"I'm the one who's still alive," the woman interjected forcefully.
Her fair complexion showed no embarrassment; instead, a warm smile appeared on her face. "Young lady, you can call me Aunt Shuang. May I ask how to address you?"
Tao Su waved the pastry in her hand and casually replied, "You can just call me Tao Su."
The name sounded delicious at first hearing. It seemed to be in Tao Yao's style.
Han Ningshuang concealed the complex emotions in her eyes, removed a jade bracelet from her wrist, and said with a beaming smile, "Meeting you by chance, Aunt Shuang didn't prepare any proper gift. This bracelet is a small token from me, please accept it."
The jade bracelet was as white as congealed cream, with excellent color, transparency, and uniformity, unlike ordinary items.
Although Tao Su couldn't appraise it, she knew it was valuable.
At least enough to buy a thousand boxes of tao su pastries.
Tao Su swallowed hard and put her small hands behind her back. "My mother always said, 'Unsolicited favors are either villainy or theft.'"
The previous incident of the night attack by men in black had left a deep shadow on her. Her instincts told her that all this had something to do with Aunt Shuang standing before her.
Her fingers behind her back made a subtle gesture, signaling Second Sister to follow Han Ningshuang later and investigate her background.
Hearing Second Sister say "One order of ruyi cake, please," Tao Su breathed a slight sigh of relief, meaning Second Sister understood her intention.
"Tao Su, your mother told you that to protect you from strangers. But Aunt Shuang was your mother's best friend back in the day, you don't need to be so guarded."
"It's getting late today, and this isn't the place to talk. Why don't you find a chance to come out again tomorrow at noon? Aunt Shuang will wait for you at Jinyu Building, treat you to a meal, and tell you some stories about your mother when she was young."
Tao Su didn't really want to go, fearing it might be a trap.
After being refused, Han Ningshuang wasn't upset and still confidently said, "Don't you want to meet your half-sister?"
Her words were like a bolt from the blue, shocking Tao Su into stillness.
After a long while, Tao Su came to her senses and dropped a sentence: "I'll think about it."
Returning to the front of the teahouse in a daze, Tao Su climbed into the carriage.
"County Lady, I just met that woman again. She said she knew my mother and asked me to call her Aunt Shuang. She said I have a sister in the capital and invited me to Jinyu Building tomorrow."
Seeing her hide nothing, Qi Huan nodded, "I understand. If you want to go, remember to take Second Sister with you."
She handed the choice back to Tao Su.
Then she suggested, "You can wait for Second Sister to return and find out about Aunt Shuang's background before making a decision."
As they talked, the carriage gradually started moving.
Yan Twelve, disguised as the coachman, skillfully wielded the whip, steadily driving the carriage back towards the Song residence.
After returning to the mansion, Qi Huan finished her lunch and first inquired whether Old Master Song and Song Jingche had returned.
Receiving a negative answer, she guessed that Song Jingche must have hidden Old Master Song away and hadn't let him return yet. However, as long as Old Master Song was safe, that was what mattered.
Qi Huan returned to her room, took down her hair, removed her outer garments, and began to try hard to take a long nap.
She needed to rest well for her night meeting with A Shu.
While she napped, the entire Qinghuan Court was quiet. Xu Nanny and Ruo Lan gathered in the servants' quarters, eating the tao su pastries shared by Tao Su and chatting in hushed voices.
Yan Qing occasionally ran out, keeping an eye on the movements in the front courtyard.
She knew that Sister Qi was concerned about Old Master Song, so she wanted to check the entrance more often. Once there was news, she could inform Sister Qi as soon as possible.
Upon seeing Old Master Song and Elder Master Song return, Yan Qing ran towards Qinghuan Court with the speed of the wind.
Coincidentally, Qi Huan had just woken up from her nap and was sitting drowsily at her dressing table, allowing Ruo Lan to re-do her hair.
Yan Qing poked her little head in from the doorway, panting heavily, "County Lady, the Old Master and Elder Master have returned!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! I saw it with my own eyes!"
Hearing her definitive answer, Qi Huan urged Ruo Lan, "Do my hair faster, it doesn't need to be too elaborate."
"Yes, County Lady."
Ruo Lan's fingers flew, deftly weaving through her beautiful hair, simply styling it into a single bun.
After tidying up her appearance, Qi Huan brought her maids to Qingsong Court once again.
Soon after, Elder Madam Song and others also arrived upon hearing the news.
Old Lady Song stopped fingering her prayer beads and asked Old Master Song, "Did the Emperor agree so quickly?"
"How could that be possible?" Old Master Song snorted through his nose, then took off his official hat and gulped down a mouthful of tea from the cup beside him.
"We didn't even enter the palace. We were intercepted halfway by a group of righteous men, and he only said one word..."
At the crucial moment, Old Master Song started to play coy.
Old Lady Song glanced at him impatiently and guessed, "Could it be the word 'foolish'?"
"......"
Old Master Song, whose authority as a husband was clearly not respected, coughed violently several times, hoping his wife would leave him some face in front of the children.
He quickly revealed the answer, "He said to wait."
"Just that?"
"And you stubborn old men actually agreed to listen?" Old Lady Song was skeptical.
Last night, she had secretly badmouthed the Emperor to Old Master Song, trying to persuade him not to waste his life on useless people and matters.
But he went on and on, from talking about loyalty to the country to his ideals and aspirations, until she fell asleep listening to him.
Old Lady Song was shocked. Who on earth could it be that convinced him with just one word?
Facing her doubtful gaze, Old Master Song stroked his beard and said mysteriously, "This person has the bearing of a dragon and the elegance of a phoenix, extraordinary in every way. Every word and action carries a convincing power."
"He promised that within half a month, he would disrupt the peace talks."
"If he can't do it, we can still go to the palace gates to remonstrate to death."
"But I believe he can do it. Each generation has its own talented individuals, and each is stronger than the last!"
Then, Old Master Song lavished praise on the person who had bound him, complimenting him over and over.
Everyone became even more curious: "Who exactly is it?"
"He wore a mask and deliberately lowered his voice. Except for the word 'wait,' all other words were spoken by his subordinates. He didn't reveal his identity."
After saying this, Old Master Song secretly gave Elder Master Song a threatening look, indicating that he should stick to the same story.
In fact, he hadn't lied, he had just concealed part of the truth.
Before leaving, he and his foolish son were invited to meet the masked man privately.
Surprisingly, the man took off his mask. His noble demeanor was tempered with gentleness throughout, and he even personally persuaded them to completely abandon the idea of remonstrating to death.
It was only then that Old Master Song realized that someone who usually seemed unremarkable could be so insightful and capable.
The two had a pleasant conversation, and he held the man in high regard in his heart.
Pulling back his thoughts, Old Master Song cleared his throat and stopped this topic: "Alright, it's all in the past. Let's not mention these things again."
Beside him, Elder Master Song thought: Since we can't talk about this matter, surely we can talk about the roast duck?
So he turned to Elder Madam Song and said with a smile, "Xiao, you said this morning that when I came back, you'd treat me to roast duck until I'm stuffed!"
"......"
Suddenly questioned, the smile on Elder Madam Song's face instantly froze.
Elder Master Song had brought it up in front of so many people, she couldn't just take him alone to eat, could she?
Inviting the whole family to eat would cost quite a bit of silver...
Suppressing the pain in her heart, Elder Madam Song gritted her teeth and said as if cutting off her arm, "Let's eat!"
"I'll have Jin Chuan go to Jinyu Building to make a reservation. We'll all go together!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Young Madam Song licked her lips and cheered.
The Qingsong Court was filled with joy and laughter.
Only Song You'an and Qi Huan wore slightly forced smiles.
