Shi Dai kept her promise. Waking early the next day, she carried A’Li in her arms, lively as a dragon and vigorous as a tiger, and made her way to the dining hall.

Meng Ke spotted her immediately, paused in the act of loading pastries into a food container, and beamed with joy, “Oh my, I was just about to bring food to you.”

Shi Jingcheng was in the middle of putting a shrimp dumpling into his wife’s mouth; turning his head, he asked, “Daidai, are you feeling better?”

“Much better.” Shi Dai looked refreshed and energetic, “I could eat six big buns.”