Inside the Intoxicated Flower House.
Just as Aunt Shuang was speaking animatedly, a muffled thud of a heavy object falling came from the inner room.
The two went to investigate and found Fu Guang had fallen to the floor. They hurried to help her up.
Aunt Shuang grew suspicious: "Child, how could you be so careless?"
Fu Guang, with cold sweat on her brow, used all her strength to pull an embroidered handkerchief from her sleeve and throw it at Tao Su.
The handkerchief fluttered to the ground, its peculiar embroidery causing Tao Su to furrow her brow slightly.
On the pristine silk surface, in the upper left corner was a blooming plum blossom. In the furthest lower right corner were a large peach and a small pear.
The needlework was exquisite, but the scene was overly complex.
Tao Su reached out to pick up the handkerchief, but Aunt Shuang snatched it away first.
Aunt Shuang explained with a stiff smile: "Fu Guang has always loved plum blossoms, and because your mother's name contains the character for peach, plus Fu Guang's childhood nickname contained the character for 'leave', she always likes to embroider these things together."
"Sister is so creative," Tao Su thought, imagining that in the future she could embroider pastries and roast duck on her handkerchiefs!
She was so lost in thought that she failed to notice the deep meaning in Fu Guang's eyes, as well as Aunt Shuang's sinister glance towards Fu Guang.
After leaving through the back door of the Intoxicated Flower House, dark clouds obscured the sun, fierce winds arose, and the sky darkened as if rain was imminent.
Tao Su reunited with Second Sister and Zhu Yan, and they quickly climbed into the carriage, hoping to return to the Song Mansion before the heavy rain began.
On the way, her eyes shone unusually bright, eager to recount today's conversations in full to Qi Huan.
For her first time acting as a spy, she felt a bit excited just thinking about it.
Upon returning to Qinghuan Court, she didn't even pause to drink a cup of tea before speaking rapidly, gesticulating wildly as she recounted the most impressive events of the day.
"Aunt Shuang said her master has protected the Intoxicated Flower House for over thirty years, so her master definitely can't be one of the emperor's consorts, because the age doesn't match up. So, Second Sister, did you mishear earlier?"
"Or could it be that Aunt Shuang's master's name contains the character for 'consort', but isn't actually a consort?"
Hearing this, Qi Huan shook her head slightly.
If the master of the Intoxicated Flower House wasn't someone from the imperial harem, then how could the presence of the old eunuch be explained?
Her slender white fingers unconsciously tapped on the tea table a few times, and suddenly she had a bold guess.
"There aren't just the current emperor's consorts in the imperial harem, there are also the previous emperor's senior consorts!"
Although the previous emperor didn't have as many consorts as Emperor Longshun, there were still quite a few.
Who could it be?
Hearing her new line of thought, Tao Su continued to recall her conversation with Aunt Shuang, trying to dig out more useful information.
Finally, she suddenly remembered Fu Guang's unique embroidered handkerchief and recounted it to Qi Huan as an interesting anecdote.
As she finished speaking, they realized it had begun pouring outside at some point, with raindrops pattering densely on the roof tiles, creating a lively sound. A cold, damp scent filled the air.
Inside, Qi Huan picked up the hot tea from the table, sipping slowly to warm herself.
In a flash of inspiration, she suddenly realized something didn't add up!
"According to what you said, Fu Guang is gravely ill, so how could she suddenly fall out of bed? And after falling, still manage to produce a handkerchief just to throw at you?"
Qi Huan abruptly set down her teacup, making a small clatter, her eyes bright as stars.
She raised her eyebrows, suddenly enlightened: "I understand now."
"Peach and pear together sound like 'escape' in Chinese. She wants you to stay away from Aunt Shuang."
However, the handkerchief couldn't have been embroidered on the spot; it must have been prepared beforehand. Perhaps Fu Guang's handkerchiefs were like Qi Huan's diary, just a tool for recording and expressing feelings.
Today, it simply happened to come in handy.
So, what was Fu Guang feeling when she originally embroidered the handkerchief?
Did she want to escape from Aunt Shuang? Or from the Intoxicated Flower House?
Why embroider a plum blossom in the corner farthest from the peach and pear?
Three heads are better than one, so Qi Huan asked Tao Su and Second Sister to share their opinions as well.
Tao Su answered: "Perhaps, as you said, My Lady, both 'plum blossom' and 'Intoxicated Flower House' contain the character for 'flower'. Sister wants to leave the Intoxicated Flower House, but she couldn't embroider an intoxicated flower, so she chose another flower instead."
Second Sister agreed: "Plum blossoms are easier to embroider than peonies and other flowers, so Miss Fu Guang chose plum blossoms."
The two continued, each adding their thoughts, finding their explanation increasingly reasonable. By the end, they were even praising each other's insights...
Qi Huan pondered for a moment, then said to Second Sister: "Report all this information to your master, and also remind him to investigate whether there are any senior consorts in the imperial harem with names containing the character for 'plum'."
"Aunt Shuang also said she and Tao Yao are orphans of former dynasty officials, and the master behind the Intoxicated Flower House happened to adopt them. One orphan might be a coincidence, but two? I suspect this master might have some connection to the previous dynasty."
After she had unraveled these threads, Second Sister's mouth gaped in surprise: "Could this master be planning to restore the previous dynasty?"
"Let's not jump to conclusions so quickly. We need to find out who's behind the Intoxicated Flower House first," Qi Huan said, standing up and stamping her feet, feeling cold from sitting for so long.
Due to the Spring Festival and renovation progress, her shop hadn't opened yet, so she couldn't legitimately contribute to the Song family's finances. The Song family was barely getting by, and with charcoal prices so high this year, each courtyard received very little. As a result, Qinghuan Court hadn't lit any braziers these past few days.
Qi Huan asked Second Sister to wait a moment while she went back to her room to fetch some hand warmers, which she had repackaged in a bundle, asking her to deliver them to Li Shuchen on her way.
Outside the window, the rain continued to fall steadily.
In such cold weather, with his cold-induced illness, Shuchen must be suffering terribly.
Qi Huan's eyebrows knitted tightly together, and she couldn't help but add: "Tell Shuchen to dress warmly and take care of himself."
"And to drink plenty of hot water."
"Yes, My Lady!" Second Sister accepted the instructions.
She returned to her room to don a straw rain cape and hat before disappearing into the rainy night.
*
At the Duke of An Manor, in the study.
Second Sister tried to stand as close to the fire basin as possible, thinking to herself: The treatment in the duke's manor is so much better! When will the lady marry and come here so she can enjoy these luxuries too?
Eager to achieve her wish sooner, after reporting about the senior consort, she began to embellish Qi Huan's messages, describing them in flowery language.
"Your Highness, the lady asks you to wear more clothes. The thick winter garments represent her concern for you expanding."
"She also wants you to drink more hot water. The warm tea flowing into your mouth is like her care and love for you, as endless as the flowing waters of the Michun River."
...
Second Sister only stopped when her mouth went dry from talking so much.
Yan Wu, guarding at the door, couldn't help but wonder why His Highness, who usually despised talkative people who couldn't get to the point, hadn't ordered this noisy girl to shut up and leave today.
At this moment, Li Shuchen's eyebrows and the corners of his eyes were filled with undisguisable smiles, the cold, taut lines of his face from earlier in the day suddenly becoming soft and radiant.
In the dim candlelight, Second Sister couldn't help but stare in amazement.
She had merely mentioned the lady a few times in passing, yet His Highness's expression changed as if he had gone from being owed millions of taels of silver to suddenly finding millions of taels.
When it came to melting an ice mountain into spring water, she had to admire His Highness.
When she returned, she would definitely put in a good word for His Highness.
Today was another busy day working for the love between His Highness and the lady.
It required not just talking, but also real effort. When she arrived, Second Sister was carrying a large package of hand warmers; when she left, she was carrying a large basket of high-quality silver frost charcoal.
The silver frost charcoal was tightly wrapped in oiled paper, with the cold rain only hitting Second Sister's face.
With all this hard work, she thought it wouldn't be unreasonable to ask for a raise in her monthly allowance.
But how did His Highness know they were short on charcoal?
In fact, when Li Shuchen went to see Qi Huan last night, he had immediately noticed that her room was a bit cold. After returning, he had planned to send someone to deliver charcoal to her. Just as the night had fully darkened, Second Sister arrived, making it convenient to have her take it back.
Recalling Qi Huan's words as relayed by Second Sister, Li Shuchen's heart still surged with emotion, unable to calm down for a long time.
The next day.
He added two more layers of clothing and drank several more cups of tea, but still felt it wasn't enough.
He wanted to hear Huan say those caring words to him in person, wanted Huan to be by his side, personally taking care of his daily needs.
