The mistress who remarried has returned.

She didn't understand, nor did she have time to ask, because once she finished this task, she might not have to do the rest...

Su Yunxi immediately perked up, and all the alarms went off immediately. In the end, she still had to go and get the cloak.

Knowing this, she wouldn't have impulsively and recklessly cut up the cloak. She shifted her body on the stool, as if her buttocks were nailed to the ground, not wanting to take him back to the mansion to get the cloak. She was already disliked by him, and if he saw her destroy the cloak made by his grandmother, she really didn't know how to handle the situation.

Subconsciously, they didn't want to disrupt this hard-won peaceful coexistence.

Four years have passed, and he has almost only existed in her memory, unlike today when he is alive and well in front of her. For some reason, she wants to linger a little longer, just a little longer.

"I'm hungry," Su Yunxi said softly. "Qin Huai... listen, my stomach is growling."

Qin Huai, quite intrigued, leaned closer to listen.

Just then, Su Yunxi's stomach didn't growl, but inside she was scolding, "Growl, you useless stomach!"

Qin Huai patiently observed her for a moment, "Are you here for tea and snacks, or is there something else you'd like to eat?"

Su Yunxi breathed a sigh of relief. Before her stomach could even rumble, he actually agreed to eat first. She thought for a moment, "Regardless of what happened to Yunze today, you helped me. It was even more gratifying that Wang Shi was beaten. I wanted to treat you to a meal as a way of thanking you. However, this teahouse is near the East Palace and is too expensive. Eating here would take up most of the money I got from Lord Su. I can only afford to treat you to a street stall."

Qin Huai said, "Are you going to treat me to dinner?"

"Hmm." Su Yunxi thought to herself that she wasn't well-off to begin with, so it would be best to split the cost of the meal in half. But it wouldn't be right to ask someone to split the cost in half as a thank you. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Yes, it's my treat. You must do me the honor."

Qin Huai nodded. "Okay."

Su Yunxi was taken aback. This person didn't even mention half a share? ...Oh well, thinking like this would make it seem like she wasn't sincere in her invitation. She was just stalling for time anyway, and she still had to pay some price. What if Qin Huai got called away for something else while she was stalling? Then she would have time to salvage the cloak.

Qin Huai put down the tea fee, and Su Yunxi glanced at it. This tea fee was enough for the three of them to live on for several months. As expected of a teahouse near the East Palace, every inch of land was precious.

After taking the horse, Qin Huai urged Su Yunxi to leave the teahouse.

After the shopkeeper left, he muttered to himself, "That's right, I knew such a good girl wouldn't be so heartless. Look at them, aren't they so affectionate? He's sitting by the window, looking towards the door countless times to see if anyone's coming. He's so clingy, if he's not her husband, then maybe good news is on the way."

On horseback, Su Yunxi nestled in Qin Huai's arms, and immediately suggested their destination, "Let's go to the snack street over in Donglang Alley."

That place is fifty miles away from the Su family mansion. Before her father became wealthy, she lived there when she was a child, so she knew it very well.

Qin Huai glanced down at Su Yunxi, "It takes an hour to run from Jingxin to Donglang Lane."

Su Yunxi nodded, "It's best to go as slowly as possible, since we're already at the old folks' place." She continued, "There's a place over there that sells really delicious baked buns. I used to go there with my parents when I was little. My dad would carry me on his back and call me 'my little darling,' and I'd be happily munching on a baked bun while looking at the lanterns on his shoulders..."

As she spoke, Su Yunxi suddenly fell silent. In her memory, her father was wise and mighty, her peerless hero.

Qin Huai tightened his grip on her waist. "Okay. Let's go to Donglang Alley."

Su Yunxi said, "Let's not eat the baked buns, let's eat something else. I misremembered earlier, the baked buns weren't that delicious. It's just that things that tasted good when I was a kid might not be something I like now. I didn't eat anything too fancy when I was a kid. What haven't I seen and eaten now?"

Her eyes actually reddened.

Qin Huai raised his hand and touched her eyes, his fingertips damp. "Whatever you like. Anything to fill your stomach is fine."

Finally, at the Donglang Lane snack street, Su Yunxi bought a rather large flower cake. She didn't know what kind of flowers it was made of; the vendor said it was made of seasonal flowers. In short, it was red and pink and looked particularly beautiful. She had always been an oddball since she was a child, and the things she liked were also strange.

A seasonal flower cake cost three coins.

She bargained the price down to 2.8 cents.

Qin Huai saw her bargaining but didn't interrupt her.

After shopping, she came to the arched bridge in the southwest direction, under a row of large lanterns. Compared with the bustling street over there, this place was much quieter. From the arched bridge, she could see an abandoned little house at the end of the bridge. That was her childhood home. After her father became a wealthy man, he left it empty.

The flower basket she wove as a child still hangs by the door, now filled with snow, obscuring its appearance.

She seemed to see the little girl from before sitting on a small stool in the yard, weaving flower baskets, while her parents kept praising her for her skill.

Su Yunxi broke the flower cake in half and gave it to Qin Huai. Perhaps because her hand was uneven, or perhaps because she felt that Qin Huai did not deserve her efforts today, she gave him the smaller half. Feeling that she was being a little stingy, she broke off another small piece and handed it to Qin Huai. "My hand was not strong enough just now, so I didn't divide it very evenly."

Qin Huai looked down at the three-quarters in her hand, then at the quarter in his own. It was indeed uneven. He felt that she was unwilling to share even this quarter with him. He lowered his head and put the flower cake in her hand with the tip of her finger. She always ate different things than others. She didn't gorge on delicacies. She still had a bland and clean appetite.

He had only ever seen one woman like this in the world.

Her fingers grazed between his lips, picking up some of his saliva.

Su Yunxi didn't dare to wipe her fingers that he had touched with a handkerchief. Instead, she sat on the stone steps under the lanterns in the street garden, holding the flower cake, and ate it bite by bite, kicking her legs back and forth. Sure enough, when you're feeling bitter, you have to eat sweets.

For a fleeting moment, she wished time could stand still, with lanterns, fresh flower cakes, Qin Huai, and the sight of her old home when her parents were still living in harmony.

Watching her devour a two-and-a-half-cent flower cake with relish, and occasionally stealing glances at her old family home, Qin Huai's heart almost melted. "Do you miss home?"

Su Yunxi was startled. She didn't understand where he was referring to. He must have been asking if she missed the home she used to live with her parents. He certainly wasn't referring to the home in Jiuli Lane that belonged to him and her, but she did miss the home in Jiuli Lane that belonged to him and her. So she nodded, "I miss home."

"Then let's go back to the Su residence and get the cloak first." Qin Huai stopped there, then paused before adding, "I've already made arrangements."

She didn't understand what he had arranged, but she allowed herself to deceive herself into thinking that he had arranged to take her home and end her ordeal of being splashed with horse manure and rotten eggs. Perhaps her husband had already tidied up her house and yard, ready to welcome her home.