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Song Qing, learned and abounding in knowledge, had read all sorts of books, and also had a profound love for reading, so he thought nothing of it.

Lady Taotao observed Song Qing lowering his head once again, but from his tone, he seemed quite anticipatory.

"When I come over to visit tomorrow, I will bring the book along," she said.

Song Qing replied, "Thank you, Lady Taotao."

Lady Taotao imagined for a moment how Song Qing might react if he knew it was a romance novel—would he still look forward to it as much?

He might be shocked and find it absurd.

Thinking about Song Qing’s reaction made her unable to suppress a laugh.

"Mr. Song, how about you teach me how to write?" she asked.

Hearing this, Song Qing was quite alarmed, "Lady Taotao, I’m afraid that’s inappropriate."

Lady Taotao pretended to be innocent, "What’s inappropriate about it?"

Song Qing, head hung even lower, replied, "The difference between men and women makes it truly improper."

Upon hearing this, Lady Taotao laughed, "Mr. Song is so knowledgeable and courteous, indeed it’s somewhat improper. It was too rash of me."

Song Qing breathed a secret sigh of relief, "Lady Taotao also has a strong zeal for learning, if you truly wish to learn, you could find another teacher."

Lady Taotao expressed her frustration, "I wanted to learn because I like Mr. Song’s writing. If someone else were to teach me, I wouldn’t be interested."

Eh! Song Qing: "..."

Lady Taotao didn’t press him further and looked down at the book Song Qing had just been reading.

The next day, Lady Taotao, bringing along her favorite romance novel, headed to Hehuan Hall. To look for Song Qing directly was not proper, so she took Shen Chuwei with her, using the excuse of visiting Taotao in the Crown Prince’s Bedchamber.

Song Qing was the genteel and scholarly Top Scholar whose aura was thick with the scent of books, and who was also exceedingly honest.

Lady Taotao spent good money to learn all about the Top Scholar. Before he came to the capital to sit for the examinations, there were not a few matchmakers who knocked on his door, yet his heart was set on his books, aiming for achievement and reputation.

After placing in the top three ranks and becoming the Top Scholar, the number of matchmakers at his door was even more countless, but he felt he was still young and was in no hurry to marry.

Even a Secretary’s intention to marry his daughter to him was gently turned down.

Lady Taotao was curious as to what kind of woman he would like.

When Song Qing saw that Lady Taotao had entered, he stepped forward to greet her with a ceremonial bow, "Lady Taotao."

Lady Taotao handed over the romance novel to Song Qing, "This is my favorite book, take a look."

"Thank you, Lady Taotao." As Song Qing reached out to take the book from her hand, he accidentally touched a warm, soft hand, which startled him so much that he quickly withdrew his own, causing the book to drop to the floor.

Feigning shock, Lady Taotao asked, "Mr. Song, what’s wrong with you?"

"I’m fine, fine..." Song Qing, not daring to look at Lady Taotao, bent over to pick up the book from the floor, dusted off the dirt, and then rubbed away the invisible fine dust with his sleeve.

Lady Taotao caught sight of Song Qing’s ears turning bright red. She stared for a while, never before having seen such a pure-hearted man.

Perhaps reading too many romance novels had changed her way of thinking quite a bit.

Watching his actions, it was obvious that he cherished books. The mere touch of her hand had frightened him like that—could it be that he had never been in contact with a woman?

After cleaning the book, Song Qing repeated the ceremonial bow, "Thank you, Lady Taotao. I shall read it attentively and return the book to you afterward."

Lady Taotao dismissed it casually, "If Mr. Song likes it, you can keep it for yourself. You can read it on your way back, and just tell me what it’s about once you’ve finished."

Song Qing, who loved reading and also collecting books, naturally preferred to keep any that he liked.

"Then I thank Lady Taotao in advance."

"You’re too polite, Mr. Song," Lady Taotao looked at Song Qing’s expression of fondness and was even more eager to see how he would react upon reading the contents—wondering if he might be scared.

Shen Chuwei led her son back in and, seeing Song Qing and Lady Taotao in the Study Room, gave it no further thought and placed a dish of roast chicken wings before them.

"These are cola chicken wings, give them a try."

When Shen Chuwei entered, Lady Taotao had already smelled the aroma, and now seeing its source, she was a bit greedy.

"It smells so good." Saying this, she unhesitatingly picked up the waxed paper, then used the paper to grab a wing so as not to dirty her hands.

Biting into it, she lavished praise without stinginess, "Crown Princess, this is so delicious."

Shen Chuwei was quite proud, "Of course, it’s one of my most favorite delicacies."

While speaking, she wrapped a cola chicken wing in wax paper for her daughter, then for her son, and only afterward for Chu Lingfeng.

Chu Lingfeng hesitated for a moment, but still took it, and bit off a small piece.

Seeing Song Qing standing still, Lady Tao reminded him, "Mr. Song, you should eat too."

Song Qing, watching them eat with relish, was also curious about the taste of the cola chicken wings, but he hadn’t forgotten his status.

"...This, it’s not proper."

"What’s improper about it? Just try it, you’ll regret it if you don’t taste the Crown Princess’s cooking," Lady Tao said, wrapping one in wax paper for Song Qing.

When she placed it in Song Qing’s hands, their hands touched again, this time it wasn’t a scare, but embarrassment.

As expected, his ears turned red again~

Lady Tao noticed this, such a man easily embarrassed was indeed rare.

Shen Chuwei also picked up a piece of cola chicken wing and took a bite, the meat was tender and juicy, simply delicious in two words.

A group of people surrounded the study desk, eating cola chicken wings, and in no time at all, the plate was empty.

It was Song Qing’s first time eating in such a manner, somewhat ungraceful, but when he saw the Crown Princess, Lady Tao, and the young lord Chu doing it, it seemed to be normal?

Chu Lingfeng, often having gone hungry in the past, was not surprised to eat standing up, holding the food in hand; in fact, it felt normal.

After finishing the cola chicken wings, Susu pulled on Chu Lingfeng’s hand, "Little Gugu, let’s play together."

Now that Chu Lingfeng was in the East Palace, and the little princess wanted his company, he naturally wouldn’t refuse.

"What do you want to play?"

Susu pointed at the little ball next to the white tiger, "Play ball."

Chu Lingfeng looked up at the white tiger and saw it walking towards them, his instinct was to retreat.

Even when not threatening, a tiger is very frightening.

For a nine-year-old child like Chu Lingfeng, not being afraid was impossible.

He truly couldn’t understand why the Emperor and Crown Princess would give the little princess a white tiger as a pet.

Susu cheerfully gestured to the white tiger, "Huhu."

The white tiger, seeing Susu’s gesture, ran over excitedly.

Chu Lingfeng instinctively stepped back several paces.

Susu looked up at Chu Lingfeng puzzled, "Little Gugu, won’t you play with me?"

Chu Lingfeng, still hesitant at seeing the white tiger, said, "I’ll play with you."

Susu, holding Chu Lingfeng’s hand again, watched the white tiger approach, then she petted it, "Huhu."

Chu Lingfeng watched the white tiger stand tamely in front of the little princess, letting her stroke it, and he just hoped the tiger would always stay this docile.

If it suddenly went wild, he couldn’t save the little princess, not to mention his own life would be at risk.

Chu Lingfeng accompanied the little princess in playing ball with a heart racing in fear, every time he saw the white tiger running towards him, he felt the danger of being tackled to the ground the next second.

Susu played very happily, laughing sweeter than cotton candy.

Chu Lingfeng watched Susu smiling and froze for a few seconds.

In the quiet of the night,

Song Qing, after a busy day, bathed and then sat down by the bed. Thinking of the books that Lady Tao had given him, and not feeling sleepy right now, he got up to fetch them and started flipping through them sitting by the bed.

In the room, a few candles burned, the light still quite dim.

He lit another candle and placed it by the bed, and then sat back down to open the book and begin reading.

The content of the first page was very different from the books he had read before, seeming to be a story.

Continuing with curiosity, after reading a few pages, he realized something was off—it was a bit like the folk storybooks, but also somewhat different.

The story was captivating, so he read on, and as he progressed, he noticed that the atmosphere was becoming more and more improper...