The four husbands were gathered.
Three days later.
When Nian Jiaojiao returned to the academy, more than ten days had passed.
This time, when she returned to Fengcheng, Nian Jiaojiao was not alone. Her four husbands also followed and rented a small courtyard near the academy.
Why rent?
Because considering the possibility of changing houses again in the future, a rental fee of 5 taels per month was clearly more cost-effective than buying a house for 500 taels of silver.
...
Chenxiang Academy.
Nian Jiaojiao lingered outside the room door, hesitating to push it open.
"Jiaojiao?"
Tong Fu's voice came from behind. Nian Jiaojiao turned her head with a wry smile.
Tong Fu looked at the "transformed" Nian Jiaojiao, and the words she was about to ask were immediately forgotten. She kept looking up and down at the woman in front of her.
Beneath the woman's two curved eyebrows were a pair of enchanting water-like eyes, with slightly upturned corners, typical peach blossom eyes. Her lips were a vibrant red, making her jade-like skin appear crystal clear and translucent. Her high nose added a touch of heroism and sharpness to her otherwise soft features.
Most importantly, her ethereal temperament seemed untouched by the mortal world.
"Who are you? You are not Jiaojiao!"
Nian Jiaojiao touched her face. Since her husbands could recognize her, it meant the change wasn't to the point of being unrecognizable...
"I am Nian Jiaojiao."
"How is that possible!"
Tong Fu said with disbelief:
"Jiaojiao's face is round, yours is not as round. Jiaojiao's eyes are round, yours are long!"
Nian Jiaojiao: ...
How round was she before?
That night, a lot of impurities were expelled from her body, not only making her thinner but also making her skin incredibly good. When she looked in the mirror, it was like having a divine-level beauty filter.
More importantly, she felt lighter, and her gait and posture had changed, making her temperament appear different from others.
Why had such a change occurred?
Nian Jiaojiao had been racking her brain for days but still couldn't find an answer.
"Then imagine me being a bit fatter, my eyes a bit rounder, and, uh, my skin a bit rougher..."
Nian Jiaojiao thought to herself with a hint of self-deprecation:
Why am I slandering myself like this.
As Tong Fu imagined according to Nian Jiaojiao's instructions, a somewhat familiar face appeared in her mind.
At this moment, Nian Jiaojiao took out her identity token and handed it to her. Tong Fu, still half-doubting, led her into the room.
"Jiaojiao, where have you been these past few days? Why has there been such a big change? You don't know, you left so lightly, the husbands have been asking me every day where you went and when you'll be back! I can hardly handle it!"
Nian Jiaojiao was stunned by the string of questions. She first smiled inwardly, then she couldn't quite laugh anymore.
Although she knew from previous conversations that Tong Fu and Tong Xiaoye's relationship was quite ordinary, Tong Xiaoye was her brother. She wondered what Tong Fu's reaction would be upon hearing the news of Tong Xiaoye's death...
As Nian Jiaojiao's thoughts raced, Tong Fu, who couldn't stop talking, continued:
"Oh, and you've also been in Shanshui Town these past few days. You must know about Tong Xiaoye's disappearance, right?"
Nian Jiaojiao nodded.
Of course, she knew.
She was the one who dealt with the person...
Tong Fu seemed disdainful:
"A son born to a concubine, who was just lucky enough to be adopted by a husband, and lucky again to have an uncle as a patron. Now he's causing chaos in Shanshui Town!"
Nian Jiaojiao noticed.
Tong Fu didn't have prejudices about family status, for example, she was friends with her, who came from a humble background.
But she seemed to have a strict division between legitimate and illegitimate offspring.
No, she even had a strong prejudice against illegitimate children.
It was unclear why.
However, Nian Jiaojiao was somewhat relieved.
She didn't want to lose this friend.
Nian Jiaojiao pretended to ask casually:
"Then if Tong Xiaoye disappeared, perhaps something happened to him. What if he was in danger... wouldn't you be sad?"
Tong Fu showed no worry on her face; instead, she said happily:
"Good riddance! I should thank the person who killed him for eliminating a scourge!"
Nian Jiaojiao: ...
...
After a few days of study.
Fengxiang Tea House.
Nian Jiaojiao, Tong Fu, and several classmates from Class Yellow-Seven sat in the tea house, drinking tea and eating pastries.
This tea house was the largest, most famous, and most expensive in Fengcheng.
Tong Fu, who couldn't bear to stay in the academy any longer, insisted on dragging everyone over to "enjoy themselves."
"Eat, eat as much as you want. Order whatever else you want to eat. I'm treating today!"
Tong Fu's energy was fully restored upon seeing the pastries.
Looking at the pot of Biluo Tian tea, priced at three taels per pot, and eating the osmanthus sugar steamed chestnut flour cake in her hand, while sitting on fine nanmu wood, Nian Jiaojiao couldn't help but secretly marvel at this "wicked feudal aristocratic life."
Ah, the life of the rich...
So satisfying!
Just as they were enjoying themselves, a group of guards escorted a woman into the tea house, attracting everyone's attention.
"Who is she?" Nian Jiaojiao asked curiously.
Xin Lian, sitting beside her and known as a "walking gossip," quickly tugged at her sleeve and whispered:
"Shush, speak more quietly..."
Nian Jiaojiao felt somewhat bewildered.
The most influential figures in Fengcheng were the City Lord and the Deputy City Lord, whom she had met at the Full Moon Poetry Gathering.
Neither of those city lords had such an imposing presence. Why was this young woman downstairs so arrogant?
"What's going on?" Tong Fu also couldn't help but ask.
Before Xin Lian could answer, another classmate, Shao Xiaomei, explained in a low voice:
"This is Wang Zhilan, the daughter of City Lord Wang. Quickly lower your heads."
???
Nian Jiaojiao found it rather inexplicable. Why should they lower their heads just because the City Lord's daughter had arrived?
However, when she saw that, except for herself and Tong Fu, the other three classmates all lowered their heads, as if they wanted to shrink their necks back into their bodies and hide them in their chests.
Although she didn't understand why, Nian Jiaojiao signaled to Tong Fu. They also lowered their heads.
A sound of movement came from downstairs, and after a while, the sound of footsteps on the stairs was heard again. Nian Jiaojiao clearly felt the bodies of those beside her tremble slightly.
As the person reached the top of the stairs and was about to approach their area, a shout came from downstairs:
"Found her!"
The person gave up moving forward and turned back without hesitation, running down the stairs.
After they left, Nian Jiaojiao heard sighs of relief from those beside her.
Then Xin Lian raised her head and said to Nian Jiaojiao and Tong Fu:
"Phew... we're safe..."
The third classmate, who had remained silent, said:
"But some people are going to be unlucky... Look."
Nian Jiaojiao followed her gaze downwards and saw a woman being brought before Wang Zhilan, the City Lord's daughter.
Wang Zhilan lifted the woman's chin, examined her closely, patted her face with satisfaction, and then signaled the guards holding the woman to take her back.
Nian Jiaojiao had a strange feeling.
Xin Lian, still shaken, said:
"City Lord Wang's daughter has a preference for 'Feng Yin' [a homosexual preference for women]. Who knows how many women she has harmed. Fortunately, a unlucky soul was found first, otherwise, it would have been us."
Nian Jiaojiao, combining this situation with the context, had a guess in her mind.
"Long Yang" referred to relationships between men.
So, "Feng Yin" wouldn't be...
At this moment, Shao Xiaomei added:
"It's not that much of a problem for us. The key is that Nian Tong is in the most danger..."
Nian Jiaojiao: !!!