The street was bustling, with the laughter of children piercing through from afar, incredibly infectious.

Before returning home, Yu Tingwan went to check on the two stores Ning Suxuan had instructed her about.

It didn’t take long, but by the time she sat back in the carriage heading home, half an hour had passed.

She lifted a corner of the curtain, glanced around, knowing the street they would pass by later led to the teahouse where she usually bought confectionery.

Thinking of confectionery, her gaze shifted to the food box the nanny had given her.

It hadn’t been opened yet.

Feeling a bit hungry, she took it.

Opened it.

The first layer contained confectionery she hadn’t seen before, arranged on a blue and white porcelain plate, with a special note on the side saying "Cherry Biree".

Each one was full and round, the surface a faint pink. Made with cherry filling wrapped in a thin dough.

They looked so beautiful she was reluctant to eat them.

Yu Tingwan opened the second layer of the food box.

A rich milky aroma quickly replaced the sweetness of the cherries.

It was a familiar taste.

Yu Tingwan’s expression subtly changed.

Unlike the plain styles bought from the teahouse before, each confectionery was small, just a bite each, yet exceptionally delicate, like blooming peonies, with petals vivid and translucent.

With one bite, the outer layer was crispy, and the inside was soft.

Such delicious confectionery actually looked like this.

But this was too complicated.

The ones she usually had were made with the simplest of patterns, maintaining the flavor was no easy task.

These were palace confections.

The nanny mentioned on the way out of the palace that one was Princess Jiasan’s favorite.

When she got married, the chef attending to her meals had specifically learned from the imperial chef in the Empress Dowager’s small kitchen.

As the wheels rolled, outside, Tan Jiang heard Yu Tingwan’s voice.

"How did the investigation I asked you to conduct a few days ago go?"

Tan Jiang just remembered she had forgotten to report, hurriedly said: "Madam, it’s my oversight, there is nothing unusual about the teahouse."

Nothing unusual?

Yu Tingwan heard her own light breathing.

She blinked lightly.

Indeed.

In Shangjing, it’s very difficult to investigate matters that the Gu Family doesn’t permit to be investigated.

"Stop ahead."

The teahouse still did not have much customer flow, business was bleak.

As Yu Tingwan entered, the shopkeeper, who was dozing off, was startled awake and quickly came forward.

"Madam."

Shopkeeper: "Are you going to sit upstairs in a private room this time, or shall I pack something for you to take away?"

Yu Tingwan lifted her skirt and went upstairs, leaving just one sentence behind: "Inside the Grand Tutor Mansion, who is it communicating with you? Have them come over."

The shopkeeper’s smile froze, his face turned pale.

But who Yu Tingwan awaited wasn’t a servant from the Gu Family.

It was Jiasan.

She had clearly come in a hurry, her clothes visibly creased.

Once she arrived outside the private room, she hesitated for a moment. Jiasan moved cautiously, afraid of disturbing the person inside.

But the old teahouse still creaked.

The girl sitting inside turned her head at the sound.

Seeing her, she wasn’t particularly surprised.

Yu Tingwan rarely did not rise to greet, her eyes filled with emotion.

Jiasan stepped inside, carefully observing her expression.

She knew Yu Tingwan was reluctant to have too many entanglements with the Gu Family.

About the confectionery, she feared it would burden Yu Tingwan.

Be met with resistance.

When people from the teahouse went to the Gu Family, she knew things had gone wrong.

"It was my fault."

Jiasan stepped inside: "Did it make you uncomfortable?"

She was somewhat anxious: "Yaoyao, I..."

The tea was bubbling in the pot, Yu Tingwan invited Jiasan to sit down, poured a cup, and handed it over.

"The tea leaves here aren’t particularly good, the price is cheap, likely not as good as the Grand Tutor Mansion’s."

Jiasan certainly wouldn’t mind.

It was actually her first time drinking tea made by Yu Tingwan.

The tea cup in her hands was unremarkable, yet she held it with both hands, cherishing it.

Yu Tingwan’s gaze landed on her hands. Well-maintained, but with burns on top.

Her throat tightened slightly: "The birth back then, it must have hurt a lot, right?"

Jiasan was momentarily stunned.

Yu Tingwan: "Due to fetal distress, you went into early labor, and it was in a rundown temple, under inadequate conditions. The doctor was even dispersed by rioting disaster victims outside."

"I heard it was a matter of life and death."

How could it not hurt?

Jiasan still remembered the chaotic scene and the heart-wrenching pain.

But looking at the refined young lady in front of her, everything was worth it.

Yu Tingwan: "You should rarely cook, Madam."

Before Jiasan could respond, she continued, "When I first started learning to cook, I also often injured myself."

Yet, her cooking skills did not improve at all, other than filling her stomach, the taste was really not good.

"You... truly don’t need to stoop so low, beating around the bush like this."

What’s stooping low?

Jiasan’s heart tightened.

Yu Tingwan’s tone was calm: "Perhaps I seem a bit unsympathetic."

She knew she couldn’t avoid contact, meetings were bound to happen. Meeting, exchanging greetings, knowing the other party was doing well, she thought that was it.

But she was wrong.

"Maybe now I am not yet a mother. I don’t understand the pain of carrying a child for nine months and giving birth."

But she ignored the instinct of parents wanting to be close to their children.

"My heart is too deeply knotted, wanting to unsympathetically ignore your and the Grand Tutor’s kindness."

"Yaoyao."

Jiasan instinctively wanted to take her hand.

Yu Tingwan: "You make it difficult for me like this."

"Please, don’t send any more confectionery."

Jiasan’s face seemed to lose all its color: "Yaoyao."

"I didn’t intend to use the confectionery to curry favor with you. Just thinking you’d like to eat it made me happy inside..."

"Let me do something for you."

Yu Tingwan, from Jiasan’s perspective, weighed the pros and cons: "But I can’t give much in return, your efforts might be in vain, achieving nothing, so why..."

"Child, even if you don’t eat them, throw them away, it’s nothing. Just let me do something for you, will you?"

Yu Tingwan saw her eyes slightly red, hesitated for a moment.

"Alright."

————

Jia Mansion.

An unexpected guest arrived.

The green raven jumped around joyously.

Wei Zhao shooed it away.

Elder Ge excitedly went back to the house and brought out a porcelain bottle.

"General, a few days ago, I came up with a poison powder."

Wei Zhao asked, "How effective is it?"

"It cannot be detected as a poison, yet it’s colorless and tasteless. Within three days, if exposed to another triggering incense, it will activate."

Elder Ge: "It won’t be life-threatening, but the pain would be unbearable when waking at midnight."

Wei Zhao: "I don’t believe it."

Elder Ge: ???

You brat, doubting me!

Wei Zhao contemplated: "We need to find someone to test its effects." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Ying Fuyan offered a suggestion: "How about Ying Yin."

As his adviser, he was really annoyed with him. Too much fuss.

Wei Zhao glanced over with a ’are you crazy’ look: "A member of royalty, surrounded by capable people, more cautious than anyone. Poisoning them would not be easy."

Indeed.

The next moment, his tone was airy.

"But since we’re taking risks, might as well go all in."

Wei Zhao: "Let me think about it."

Elder Ge’s eyelid twitched: "What are you thinking?"

"The deployment is almost complete."

The counterattack is about to begin.