottom of the book cover were two easily overlooked characters.
Li Nuo.
Could it be such a coincidence that both their names were the same?
She paused for a moment and then reopened the book.
Peerless beauty eclipsing ancient and modern times, lotus flowers shy away from her grace... Heh, that’s some bold flattery.
Jiaren meeting once in a thousand years... Hehe, try living a hundred years first and then say that.
At a glance, Yanran outshines all others, the world’s fairness seems like dust... Hehehe, so only Song Jiaren is the unparalleled beauty and everyone else is mere dust, quite daring of you to write that!
Mountains without edges, rivers run dry, thunder roars in winter, snow in summer, only if heaven and earth unite, would I dare to leave my beloved... Hehehehe, whether you dare to part with her I do not know, but she is clear about not even holding your hand.
The maids who had managed to buy Beautiful Lady Collection for their mistress all had smiles on their faces.
Among the crowd, only one woman’s smile grew colder and colder.
She looked at the poetry collection expressionlessly, and at that moment, a melodious song wafted out from the nearby Music Workshop.
"There lives a beauty, unforgettable at sight. Without seeing her for a day, one would pine insanely. The phoenix flies and soars, seeking its mate far and wide..."
A woman with eyes full of envy said, "If someone wrote such poetry for me, I would have no regrets in this lifetime..."
Another woman glanced at her and brutally quipped, "Stop dreaming, you must first possess the talents and looks of that Phoenix lady to be worthy of such a piece as Phoenix Seeking His Mate..."
As the woman finished speaking, a statuesque lady looked at her and asked, "Sister, I’m new to Chang’an from outside the city. This song is lovely, could I inquire about what you just mentioned..."
"You mean Phoenix Seeking His Mate? That’s a poem Young Master Li dedicated to the Phoenix lady from Jade Sound Pavilion. It’s well-known in Chang’an; it’s normal for someone from outside the city not to have heard of it..."
The statuesque woman exhaled softly and murmured, "I see..."
It seemed that many exciting events had happened in Chang’an during the month she was away...