Chapter 77 - 76 What have you done to Zhaozhao?
Nanny Zhang held her hand reassuringly, "Your Highness, don’t worry. With so many guests here today, it might not even involve His Highness."
Yin Shanshan, standing closest to them, overheard their conversation and couldn’t resist chiming in with flattery, "Your Highness, rest assured! This time, it absolutely isn’t the Crown Prince! If my eyes didn’t deceive me, the one caught in an affair seems to be Old Master Yu!"
Shen Yunxi gasped in shock and covered her mouth, "No way?! He’s supposed to be a model among scholars!"
"Why would I lie to you?"
"True," Shen Yunxi clutched her handkerchief, practically glowing with gossip, "I’ve long said that these scholars are hypocrites—preaching one thing and doing another. All of them act so virtuous, but who knows what they do behind closed doors? That Madam Shen, who became famous for her calligraphy, is like this, and now Old Master Yu, too! Even the Crown Prince and the court officials are fooled by their façade, unable to see their true colors!"
They hadn’t bothered to lower their voices.
Consequently, most of the women around them heard every word of their conversation.
And so, the rumor of Old Master Yu having an affair during the birthday banquet spread like wildfire, quickly morphing into countless versions among the guests.
"Did you hear? Old Master Yu is hiding a mistress in a secret chamber. He’s in his sixties, and he’s still pulling moves like ’an old tree leaning on a young flower’!"
"Nonsense! That’s not what I heard. My source says Old Master Yu is having an affair with that Madam Shen, the female calligrapher praised by the Empress Dowager. They even have a three-year-old child together!"
"Ha! Who would’ve thought the revered teacher would be such a romantic! At his age, he’s still a force to be reckoned with in love!"