Chapter 2: Return to Beijing
Su Tan held an umbrella and walked all the way out of the city, then stepped onto the low-key and inconspicuous black carriage.
As soon as I entered, a thick cloak was wrapped around me.
Seeing how she had tortured herself to this point, Cui Wan felt both distressed and angry, but she did not forget to feed Su Tan some brown sugar water. "Why bother? I told you long ago that I should go to the Song family and beat up the Song family, but you didn't want to."
"They've bullied you like this, and you're still protecting those ungrateful wolves."
Su Tan smiled weakly.
"If they knew that Cui Wan, the most famous and elusive fortune teller in the capital, was my second senior sister, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to divorce her."
Cui Wan gritted her teeth and cursed inwardly, "You bastard."
"These bastards won't stop until they've completely sucked the blood out of you, especially that old woman Song. If it weren't for you, she wouldn't be alive today. Just because her son has been appointed a general, she's so self-righteous that she thinks you're not worthy of Song Tingchen."
"Do you really think her Song family is a good place?"
The more Cui Wan thought about it, the angrier she became. Looking at her junior sister, who was doted on by the whole sect, and was devastated like this by a bad fate, she couldn't stop crying and kept falling.
"If you weren't so stupid and used your own merits to protect the Song family, I think Song Tingchen would have been retaliated against because of his heavy sins of killing!"
Su Tan wiped Cui Wan's tears with a handkerchief and said, "Second Senior Sister, don't cry. I have escaped, haven't I?"
"That's right." Cui Wan wiped her tears and cursed through gritted teeth, "Without you to protect them, I wonder how long they can be so proud. I'm waiting for the Song family, a bunch of ungrateful wolves, to get their comeuppance!"
"Now that you've escaped from that man-eating demonic den, don't look back."
Su Tan lowered his eyes and tightened his grip on the cloak in his hand, "Yeah."
…
Three years later.
The heavy snow crushed the branches of the flowers. Su Tan walked out of Qingyu Lane and went with Cui Wan to buy the things they needed for leaving the city.
"Are you really ready to go back?"
Cui Wan looked worried. In the past three years, it seemed that Su Tan had completely forgotten about the Song family.
But as a senior sister, she knew very well that her junior sister was the most soft-hearted.
It is inevitable that she will run into the Song family when she returns to Beijing this time. She is afraid that the ungrateful Song family will cry. Su Tan will forget all the sufferings she has suffered in the past because of Song Xiao's young age.
Su Tan stretched out his hand and watched the snowflakes fall on his fingertips and then quickly melt away.
"Princess Zhaoyang has a high fever that won't go away, and Prince Chen has sought out famous doctors all over the world, but to no avail. When the people from Prince Chen's mansion found us, they produced Master's jade token, so there was no reason for me not to go."
She knew what was on Cui Wan's mind and smiled softly at her, "Second Senior Sister, don't worry, a good horse never turns back."
Cui Wan was silent for a moment, then held Su Tan's hand and said, "That's right."
"If you keep hiding here and refuse to face it, then I'll really be worried."
"They say doctors don't heal themselves. We read tales for others, we always tell their fortunes and change their fates, we calculate good and bad karma for others, but when it comes to ourselves, we have to peel off a layer of skin before we can understand the mystery."
Everyone has their own destiny, and she has come to understand this over the years.
After buying everything, Su Tan and Cui Wan set off for Beijing the next day. They were protected by well-trained secret guards along the way, and they arrived in the capital in just eight days.
When passing by the general's mansion, the curtain of the carriage happened to be blown up by the wind.
Su Tan happened to notice that the plaque on the general's mansion was covered with a layer of bluish-gray color that was invisible to others.
Su Tan lowered the curtain, his eyes showing neither sadness nor joy.
The moment she lowered the curtain, Song Tingchen, who had dismounted by pulling the reins, seemed to sense something. He raised his sharp eyes and stared at the passing carriage.
Just as he was about to mount his horse again to catch up and find out what was going on, a soft voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Brother Tingchen."
Liu Qingyin held Song Xiao's hand and stood gracefully in the wind, her figure slender, like a magnolia flower covered with morning dew.
Song Xiao was chubby and ran back towards Song Tingchen with difficulty using his short legs.
"Father!"
"Dad, you're finally back. Did you find the bad woman?"
Song Tingchen frowned, exuding a low pressure. He pushed the fat Song Xiao away from him and said, "How many times have I told you that Su Tan is not a bad woman? She is your mother!"
Song Xiao pouted, tears falling down his face, and his childish voice was filled with tears.
"She's such a bad woman! Grandfather died not long after she left, which prevented you from marrying Aunt Qing. Everyone in the academy said my mother was dead, and they laughed at me for being a motherless wild child!"
Song Tingchen's expression froze.
After a while, he raised his hand and rubbed his son's black hair.
"Don't cry, you are not a wild child without a mother. I will soon find your mother."
Liu Qingyin's fingers suddenly sank into the palm of her hand.
I could barely keep the smile on my face.
"Sister..." Seeing Song Tingchen's brows suddenly furrowed, Liu Qingyin changed her tone in time, "Is sister-in-law back?"
The white horse was led into the mansion by a servant. Song Tingchen held Song Xiao in his arms and walked inside while saying to Liu Qingyin, "We haven't found the person yet, but we'll be there soon."
He had a strong premonition that Su Tan had returned and was in the capital.
Liu Qingyin smiled softly, "That's great. My aunt has been ill for the past two years and has been taking my sister-in-law's medicine to recuperate."
"My sister-in-law left in a hurry and didn't leave any prescriptions for my aunt. Over the years, my aunt has been seeing doctors and taking medicine, but she hasn't gotten better."
"It's my fault, actually. I caused my sister-in-law to misunderstand me back then. When I find her, I will definitely apologize to her."
Song Tingchen paused.
"Um."
His voice was clear, thinking that Su Tan was a serious person with an extreme temper.
There were many misunderstandings back then.
This deserves a proper explanation.
He never had any romantic feelings for Liu Qingyin.
The reason he wanted to marry her as his co-wife was simply because he felt sorry for her father's death and felt guilty, so he wanted to give her a shelter.
So that she won't be bullied.
But Su Tan never tolerates even a grain of sand in his eyes.
Liu Qingyin's nails were almost broken, but she could only try her best to maintain a smile.
She took a deep breath, thought of more important things, and suppressed her temper.
"Brother Tingchen, I heard that Princess Zhaoyang is in a coma, and His Royal Highness Prince Chen has searched all over the world for famous doctors just to wake his daughter up."
"There's still one pill left of the one my father left me. I'm so grateful for the kindness of all parents. Could you please let me go see Princess Zhaoyang? I want to give it to her and try it out."
She lowered her eyes, hiding the calculation in them.
What a life-saving talisman that my father left for me.
She spent a huge amount of money, dragged many people through it, and raised the price by who knows how many layers before she finally bought the Soul-Restoring Pill made by Master Wangyou!
Just three of them, and she spent half of her fortune!
Two years ago, the Princess of Chen died during childbirth, leaving only the frail Princess Zhaoyang to accompany the Prince of Chen.
After the death of Princess Chen, Prince Chen has never remarried and has been devoted to taking care of his daughter.
Liu Qingyin lowered her head and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito, "If I can save the princess, I will be considered protected from now on. The misunderstanding that happened three years ago will never happen again."
"Brother Tingchen, you and your sister-in-law will be fine too."
Song Tingchen originally wanted to refuse outright, but the current situation is unstable and it is a time of great turmoil.
Many ministers in the court fell from the clouds to the cliff because of a momentary lapse of judgment and chose the wrong side.
If Liu Qingyin saved Prince Chen's daughter, it would be equivalent to Zhenbei General's Mansion fighting Prince Chen.
Song Tingchen didn't want to get involved in this.
But if doing so could allow Su Tan to let go of his prejudice against Liu Qingyin—Song Tingchen's eyes deepened, "After I pay my respects to my father-in-law and mother-in-law, I will start making arrangements for you."
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