"You really paid it back?" Tang Baixin looked utterly unconvinced.
"I did." Tang Zhuyun answered briskly. "Ask Xiu'er if you don't believe me. I went to the pawnshop yesterday and exchanged something for silver, and I went out just now to pay back the debt. Big brother, I was afraid it would affect Father and you, so I hurried to pay it back. I won't borrow again, either."
"Where did you borrow it?" He wouldn't feel reassured unless he went and asked for himself.
Tang Zhuyun made no attempt to evade the question and told him where.
Tang Baixin paused. "Did you ask for twenty taels of silver yesterday because you didn't have enough to pay it back?"
"Yes," Tang Zhuyun said. "But Father and you gave it to me, so I had enough."
Remembering how strongly he had reacted yesterday, Tang Baixin felt awkward. He clenched his teeth, unsure what to say.
Although he didn't know what had affected his sister so deeply, he had a vague feeling that she had been different since yesterday.
And he had nearly nipped that change in the bud.
"Oh, right, big brother, there's something I need to tell you." Recalling the lackey she had encountered, Tang Zhuyun sounded a little anxious.
"Go on," Tang Baixin said gravely.
His sister didn't seem angry with him. From now on, as long as she truly meant to turn over a new leaf, he would do everything he could to help her.
Tang Zhuyun told him her suspicions about the Prince of Jin. "I'm afraid the Prince of Jin has ulterior motives and means Father and you harm. I don't understand affairs outside the home, and Father is upright and selfless; he won't think the worst of people. Big brother, please be extra careful."
Tang Baixin said, "I thought of that yesterday. Since he wasn't drugged, he shouldn't have come out so late... You don't need to worry. Just stay out of these matters from now on, and have less to do with that Ruan Anruo. She's no good!"
"I'm relieved that you know, big brother. Anyway, I can't go wrong listening to you," Tang Zhuyun said, showering him with rainbow farts.
Tang Baixin thought about how he had misunderstood his sister and come back to demand an explanation. Yet not only was she not angry, she was even closer to him than before. He was immediately filled with self-reproach.
"I should go back. I only took this morning off," he said, looking a little awkward.
"Then why not leave after you've eaten?"
"No, I'm leaving now. You, get some rest." With that, he all but fled.
"Wait, big brother. I need to tell you I'm going to the Ruan house. Ruan Anruo bullied me like that, and I'm going to get even!"
Tang Baixin stopped in his tracks. "Then I'll go with you."
His sister had finally seen the light and was actually willing to cut ties with Ruan Anruo now.
That woman was full of schemes and no good at all. He had warned his sister time and again, but she simply wouldn't listen.
"No need. Why use an ox cleaver to kill a chicken?" Tang Zhuyun smiled slyly. "Trust me, big brother. If I can't handle it, I'll ask you for help."
Her voice was soft, with a hint of coquettishness, and her expression was charming and lively. She no longer looked like the foolish, detestable person she had been before.
"Then I'll wait for you at home," Tang Baixin said. "I'll leave once you've dealt with it."
"All right, I'll be back soon." Tang Zhuyun knew her brother was worried. She washed her hands, changed her clothes, and went to knock on the Ruans' door.
Tang Baixin paced back and forth in the room, deeply worried that his sister would come off worse.
Tang Zhuyun didn't keep him waiting long. She returned in less than a quarter of an hour.
"You dealt with it?" Tang Baixin could hardly believe it.
"I did." Tang Zhuyun grinned smugly and didn't keep him in suspense. "Ruan Anruo has accepted lots of things from her cousin. I told her mother."
He was the son of Ruan Anruo's maternal uncle, but Madam Ruan looked down on her own family for being merchants and was determined to have her daughter attach herself to someone rich and powerful.
"Actually, I know Ruan Anruo doesn't like her cousin. She just likes taking advantage of people," Tang Zhuyun said. "But her mother won't believe that, hehe. That pesky fly can finally be quiet for a while."
It would be impolite not to return the favor. This was only the beginning.
Seeing that she had come back unscathed, Tang Baixin finally left, reassured.
Tang Zhuyun was very pleased with herself. It seemed that after winning over her father by circumstance, she was about to win over her brother by circumstance too.
They both loved her so much that as long as she made even the smallest change for the better, they could forgive her for everything she had done before.
Linlin, however, was different... Ah, she would take it slowly.
That evening, Tang Zhuyun made nine-turn braised pork intestines and pork tripe soup, along with a cold salad of lotus root slices and wood ear mushrooms. She also pan-fried scallion pancakes, making a dinner complete in color, aroma, and flavor.
Tang Baixin returned first with Linlin and sent him to his room to practice writing large characters. He then went to watch Tang Zhuyun cook.
"Does Linlin still have to study?" Tang Zhuyun asked. She didn't know if she was imagining it, but she had a vague feeling that the little fellow didn't seem very happy when he came home today.
"He didn't study well today, so I punished him," Tang Baixin said.
Tang Zhuyun felt terrible for Linlin. With two top scorers in the imperial examinations in one family, how much pressure must that put on the child?
She washed a small bowl of wild strawberries she had gone out to buy that afternoon after hearing a peddler hawking them, and took them to Linlin's room.
The door was open, so she didn't knock. As a result, she saw a patch of bruising on Linlin's arm before he could pull his sleeve down.
"What did you come in here for?" Linlin said with disgust.
"I brought you strawberries." Tang Zhuyun walked over. "What happened to your arm?"
"None of your business."
"Shall I call your father in to ask you, then?" Tang Zhuyun raised an eyebrow.
"You!" Linlin was angry.
Tang Zhuyun set down the strawberries and sat beside him. "Hold it out. Let me see."
Linlin resisted, not budging an inch.
"Brother..."
"Fine, I'll show you! What an act." Linlin turned his head away and held out his arm.
Tang Zhuyun carefully pushed up his sleeve. When she saw the large patch of bruising on his forearm, her heart immediately ached.
"Who hit you?"
There were no obvious scrapes. It didn't look as though he had fallen; it looked more like someone had pinched him.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked again.
"I don't want to," Linlin said with a sullen face. "It has nothing to do with you. Stop pretending to care. I won't fall for it. If you think you can make my father soften toward you by being nice to me, you've got the wrong idea."
This brat really isn't cute.
"Take off your clothes." She needed to check whether Linlin had any other injuries.
Naturally, Linlin refused. But when he heard Tang Zhuyun was going to call Tang Baixin in, he said through gritted teeth, "I'll show you, but if you tell Grandfather and Father, I, I..."
"If I tell them, I'm a puppy." Tang Zhuyun found him adorable as he struggled to come up with a threat.
She didn't know whether it was because they were connected by blood, but when she faced Linlin, her maternal love welled up uncontrollably.
Linlin reluctantly took off his shirt. Tang Zhuyun found several more bruises on his lower belly and back, but the little fellow absolutely refused to take off his pants.
"You were bullied at the prince's residence, weren't you?" Tang Zhuyun went out and told Xiu'er to buy some medicated oil for bruises, then came back and asked him.
Linlin bit his lip and said nothing.
"If someone hits you, hit them back. If you can't beat them, run. If you can't run, back down. A wise man doesn't court a disadvantage, understand? When you come home, tell Grandfather and your father. If you don't want to tell them, tell me. We'll help you get even, understand?"