Song Yaoyao's inner voice continued:
[Guagua, it's been ages, and that old bastard still hasn't woken up. Did he actually kick the bucket?]
[Host, the old bastard is still breathing!]
*[Oh, I thought he'd already bitten the dust!*
Guagua, when I get home, I'll write down everything about that old bastard being a cross-dressing queen and sell it to a storyteller. With gossip this explosive, the teahouse will be packed with distinguished guests.
Let me think. I don't think I should sell the rights outright. Taking a cut would be pretty good-a steady trickle of money for years to come.
*Just thinking about it, I can see mountains of silver beckoning to me!]*
Guagua could not even be bothered to respond to its host. She was just running her mouth. She was lazy as sin every single day, and before long, she would forget all about today's incident, let alone write some storybook.
The moment Yan Kuan opened his eyes, he heard Song Yaoyao planning to write down his cross-dressing escapades and make money from them. His breath caught, and he fainted again.
Everyone else had also heard Song Yaoyao's money-making scheme, and their hearts were pounding!
If they accidentally offended young Official Song someday, would their secrets get written down and sold too? Wouldn't the whole world know about them then?
At that thought, they all shuddered in unison!
It seemed they absolutely had to get on good terms with Assistant Minister Song and have him keep his daughter in check so she would not profit from these matters.
If the little girl was short of silver, they could contribute some free of charge, but only on the condition that she absolutely, positively never used their secrets to make money!
Seeing that Lord Yan had fainted again, everyone looked at him sympathetically.
The emperor gave Song Yaoyao a look filled with complicated emotions, then ordered someone to carry Assistant Minister Yan out.
Morning court continued. After that, Song Yaoyao did not chat with Guagua again.
She stood obediently to one side, watching closely as Lord Jiang took notes.
She had no choice but to pay attention. Tomorrow, Song Yaoyao would have to take the notes herself, and no one could help her.
Today was like working at a modern company: a senior colleague showed her the ropes for one day, and on the second day, she had to handle things herself.
As soon as court ended and the emperor left, Song Yaoyao hurried over to Assistant Minister Song, her feet pattering:
"Dad, let's hurry home. I'm starving to death."
"All right."
"Dad, can you take me to a restaurant?"
"No. The food at home should already be ready. We can eat as soon as we get back."
"Fiiine!"
"Dad..."
Watching the father and daughter leave, everyone began working their own little abacuses in their minds.
Back at the residence, Song Yaoyao immediately changed out of her official robes, then made a beeline for the dining room.
Sure enough, the food was already laid out.
Everyone was there except her second brother, Song Qinghui, who had gone to the military camp.
After sitting down, Song Yaoyao picked up her bowl and dug in.
Watching her youngest daughter wolf down her food, Madam Song said:
"Slow down. No one's going to steal it from you."
Song Yaoyao had stuffed her mouth full of food. Only after swallowing did she say:
"Mom, honestly, that emperor! He insists court starts during the fifth watch. I'd barely gone to sleep before Bi Tao woke me up."
"I'm getting up even earlier than the chickens."
Wasn't that the truth? By modern reckoning, the fifth watch was between three and five in the morning.
In other words, she had to reach the Hall of Supreme Harmony by three in the morning for court, which meant getting up at least two hours earlier.
Today, Bi Tao had woken Song Yaoyao at one in the morning.
After washing and dressing, she had climbed into the carriage. Once it stopped at the palace gates, she had walked another forty minutes before reaching the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It was enough to exhaust anyone to death!
Whose rooster crowed at one in the morning?
Wasn't she getting up earlier than the chickens?
Hearing this, Madam Song scolded her:
"You child, there's no gate on that mouth of yours! What nonsense are you spouting?"
Song Yaoyao protested:
"But it's true."
Madam Song glared at Song Yaoyao:
"You're still going on!"
"If someone overheard that, who knows what trouble it could cause?"
Song Yaoyao also realized she had been speaking too recklessly, so she said:
"Got it."
With that, she lowered her head and kept digging in!
Heaven and earth were vast, but eating came first!
Only after finishing her meal did Song Yaoyao say:
"Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Big Sister, I went to bed late last night. I'm going back to catch up on sleep."
Assistant Minister Song waved a hand:
"Go on."
After Song Qingyu and Song Qingling also left one after the other, Madam Song finally asked Assistant Minister Song beside her:
"Today was Yaoyao's first day at court. She didn't cause any trouble, did she?"
Hearing this, Assistant Minister Song let out a long sigh and told her everything that had happened that day, then added:
"Lord Yan was carried out of the hall. I wonder how he's doing now."
Madam Song looked disgusted when she heard this:
"That Lord Yan is utterly shameless! At his age, he still bullies our Yaoyao. How old is she? She's only just turned twelve! Shameless! Even if he died of anger, he'd have it coming!"
"He certainly would!"
"Dear, you'd better keep your distance from that Lord Yan from now on."
"As they say, those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. It's best to stay well away."
"I know."
"This time, Yaoyao exposed all of Lord Yan's dirty secrets. He probably won't have the face to see anyone again."
"He brought that on himself too. Who told him to sink his teeth into Yaoyao and refuse to let go?"
Assistant Minister Song sighed and said worriedly:
"My dear, if this keeps up, do you think we'll end up offending every last official at court beyond repair?"
Madam Song's face was also clouded with worry:
"Yes, I'm worried about that too."
"But there's nothing we can do. We have no way of warning Yaoyao at all."
"Besides, everyone has their own inner thoughts. You can govern heaven and earth, but can you govern what goes on inside someone else's head?"
"Ah, that's true, but..."
"Ah, forget it. We'll just have to take things one step at a time!"
"Other people's daughters are their parents' snug little padded jackets. Our Yaoyao is a great big coat that lets in every draft, sent here specifically to trip us up."
Unlike Assistant Minister Song and his wife, who were sighing over their troubles, Song Yaoyao had long since gone off to meet the Duke of Zhou.
Song Yaoyao dreamed of her past life again, of working while studying. Then the scene shifted, and she was braving a hail of bullets to rescue people!
The wounded were everywhere, severed limbs were everywhere, blood was everywhere...
Song Yaoyao jolted awake.
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, then looked around her. Only then did her emotions slowly settle.
Song Yaoyao had had dreams like this many times before!
Every time, it was the same: those horrifying scenes startled her awake!
Song Yaoyao asked Guagua:
[Guagua, what time is it?]
[Host, it's ten in the morning.]
[Huh? I slept and woke up, and it's still only ten in the morning?]
[That's right, Host.
Didn't people in ancient times go to bed early and get up early?]
[Got it.]
Song Yaoyao called toward the door, "Bi Tao."
Hearing her voice, Bi Tao immediately pushed open the door and entered. "Miss, you're awake?"
"Mm. Get some bathwater ready for me. I'm drenched in sweat."
"Yes."
After Bi Tao left, Song Yaoyao slowly sat up and leaned against the headboard.