The plaque crashed down without warning, instantly swelling Song Tingchen’s shoulder into a large lump.
As the manor physician applied medicine, Old Madam Song watched with pained concern, though even the slightest movement sent sharp twinges through her own waist. “Aiyo!”
“They say spending money wards off disaster, but today we wasted twenty-three thousand taels for nothing, and we’re still plagued with misfortunes!”
Liu Qingyin hung her head low, her hands still throbbing with pain that sent continuous tears streaming down her face. Normally, Old Madam Song would feel distressed seeing her cry, but today she felt inexplicably irritated. “Enough, Qingyin! Stop your crying!”
“If you keep weeping like this, you’ll cry away all our good fortune!”
Liu Qingyin bit her lip, not daring to shed another tear, though her eyes remained glistening as she glanced at Song Tingchen. “Brother Tingchen, how are you feeling?”
Song Tingchen’s expression remained unreadable. Having faced flying swords and arrows on the battlefield, being hit by a plaque was merely a minor injury to him. “It’s nothing. But you and Mother should rest properly these coming days.”
Song Xiao wept with hiccupping sobs, his left cheek swollen like a steamed bun while his teeth throbbed as if tiny dancers were prancing inside them. “A-Die~”
“It hurts~”
Song Tingchen’s face darkened. “Bear with the pain. Who told you to eat so much sugar cake?”
The physician had Song Xiao hold peppercorns in his mouth to alleviate some of the discomfort.
“Young master should eat less sweets. I see this tooth is already deeply decayed. Fortunately, it’s about time for this tooth to fall out anyway. Endure it for another ten days or half a month – once the tooth drops and a new one grows, you’ll be fine.”
Song Xiao’s mouth twisted. “It’s not a cavity – it’s a ghost!”
“There must be a ghost!”
Whenever he used to ache here or feel discomfort there, the bad woman would say it was because mischievous ghosts were causing trouble, and that everything would be better once the troublemaking ghosts were caught.
Song Xiao pattered over to Song Tingchen and tugged at his uninjured arm. “A-Die, bring the bad woman here! Make her catch ghosts for me!”
If Su Tan could catch the ghosts and stop his pain, he’d magnanimously call her A Niang!
But he would never forgive Su Tan that easily!
Song Tingchen expressionlessly brushed off his hand. He observed that Song Xiao seemed quite energetic – hardly like someone who’d encountered ghosts. “Stop this nonsense. The physician already said you ate too much sugar cake.”
“With all the sweets you eat daily, who else would be in pain but you?”
Song Tingchen’s face remained as inscrutable as the changeable weather outside. Song Xiao’s mouth quivered. “If you won’t fetch her, I’ll go myself!”
With that, Song Xiao covered his cheek and ran off.
A vein throbbed at Song Tingchen’s temple. Pulling his robe over his shoulder, he hurried after the boy.
With his swollen face, Song Xiao jogged for nearly half an hour before finally reaching Duke Dingguo Manor.
Pointing at the gatekeeper – he was quite familiar with everyone at Duke Dingguo Manor from his festival visits – he declared, “I want to see the bad woman!”
“There are ghosts in my house! Tell her to come catch ghosts for me!”
Song Tingchen’s expression turned colder than the frost clinging to the stone lions flanking the entrance. Scooping up Song Xiao, he said, “Come home with me. She won’t see you.”
“No!” Song Xiao stubbornly kicked his legs, his teeth aching unbearably. If the bad woman didn’t catch the ghost causing his toothache soon, the pain would kill him! “I want to see the bad woman!”
“I must see her!”
Song Xiao jumped down from Song Tingchen’s embrace, stumbled and fell hard on his bottom, his ankle throbbing with a dull pain. He gasped sharply several times from the discomfort, pointing at the gatekeeper, “Did you hear me? Go fetch that wicked woman at once!”
The gatekeeper wore a respectful smile, though his eyes remained icy cold. “Young Master, this humble servant doesn’t know who you’re referring to.”
“Everyone in our Duke Dingguo Manor possesses hearts as pure as the bright moon, upright in conduct and straightforward in demeanor. This servant has never encountered any ‘wicked woman.'”
“Young Master must have come to the wrong place.”
As for Song Tingchen standing beside Song Xiao, the gatekeeper deliberately ignored him, even seeming tempted to spit in his face.
Song Tingchen’s expression was frosty. “Please inform your eldest mistress that her son is ill and wishes to see her.”
The gatekeeper’s face stretched into an obsequious smile as he replied glibly, “General Song, my apologies, but our eldest mistress has gone out today.”
“She hasn’t returned to the manor yet.”
Thus, Song Tingchen stood holding Song Xiao’s hand in the biting cold wind. His own voice sounded as chilling as the first blizzard of the northern lands, his brow subtly furrowing with a trace of irritation he hadn’t even noticed himself. “When will she return?”
The gatekeeper maintained his ingratiating smile. “That, this servant wouldn’t know.”
“The weather is bitterly cold. If you have no urgent matter, perhaps you and the young master should return to the General’s Residence to wait. If the eldest mistress returns, this servant will send word to inform General Song.”
Their demeanor showed no intention whatsoever of inviting them inside to wait.
How could a mere gatekeeper make decisions on behalf of the household?
Such treatment could only mean someone had given specific instructions.
Song Tingchen remained cold as frost, his shoulder still aching. Seeing no point in further humiliation, he was about to pick up Song Xiao and leave when his peripheral vision caught several figures approaching.
Su Tan’s eyes turned cold. “What are you doing here?”
Gu Mingzhu, holding Hong Ge’er’s hand, said sharply, “You’re truly like a haunting ghost.”
“My tooth hurts! It’s killing me! You need to come back and catch the ghost for me!”
Song Xiao’s eyes welled with tears as he clutched Su Tan’s sleeve. Despite his young age, he had already mastered the art of issuing arrogant commands.
Su Tan pushed his hand away, her expression blank as she stared at his badly swollen cheek. The pain was expected—with that Yu Zhuo (Jade Bracelet) present, while others in Zhenbei General Manor remained unaffected, Song Tingchen and the three others would suffer pain and misfortune for a while.
Her eyes flickered with mockery as she glanced leisurely at the father and son. “What does that have to do with me?”
Song Xiao stared blankly, his tears flowing more fiercely as he glared venomously at Su Tan. “I said my tooth hurts! It really hurts! There’s a ghost in the General’s Residence, can’t you hear me?”
Su Tan swept a dispassionate glance over him. “I heard you. So what?”
Tears streamed down Song Xiao’s face as he stared at her with gritted teeth. “Come back with me to catch the ghost!”
“Father is injured, and so are Aunt Qing and Grandmother! If you don’t capture the ghost, we’ll die from the pain!”
Su Tan found it both laughable and exasperating—seeking help only in times of need, just like the fickle allegory of Zhong Wuyan and Xia Yingchun. Song Xiao, despite his youth, had mastered this trait perfectly.
Her eyes filled with derision. “The Song family is wealthy and influential. If you want to catch ghosts, go hire a mystic practitioner.”
“Or could it be that after buying that jade bracelet, the Song family has no silver left to invite a master, and must shamelessly beg before their former daughter-in-law?”
Song Tingchen’s expression instantly turned icy as he stared coldly at Su Tan. Every time he saw her, he realized he had underestimated her cruelty.
Song Tingchen’s jaw was taut, his face as dark as still water. He reached out to hold Song Xiao. “Let’s go.”
“I won’t!” Song Xiao’s eyes were bloodshot, like a crazed calf. He stared fixedly at Su Tan, hurling the most vicious words he could muster to wound her. “You’re just a pauper! Who wants you here?”
“You can’t even afford a bracelet! You’re old and ugly—no one could ever like you!”
Hong Ge’er’s expression darkened instantly. Just as he was about to scold Song Xiao, his peripheral vision caught a group of people approaching them.
It was actually Steward Wang from Chen Wang Mansion.
Steward Wang, smiling amiably, bypassed Song Tingchen and his son and walked toward Su Tan. “Miss Su, His Highness is immensely pleased that you saved Junzhu today.”
He pointed at the densely packed rows of boxes. “These are all gifts from His Highness as tokens of gratitude.”
“When the other princes learned you had saved Junzhu, they also sent two chests of items to express their appreciation.”
He opened one chest, revealing a dazzling array of rare treasures. “The others are unimportant, but everything in this chest was personally selected and placed by Junzhu herself.”
“Junzhu insisted on confirming in person whether you like them or not. If you don’t, she will replace them immediately.”
Su Tan’s gaze fell only on the carefully folded plum blossom branch. “Please convey my thanks to Junzhu. I like them very much.”
Song Xiao stared greedily at the contents—many of which he had never seen before. He pointed at the night pearl larger than a fist and demanded arrogantly, “I want this!”
“Give this to me!”
In his mind, anything belonging to Su Tan was rightfully his.
Su Tan had already turned away indifferently, ignoring him, and invited Steward Wang inside for tea.
Song Xiao struggled to break free from Song Tingchen’s hold, trying to follow them in, but Su family servants blocked him on both sides.
“Young Master Song, you may not enter without Miss Su’s permission.”
How dare this ungrateful brat who’d abandon his own mother for milk still try to cling to the young mistress?
Dream on! Stop deluding yourself!
Biting his lip, Song Xiao stared with reddened eyes at Su Tan’s retreating figure. All he heard was the command “Close the gates,” and he was shut out from her world.