The summer night was serene, broken only by the cicadas chirping into the late hours.
Tao Chuyi drifted groggily in and out of sleep until she finally downed a dose of calming medicine and settled into a deep, peaceful slumber.
Nangong Yunshang had kept watch over her for half the night before joining her in sleep.
It wasn’t until noon the next day that the two finally stirred awake. Nangong Yunshang checked Tao Chuyi over from head to toe, personally tending to her hair and helping her dress.
After breakfast, Nangong Yunshang fed her the medicine, her face full of guilt as she apologized.
“Chuyi, it was Sister’s fault. I won’t go to that frightening place again. When you feel like going out, we’ll head to spots with delicious food and fun things to do—as my way of making it up to you.”
Tao Chuyi obediently finished her medicine and popped a piece of candy into her mouth. She smiled, her eyes curving into happy crescents, without a trace of yesterday’s shadows. She threw her arms around Nangong Yunshang and acted spoiled, showing no hint of blame. She had never truly been angry at her sister before—she liked her too much for that.
At that moment, Yinghong approached quietly and whispered in Nangong Yunshang’s ear. “Miss Xia wishes to see you ahead of schedule. She’s already set a banquet at Welcoming Spring Tower, awaiting Your Highness’s arrival.”
But Nangong Yunshang kept her eyes fixed on Tao Chuyi. “Turn it down for now. We’ll meet in a couple of days. Chuyi’s only just recovering, and I don’t feel right leaving her alone here. Besides, it’s not convenient for us to go out casually.”
As Yinghong was about to withdraw, Tao Chuyi suddenly piped up. “Does Welcoming Spring Tower have roast duck?”
After some hesitation, Yinghong replied, “To the prince consort—yes, they do.”
“Then I want to go.”
Tao Chuyi shook Nangong Yunshang’s arm pleadingly. “I want to go eat roast duck!”
Seeing her appetite return with such gusto, Nangong Yunshang figured she must be truly on the mend. She then agreed to the meeting with Miss Xia, keeping Tao Chuyi glued to her side without a moment’s separation.
Welcoming Spring Tower was Zhouzhuang Town’s most famed restaurant. Every visitor simply had to dine there once, or their trip would have been in vain.
At the entrance hung a gleaming gilded signboard, flanked by hexagonal crystal lanterns shaped like folding fans. The vermilion-painted pavilion soared high, its slanting eaves framing a picturesque view—most impressive.
Once inside, the din of voices assailed them. The front hall wound in serpentine paths, its stairs cleverly concealed unlike those in ordinary establishments. An inn waiter led the way ahead, sparing them many detours, and soon they reached the private room.
The private room evoked a scholarly garden, its walls covered in famous calligraphy and paintings. Beside an ink-bamboo screen, Miss Xia had been waiting some time. Spotting them enter, she rose hastily and curtsied.
“Greetings, Miss Yun. Greetings, Young Master Tao.”
“No need for such formalities, Miss Xia.”
Nangong Yunshang led Tao Chuyi to their seats, while the others stood against the wall to serve.
As Miss Xia rose, she lifted her head slowly, exuding a gaze of tender affection. Her lovely features brimmed with soft allure, every gesture laden with feminine charm, truly embodying the notion that women are made of water.
“Qianhua left home young and knows little of her old friends from back then.”
Miss Xia settled slowly into her seat. “But now, beholding Miss Yun’s countenance, it feels so familiar. We must have met before.”
By the time she was seated, the inn waiter had begun serving the dishes. In short order, fine wines and exquisite fare covered the table—plates stacked upon plates, bowls upon bowls, filling it to overflowing.
Tao Chuyi spotted the roast duck and reached for it eagerly, raring to dive in.
Zishan hurried forward to stop her. “Allow this subordinate to roll it for you.”
Taking in the scene, Miss Xia smiled faintly, understanding at once.
“Though I don’t know precisely where Miss Yun hails from, it must be no ordinary household.”
Nangong Yunshang returned a smile. “Miss Xia and I have indeed been apart for many years. Things have changed, people have changed—only regrets remain.”
At these words, Miss Xia raised her sleeve to cover her face in haste, her voice choking. “Those were matters of the past, all caused by roving bandits. Heaven’s will—no one to blame. Let it stay in the past.”
From the moment they had entered, Nangong Yunshang had been scrutinizing Miss Xia and found her profoundly unfamiliar. Neither her bearing nor her speech bore any resemblance to the Xia Qianhua of her memories.
The two exchanged pleasantries, eventually touching on the school. Miss Xia’s charitable academy took in children from impoverished families and those with disabilities, providing free tuition. It was a boarding institution, however; once enrolled, the students lived and studied there, permitted out only once a year.
“I started it with those families’ hardships in mind—raising children is no easy task. So I shoulder what I can, doing my small part.”
Miss Xia nodded with a soft murmur, her posture frail and utterly pitiable.
Nangong Yunshang nodded. “With such benevolent deeds, Miss Xia is sure to receive blessings.”
While the two traded compliments here, Tao Chuyi presented a stark contrast over there. She rolled roast duck into pancakes with her left hand while digging into a bowl of squirrel-shaped mandarin fish with chopsticks in her right, eating with immense delight.
“Sister, you eat too!”
Nangong Yunshang smiled. “Sister’s not hungry. You go ahead.”
Miss Xia eyed the pair and couldn’t help asking, “Is this Miss Yun’s younger brother? You don’t share a surname—perhaps a cousin?”
“He is… my husband.”
The words left Miss Xia stunned, gaping speechlessly for a long moment.
“It’s a long story. Suffice to say, we’re a harmonious couple now—a fine match.”
Seeing the parties involved minded not at all, Miss Xia held her tongue. Before parting, she proposed a boat excursion another day. Nangong Yunshang agreed offhandedly but paid it no further mind.
Back at the inn, Tao Chuyi sipped tea to settle her stomach, while Nangong Yunshang coaxed her to take it slow.
Yinghong returned and reported, “Your Highness, Miss Xia’s people came by. They’ve set the boat excursion for tomorrow afternoon.”
Nangong Yunshang rubbed Tao Chuyi’s head, savoring the pleasant feel.
“Just say I’m feeling unwell and can’t make it.”
“This…”
Yinghong looked puzzled. “But didn’t Your Highness long to meet Miss Xia?”
Nangong Yunshang’s smile faded abruptly, her gaze turning solemn.
“The one I want to see is Xia Qianhua, not this so-called ‘Miss Xia.’ That woman is a fake—not the Xia family orphan at all. I don’t know her motives yet. If she’s just borrowing the Xia name to scrape by, I can spare her life. But if she’s out to do harm, I won’t let her get away with it.”
Even after so many years, even if one failed to recognize her on sight, a person’s speech and temperament always offered clues. Her old friend could never have been such a fawning, servile type.
“Our Chuyi is still the best.”
Having encountered the phony Xia Qianhua, Nangong Yunshang only grew fonder of Tao Chuyi. She would rather believe this little fool was the real Xia Qianhua than that pretender masquerading as a lamb while peddling dog meat.
Tao Chuyi basked inexplicably in the praise, not grasping the reason but delighted all the same. She hugged Nangong Yunshang tightly and nuzzled against her.
They lingered in Zhouzhuang Town for several days, with Tao Chuyi occasionally darting to the inn’s front hall to watch the passing crowds.
Whenever Nangong Yunshang couldn’t find her, she would head down to the first-floor lobby.
“Chuyi? Chuyi!”
“Miss, look—the young master’s right there.”
Following Yinghong’s gesture, there was Tao Chuyi, wedged deep in the crowd, locked in a finger-guessing game with the young man across from her.
“Two aces! Four seasons of fortune! Six sixes!”
Tao Chuyi chimed in eagerly. “Five aces! Six sixes! Eight steeds!”
Nangong Yunshang: “…”
For all the worthwhile things she might have learned on this outing, she had picked up this foolish drinking game instead.
Tao Chuyi was still lost in the game when her ear was suddenly pinched.
“Sister, that hurts!”
“Yo, your wife’s here to haul you back!”
The others piled on with teasing cheers, their racket drowning out everything else.
“Sister.”
Tao Chuyi covered her face. “Haven’t I any dignity?”
Nangong Yunshang arched a brow. “Which matters more—me, or your dignity?”
Tao Chuyi surrendered on the spot. “You matter more, Sister.”
In light of her forthright admission, Nangong Yunshang mercifully released her grip.
Tao Chuyi rubbed her ear, then sneaked around behind and hugged her from the back.
“Sister, I heard there’s a cricket-fighting contest starting tomorrow. Winners get free admission to the Underground City.”
Nangong Yunshang didn’t bother looking; she knew exactly what Tao Chuyi was scheming.
“Cricket fever acting up again?”
“But we could go sightseeing.”
Tao Chuyi stepped in front of her, blinking her big eyes with brimming anticipation.
Nangong Yunshang let out a sigh. “Have Zishan head to the streets and buy some crickets.”
“Sister’s the best!”
Tao Chuyi fished desperately for more praise. “Sister’s so beautiful! Fish sink and geese tumble, moon hides and flowers pale! Beautiful and kind—the best in the world!”
“Enough already—no more slick talk.”
Nangong Yunshang secretly relished the flattery but kept a straight face, even feigning impatience to conceal her reddened ears.
They had scarcely rested when Tao Chuyi dragged Zishan off to buy crickets.
With the grand contest looming, cricket vending had become red-hot business. Crowds swarmed the sellers, demand far outstripping supply—it was no simple task to snag a good one.
Tao Chuyi circled several stalls with hands clasped behind her back before shaking her head and moving on each time.
Zishan hurried to keep up. “What’s the matter? None good enough?”
Tao Chuyi waved dismissively. “All looks, no fight.”
She was a cricket-fighting veteran, after all. Back at Tao Mansion, she had bested every challenger in the household within two years.
The pair arrived next at the West Market stalls, where five vendors plied crickets. Three stalls teemed with customers, while the other two languished empty—obviously mediocre stock.
The packed ones were impossible to elbow through, and the deserted ones were duds. Tao Chuyi stood rooted, stumped for ages on where to turn.
“Shall this subordinate charge the crowd and grab one?”
Tao Chuyi flatly refused Zishan’s idea. A haphazard snatch wouldn’t cut it for the arena; she needed to pick with care.
Without thinking, she drifted toward one of the emptier stalls. The crickets chirped feebly, as if half-starved. Peering in, she saw a larger specimen barely stirring at all, its antennae utterly still.
Spotting her interest, the stall owner hurriedly launched into a pitch about how superior his crickets were.
Tao Chuyi pointed at the motionless cricket. “I want this one.”
Both the stall owner and Zishan were stunned for a moment. Then the corner of the stall owner’s mouth cracked into a grin that stretched all the way to the back of his ears. Without another word, he quickly prepared the cricket.
On the way back, Tao Chuyi toyed with the cricket in its cage like a cherished treasure.
Zishan stood by helplessly. Judging from how eager the stall owner had been to offload it, she knew it was a dud—and yet the Prince Consort had set her sights on this very one.
“Isn’t this really a sick one that’s about to croak?”
“You don’t understand.”
Tao Chuyi shook the cage. “It’s just hungry, like me. Once it eats its fill, it’ll be full of vim and vigor.”
She stared at the cricket afterward, mulling it over for a long while. “I’ll call you… General Da.”
At the same time, Zishan let out a barely audible sigh. General Da, my foot—more like a total dud.
