Tang Jin gave her friend a helpless look. Gossiping was fine, but right in front of the person herself?
Seeing Tang Jin still eyeing her, Tang Laidi puffed out her chest. “I’m the same age as you. What’s wrong with wanting a wife?”
She was twenty too, you know. Sure, Hundred Blades City had favored late marriages for centuries since the previous Female Emperor’s reign, but girls her age were getting matchmade left and right.
Hadn’t Tang Jin already married?
Tang Jin laughed. “Go ahead, marry one if you want.”
Easier said than done. With that tomboyish vibe, busy with constable duties before and cooped up in the restaurant now—where would she even find someone?
Misreading Tang Jin’s look, Tang Laidi bristled. “What’s that face? Underestimating me? Back when I was a constable, suitors lined up down the next street!”
Tang Jin blinked, caught off guard. “Didn’t you just say you wanted a wife? How’d it turn into men?”
This girl was full of surprises. Bisexual?
“You wouldn’t get it even if I explained,” Tang Laidi huffed, rolling her eyes. “I never thought about marriage before—men or women.”
It was watching this lovey-dovey pair every day that suddenly made her crave a wife of her own.
Tang Jin raised a brow. “What don’t I get? Anyway, do you like women or men?”
Tang Laidi coughed lightly, her tone uncertain. “Men, I guess? My mom always said a woman’s best fate is marrying a good man and having kids for true happiness.”
But Tang Jin always felt there was something off about that statement. Shouldn’t happiness depend on the kind of life you wanted to live yourself? What did it have to do with your children?
What if those children turned out to be unfilial? Far from bringing happiness, they’d just be a constant source of aggravation.
【Ding! Reward: A plate of cold-tossed green beans】
【Ding! Reward: A plate of garlic oyster mushrooms】
Tang Jin blinked in surprise. Two dishes!
Out of those three statements, probably only the middle one—”as my mom says”—was true.
The other two? Her little sister might not have believed them deep down, or else the System wouldn’t have flagged them as lies.
Tang Jin furrowed her brow thoughtfully, then spoke in earnest tones. “Laidi, the standard for happiness isn’t measured by others. It depends on what you feel in your heart, on the life you want for yourself.”
Tang Laidi lowered her head in silence, hiding the dejection on her face. Right now, she didn’t even have a home. What was the point of dreaming?
Seeing this, Tang Jin didn’t press further. Instead, she turned to Chu Lingyue. “Darling, before you married me, did you like men or women?”
She loved chatting—absolutely loved it. One dish per five taels of silver? This wasn’t chatting; this was scooping up silver!
The afternoon sun streamed into the restaurant, illuminating Chu Lingyue’s profile and gilding her cheek with a thin layer of golden light. It made her seem radiant and soft all at once.
Chu Lingyue’s expression froze for a moment before she replied slowly, “I don’t know.”
【Ding! Reward: A plate of braised pork with preserved vegetables】
Tang Jin couldn’t help but curve her lips upward. It was as if silver coins were raining down from the heavens—one ding, and five taels richer.
“And what about now, darling? Still don’t know?”
Chu Lingyue pressed her lips together, her gaze deliberately flicking toward Tang Laidi before she smiled. “Of course I like A-Jin now.”
【Ding! Reward: A plate of Fermented Black Bean Steamed Pork Ribs】
Another five taels! Tang Jin burst out laughing. “Hahaha, I like you most of all too, darling!”
She absolutely adored the System’s rewards. Five taels here, five taels there—getting filthy rich was just around the corner.
With the conversation winding down and the hour growing late, Tang Jin gazed contentedly at the dishes on the goods shelf. She rose to open the door. Now was the time to turn all that food into silver.
As the sun dipped low, the streets bustled with evening crowds. The moment the Little Restaurant’s door swung open, two people stepped inside.
One was Chu Shaoyang, who had an appointment with Chu Lingyue for today. The other was the eager Cao Kesang.
Tang Jin’s face lit up with a beaming smile. “Guests, come on in! Today’s signature dish is Abalone Chicken Wing Stew, plus three new specials—first come, first served.”
“One Abalone Chicken Wing Stew, one spicy diced chicken, and a jug of wine,” Cao Kesang said quickly, after a swift glance at the menu.
Chu Shaoyang, however, ordered nothing. She simply gazed at Chu Lingyue with worry etched on her face.
Noticing this, Tang Jin called out to Cao Kesang, “Just a moment, sir—food coming right up.”
Chu Lingyue let out a soft sigh and approached Chu Shaoyang. “Eat something first.”
“Big Sis, I… how about a pine nut corn?”
That’s right—Chu Shaoyang called Chu Lingyue “Big Sis.”
The clock had turned back to the previous evening. The moment Chu Lingyue opened the restaurant door, Chu Shaoyang had walked in.
“Lingyue, could we speak privately?” Her tone was urgent, as if the sky were falling.
Chu Lingyue frowned slightly. But when her eyes met the worry in the other’s gaze, she found she couldn’t voice a refusal. Instead, puzzlement took over.
This Miss Chu’s eyes always held something strange about them—something that seemed tied to her.
Chu Lingyue stared at Chu Shaoyang for a moment, until desperation flickered in those eyes. Only then did she nod slowly.
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Tang Laidi hurried to the back courtyard to fetch Tang Jin.
Meanwhile, Chu Lingyue followed Chu Shaoyang to the carriage.
Only then did Chu Shaoyang turn around. “Lingyue, would you come onto the carriage to talk?”
This time, Chu Lingyue refused. “Whatever Miss Chu has to say, you can say it right here.”
She had already married Tang Jin, whether for true feelings or pretense. The marriage was done.
Chu Shaoyang had once been the object of Tang Jin’s unrequited affection, and this woman’s attitude toward her had always been odd.
They shared no prior friendship, nor were they close confidantes. Their positions made it improper to be alone in a carriage.
And better safe than sorry—when it came to strangers, it was safer to talk in the bustling street.
Sensing her wariness, Chu Shaoyang could only signal the coachman and Tang Second Aunt to step farther away.
Now, only the two of them remained by the carriage.
Passersby on the road wouldn’t hear their words unless they pressed close.
Even so, Chu Shaoyang lowered her voice. “Today is the fifth of the twelfth lunar month. Do you know what day that is?”
She gazed at Chu Lingyue expectantly.
Chu Lingyue’s eyes fell on her tightly clenched fists. The fifth of the twelfth month… was there something special about it?
Seeing no change in Chu Lingyue’s expression, Chu Shaoyang pulled a sachet from her sleeve. “Today is your birthday. We share the same day, but not the year. Do you recognize this?”
She drew out a string of beads, each one made of gleaming gold.
Chu Lingyue’s mind blurred for an instant, as if something flashed by.
The expectation in Chu Shaoyang’s eyes intensified. She had known it—this item would awaken Chu Lingyue’s memories.
She hadn’t wanted to disturb her. As long as Chu Lingyue was living well, Chu Shaoyang would have preferred she forget the past forever.
But wishes rarely came true. Father had sent a sudden letter.
Those people had noticed their past connection after all. They were coming to Ping’an County.
She couldn’t wait and watch any longer. Even if the past would pain Chu Lingyue, she had no choice but to resort to this.
Chu Shaoyang steadied herself and spoke. “Big Sis, I know that if you recover your memories, you won’t want to remember the old days. But I truly don’t know what else to do…”
A year ago, she had received a letter from Chu Lingyue. Her beloved cousin—whom she respected like an elder sister—had fallen on hard times and fled here in secret, asking for shelter for a few days.
She was shocked and delighted: shocked that Big Sis had suffered such calamity, delighted that Big Sis still remembered her, remembered the promise made when she left the capital.
“Shaoyang, from now on, call me Big Sis. This string of gold beads was my mother’s keepsake. Consider it a birthday gift. May you live safely and smoothly ahead, shining bright and unbreakable like these beads.”
“Big Sis, this… it’s too precious. I can’t accept it.”
“Take it. If not, it might get seized by the authorities. At least with you, it’ll be cherished as a memento.”
She had accepted it reverently, handing over a slip of paper with her new address and vowing, “Big Sis, you can come find me in Pingman Prefecture anytime. No matter what you need, I’ll do everything in my power to help.”
Later, she had moved with her father to Tang Village under Ping’an County and sent a letter with the updated address once settled.
But her Big Sis sent no reply. For ten years after the family confiscation, there was no word at all.
Until that plea for help arrived a year ago.
She had waited anxiously day and night for Big Sis to arrive, but no one came. Not until she spotted her at the gate of the neighboring Tang household.
Yet Big Sis didn’t seem to remember her…
Unsure of Big Sis’s intentions, she could only observe from afar. That’s when she learned Big Sis had indeed come to Ping’an County, to Tang Village—just steps away—only to collapse by the roadside and be rescued by the passing Tang Jin.
She had planned to hide Big Sis before Father noticed.
But then Big Sis got married.
She watched quietly as her amnesiac Big Sis appeared calm and settled. Suddenly, it seemed for the best.
If Big Sis never remembered, that was fine too.
So she had gone to the County Yamen in advance, faking the household records—everything but the birthday.
She wanted Big Sis safe and carefree, yet hoped she would remember.
