Song Ru felt as if she had fallen into a beautiful dream, her stomach, which had been slightly anxious from hunger, now filled with piece after piece of pastry.
Song Tangning knew she usually ate little and didn’t dare give her too much. Once the two small plates of snacks were empty, she noticed the tea on the small stove boiling and scooped some into a cup, placing it in front of Song Ru. “The snacks are too dry; have some tea to moisten your throat.”
“Thank you, second sister.”
A light blush appeared on Song Ru's cheeks, making her look less pale. She held the teacup and stole a glance at her second sister across the table. Even though Tangning's face was covered in medicine and her dress was not as splendid as usual, she somehow seemed much closer than the carefree sister Song Ru had seen from the corner before.
“Second sister, your face…”
“My face is fine; it will heal with some medicine.”
Upon hearing this, Song Ru obediently replied with a soft “oh.”
Tangning looked at her. “How are things in the residence now?”
Song Ru hesitated and said softly, “Ever since grandmother got injured and returned home, she has been running a high fever. She was doing better yesterday, but then Aunt was making a fuss about elder brother’s demotion, and when grandmother found out the emperor stripped her of her title, she had another episode at night.”
She seemed afraid Tangning would think she was useless, her expression faint as she held the cup.
“I can’t go see grandmother, and father won’t allow me to attend to her, so I don’t know how she’s doing now. I only saw from afar that it was chaotic in the courtyard, and several imperial doctors have come. Uncle smashed a cup in the house and even made Aunt cry.”
She dared not ask anything further.
Tangning was not surprised to hear about the imperial doctors visiting the Song family; after all, Xiao Yan had publicly forbidden anyone from treating the Song family. He only wanted the old lady’s hand, and other matters wouldn’t attract attention. The imperial doctors were shrewd and wouldn’t openly offend the Song family, knowing how far this had escalated.
“Second sister…” Seeing Tangning lost in thought, Song Ru hesitated before asking, “Will you return?”
Tangning looked up at her. “Why do you ask that?”
“I…” She hesitated. “I saw elder brother go to your courtyard.”
Tangning frowned. “When did this happen?”
Song Ru lowered her voice. “Just last night. I couldn’t sleep and wanted to digest a bit, and I ran into elder brother and elder sister.”
“Elder brother was quite drunk, calling your name. Then elder sister said something that angered him, and I was worried they might have a conflict, so I followed for a while and saw him and elder sister go to your courtyard.”
Tangning looked at the thin, bony Song Ru, not believing she would get up in the middle of the night to digest her food. Most likely, she had been shorted on meals and was looking for food, which led her to run into Song Jinxiu and the others.
But what were Song Jinxiu and Song Shulan doing in her Shian Garden?
Clearly, Song Ru was not one to speak ill of others and was quite timid, as if afraid Tangning would pry further. After finishing her words, she quickly placed the teacup back on the table.
“Second sister, I’ve been out for a long time; I should go back.”
“I’ll have someone escort you back…”
“No need.”
Song Ru hurriedly refused and, seeing Tangning frown, quickly explained, “I sneaked out to see if you were okay. The residence is chaotic now. If they find out I came to Jiyun Lane, it will cause you trouble.”
“I can go back by myself. Second sister, take care of your injuries…” After saying this, she paused. “Thank you for the snacks.”
The girl spoke so softly, like a mosquito buzzing, that it was hard to catch her last words of thanks.
Tangning felt that Song Ru was indeed too timid. She had wanted someone to send her back, but no matter what Song Ru said, she was unwilling, so in the end, Tangning could only let her go.
After Huawu returned, her expression was somewhat strange. “Miss, the third young lady actually came alone, without even a servant.”
The Song family was, after all, a duke's residence; whether it was a young master or young lady, they were usually accompanied by servants. Just like Tangning, who still had two maids around her, even though one had been sent away earlier for displeasing Song Shulan, she at least still had Huawu.
But Song Ru had no one by her side.
Tangning furrowed her brows. “Did anyone follow her?”
“The maid spoke to Guard Hang; he will send someone to escort the third young lady back. Miss, don’t worry.”
Huawu helped Tangning back to her courtyard. Once she had removed Tangning's outer coat, she couldn’t help but ask, “Miss, what do you think the third young lady came to see you for? We’ve had little interaction with her in the past, and when you lived in the residence, she never came to visit. They hardly exchanged two words all year.”
The third and second residences were somewhat distant, and since Song Ru seldom visited others' courtyards, Huawu had only seen her from afar during last year’s Mid-Autumn Festival.
She reached out to wash off the medicine from Tangning's face, applying new medicine while saying, “The third young lady couldn’t possibly be sent by the residence to gather information, could she?”
“It shouldn’t be.”
Feeling a slight sting on her face, Tangning inhaled and replied, “She probably heard something outside and thought I had fainted from vomiting blood, so she came to check on me.”
Huawu worked carefully but looked skeptical. “Could the third young lady really be so kind?”
Once all the medicine was applied and the sting subsided under the coolness, Huawu carefully checked for any missed spots before bringing over a basin of water, wringing out a cloth to help Tangning wipe her face while chattering on.
“The first lady is the one that the third young master brought back. If the residence weren’t so chaotic, the third young lady wouldn’t even be helping the third master, let alone specially coming to see you.”
Now that the old lady had lost her high-ranking title, she was left with the lowest status. In the whole capital, even a common woman would rank higher than her. The eldest young master was even worse off; he had been sent back to the Hanlin Academy to cultivate himself, but the emperor had given him no official position.
The Hanlin Academy was supposed to be the emperor’s heart, yet the eldest young master had nowhere to stand, and going there would only lead to ridicule. If he didn’t go, it would be seen as dissatisfaction with the emperor, leaving him humiliated either way.
Supervisor Xiao ruined the eldest young master’s future for her own lady, and the Song family probably wanted to tear Tangning apart now.
However, upon hearing this, Song Tangning said, “The third uncle is the third uncle, and A Ru is A Ru. Besides, she isn’t just here to see me.”
“Ah?” Huawu was confused.
Tangning pressed her lips together. In her previous life, she had barely spent some time with Song Ru, so she understood her nature.
Song Ru was weak and timid, easily frightened; she never dared to go against the wishes of Song Qin and the others, yet she truly had a kind heart.
Just as she knew that Song Jinxiu and the others were harming her, she dared not let her out, but she could secretly bring her food to keep her alive. Today, she must have seen something but was too scared to tell her directly, fearing that she might be unaware.
Song Jinxiu and Song Shulan likely didn’t come to her courtyard for good reasons, or maybe they had said something unpleasant during their drunken quarrel.
Song Ru didn’t dare to tell her, worried that she might be in danger, so she could only give her a hint indirectly.
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[You can read ahead to chapterr 100 here]
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