Classes had just ended for the day.
Tong Anying caught wind that Bazhen Pavilion had rolled out a new batch of pastries. Before she could even open her mouth, Tong Fengye resigned himself to fate: “Fine, let’s go.”
Tong Anying’s eyes sparkled. Still, having just fleeced her Third Brother earlier, she remained appropriately polite and asked, “Are you truly sure, Third Brother?”
Is my little sister putting on an act with me now?
As if Tong Fengye couldn’t see right through her little schemes. Ruffling her hair, he replied, “Sure, sure, of course we can.”
“Then let’s hurry! If we’re late, they’ll sell out.”
Tong Fengye: “?”
Even when politely declining New Year’s lucky money, proper etiquette called for pushing it away three times before accepting. How did one measly attempt satisfy her?
Unaware of what Tong Fengye was grumbling about inside, Tong Anying had her mind completely occupied by Bazhen Pavilion’s latest pastries.
By the time Tong Fengye stepped into the carriage, she was already calculating how many boxes would be ideal to buy.
Listening to her tally them up, Tong Fengye drew in a sharp breath. She really wasn’t showing her third brother any mercy at all.
With A’shu steering the carriage, they arrived quickly, as Bazhen Pavilion sat just two streets away from the Imperial Academy.
A’shu asked, “Third Young Master, Fourth Young Lady, should this servant go buy them?”
The words had barely left his mouth when the curtain was pushed aside, revealing Fourth Young Lady’s pale, delicate face.
With eyes gleaming bright, Tong Anying grinned. “No need, I’ll go myself.”
With that, she hopped down from the carriage.
Tong Fengye clapped a hand to his forehead. He had meant to get down first to help her down, but instead. Whom did these girls learn this from, one after another?
Tong Anying frequented Bazhen Pavilion often.
The shopkeeper had long since recognized this Fourth Young Lady, who was as gorgeous as an immortal yet delightfully sweet and approachable.
The shopkeeper beamed. “I just knew Fourth Young Lady would drop by, so I made sure to reserve two boxes for you. Take a look and see if this is enough. If not, I’ll have a few more sent over to the Marquis’s estate tomorrow.”
Tong Anying nodded. “This is plenty.”
A’shu took the pastries from the shopkeeper, and Tong Anying retrieved the silver coins from her own pouch to pay him.
Having missed his chance to pay, Tong Fengye felt rather unsatisfied. Catching sight of a teahouse across from Bazhen Pavilion, he offered, “Let’s go listen to the storyteller. Third Brother’s treat.”
“Sounds good.”
Tong Anying loved two things above all else: pastries and storytelling.
Even now, with that little companion known as the system by her side, her enthusiasm for listening to storytellers had not waned in the slightest.
However, the teahouse was packed to the brim. Tong Anying said regretfully, “Third Brother, maybe another day?”
Tong Fengye nodded. “Another day it is. Still my treat.”
Tong Anying let out a chuckle. “Third Brother, just how terrified are you of failing to spend your silver?”
Seeing her beaming smile, Tong Fengye huffed playfully, “And just whose benefit do you think I’m spending it for?”
As the two turned to leave, a voice suddenly called out to Tong Anying.
Looking up toward the second floor, Tong Anying saw someone waving down at her.
It was the Prime Minister’s beloved daughter, Lou Yingyu.
Tong Anying and Tong Fengye headed upstairs. Tong Fengye took a seat on the opposite side with A’shu standing behind him, while Tong Anying sat right beside Lou Yingyu.
Tong Anying used to hang out with Lou Yingyu quite often.
As the youngest daughter of the Prime Minister and his wife, she had grown up swimming in a jar of honey. Pampered to the point of utter lawlessness, she looked down her nose at nearly everyone.
None of the noble young ladies caught her eye, yet she was particularly fond of spending time with Tong Anying.
The reason was simple: Tong Anying was a rare, breathtaking beauty in the capital. Lou Yingyu loved pretty things; even if Tong Anying just stood there doing absolutely nothing, gazing upon her was enough to brighten Lou Yingyu’s mood.
Originally, Lou Yingyu and Tong Anying had attended the girls’ academy together. But Lou Yingyu was far too unruly, regularly talking back to the instructors. She drove the teachers so mad that they collectively marched to the Chancellor to lodge complaints, declaring that the Prime Minister’s daughter was simply unmanageable.
With no other choice, the Prime Minister brought her home and hired private tutors to teach her inside the manor.
Counting the days, the last time Tong Anying had seen Lou Yingyu was the day after her fall into the water, when Lou Yingyu had accompanied the Prime Minister’s wife to visit her.
Seeing that Tong Anying and Tong Fengye had arrived late, Lou Yingyu enthusiastically recapped the earlier segments of the story.
Her face beamed with animation; it was obvious she had been sitting here listening from the moment the session began.
Once Lou Yingyu finished her tale, Tong Anying couldn’t resist asking, “Did you skip your lessons again?”
Lou Yingyu curled her lip. “What do you mean, again? This is only my first time this month, alright?”
Tong Anying was appalled. “You’re actually planning on doing it more times?”
“Ningning~” Lou Yingyu leaned affectionately into Tong Anying’s embrace, twirling a strand of her hair. “Don’t bring that up. The moment you mention it, it spoils the beauty of the moment.”
Tong Anying: “?”
Clearing her throat lightly, Tong Anying settled in to listen to the storytelling alongside Lou Yingyu.
Because they had arrived late, the session wrapped up after only an hour. The three of them made their way downstairs together while Lou Yingyu’s maid went to settle the bill.
Suddenly, Lou Yingyu grabbed Tong Anying’s wrist and ducked to the side, only to discover that Tong Fengye had moved even faster than she had.
Lou Yingyu: “?”
“Tong Fengye, what are you hiding from?”
Tong Fengye pointed ahead. Lou Yingyu glanced over and saw Feng Chu walking toward them.
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so you’re dodging Feng Chu.”
Her remark instantly drew Feng Chu’s attention.
Feng Chu’s eyes lit up the moment he spotted Tong Fengye. “Fengye!”
Tong Fengye’s face scrunched up into a knot of misery. Lou Yingyu whispered, “What happened between those two?”
Tong Anying summarized helpfully: “After dramatically cutting ties, their brotherly bond has become stronger than gold again.”
“Pwahahahaha!”
Lou Yingyu laughed until her stomach ached, clapping her hands. “Looks like our Ningning has a real knack for storytelling too!”
Tong Anying straightened her back proudly, then asked, “So what were you hiding from just now?”
“My second uncle, obviously! He quarrels with my second aunt every single day. Not just me, even my mother and father go out of their way to avoid them nowadays.”
Lou Yingyu rolled her eyes. “I genuinely can’t stand the sight of him.”
As luck would have it, you get what you fear most.
Stepping out of the teahouse, the group spotted Lou Yingyu’s second uncle across the street, buying pastries at Bazhen Pavilion.
Lou Yingyu ducked back again, musing, “Has my second uncle finally come to his senses and decided to buy sweet pastries to coax my second aunt?”
Tong Anying nodded. “Could be.”
Host, there’s fresh gossip!
What is it, what is it?
Lou Yingyu’s second uncle is actually on his way to a secret rendezvous with his mistress.
Whoa.
Lou Yingyu’s mouth dropped open. If Second Aunt found out about this, she’d tear him to shreds with her bare hands!
Just the thought of it made her blood pump with excitement.
Ever eager to watch the world burn, Lou Yingyu said excitedly, “Ningning, let’s tail him and see what’s going on!”
Tong Anying had the exact same thought. “Let’s go!”
The two slipped off stealthily, only to turn around and find Tong Fengye and Feng Chu tailing right behind them.
Tong Fengye snapped at Feng Chu, “Why are you following us?”
Feng Chu shot back, “Does this street belong to your family?”
He had already swallowed his pride and compromised so much, yet Tong Fengye still refused to patch up their friendship. Whatever, let it be, he wasn’t going to demean himself any further!
“You.”
With that distraction, the target vanished from sight.
“Aiya,” Lou Yingyu groaned in regret. “We lost him!”
She shot a resentful glare at Tong Fengye.
Tong Fengye: “?”
Taking a step back, he defended himself: “It’s all Feng Chu’s fault.”
Feng Chu: “?”
Tong Fengye said, “Don’t panic, I can track him down.”
Tong Fengye surveyed the layout of the street. Ahead lay a bend leading toward the bustling North-South Avenue, while flanked alongside were residential alleys.
Tong Fengye deduced, “He definitely slipped into the residential quarters.”
Convinced by his logic, everyone followed closely behind his lead.
Picking out a specific courtyard, the four peeked their heads over the eaves.
Lou Yingyu whispered, “What luck! We just picked a random house and actually struck gold.”
In reality, the system had pinpointed it for them.
Tong Anying felt something was slightly off, yet she couldn’t quite put her finger on what, so she focused on enjoying the drama instead.
It was a quaint little courtyard. Resting atop the stone table inside was the very box of pastries Lou Yingyu’s second uncle had just purchased.
Well, well! Looks like dear Second Uncle is living the high life with a hidden beauty tucked away outside!
Though their arms grew sore and their legs numb, the four remained wide-eyed and full of energy, staring intently into the courtyard.
Before long, a door creaked open. A man and a woman stepped out wrapped in each other’s embrace. Lou Yingyu murmured, “Let me see just who this woman is—”
Mid-sentence, she froze.
Her foot slipped, nearly sending her tumbling down.
Fortunately, Tong Anying reacted with lightning reflexes, catching her in time.
“Who’s there?”
Lou Chang glanced up in their direction. The four immediately ducked flat. Seeing an orange tabby cat saunter past with its head held high, Lou Chang dismissed the noise and looked away.
Under the shelter of the eaves, Lou Yingyu cradled the ginger cat, muttering in a daze, “How, how could it be her?”
Tong Anying asked, “Who is she?”
With a face as bitter as gall, Lou Yingyu replied, “My second uncle’s daughter-in-law.”
Tong Anying: “?”
Tong Fengye: “?”
Feng Chu: “Good heavens.”
Even if Lou Yingyu split her skull wide open, she would never have dreamed in a million years that those two would end up tangled together.
Host, Lou Chang actually fell in love with his daughter-in-law at first sight.
Huh?
To be precise, Lou Chang met her first. But that very same evening, his son told him he wanted to marry her. As a father, how could he openly steal the woman his son loved? So, he—
I get it. He couldn’t steal her in broad daylight, so he did it under the covers behind closed doors!
Bingo, Host! You are so clever!
Right beside them, Lou Yingyu gagged.