On the Song Mansion carriage heading in the opposite direction, Qi Huan's stomach growled as her eyes drifted longingly to the food box in Yan Qing's hands.
"Qing Qing, take out the ruyi cakes. Let's have a little snack to tide us over."
"Certainly!" Yan Qing responded enthusiastically.
The red and white cakes were coated in white sesame seeds. Pinching a piece and putting it in her mouth, the soft, chewy texture mixed with the sweet fragrance of red bean paste greatly satisfied her taste buds.
One piece after another, Qi Huan ate five before suddenly feeling a bit cloyed.
...She really wanted some tea.
The words "sweet" and "tea" floated through her mind simultaneously. In a flash of inspiration, she thought of milk tea.
The market for pastries was already dominated by Thousand Flavors Pavilion and other large and small confectionery shops, but she could sell milk tea and make desserts!
Qi Huan's eyes sparkled brighter as she planned the details of opening a dessert shop in her mind.
Considering that Xiu Yuan had been very busy lately, she decided to let him have a good New Year and tell him about this after the holiday.
Lost in her thoughts, time flew by quickly.
After returning to Qinghuan Court, she had a simple lunch and then took the cakes to give separately to Old Lady Song, Elder Madam Song, as well as Young Madam Song and Song You'an.
For the last remaining portion, she thought for a moment and handed it to Tao Su: "Take this to Qingfeng Court."
Since Ximen Ye had already given up on hunting down Li Shuchen and agreed to help track Gu Ziling, they were temporarily friends rather than enemies, so there was no reason to ignore him.
Tao Su was always diligent in carrying out her instructions. She took the cakes and went to deliver them immediately.
After knocking on the main door of Qingfeng Court, she handed the food box to Zhu Yan: "These are pastries that our County Lady is sending to your young master."
Zhu Yan gave an "Oh" and reached out to take it, but suddenly noticed bird droppings falling towards him. He dodged, and the food box fell to the ground.
The cakes that fell out rolled on the ground, collecting a layer of dust.
Tao Su's brows furrowed as she quickly squatted down to pick them up.
Zhu Yan scratched his head and apologetically joined her in picking up the cakes.
Their hands inadvertently touched, and Zhu Yan clicked his tongue, saying, "So this is how soft a young lady's hands are."
"You scoundrel!"
Tao Su angrily threw a face full of cakes at him.
The cakes fell to the ground again, rolling and collecting even more dust.
Zhu Yan lamented, "What did these poor cakes do to deserve this? Will they ever be eaten clean again?"
"It's all your fault," Tao Su glared at him.
"Alright, alright, a good man doesn't argue with a woman. I'll compensate you."
"Can you afford to? This was a gesture of goodwill from our County Lady to the Second Young Master."
......
The two began to argue, continuing from the beginning of the hour until its end.
Their voices reached Ximen Ye's ears, and he only caught the phrase "This was a gesture of goodwill from our County Lady to the Second Young Master."
What kind of goodwill?
Could it be that the little troublemaker had taken a liking to him?
...Not bad taste.
A faint smile played in Ximen Ye's phoenix eyes. In the entire Song Mansion, only the little troublemaker and A Che were the most alike.
He accepted this gesture of goodwill.
So, he began rummaging through his belongings to find a return gift, eventually coming across a box of gold ingots and taking out ten.
After a moment's thought, he felt a bit reluctant to part with so many.
He considered for a bit, then put five back.
But "five" sounds like "wu" (crying) in Chinese, which wasn't auspicious. "Ten" for perfection would be better. His eyes flashed with reluctance, but he took out the five gold ingots he had just put back.
"Zhu Yan, get in here."
"Coming!" Zhu Yan answered quickly, then said to Tao Su, "Wait a bit, we'll continue our argument after I finish this task."
Tao Su turned her face away and waited for a while.
What she waited for was a food box containing ten gold ingots.
"This is my young master's return gesture to your County Lady."
"Oh." Tao Su took the food box and was about to leave when Zhu Yan grabbed her by the back of her collar.
"We weren't done arguing earlier. When shall we continue?"
Tao Su pondered for a moment and said, "When I have time."
"When will you have time?"
"I'm not sure. I have to attend to the County Lady during the day, striving to be the top maid by her side. I'm very busy."
"Alright, I understand." Zhu Yan let go of her, allowing her to leave.
Since she attended to the County Lady during the day, he would come at night.
After Tao Su returned, Qi Huan found herself deep in thought, staring at the two boxes of gold ingots.
Why were there so many generous gift-givers today?
She first picked up Ximen Ye's note with its scrawled handwriting, the corner of her mouth twitching as she thought to herself: Is this what the Song family calls a rare talent?
She struggled to make out that he had written: "Goodwill."
Well, she had merely sent him the same cakes everyone else received, and he responded with ten gold ingots.
How extravagant.
Looking at Li Yuanxiu's note next, the bold characters on the gold-trimmed paper showed quite a bit of character. It read: "The final compensation."
This one was also generous.
The faint daylight filtering through the window lattice fell on the twenty gold ingots, making them particularly gleaming.
Qi Huan put them away, planning to give them to Xiu Yuan the next time she went out, to use as the initial fund for the "student aid program."
*
Time passed quickly, punctuated by Tao Su and Zhu Yan's occasional bickering.
In the blink of an eye, it was the twenty-second day of the twelfth lunar month.
That night.
Zhu Yan, dressed all in black, skillfully climbed into Qinghuan Court.
When he had come with the Master before, he had already figured out that the hidden guards of Qinghuan Court were all concealed near the main room, focusing on protecting Qi Huan.
He suppressed his presence, sniffed carefully, and pried open a window to climb into Tao Su's room. He casually picked up a lock of Tao Su's hair and tickled her face with it.
"Hey, wake up. The New Year is almost here, and this year's business should be finished this year. You always say you're busy during the day, so I've come at night. Let's continue our debate and settle this once and for all. You were saying your mother said..."
Tao Su thought she was dreaming and swung a slap at him: "My mother said, if you can use your hands, don't waste words."
After all, it was in her dream, so she wanted to beat this guy up.
Caught off guard by the slap, Zhu Yan grabbed her wrist. Seeing her other hand coming for another slap, he grabbed that one too.
The fair wrists in his palms were as white as frost and snow, so delicate they seemed they might break with a twist. The soft touch made his heart beat erratically.
Zhu Yan didn't understand why.
As a child, he had only been exposed to swords and knives, and as he grew up, he stayed by the Master's side.
The only female he had ever had close contact with was a female mosquito.
This was the first time he had been so close to a young woman.
He gazed at Tao Su inquisitively, asking sincerely: "Why is my heart beating so fast?"
The man's warm hands made Tao Su suddenly wake up. It wasn't a dream; it really was that scoundrel Zhu Yan.
The wrists he held felt as if they were on fire.
Tao Su's cheeks unconsciously flushed red, but she still scolded and struggled fiercely, though with less conviction than her words suggested.
Her red lips opened and closed, making Zhu Yan's throat go slightly dry. He spoke his mind: "I want to kiss you."
Tao Su immediately became exasperated: "You ugly to-ACHOO!"
She had originally wanted to say "You ugly toad wanting to eat swan meat, what are you thinking?" But her nose suddenly itched, and she only got out one word before suddenly sneezing.
Zhu Yan's eyebrows rose in delight. She said: "Come" [lai, which sounds similar to "ugly" in Chinese].
So he would!
Zhu Yan lowered his head and kissed her soft lips.
Suddenly being kissed, Tao Su's eyes widened.
When she came to her senses, she bit him hard, and the taste of blood gradually spread in her mouth.
"Are you a dog?"
Zhu Yan winced in pain and let go of her, but she grabbed his hair, scratching and hitting him fiercely.
For the first time in his life, he had met such an opponent.
Though she looked so soft and weak, she hit so fiercely, like a wild cat with its fur standing on end.
Zhu Yan wailed, "Ow ow ow! Little Peach, let go quick!"
"You're the peach, your whole family are peaches."
"I can't very well call you Little Comb, can I?"
"Little Yan, I have a name!"
Tao Su straddled him as she hit him.
Zhu Yan was in so much pain from the pinching that he wanted to swat away this fierce woman, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
While he was distracted, Tao Su slapped his face again, bringing him back to reality.
Zhu Yan accurately grabbed her hand: "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to hit people in the face?"
"You have no shame."
Remembering how he had forcibly kissed her, Tao Su vigorously wiped her lips, suppressing the tingling sensation and palpitations in her heart.
She stood up and kicked Zhu Yan: "Get out quickly."
If she wasn't worried about attracting the strict Madam Xu, Tao Su would have long called for Yan Qing to come and beat him into a meat patty.
Her gaze pierced Zhu Yan like small knives.
As if hearing her thoughts, several men in black broke through the window and approached Zhu Yan.
