The beautiful woman, oblivious to the danger, continued to chat with Lin Qingge with a smile:
"This young man has rosy lips and white teeth, and a face like a peach blossom. I wonder if he is married?"
"This official already has a family, so there's no need for you to worry, pretty sister."
"Since you call me sister, I must take good care of you~"
As the beautiful woman spoke, she grabbed a wine cup from the table and brought it to Lin Qingge's mouth.
However, halfway up, a slender, delicate hand stopped her.
Unexpectedly, the owner of the slender hand not only stopped the beautiful woman, who even Yan Tinghao found difficult to handle, but also gently guided her hand, allowing her to place the wine cup steadily back on the table.
Then, a clear, cold voice came from the side:
"No need, I will take care of her."
"Her???"
The beautiful woman, who was tipsy, attacked without a word.
But all her seemingly random punches and kicks were dodged by the other party.
The beautiful woman, having missed her targets repeatedly, stopped and scratched her head in confusion:
"Huh? Have I encountered a supreme master?"
The beautiful woman, her attention finally shifted from the handsome young man, tilted her head and stared at the water-blue figure for a long time, then suddenly giggled foolishly:
"Beauty?
Whose beauty is as lovely as my Sister Shu Ying?
Let me tell you, my Sister Shu Ying is incredibly beautiful, like a celestial fairy.
She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen~
But my Sister Shu Ying is perfect in every way, except her taste in men is not great; she fell for that scoundrel Shangguan Hong!
That Shangguan Hong, with his thin lips and rat-like eyes, looks like trouble from the start!
But my Sister Shu Ying inexplicably fell for him, no matter how I advised her!
She was determined to marry that rascal, no matter what I said.
I was so angry that I secretly beat that scoundrel after putting him in a sack to teach him a lesson.
I warned him that if he dared to treat my Sister Shu Ying badly, I would never forgive him!
But then my Sister Shu Ying was gone...
No, Brother Bai also seems to be gone...
Hic—
Strange, why do I keep seeing people who are gone tonight?"
The beautiful woman staggered to Yan Xiuping and asked, tilting her chin up:
"Husband, do you think I'm about to die?
Otherwise, why am I seeing only departed loved ones?"
Yan Xiuping, whose face had been clouded with a hidden gloom just moments before, calmed his eyes, pulled her into his embrace, and coaxed her gently like a wolf luring a lamb:
"Wife, you're drunk. Be good, your husband will take you back to rest."
Perhaps due to being tricked too many times, the beautiful woman struggled out of Yan Xiuping's arms, repeatedly exclaiming:
"No, I'm not drunk!"
"Wife, you are really drunk."
"I don't believe you, you liar!
Last time you said I was drunk, you locked me up for a day and a night!
The time before that you said I was drunk, and I couldn't get out of bed for three days, my legs were shaking when I walked.
That feeling was incredible, I won't fall for your tricks again!"
Suppressing the urge to rub his forehead, Yan Tinghao, though unsure how to express his embarrassment, felt so awkward that he wished he could find a crack in the ground to disappear into.
Indeed, when his mother got fierce, his father stood no chance…
On the other side, Yan Xiuping gave everyone an apologetic smile and then directly scooped his wife into his arms.
Ignoring his wife's struggling and kicking, he carried her away from the scene.
In response, the elder Su Ge Lao stroked his beard and summarized:
"Tsk tsk, truly, even the wicked are subdued by others of their kind. It's just a pity…"
As he spoke, Elder Su Ge Lao's gaze fell upon Yan Tinghao, his expression filled with regret.
Yan Tinghao: ???
Looking past Yan Xiuping's foolish son, Elder Su Ge Lao turned to his disciple's grandson and suddenly slapped his forehead:
"Look at this old man's memory, I've forgotten something important."
Elder Su Ge Lao said as he rummaged through his wide sleeves.
After a long search, he pulled out a crumpled and worn official document.
"Here, this is your transfer order.
The one who issued this order is one of my disciples. He came to visit me a few days ago when you were busy investigating a case and weren't around, asking me to deliver it for him.
However, as I'm getting old, my memory isn't what it used to be, and I got delayed."
…
Lin Qingge never expected that the official transfer order she had been eagerly awaiting for so many days would be in Elder Su Ge Lao's hands.
She felt a moment of speechlessness.
Although the official document was important, Elder Su Ge Lao, as the head of the civil officials, had countless students and was a trustworthy person.
However—
The idolizing filter of the person who delivered the official document was too thick, making them forget the obvious fact that Elder Su Ge Lao was already in his twilight years.
Despite the slight detour, receiving the official document was still a cause for celebration.
Looking at the bold characters of 'Acting Prefect' on the document, Lin Qingge's lips curved upwards.
As the saying goes, joy makes one feel invigorated.
Promoted, Lin Qingge was so happy that she drank a few more cups.
It was only when Leng Ningyue, sitting opposite, couldn't bear it any longer and snatched her wine cup away that she finally stopped.
"Eat something to line your stomach, or you'll regret it in the morning."
Using her gaze to force Lin Moyuan to switch seats with her, Leng Ningyue spoke while using serving chopsticks to place some food into Lin Qingge's bowl, and then transferred the chicken leg from Lin Ziming's bowl to the latter.
Lin Ziming: ?!!!
Meeting the child's disbelieving, almost shattered, pitiful gaze, Leng Ningyue said calmly:
"It's not advisable to eat too much meat at night; it can lead to indigestion and stomach pain."
After speaking, Leng Ningyue added two more bites of green vegetables to the child's bowl.
Looking at the vibrant green in his bowl, Lin Ziming, whose happiness had vanished, cast an incredibly mournful glance at his father, who was happily gnawing on a chicken leg beside him.
But Lin Qingge, unconcerned, ate heartily, drank heartily, or rather, drank tea heartily, enjoying himself immensely.
"Hic—"
Letting out a loud burp, Lin Qingge continued her previous topic, "Constable Yan, what exactly are your parents' backgrounds?"
"Reporting to my lord, this subordinate's father cannot really be considered an official, as he submitted his resignation to the imperial court before this subordinate left home.
As for this subordinate's mother.
The house and estates of this subordinate are reportedly part of my mother's dowry.
In fact, when this subordinate was young, I once curiously asked my mother what the Yan family did.
My mother told this subordinate that the Yan family raised horses, and eighty percent of the horses in the entire Great Xia Kingdom came from the Yan family.
Additionally, the Yan family also raised over a thousand sheep.
According to my mother, as long as this subordinate doesn't willingly give it away, the Yan family's fortune is enough to ensure this subordinate has a comfortable life for several lifetimes."
Lin Qingge, who unexpectedly discovered that Yan Hanhan was not only an official's son but also a rich second generation, was so envious that tears of admiration flowed from the corners of her mouth.
Indeed, when heaven closes one door, it opens another window.
Wasn't Yan Hanhan's status much more comfortable than that of the scheming princes?
It was practically the ultimate dream of a lazy person!