The Cold King Demands Love and Pleasure

It's said that good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. This kid named "Bad News" is indeed a wild and playful person.

The news of Xia Tongsheng's engagement being broken off by the Lin family spread like wildfire overnight. Rumors circulated that Xia's daughter was rejected by the Lin family because of her ugly appearance and vulgar personality.

Overnight, Xia Tongsheng was rumored to be an abandoned woman.

"Oh my, young lady, you still have the mood to fight crickets? Do you know what kind of rumors are circulating about you?"

Xia Tongsheng looked at the crickets fighting happily and said, "It's okay, I don't want to get married anyway."

These past few days, Yingling had already figured out Xia Tongsheng's temperament, and couldn't help but joke, "Miss is 17 this year. Other people's young ladies are already mothers at 17. You're getting old!"

Xia Tongsheng's eye twitched. In the past, she would never have believed that she was being called an old woman at only 17 years old...

That's right, Xia Tongsheng traveled from the 21st century. Of course, she wouldn't say that she accidentally slipped while fishing, was pulled by a fish, and inexplicably drowned in the river...

It's so embarrassing. Luckily, I was an orphan in my previous life, so I was carefree and had no worries.

Seeing Xia Tongsheng in a daze, Yingling continued, "Miss, you haven't been in the mountains for too long, have you become detached from worldly desires now?"

“I’m telling you, Yingling, I was going to the mountains, not to a temple. How come you make it sound like I’ve seen through the illusions of the world?”

"Miss......"

"Alright, alright, go get me a chicken."

"Miss, what do you want the chicken for?"

Xia Tongsheng smiled mysteriously, "You'll find out soon enough."

So when Xia Xiuyong arrived at Xia Tongsheng's courtyard, he saw this scene: chicken feathers were everywhere, and even his own daughter's head was covered in them. He was so angry that he blew his beard and asked, "What are you doing?"

Xia Tongsheng looked up, put down the chicken in her hand, and said, "Dad, I'm planning to make beggar's chicken. Would you like to try some?"

Xia Xiuyong poked the chicken feathers on her head with a look of disgust, silently mourning for a few seconds. After all, she was his own daughter.

She was her own daughter, and she would raise her even if it meant crying. "Look at what you've been doing! You don't act like a proper young lady at all! No wonder the Lin family wanted to break off the engagement."

Xia Tongsheng, clutching a chicken wing, walked up to Xia Xiuyong. "That kid Lin Jiuyang, he better not let me run into him, otherwise..."

"What else can I do? I think I've spoiled you rotten. You said you were afraid you'd turn into a tomboy, so your mother named you Tongsheng, such a poetic name. But look at you, I wanted you to be poetic, and you've made me feel disappointed!"

"Dad, don't be angry. Aren't I doing just fine like this now? Carefree, happy, and at ease. Aren't you just like me?"

“You’re right!” Remembering the important matter, Xia Xiuyong said, “By the way, Bei Min has won a battle, and His Majesty will be holding a victory banquet tomorrow night. You’ll come with me tomorrow!”

Xia Tongsheng looked like a zombie. "Ah, I'm not going."

Although Xia Xiuyong didn't want her to go either, after all, that person had already set his sights on his daughter.

But I have no choice but to go!

Looking at Xia Tongsheng's disheveled hair and aggrieved expression, he found it inexplicably amusing. He rubbed his daughter's cheek and said, "No, His Majesty knows that you came up with the plan. He specifically asked you to participate. If you don't go, it's disobeying the imperial decree! That's a capital offense!"

Xia Tongsheng jolted awake, quickly touching her neck with a look of utter despair, "Alright then!"

After receiving his daughter's affirmative answer, he turned and left with a smile, but then turned back and said, pretending to be serious, "Get the chicken to the kitchen right now, look at the state it's in!"

The next evening, Xia Tongsheng changed into a white fringed long dress, which was very simple and elegant. The hem of the dress was rolled up with flowing clouds, and it was tied at the waist with a silver belt, making her slender waist look so delicate that it could be grasped in one hand.

She wore a light blue long robe over her clothes, with silver-white silk thread edging the cuffs and collar. Yingling styled her hair into a flowing cloud bun, adorned with a white jade hairpin, with two tufts of hair left out by her ears, perfectly matching her dress.

Indeed, there are no ugly women in the world, only lazy women. Dressed up like this, Xia Tongsheng really does have a bit of an ethereal air about her.

But in the capital, there is no shortage of rich men and beautiful women.

Xia Xiuyong and Xia Tongsheng sat in the carriage and drove into the palace. Along the way, General Xia kept reminding his daughter not to say or do anything wrong, so as not to bring trouble upon herself.

Xia Tongsheng wore a bitter expression, thinking, "Damn it, you want your sister here, but you don't want her to say anything out of line. You want the horse to run, but you don't want it to eat grass!"

General Xia led Xia Tongsheng to her seat. She glanced around and saw that all the young ladies were dressed in their finest attire, each one stunningly beautiful. In contrast, she herself was dressed in white, looking utterly plain.

General Lin and Lin Jiuyang were sitting on Xia Tongsheng's right. Although they hadn't seen each other for ten years, he had transformed from a childish boy into a brave and skilled general. His fair skin had turned wheat-colored from years of fighting, but Xia Tongsheng recognized him at a glance.

"Lin Jiuyang!" she shouted.

Unfortunately, no one in the entire venue paid any attention to her, making her wonder if she had mistaken someone for someone else.

Actually, she had mistaken someone for someone else. Lin Jiuyang was pretending not to hear her. In fact, he saw her as soon as Xia Tongsheng came in.

It was because she was dressed all in white, like she was attending a funeral. She stood out too much among the colorful crowd. They just pretended not to see her, since breaking off the engagement was still a bit awkward.

Xia Tongsheng walked to his side, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Joyoung soymilk maker!"

Xia Tongsheng silently apologized to Jiuyang, saying, "Sister, I really didn't mean to use your brand. If I hadn't known about Jiuyang's history, I would have thought that Jiuyang was owned by the Lin family."

Upon hearing her call him by his nickname, Lin Jiuyang jumped up. "Xia Tongsheng, men and women shouldn't touch each other!"

"Oh, you're not deaf anymore! You heard me! Men and women shouldn't touch each other, don't you remember when you were 8 years old and cried in my arms because you wet your pants? Now you're telling me men and women shouldn't touch each other!"

Lin Jiuyang blushed. "That was when I was a child."

Xia Tongsheng put her hands on her hips. "Alright, then tell me now, why did you want to break off the engagement?"

"I admit that breaking off the engagement was wrong of me, and I ruined your reputation, but I had no other choice!"

Xia Tongsheng wanted to say something more, but his hoarse voice called out from outside the palace, "The Emperor has arrived!"

Xia Tongsheng immediately knelt down with her father to receive the emperor. As the emperor approached, the aura around them grew stronger. Suddenly, a pair of shoes with gold trim and rubies came into her sight. She knew that this was the high and mighty emperor.

About half a minute later, a deep and somewhat aged voice rang out, "My beloved subjects, rise!"

"Thank you for your great favor!" Xia Tongsheng shouted loudly, his mouth agape, as if afraid others wouldn't know how hard he was shouting.