Songtang only let go of Aicao's hand after she was sure no one was chasing them.

Song Tang supported herself on her knees, panting. After a while, she let out a small "ah".

Ai Cao tilted her head: "What's wrong?"

Song Tang touched her cheek a little embarrassedly: "...I forgot to ask for the property. Shall we go to the Song residence again later?"

Ai Cao smiled and nodded, saying okay.

She looked around at the surrounding buildings, opened the map provided by the system, and said, "This seems to be the Crown Princess's residence."

Although the Crown Princess's position in the court became somewhat awkward after the Emperor gave birth to his youngest son, the Emperor never revoked the mansion bestowed upon her. While the mansion was large, it was rather remote compared to the mansions of other princes.

That is probably why the Emperor did not give this mansion to her youngest son.

Songtang blinked.

Knowing who the Crown Princess was, she shrank closer to Ai Cao and whispered, "Let's go home... no, it's time to have dinner now."

Ai Cao laughed: "Are we going to a restaurant tonight?"

Songtang nodded.

She glanced around discreetly, and seeing that no one was paying attention, she carefully took out a money pouch from her bosom.

Song Tang said, "This fell off Master Song. I saw it when I splashed water on him, and while the water was blinding him, I bent down, picked it up, and ran away with you."

Ai Cao glanced at the money bag. It was bulging, and it must have contained a lot of silver.

Ai Cao laughed and said, "This is probably the reward for bringing you into the palace. It's quite a lot."

Song Tang put the money pouch back into his arms and proudly raised his chin: "No matter how much Master Song refused to give it to me, this money still ended up in my hands."

The mugwort nodded.

She praised Song Tang a few times, then asked, "Shall we go to that restaurant we visited before, but didn't go in?"

Songtang's eyes lit up when she thought of the group of fluffy, soft puppies from before.

The two discussed their plan under the shade of a tree by the roadside, and then headed towards the restaurant. Just as they took a step, they heard a familiar voice.

The landlord of the courtyard they rented was standing by the roadside, smiling at them.

"Oh dear, what a coincidence," the homeowner said. "It's getting late, and you're still standing by the roadside. Where are you planning to go?" She glanced at Ai Cao without revealing her thoughts, then smiled and struck up a conversation with Song Tang.

Ai Cao silently stepped back behind Song Tang, standing behind her with her head down.

Song Tang smiled politely and said, "What a coincidence. Where is the landlady going? We just finished walking around and are planning to go home."

The homeowner—the Grand Tutor—smiled and asked, "Which home are you going back to?"

Song Tang's smile faded slightly.

The Grand Tutor laughed again: "It's all over the capital that the youngest daughter of the Song family has come to the capital and even damaged the Song family's gate." Her eyes were gentle, but her words were laced with sarcasm, "When the rental agreement was signed, I had no idea that such a distinguished guest had arrived."

"...Although I am Mrs. Song's daughter, I am not the youngest daughter of the Song family, and I did not break the door."

Song Tang pursed her lips, unwilling to take the blame for things that weren't hers: "That door broke by itself."

The Grand Tutor nodded with a smile. Her gaze towards Song Tang softened, and she changed the subject: "Have you had dinner yet? Would you like to join me?"

Songtang turned to look at Ai Cao, but Ai Cao kept her head down and did not respond to her gaze.

Song Tang hesitated and shook her head.

The Grand Tutor then said, "Your companion... this short-haired woman can also come along."

Faced with the Grand Tutor's warm invitation, Songtang could no longer refuse. She and Aicao followed the homeowner for a while, entered through a side door, rode in a sedan chair for some time, and then walked after getting off the sedan chair.

The scenery along the road changes.

The system asked curtly, "How did you end up being abducted to the Crown Princess's residence?"

Artemisia calmly retorted, "You're only asking now?"

The system complained, "I never expected you would actually let the female lead enter the Crown Princess's residence!"

Ai Cao smiled slightly and said, "Whether Song Tang likes it or not, she's already in the capital. And now, she has to choose sides—will she choose the Crown Prince, supported by the Song family, or the Crown Princess?"

“Oh, I forgot. Song Tang just stated her choice.” Ai Cao smiled. “She’s not on the same side as the Song family. For the Grand Tutor, that’s enough.”

The system paused for a moment, then said, "The female lead doesn't have to participate in this struggle."

Ai Cao laughed and said, "Yes, she can choose to be the male lead's appendage, a beautiful and soft dodder—and then die in the harem?"

The system whispered, "Can't you protect her?"

Ai Cao raised an eyebrow: "You're trying to make me the new male lead? Hmm... because I'm a woman, it's impossible for me to be the soft and fragile 'female lead,' so you want me to be the new male lead?"

"I suggest you check the middleware," Ai Cao mocked. "You'd better upgrade the code."

The system fell silent.

The group had passed several more scenic spots and arrived at a pavilion located on the lake.

A woman dressed in a purple short skirt with phoenix patterns and black trousers with dragon embroidery was sitting by the pavilion near the water. Half of her black hair was casually tied up and secured with a kingfisher feather hairpin, while the rest of her hair was loosely draped over her shoulders.

The Grand Tutor asked with a smile, "How is the Crown Princess today?"

The woman turned to look at them when she heard her voice. Her eyebrows slanted sharply towards her temples, and her deep, dark eyes exuded an aura of authority that commanded respect without anger.

When she saw the homeowner, a smile appeared in her eyes.

The Crown Princess stood up with a smile: "Grand Tutor, what brings you here?" She glanced at Song Tang beside the Grand Tutor, her smile fading slightly, "And who are these two?"

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