The ministers weren’t invited to yesterday’s feast, so the officials didn’t know what exactly happened yesterday, but what he heard on the way was completely different from what the Crown Prince just said.

  Emperor Huilin said: “Don’t equivocate. Just say it!”


  The official hurriedly knelt down and said, “Your Majesty, everyone is saying that the one who solved the three questions raised by Princess Xiliang yesterday was Miss Tong, the daughter of Imperial Censor Tong, saying that she helped the Flower Picking Childe out and came up with the idea of ??using duck eggs to make the dish…”


  As for the part that the Crown Princess rudely drove Tong Yingying out, the official didn’t dare to mention it.

  Although he just relayed the hearsay, he still didn’t dare to mention it.

  Duke Anyuan frowned. “There were not only the guests of our country, but also the envoys from foreign countries present yesterday. This rumor is ridiculous!”


  The official said, “This rumor seems to be spread by the literati in the teahouses in Chang’an, Your Majesty.”
……

  In the past, there was no such a custom for the Crown Princess to return to her natal home three days after the wedding.

  However, this custom was popular among the folks. Lu Chen had already mentioned this matter with the Ministry of Rites. After obtaining the permission of Emperor Huilin, the Ministry of Rites had prepared early for this matter.

  Qiao Jinniang got up early in the morning, put on the formal suit of the crown princess, and then waited for Lu Chen to return to the Qiao family together with her.

  The carriage of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess were very luxurious, and the four horses rode side by side on the main street. It was right in spring, and little Lu Xi stuck his head out of the small window of the carriage, enjoying the scenery outside.

  “In order to celebrate Miss Tong beating the Xiliang Kingdom, buy one steamed bun and get one free today!”


  “In order to celebrate Xiliang’s defeat, anyone buying meat and praising Miss Tong will get free bones today!”


  Updates by

  “Miss Tong is incomparably clever. Buy a female duck with duck eggs in its belly and get a free drake today. Oh, no, the female ducks with eggs in their belly have been sold out!”


  Listening to the vendors’ hawking outside, Qiao Jinniang frowned slightly. “Why does this have to do with Tong Yingying?”


  Lu Chen told Qiao Jinniang what the official said in the levee, and Qiao Jinniang was speechless. “That’s really ridiculous!”


  When their carriage passed Tasty Pavilion, Qiao Jinniang saw a group of people surrounding the gate of Tasty Pavilion, indignantly throwing rotten vegetables and rotten eggs at Tasty Pavilion.

  Someone was even pouring black dogs’ blood towards Tasty Pavilion and the stench was overwhelming.

  Seeing this scene, the officials in the front of the procession had a headache.

  Qiao Jinniang was very angry. Ignoring the obstruction of the officials on the side, she got out of the carriage.

  The officials of the Ministry of Rites all knelt down in front of Qiao Jinniang and said. “Your Highness, you may get hurt by the mob. Please go back to the carriage. Let the soldiers deal with this trivial matter!”


  Lu Chen walked to Qiao Jinniang’s side and said, “Get out of the way.”


  The officials dared not to disobey Lu Chen’s orders, but they didn’t dare to disperse, so they stood guard around Qiao Jinniang.

  Seeing the officers and soldiers coming, many people who were throwing rotten vegetables fled, but were stopped by the soldiers.

  Qiao Jinniang stood on the steps of Tasty Pavilion, and there was a mess underneath. At this time, someone smashed a rotten egg at her.

  Lu Chen hurriedly stopped in front of Qiao Jinniang and a secret guard blocked the rotten eggs. Another secret guard came into the crowd and brought the scholar who threw the rotten egg to Qiao Jinniang and Lu Chen.

  Qiao Jinniang looked down at the scholar and felt that he looked a little familiar. She seemed to have seen him following close behind Tong Yingying in the book market that day.

  An official of the Ministry of Rites snapped. “How dare you throw a rotten egg at Her Highness? You and your entire family will be executed!”


  The scholar said unyieldingly, “His Majesty’s name of benevolence and kindness spreads all over the world, and I threw a rotten egg at the Crown Princess because she disrespected Miss Tong who defended our country’s dignity. Miss Tong passed a note to help her brother out of embarrassment and came up with the idea of making the dish with the egg in the duck’s belly.

  “But what about the Crown Princess? She did nothing but find fault with Miss Tong and humiliate her! Even if you kill all my family, I am not afraid! The people of Datang will remember me forever!”


  Qiao Jinniang snorted. “Remember you? Why? There were so many people at the banquet yesterday, including dozens of foreign envoys. How could Tong Yingying pass a note under so many eyes?”


  “Yes, I sat at the same table with Tong Yingying yesterday at the banquet. She did say an answer to the first question, but her answer was wrong. She insisted that the national treasure was in the wooden box. When did she pass a note to Senior Brother?”


  Zhou Shihui happened to pass by and she came out to clarify, “My senior brother is so smart. He doesn’t need Tong Yingying to pass him a note to tell him what to do, okay? Who spread such a ridiculous rumor?”


  Qiao Jinniang continued, “And the matter with the duck egg is sheer nonsense. Everyone who was at the banquet yesterday knows that it was Princess Xiliang that used this method, and this solution was wrong.

  “It’s hard to decide whether duck eggs are internal organs or not, let alone eggs that had bones and flesh in them.

  “Tong Yingying was disrespectful to me and I couldn’t even punish her? Who spread this rumor?!”


  The people looked at each other awkwardly, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites vividly told the people what happened at the banquet yesterday.

  “Her Highness was smart and skilled in cooking. The duck blood she made amazed the guests at home and abroad. And Her Highness was proficient in martial arts and defeated Princess Xiliang to her knees. She then had her beg for mercy and admit defeat. All this happened in full view of so many people, and even the foreign envoys of Beimo were present. How can you believe such a groundless rumor?”


  The people all knelt down and kowtowed to admit their mistakes. “Your Highness, sorry, we shouldn’t have believed the rumors.

  “It’s these scholars. They said in the teahouse that it was Miss Tong who defeated Princess Xiliang!”


  “Yeah, they instigated us to come and avenge Miss Tong!”


  The scholar who was pinned to the ground was stunned. “We heard it from Tong Yingying. She said that to us this morning!”


  From a distance came the voices of several scholars.

  “Miss Tong, it’s over there. Although we can’t go to the East Palace to beat up the Crown Princess to avenge you, we can smash her Tasty Pavilion.

  “We have encouraged a lot of people to throw rotten eggs at Tasty Pavilion. After all, the law can’t punish the public. And His Majesty is benevolent to his people, and even the Crown Princess can’t do anything to us!”


  Tong Yingying smiled and said in a low voice, “Thank you for upholding justice for me, but I’m really worried that you may get implicated by me and be retaliated against by the Crown Princess.”


  The scholars all exclaimed, “Miss Tong, you’re really kind-hearted!”


  “Ms. Tong has just rendered a great contribution to our country. His Majesty will definitely punish the Crown Princess. How will he allow the Crown Princess to persecute us?”


  “That’s right! Now everyone is outraged at the injustice you’ve received. The Crown Princess has aroused public indignation. I’m afraid that Qiao Jinniang will lose her position as crown princess soon!”


  Listening to the compliments from the scholars, Tong Yingying tried her best to conceal her smile. “Oh, I feel uneasy to get you involved in this matter. And it’s not a big deal to come up with the answers to those questions!”