Xue Lin nodded. "Marquis Ningyuan's Residence sent an invitation to the prince's residence too."
Tong Aning said, "It's good that you're willing to get out more, Young Lord."
Before Xue Lin could answer, Sichen, who stood beside him, puffed out his chest and raised his chin. "Exactly."
Xue Lin glanced at Sichen, who shut his mouth and looked into the distance. "Oh dear, those two young masters are fighting so fiercely! I'll break it up. I'll break it up!"
Before Tong Aning could stop him, Sichen had darted away.
Tong Aning said apologetically, "My third brother is only playing with Feng Chu."
Xue Lin neither agreed nor disagreed. "Sichen knows that."
The two walked slowly onward. Xue Lin said, "Sorry for the trouble, Miss Tong, but please tell Madam Su that the dust has settled on the Quiet Heart Temple affair."
Tong Aning's steps faltered. Clearly, she was concerned about it too. She asked, "How will those monks be punished?"
"My imperial uncle said that, apart from the few who were coerced, all the rest will be executed. The ringleaders will suffer death by a thousand cuts."
Xue Lin's gaze was piercing as he spoke, his voice carrying a chill. Only after he finished did he notice that Tong Aning had been silent for some time. He wondered whether he had frightened Miss Tong.
Tong Aning clenched her fists and declared, "That's exactly how it should be."
Xue Lin froze. "You think they deserve severe punishment too, Miss Tong?"
Tong Aning answered emphatically, "Yes."
[After what they did, even dying a hundred times wouldn't be too much.]
Tong Aning asked, "What about Yuan Xiu?"
"He coveted his elder brother's wife and murdered his brother. His crimes are unforgivable. He'll be beheaded too."
"General Dingyuan didn't plead for him?"
"General Dingyuan and his wife have both fallen ill."
It made sense. Their eldest son, who had been missing all this time, was dead, murdered by their second son at that. No one could bear such a thing.
Tong Aning looked at him. "Rest assured, Young Lord. I'll relay every word to Mother."
"Thank you, Miss Tong."
When Su Zhouyue heard the news, she felt just as gratified as Tong Aning. But when she heard that General Dingyuan and his wife had both fallen ill, a trace of melancholy crossed her face.
Tong Aning took her hand. "Mother, nothing could be done about that."
Su Zhouyue nodded.
After lunch, Uncle Zhao came to report that the eldest daughter-in-law of General Dingyuan's Residence had arrived.
"Yashi has recovered?" Su Zhouyue's eyes brightened.
Uncle Zhao said, "She looks no different from anyone else."
"Quickly, show her in."
When Yan Yashi entered, she looked much more spirited, though her face remained pale.
Yan Yashi moved to kneel before Su Zhouyue, who hurriedly caught her. "What are you doing?"
"I came to thank you, Madam. If not for you and Fourth Miss, my husband might never have been laid to rest."
Su Zhouyue patted her hand. "It was all fate. You found the eldest young master, and our family accumulated merit. There's no need for thanks."
Su Zhouyue helped Yan Yashi up, and Yan Yashi wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Seeing her dressed entirely in mourning white, Su Zhouyue asked, "What are your plans now?"
"My father-in-law and mother-in-law are both in poor health. I plan to stay at the residence and care for them."
"That's a good thing, but..."
Yan Yashi understood what Su Zhouyue left unsaid. Yuan Shan was dead; she should not remain trapped in the general's residence for the rest of her life.
Suddenly, a paper crane skimmed past Yan Yashi's shoulder and flew toward the sky.
Yan Yashi paused. Su Zhouyue said, "Aning folded it. She loves folding these little things."
Yan Yashi picked up the paper crane. Tong Aning and Tong Yi'an were looking everywhere for it.
Yan Yashi asked, "Fourth Miss, might you give this paper crane to me?"
Tong Aning had just been picking flowers with Tong Yi'an in the back courtyard. All that activity had left a thin sheen of sweat on her face. She lifted her face, her eyes curving into crescents. "Of course."
Yan Yashi left with the paper crane, and Tong Aning and Tong Yi'an headed for the door too.
Su Zhouyue caught one with each hand. "Where are you two going?"
Tong Yi'an said, "I promised Second Sister this morning that I'd come pick her up."
Su Zhouyue looked at Tong Aning. Tong Yi'an immediately linked arms with Tong Aning, afraid their mother would stop her fourth sister. "Fourth Sister is coming with me."
Su Zhouyue deliberately teased Tong Yi'an. "Your second sister is a grown woman. Does she still need you to pick her up?"
Tong Yi'an asked sweetly, "Shall I come pick you up in the future too, Mother?"
Su Zhouyue laughed. What a little imp. She sent Yingtao and A Shu along to take good care of the two young ladies.
When Tong Yi'an and Tong Aning stepped down from the carriage hand in hand, the evening glow was spilling into the shop. Tong Siyan was nowhere in sight. There were few customers at the moment, and only the shopkeeper stood behind the counter.
The shopkeeper said, "Fourth Miss, Fifth Miss, Second Miss is checking the accounts in the back room."
Tong Aning lifted the curtain and saw Tong Siyan sitting upright at the desk, her fingers deftly working the abacus.
Qiuli stood beside her, watching intently.
Tong Yi'an threw herself into Tong Siyan's arms. "Second Sister, I brought Fourth Sister to pick you up."
Qiuli greeted them. "Fourth Miss, Fifth Miss."
Tong Aning nodded.
After Qiuli had been brought back to the residence last time, she had stayed there because she had nowhere else to go.
Tong Siyan had once discovered that Qiuli had quite a talent for accounts, so she had brought her to the shop to teach her to use an abacus.
Tong Aning asked with a smile, "Qiuli, how are your lessons going?"
Qiuli said nervously, "I'm stupid. I haven't learned well."
"You call yourself stupid? Don't you learn everything after I show you just once?"
Qiuli looked at the three young ladies, her eyes suddenly shimmering with tears. She had never imagined that one day she would have the chance to learn accounting.
"Exactly," Tong Aning echoed Tong Siyan, blinking. "You learned the characters I taught you after just one lesson too."
Qiuli said, "That's because you're both good teachers."
Both her older sisters had become teachers?
Unwilling to be left behind, Tong Yi'an tugged Qiuli's hand and said softly, "Sister Qiuli, shall I teach you how to eat?"
The others laughed, and Qiuli said, "All right."
The shopkeeper lifted the curtain and entered, his voice grave. "Young ladies, someone is causing trouble."
Tong Siyan frowned. "Don't they know this shop belongs to Marquis Yongning's Residence?"
"They say they're from Earl Xingchang's Residence."
Tong Siyan went out, with Tong Aning and the others following behind her.
"Miss, miss, save me! They want to sell me!"
"Stop talking nonsense, girl! When did we ever try to sell you?"
Tong Siyan swept her gaze over several burly men and a girl who knelt on the floor, clutching her skirt and trembling.
Tong Siyan said, "All of you, shut up."
"You expect us to shut up just because you say so? Is this how ill-mannered a marquis's household is?"
A Shu stepped forward with two guards. The guards seized the man, and A Shu slapped him across the face. "Insolent! How dare you speak to our young lady like that?"
The man covered his mouth. "You-you think you can be this arrogant just because you're from a marquis's household? Everyone, please stand up for me!"
His shouting drew quite a crowd.
Tong Siyan had Hupo help the girl up, watching coldly as the man made a scene.
Only when he stopped shouting did she say unhurriedly, "You spoke insolently to me. Shouldn't I teach you a lesson?"
"Exactly! And you claim to be from Earl Xingchang's Residence. You look like bad people to me," Tong Aning scolded.
[What! Those men are from Spring Breeze House?]
[They forcibly abducted this farm girl to marry their sickly young master and bring him good fortune. Now that he's woken up, they've sold her to Spring Breeze House... Even burning the bridge after crossing the river shouldn't be done like this.]
Tong Siyan clenched her hands. Just as she was about to speak, someone entered the shop and said, "Wait."
Tong Siyan recognized him. He was the second son of the Earl of Xingchang. While she was still with the Cui family, she had met him at a banquet they had hosted.
"Second Miss, this is my third sister-in-law. Somehow, she fell into the hands of villains. I'll take her home now."
Tong Siyan waved a hand, and A Shu and the guards blocked Qi Yi.
Qi Yi raised his brows. "What is the meaning of this, Second Miss?"
Tong Siyan said, "I can't simply take your word for it."
"She's a vicious woman who poisoned my third brother and fled. There's no point listening to her." Qi Yi suddenly lowered his voice. "Second Miss, for Brother Cui's sake, give me some face."
[You're in for it now. If you'd spoken nicely, Second Sister might have left you a way out. But bringing up Cui Heng? You're probably finished.]
Sure enough, Tong Siyan's expression changed. "When the Cui household was in such chicken-flying, dog-leaping chaos, why didn't you go help them?"
Qi Yi choked. He had known Tong Siyan was formidable, but he hadn't expected...
Tong Siyan had Hupo bring the girl forward. "You tell us."
"Miss, I didn't poison him. His family tried to poison me, but I discovered it and poured the medicine back down his throat."
Qi Yi pointed his folding fan at her. "What a vicious woman..."
[You can blame her for that too? Is saving herself a crime now? You've only got your own family's incompetence to blame~]
"Go on."
Liang Mudan continued, "I don't know whether he died. I only know the Qi family planned to sell me. I risked my life to escape."
Tong Siyan tapped the tabletop lightly. A plan had already formed in her mind. "Hupo, go fetch Lord Cen."
Watching Hupo leave, Qi Yi was dumbfounded. "Tong Siyan, is this how you judge a case?"
Tong Siyan looked at him, her eyes calm. "I don't know how to judge one. That's why I need to trouble Lord Cen."
"You, you... No wonder you became a discarded wife."
Tong Siyan was not particularly angry. Qi Yi's words only proved that his donkey had run out of tricks. Otherwise, why would he keep harping on that one thing?
Tong Yi'an, however, darted out from beside her, planted both hands against Qi Yi's waist and abdomen, and shoved viciously. "Don't speak ill of my second sister!"
Tong Yi'an sent Qi Yi sprawling.
Tong Aning stroked Tong Yi'an's hair, her eyes shining. "Well done, Yi'an! It seems people really should eat more."
Qi Yi glared at the three smiling Tong sisters, gnashing his teeth.
By the time Cen Yu arrived, his story had changed again.
"Lord Cen, we didn't want to do this either. But a master said only this woman could bring my third brother good fortune through marriage. Please let her come home with me, Lord Cen."
Cen Yu asked, "Which master?"
Surely it wasn't Quiet Heart Temple again?
Cen Yu did not belong to their faction, and Qi Yi did not know how he operated, so he answered honestly, "Master Xuanming."
[That name sounds familiar.]
[Host, he's the Daoist priest who gave Feng Ying the obedience talisman.]
[This Daoist priest certainly offers a wide range of services, from auspicious marriages to controlling a monkey. Who knows how many other families he's swindled?]
Cen Yu said leisurely, "I have heard of him."
Qi Yi brightened. "Lord Cen, as I was saying..."
"He's in prison."
Qi Yi: "..."
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. If Qi Yi knew he was a wandering swindler, he'd surely be furious. After all, Xuanming cheated him too... This Xuanming was truly ruthless, telling Qi Yi that incense ash could cure every ailment and getting him to smear it on that part of his body...]
Tong Aning gave Qi Yi a sympathetic glance. [Is he really still all right?]