An Unexpected Encounter with FangFang
TanTan had no idea how long she had been asleep.
The second time she woke up, she heard XiaoRue's familiar voice.
"XiaoJie! You're awake... Thank goodness!"
XiaoRue immediately helped TanTan sit up.
"XiaoRue... What time is it?"
"It's already morning, XiaoJie. When I came back here yesterday, you had developed a high fever. You've been sleeping for an entire day! XiaoRue was so worried..."
TanTan said nothing. She felt terribly weak. XiaoRue handed her a cup of tea as usual, but this time TanTan didn't even have enough energy to rinse her mouth. She simply drank it all.
"...Where am I?"
TanTan looked around. The room was filled with a sweet fragrance and luxurious decorations. There was plenty of beautiful furniture, but the room was so spacious that it somehow felt cold and lonely.
"XiaoJie, we're at Li Mansion now. This is your bedroom. Ever since you married into this family, you've always stayed here."
Since TanTan had asked so many questions during their carriage journey, XiaoRue felt that she needed to explain everything to her XiaoJie, hoping it might help her regain her memories.
"Oh... I see..."
TanTan tried to get out of bed, but she was still so weak that XiaoRue had to support her.
"It's okay, XiaoRue. I just want to get some fresh air."
TanTan gently released XiaoRue's hand and tried to walk out of the room by herself.
At the doorway, she nearly lost her balance, but managed to grab the doorframe to steady herself.
"XiaoJie!"
XiaoRue hurried forward to help her. However, TanTan signalled that she didn't want any assistance.
At that moment, she noticed something lying on the floor near the door.
It was a small, round, green jade pendant decorated with two red strings.
Someone must have dropped this by accident.
At the same time, TanTan noticed a little figure hiding behind a tree in the courtyard. The child was trying her best to stay out of sight, but her nervous movements gave her away.
TanTan found her behaviour rather adorable.
"XiaoRue..."
She gestured for XiaoRue to come closer.
"Yes, XiaoJie? What is it?"
TanTan showed her the pendant.
"I just found this. Do you know whose it is?"
XiaoRue examined it carefully.
"I don't know, XiaoJie. It could belong to anyone in Li Mansion."
"Hmm... Well, this pendant is quite pretty. If nobody claims it, I'll just keep it for myself."
Hearing TanTan's words, the little figure immediately came out from behind the tree.
"It's MINE!!! GIVE IT BACK TO ME!!!"
It was the little girl who had run away from TanTan's room the previous day. She stood there angrily, although her fear was still clearly visible in her trembling posture.
XiaoRue was surprised to see her.
"FangFang XiaoJie..."
This was the first time since that terrible incident that Li FangFang had dared to speak directly to Hua MuTan again. XiaoRue couldn't help worrying about what might happen next.
TanTan also recognised the little girl from Hua MuTan's memories.
She studied Li FangFang carefully. The child looked adorable in her blue long-sleeved top and trousers, with two round buns of hair on either side of her head.
Li FangFang really was a cute little girl. What on earth could have made Hua MuTan cruel enough to hurt her?
TanTan had always loved children, even though she had never had any of her own. She was quite close to the children living in her old neighbourhood. FangFang reminded her of a little girl who lived next door to her house. She had an angelic face but was always getting into mischief.
This little girl seems to be trying hard to hide her fear. That pendant must be very important to her...
TanTan smiled and spoke in a stern tone, like a teacher questioning a naughty student.
"How do I know this pendant really belongs to you?"
"MY YIFU GAVE IT TO ME! GIVE IT BACK, OR... OR I'LL TELL YIFU!"
FangFang thought Hua MuTan would be afraid of her threat. But when TanTan took a step toward her, the little girl began trembling.
"XiaoJieee... No..."
XiaoRue was also startled. She immediately imagined the worst and tried to hold TanTan back.
However, TanTan shook her head and smiled reassuringly. She leaned closer and whispered,
"It's okay... I won't do anything bad to her."
FangFang was still frightened of Hua MuTan after what had happened before. Her little body trembled, although she tried her best to maintain her threatening attitude.
"D-don't come closer! I w-warn you... YiFu... said y-you... can't..."
TanTan slowly raised her right hand.
Reflexively, FangFang squeezed her eyes shut and covered her head with both little hands, bracing herself for a blow.
But what happened next completely surprised her.
Instead of hitting her, TanTan gently patted her head.
FangFang slowly opened her eyes.
TanTan had crouched down to her level, smiling apologetically. She opened her palm and placed the jade pendant in FangFang's little hands.
"Don't be afraid. See? This is yours. I'm giving it back to you. Next time, keep it somewhere safe, okay? Don't lose it again."
Strange... Very strange... Evil JieJie is different somehow...
Li FangFang stared at TanTan with wide eyes, completely confused and speechless.
TanTan understood that the little girl was bewildered, so she continued in a gentle voice.
"I know I've done very... very... very bad things to you before. It was my fault. I won't blame you if you can't forgive me. But I want you to know something... From now on, I promise I won't hurt you anymore."
Evil JieJie has never spoken kindly to me like this before... It's strange... It's really strange... Somehow, this is even scarier than usual! I'm scared, YiFuuu!
Suddenly, Li FangFang burst into tears.
"Waaaaah! Waaaaah!"
TanTan was completely bewildered by the little girl's reaction. She and XiaoRue immediately panicked.
"What's wrong?!"
"HUA MU TAN!!"
Hmm... Why does this situation feel so familiar?
TanTan turned around and saw Prince Li glaring at her furiously.
Before she could explain anything, he strode toward her and slapped her hard across the face.
Paak!
Because her body was still weak, TanTan immediately fell to the ground.
"XiaoJieee!"
XiaoRue rushed to help her.
"I WARNED YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM LI FANGFANG! If you hadn't just recovered, I would have killed you right here!"
Prince Li picked up the crying FangFang and carried her away, leaving TanTan speechless.
She had just been slapped for absolutely nothing!
That crazy man!!!
TanTan felt furious at being falsely accused.
"Auuuch..."
She could feel the pain spreading across her cheek, but the wound on her back hurt even more.
"XiaoJie, we should go back inside..."
TanTan nodded. With XiaoRue's support, she slowly returned to her bedroom.
Not far from the room, in the hallway, Prince Li gently put Li FangFang down and let her sit on a bench.
He wiped away her tears. She had stopped crying, although she was still sobbing a little.
Prince Li carefully checked her body, searching for any wounds or bruises, but he couldn't find any.
"Are you all right, FangEr? Did she hurt you again? You can tell YiFu."
Li FangFang slowly shook her head.
Then she showed him the jade pendant in her hand.
Prince Li recognised it immediately.
"Isn't this the pendant I gave you on your last birthday? What's going on, FangEr? Did she try to take it from you?"
FangFang shook her head again.
"She... hic... hic... she returned... it..."
"...She returned it?"
Prince Li was even more confused.
"I... lost... it... hic... at... her... room... yesterday... And... today... she... returned... it to me..."
"You lost it, and she returned it to you? Did she threaten you when she gave it back? What does she want from you this time?"
That was the only explanation that made sense to Prince Li. He knew Hua MuTan was the kind of woman who would use any means necessary to get what she wanted, even if it meant threatening a little child.
By now, FangFang had calmed down enough to explain more clearly.
"No... YiFu... no... She didn't ask me for anything. She just returned it to me... And... she said she regretted what she had done. She promised she wouldn't hurt me anymore..."
"...Did she really say that?"
FangFang nodded.
Prince Li found it difficult to believe.
Something is fishy...
Perhaps Hua MuTan was planning something by pretending to be kind.
"Then why were you crying?"
FangFang lowered her head, feeling a little embarrassed.
"I was scared because she was being so kind to me... YiFu, she's so different. She's not like the Evil JieJie I know..."
"Why do you say that?"
Prince Li gently patted FangFang's head, trying to comfort her.
"She patted my head just like you do... Evil JieJie would never do that before..."
"Well... Even if she's changed, perhaps it's because she's sick right now."
"She's sick?"
FangFang was a kind-hearted little girl. She worried about anyone who was ill, even someone as unpleasant as Evil JieJie.
"Yes, FangEr. She may have forgotten many things. But I still don't want you going near her. Don't play around her room anymore, understand?"
"Yes, YiFu..."
FangFang was finally feeling a little calmer.
"Um... I'm hungry. Can we eat something sweet?"
"All right. Let's eat together. I'll ask Aunt Tong to prepare your favourite food."
"Hooray! I love YiFu!"
FangFang happily kissed Prince Li's cheek before standing up.
Prince Li took her little hand and led her toward the dining room.
Meanwhile, his mind was still occupied with one question.
What exactly was that evil Hua MuTan planning?
Pretending to have lost her memories? Pretending to be kind to FangFang?
Whatever her intentions were, he would have to keep a close watch on her.