“Miss, Mr. Yang is here.”

Rongrong was writing at her desk when Fei Cui came in to announce.

“First, serve him some tea and ask him to wait. I’ll be out soon,” Rongrong said, her face lighting up as she quickly put down her pen.

A month ago, Rongrong had returned home from the East Palace.

She had originally promised Yuanbao to return to the East Palace every other day, but only a few days later, Yuanbao became so attached to her that he wanted her to stay at home.

He decided to come to Wutong Alley to see Rongrong whenever he missed her.

Rongrong had always felt a bit intimidated by her husband, and now that Liu Zhen was not around, meeting him every day made her somewhat uncomfortable.

After returning home, life was indeed comfortable.

Grandmother and Second Brother treated her like a precious gem, and with Chunxing, Liu Li, and Fei Cui managing the household affairs, she didn’t have to worry about Yuanbao’s needs.

She could focus solely on her writing.

The story of the widow and the scholar was finally in its basic draft.

Today, she had specially invited Yang Tong to come over to review her manuscript and give her some feedback.

Rongrong was delighted that her revised “Legend of the Dragon Maiden” had been accepted, but she didn’t want to take all the credit.

Yang Tong was a notable writer at the bookstore.

The manuscript had been rejected only because of minor flaws in the plot, but Yang Tong’s writing skills were well-established, and the foundation of the story was already excellent.

This manuscript was Rongrong’s first independent work, and she was eager to hear Yang Tong’s evaluation.

Rongrong quickly organized her manuscript from the brocade box and hurried to the outer courtyard.

Currently, Grandmother, Rongrong, and the three maids lived in the inner courtyard, while only Xue Xiaoshan occupied the outer courtyard.

Consequently, there were plenty of rooms available.

Meals didn’t need to be served in the courtyard; there was a dining hall for that and a separate room for hosting guests.

Yang Tong was sitting in the main hall, where Fei Cui had served him tea and a plate of tea cakes.

During previous visits, Yang Tong either spoke in the courtyard or was sent away by a few words from Xue Xiaoshan, not even allowed to enter the door.

Yesterday, being invited inside was already surprising, and now being asked into the main room with tea and snacks made him even more anxious.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Rongrong entered with the manuscript and saw Yang Tong sitting there.

She frowned and said, “This isn’t a convenient place; come with me.”

Yang Tong’s face flushed as he heard Rongrong’s words.

Being led away, he wondered where she was taking him.

As Yang Tong followed with a pounding heart, he saw Rongrong enter the adjacent dining hall.

Rongrong placed the manuscript on the Eight Immortals table and smiled at Yang Tong, “It’s better to sit here. The table is large enough to spread out the manuscript.”

“Indeed,” Yang Tong said, lowering his head, not wanting to let Rongrong see his embarrassment.

After sitting down, Rongrong said, “Brother Yang, I’ve put together a story while I’ve been at home. Could you take a look?”

At the mention of the manuscript, Yang Tong immediately became alert and began reading the manuscript she had pushed towards him.

Rongrong watched him nervously, “If there’s anything wrong, please feel free to say it.”

Yang Tong was so focused on reading that he didn’t hear Rongrong’s words.

Rongrong’s nervousness grew, even more than when she had participated in the assessments at the Yeting. Back then, she had prepared meticulously and was confident. Writing a story was a completely new experience for her, so it was only natural that she felt anxious.

The story she wrote wasn’t long, only about thirty pages. Yang Tong read carefully for about half an hour.

He put down the manuscript and nodded at Rongrong.

This meant… the story was acceptable?

Rongrong wanted a definite answer: “Is it good or not?”

“It’s definitely good,” Yang Tong said. “Books with this kind of theme are highly sought after by publishers.”

“Really?” Rongrong was surprised. She remembered that books by authors like Xiao Heshang and Zhujiansheng were about a man with many women. She thought such stories were the ones that were popular.

Yang Tong nodded, his face flushing a little.

Books with widows as the main theme were generally well-liked by publishers. However, he himself was somewhat stubborn, preferring to write suspense and adventure stories, even though he knew these themes sold better.

But Rongrong was different. She liked and was skilled at writing romance stories, so she didn’t have to struggle like he did.

“Let me mention a few drawbacks,” Yang Tong quickly changed the topic to avoid questions about why widow-themed books were popular.

Rongrong didn’t press further and nodded in agreement. “Please, go ahead.”

“First, the part where they live together after meeting,” Yang Tong said with a light cough, “Miss Rongrong, if someone is washing clothes every day, it’s unrealistic to expect to have meat with every meal.”

“Huh?” Rongrong was a bit confused.

Although she had lived as a servant in both her past and present lives, she had never experienced hardship with food.

In her previous life, being in the palace was different, and in this life, as a senior maid in the marquis’s residence, her living conditions were similar to those of young ladies from small families.

Even after leaving the manor and staying in Huaihua Lane with Chunxing during her illness, she never lacked food.

“Is it really impossible?” Rongrong asked, blushing.

Yang Tong nodded, “Even for me, if I had to support an adult man with my income, I couldn’t afford to have meat every day.”

Feeling embarrassed, Rongrong lowered her head. “I’ll make some changes.”

“There’s one more issue. Your manuscript was finished in a hurry, so I found quite a few typos and missing words,” Yang Tong said. “Nowadays, there are many people willing to write stories, and the bookstore doesn’t want to spend too much effort on proofreading, so you’ll need to revise it a bit more.”

Rongrong nodded vigorously, “I’ll revise it a few more times.”

She wasn’t short of money now; what she wanted from the bookstore was recognition.

“If you don’t mind, I can take it back and make the revisions for you, then send it to the bookstore for review?”

Rongrong felt a bit embarrassed.

She had actually invited Yang Tong with the intention of asking him for help in revising, but since he offered to do it himself, she felt uneasy about accepting right away.

Yang Tong smiled, “You helped me revise so many manuscripts before, and ‘Legend of the Dragon Maiden’ was printed thanks to your help. It’s only right that I help you with the proofreading now. By the way, have you come up with a good title for this story?”

“I’ve thought of several, but none seem quite right.”

“Tell me about them.”

As they talked about the manuscript, Rongrong and Yang Tong grew more and more engrossed in the discussion, chatting for over an hour without realizing it.

When it was nearly mealtime, Xue Xiaoshan came to the door and asked, “Rongrong, let’s have dinner first.”

Reminded by him, Rongrong realized how late it had gotten and quickly said, “I’ve delayed Mr. Yang for quite a while. Please stay for dinner tonight.”

Yang Tong tried to refuse, but his stomach betrayed him with a couple of growls.

“Then I… will gratefully accept.”

Rongrong stifled a laugh, tidied up the manuscript, and instructed Fei Cui and Chunxing to set the table.

Tonight’s meal was prepared by Old Lady Xue: a large bowl of braised pork, a large bowl of steamed pumpkin, a big basket of buns, and a big pot of chicken soup.

Although there were only four dishes, the quantity of each was ample, enough for six or seven people.

Old Lady Xue’s cooking was good for home-style dishes, but it was still rustic and hearty.

Since there was a guest, Rongrong thought the dishes might be a bit plain. She went to the kitchen, grabbed an eggplant, and using the leftover flour from the buns and the braised pork, made a dish of eggplant fritters.

As soon as this dish was served, it immediately stood out from the other dishes.

Old Lady Xue smiled and said, “My Rongrong is just so skillful.”

Rongrong quickly served an eggplant fritter to Old Lady Xue and said, “Try it first. Compliments in front of guests are a bit embarrassing for me.”

“It’s only right to praise when there are guests. Otherwise, no one would know how wonderful my granddaughter is. Otherwise, you’re getting older, and no one will come to propose.”

As soon as Old Lady Xue said this, everyone at the table was momentarily stunned.

As Chunxing and Feicui were not the topic of discussion, Yang Tong’s face turned red, and he immediately looked at Rongrong.

Rongrong was caught off guard by her grandmother’s sudden comment and looked to her second brother for help.

Xue Xiaoshan, realizing that Rongrong looked helplessly at him, quickly came to his senses and said, “Grandmother, you’re talking nonsense. Rongrong is still young; it’s too early to discuss this! Let’s eat.”

The Grandma Xue sighed and started eating.

Because of the old lady’s outburst, the meal was rather silent.

After finishing, Yang Tong quickly stood up to take his leave.

Xue Xiaoshan saw Yang Tong out and didn’t forget to remind him, “Grandmother is old and sometimes speaks out of turn. Mr. Yang, don’t take it to heart.”

Yang Tong’s gaze briefly froze.

He forced a nod and took a few steps before turning back, “Second Brother Xue, has Miss Rongrong… been promised to someone yet?”

“She has someone in mind, but I haven’t informed grandmother because of her health,” Xue Xiaoshan answered without hesitation.

It was better to dispel Yang Tong’s hopes early rather than let him cling to them.

Miss Rongrong has someone in mind?

Yang Tong’s smile became even more forced. He nodded at Xue Xiaoshan and hurriedly left Wutong Lane.

Xue Xiaoshan watched Yang Tong’s departing figure with a bitter smile.

He envied Yang Tong for being able to talk so much with Rongrong and show his feelings openly.

It was much better than being the reserved older brother.

“Second Brother, what are you thinking about?” Rongrong came out of the courtyard and waved her hand in front of him.

Xue Xiaoshan turned and met Rongrong’s smiling face.

She smiled a lot now, which was much better than when she used to be serious.

It seemed like she was really happy in the Easter Palace, and that was good.

As long as she was happy.

Rongrong was still embarrassed about what happened at the dinner table, “Second Brother, thank you for speaking up for me in front of grandmother. I was so embarrassed.”

“When do you plan to tell grandmother about you and the Crown Prince?”

“Not yet,” Rongrong felt embarrassed about being honest with grandmother.

She had previously insisted that she was working seriously in the East Palace, so how could she now change her story?

She would wait for Liu Zhen to handle it when he returned.

“Alright,” Xue Xiaoshan nodded. “You talked with Yang Tong for so long this afternoon. Are you tired?”

“I’m not tired, just a bit thirsty. Even though I drank two bowls of chicken soup, I’m still thirsty!”

Xue Xiaoshan chuckled, “There’s a stall selling mung bean soup at the end of the street. How about I take you there to have a bowl?”

Mung bean soup was a good way to cool down and quench thirst. Rongrong eagerly agreed and followed Xue Xiaoshan to the street.

But after walking only a short distance, a dark figure lunged at them.

Xue Xiaoshan reacted quickly, shielding Rongrong and kicking the figure away.

Just as he was about to scold the figure, it started crying loudly on the side of the street.

Wutong Lane was usually quiet, and as soon as the figure cried out, it attracted a crowd from the street.

Xue Xiaoshan thought this was someone trying to scam them and said angrily, “Why are you crying? If you hadn’t rushed at my sister, I wouldn’t have kicked you!”

The figure cried and cursed, “Is there no justice in this world? My sister eloped with an adopted child and doesn’t even recognize her own brother!”