The arena remained silent.
Sun Xun's words seemed to hang in the air.
"Song Jia is my fiancée."
Then—
the noise exploded.
"What?!"
"They're already engaged?"
"Then why did he compete?"
"Did the Emperor know?"
"Obviously not!"
"Master Sun entered a marriage competition for his own fiancée?"
Song Jia could feel a headache beginning.
Ding Yijun stood several steps away with the expression of a man who had finally received confirmation of something everyone except the Emperor had already suspected.
Ding Fang laughed openly.
"I knew it."
Ding Yijun turned toward him.
"You did not."
"I suspected."
"You asked me two days ago whether they were secretly courting."
"That was suspicion."
"That's not the same as knowing."
"Close enough."
Song Jia looked toward them.
"Are you two finished?"
"No." Ding Yijun replied.
Ding Fang answered at the same time.
"Probably."
Sun smiled beside her.
Ding Shun stared at both of them.
"You were already engaged."
