The far reaches of the world
In early July, following the established rules, the clan school will examine and rank the students, after which the students will rest for two months.
Sui He never expected that she would follow her mother's instructions and study hard, just as she said, to show them that Yang Jiuyan's daughter was no worse than them.
However, she was falsely accused of cheating, and the scholar in charge of lecturing had no opinion on the matter, but focused on the jade pendant that belonged to Sui Cheng on her.
Sui He seemed to hear the shouts behind her. She turned left and right and unexpectedly ran out of the Sui family's gate. Seeing the carriage at the gate, she climbed onto it despite the attendants' attempts to stop her.
In her haste, her forehead hit the seat, and she instinctively gasped and covered her forehead.
"Are you alright? Why were you running so fast? Was someone chasing you?" He laughed and covered her head.
Sui He looked up and saw that the person in the carriage was Sui Cheng, who looked concerned. She was both angry and annoyed. She took out the jade pendant from her bosom and threw it into his arms, angrily saying, "Isn't it all your jade pendant's fault!"
"Me?"
"Who else could it be but you? I studied diligently and was suspected of cheating, and was even falsely accused of stealing your jade pendant. He said he would deal with it, but that didn't happen at all! It's all because of your jade pendant."
A noisy commotion came from outside. He lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the people who had come in.
The person outside the carriage quickly bowed and greeted, "Young Master."
"Hmm, what happened?"
The other party stammered, and Sui He in the carriage snorted coldly. Sui Cheng felt that she was very angry. He didn't have a younger sister, and the only person he was close to since childhood was Xiao Ju.
He placed his hands on her body and rubbed them. In the three months since he last saw her, the young lady had grown taller and her skin had become fairer.
"Don't be angry. I believe you are innocent. I will get justice for you. Haven't you had lunch yet?"
Sui He shook his head, and his stomach rumbled at that very moment.
Sui Cheng helped her out of the car, saying, "Let's have a meal together. Don't worry, I'll find out the truth."
"I want to eat meat!"
His eyes crinkled into a smile. "Of course, I won't treat you unfairly."
The old scholar who rushed over was surprised that Sui He really knew the young master. He bowed his head and greeted him. Sui Cheng glanced at him, but Sui He didn't even look at him. He went straight to his courtyard, muttering the names of the dishes.
The attendant looked at Sui Cheng, who said calmly, "Do as she says."
After dinner, he asked Sui He to write a policy essay. She blinked, did not refute him, and obediently finished writing it and handed it to him.
What kind of scheme are you plotting?
Sui He almost lost his composure, but calmly replied, "No, I've written it all properly, what else do you want!"
She was self-righteous and raised an eyebrow at Cheng. "Forget it, she's still young, and besides, I'm in the right this time."
“I thought that studying the clan school would be a bit difficult for someone your age.”
"Hmph, that's because I have a special talent."
After a while, he put down the strategy essay that Sui He had written and said, "Don't worry, there will be results in a couple of days."
Sui He nodded, and that night, she secretly slipped into the courtyard of the man who had slandered her cousin and shaved his head bald, and also gave the old scholar's beard a messy trim.
Early in the morning, chickens and eggs were scattered in the courtyard. Upon hearing this, Sui Cheng invited Sui He to Yuheng Courtyard once again.
"Why did you call me here?"
Sui He lowered her eyes and stood in front of him with a wronged expression. He suddenly felt that he had been too harsh on a child. Oh well, she was only twelve years old.
His anger was extinguished, but he couldn't let Sui He off the hook, otherwise she would become even more lawless in the future.
He began by asking, "Have you had breakfast?"
Sui He shook his head in surprise and successfully got another free meal.
"You don't need to go to the clan school anymore?"
"What?" Sui He's heart began to panic. Countless images flashed through her mind: the faces of her younger brother and sister, and her mother's expectation.
"Young Master, I was wrong. Please don't kick me out."
Sui He felt she had been too impulsive. Her original intention was to live a quiet and obedient life at the clan school, but she couldn't control her temper.
“I’ll apologize to them, I’ll even shave my head and become a monk.” Sui He grabbed his clothes and knelt down.
He held her firmly, sighing, "You never let me finish what I was saying. I didn't mean to kick you out. I just wanted to talk to you in a different way. Although you did well in the exam, you did have many weaknesses, just like you said, the exam only tested what you knew."
“The clan school scholar is wrong, and he is also wrong to slander your cousin. I will punish them according to the rules, but it is not your place to do it.”
“You are still young and very smart. You should have someone to guide you so that you don’t go astray. So I’ve decided to keep you by my side and teach you carefully.”
Sui He's watery eyes widened, tears welling up in them. Not quite understanding what he was saying, she pointed to herself, "Me?"
"Besides you, is there anyone else here?"
"Okay, there really isn't anyone else." Sui He took the handkerchief from his hand and wiped away her tears.
Following his pull, Sui He stood up. "Does the patriarch know?"
“I will report this matter to my father myself, including the fact that you went out to cut someone’s hair in the middle of the night without sleeping.”
Sui He touched his nose. "The patriarch won't kick me out, will he?"
Sui Cheng tapped her head, "You know what you did was wrong."
She looked up and shouted, "They bullied me first! Are you suggesting I just let them bully me?"
"You can stay in Yuheng Courtyard without worry. The servants will arrange a room for you. I'll go take care of your business."
He had a good temper, and his indulgence of Sui He made her feel guilty, so she lowered her head and listened to his arrangements without saying a word.
Sui Cheng handled the matter smoothly, and Sui He didn't even have to meet the head of the family before she was placed in a courtyard next to Yuheng Courtyard.
She felt something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Adhering to the principle that being able to eat and sleep well is good, and of course, with money coming in along with He, she felt that she was living a very good life.
Besides being very strict with his father, Sui He, the eldest brother, is like a father to him. Sui He never experienced the feeling of having a father when he was young, but he is experiencing it now.
Time flies, and five years have passed in the blink of an eye. Seventeen-year-old Sui He is now a graceful young woman. She stands at the entrance of Sui Family Mountain and waves to Sui Shan and Sui Li.
Five years have passed, and another round of clan studies has begun.
Sui He has changed a lot in the past five years. She has picked up many of Sui Cheng's habits and her temper is no longer like it used to be, where she would attack anyone she didn't like.
"Sister!"
She smiled gently and said, "Brother and sister."
Sui Li hugged her and rubbed against her hard, while Sui He stroked their heads as before.
"You've come at the perfect time. Tomorrow I will be setting off with... the young master."
Sui Li grumbled and kicked Sui Shan away, "Huh, you're leaving as soon as I get here?"
"Yes, it was arranged a long time ago."
Sui He smiled, "Sui Cheng is getting married. His wife is from the Rongyang Zheng family. The head of the family attaches great importance to his marriage and has asked him to come early and wait until the wedding day."
Rongyangli is not close to Jingzhou, so they must set off ahead of time.
"You all stay at the clan school and study diligently. During your holidays, go to town to visit your mother. Wait for me to come back, understand?"
When the siblings came, Sui He tried his best to persuade Yang Jiuyan to come as well, but she refused to enter the Sui family's gate. Sui He had no choice but to set up a house and servants in town to take care of her.
"Don't worry, sister, I will take good care of Ali and Mother."
"Who needs your care!"
Sui Shan: "If I don't watch you, you can climb onto the roof and tear off the tiles."
Despite Suhe's forehead smack, they continued their playful bickering.
Sui He repeatedly emphasized that one should be mindful of boundaries within the family. The scholars at the clan school today were specially vetted by Sui Cheng, so there's virtually no chance of trouble, all because Sui He used to shave people's heads at the drop of a hat.
After giving instructions to them, Sui He went to check on his mother, but before he could say a few words, she chased him out and told him to work properly with the young master.
Sui He shrugged. What work am I supposed to do when he gets married? Marry his wife for him?
The next day, Sui He and Sui Cheng set off on time. On the way, Sui Cheng was still studying Sui He's knowledge.
Sui He: "..."
"Brother, you're going to get married! Not to become a master."
Sui He pretended to take the book from his hand, but Sui Cheng held on tightly and wouldn't let go.
Sui He: "?"
"Give it to me, and you can go ride your horse outside."
Sui He is no longer the young lady she once was, and besides, Sui Cheng should be getting married; the two of them should avoid suspicion.
"No, I get so nervous and weak-kneed just thinking about seeing her that I can't ride. You go ride instead."
Sui He was incredulous. "You can't be, right? We just set off and haven't even left our family home yet."
Taking this opportunity, Sui Cheng took the book and used it to shoo her off, saying, "Go away, go away. You don't ride horses often, so this is a good opportunity for you to practice."
Sui He pursed his lips and had no choice but to go outside and ride a horse.
They arrived in Pingcheng at noon and found an inn. Just as Sui He was about to dismount, before one foot even touched the ground, his wife suddenly appeared around the corner and crashed into the horse.
The horse neighed and roared. Sui He immediately gripped the reins and sat firmly. "Get out of the way!"
As she shouted, she tried to control her horse. Sui Cheng, who had just dismounted from the carriage, saw that Sui He's horse was out of control. He quickly mounted his horse and followed closely behind, leaving behind the words, "Control them first, and we'll talk about it when we get back."
He tightened his grip on the reins, gradually controlling the animal, "Whoa—"
She drove out of the jungle, and the horse finally calmed down and ran to the side to graze.
Sui He couldn't pull it away, so she could only let it eat. She sat under the tree, holding the rope with one hand and resting her chin on the other as if taking a moment to look at Sui Cheng, who had arrived late.
"If you slow down a bit more, I can get back!"
She brushed the weeds off her clothes and called out to him.
He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you're alright."
"Don't worry, what could possibly happen to me? Have you forgotten that you taught me horseback riding? The young master of the Sui family, who is proficient in all six arts, is worried that he can't teach his apprentice well?"
Suihe reached out and pulled at the horse that was grazing, telling it to stop eating.
Sui Cheng smiled helplessly, "A teacher for a day is a father for life. Besides, you haven't even graduated yet, so I still have to take care of you."
"Alright, alright, my father who's in his twenties, shouldn't we go back for dinner?" Sui He mounted his horse and looked up at him.
"I'm leaving now."
Sui He guessed that he would take people into custody, but he never expected that he would encounter something so unexpected.
"Young Master, please let me take him back."
Sui He rushed up to him, shouting, "You actually pawned your own wife! Are you even human?!"
"What's the big deal? It's common in the village. If she goes out to have a baby, her family can get two years' worth of money. It's just that she's being unreasonable and refuses to go."
Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Yu Guangzhong noticed that his wife's eyes were expressionless, like a living corpse. Sui He had completely forgotten the good temper that Sui Cheng had taught him over the years, so he picked up a sword from the nearby military barracks and slashed at her.
"Ah!"
She turned her head. "Are you still going to side with him?"
“You’ll be going to jail for murder.” Sui Cheng snatched the sword from her hand, threw it to Bingjialiao, and gestured for him to go down and receive his punishment.
“If you sign a divorce agreement with her, I can give you five times the price.”
The man's eyes darted around before he said, "Ten times!"
"Are you crazy? You dare to raise prices? Do you believe I'll send you to the authorities?" Sui He rolled up his sleeves and walked towards him.
“Ah.”
His gentle gaze fell upon Sui He, and she awkwardly withdrew her fist and turned her head away from him.
"Tch, do you think I don't know anything? There's no law in Daqi that says she can't sell. I'll let her sell it, what's it to you? Ten times the price it is. If you don't sell, I'll find another one."
The man was arrogant and domineering. Sui He was furious, but because Sui Cheng was there, he didn't dare to make a move. He was so angry that he stammered when he spoke.
"Can."
Sui Cheng chuckled, "Ah He, go get the money for him."
Sui He's gaze fell on the woman with tattered clothes, her eyes vacant, muttering to herself. She still turned around to get it.
Five years into her life, she was still the same young woman from Pingcheng, extremely fond of money. Clutching the box tightly, she couldn't bear to see her wife in such a miserable state, and with a heavy heart, she gave him the money.
After leaving behind the divorce papers, he smiled and said to Bingjialiao, "Find a dark alley with lots of beggars and have the guards break his legs."
Sui He helped his wife up. She was still in a daze, but a tear fell the moment she saw Sui He's face.
Warm tears dripped into Sui He's palm. The man's words kept echoing in her mind: "These kinds of things happen all the time; there are no laws in Da Qi..."
"My child, my child..."
The woman's voice was very low. Her clothes were tattered. Sui Cheng turned away from her the whole time and didn't look at her. He just told the servants to take good care of her.
Sui He moved closer to her, unsure, "You mean the child?"
She swallowed hard and nodded, saying, "He sold my girl, and he's going to sell me too. He said if I agreed, he'd redeem Nannan. I went to the slave trader, gave him money, and asked..."
She was having difficulty breathing. Sui He didn't notice her disheveled state and held her in his arms, patting her back. "No rush, no rush, tell me slowly."
After Suihe fed her water, she drank it quickly, and the spilled water wet her chapped lips, as if she hadn't had water in a long time.
After finishing her drink, she said, "I asked him where my child was, and that's when I found out she had been given away a long time ago, sold somewhere I don't know. He lied to me about redeeming the child; he never intended to get her back!"
With sobs and cries, she screamed until she was sobbing uncontrollably, and for the first time, Sui He clearly felt the sound of a cuckoo crying blood.
Her heart was struck hard. Her wish before was to help support her family, and the same was true when she stayed by Suicheng's side to study. When did she develop a compassionate heart like Suicheng?
She felt that what she was doing now was not enough; she could save one, but not more.
There are sounds in places she cannot see and cannot hear.
Sui He prepared clean clothes for her, allowing her to calm down before washing up.
She walked out and met Sui Cheng's gaze. He didn't say anything, but patted her head as he always did.
Based on Zhou Niangzi's description, Sui He continuously revised the portrait and eventually sent people to search for it in various places.
Having no way to repay her kindness, Madam Zhou silently followed Sui He and did odd jobs. Although Sui He tried to persuade her many times, she eventually let her go.
The journey to Rongyang was long; it took a week to even cross the border of Jingzhou.
Sui He lay on the carriage, unable to go on. On the way, she picked up a child a few years younger than her, a young man about the same age as Sui Shan.
"Sister, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine, how's your injury?"
He was picked up by He when they passed by an underground casino. His father was also a gambling addict who was so desperate for money that he took his son to pay off his debts.
He was moved by the scene and rescued him on a whim. After washing him clean, he was surprised to find that he was a handsome young man.
I call her "sister" all the time, even more often than Sui Shan calls her.
“Sister, big brother looks very unhappy.” He tugged at Sui He’s clothes, gesturing for her to look at Sui Cheng at the other end of the carriage.
Sui He sat up and tilted her head to look at him. "What's wrong?"
"I was just wondering, at this rate you're picking people up, by the time we get to Rongyang, there won't be four or five carriages left, will there?"
Sui He nudged his lips and said, "It can't be that bad, can it? Oh, don't talk about that. Think about what name to give him. He doesn't even have a name."
He did have a surname, Chu, and his father actually called him Chu the dog.
Upon closer inspection, their features do resemble each other; otherwise, Sui He would genuinely suspect that the child was adopted.
"His surname is Chu, and his name is Chu Feixuan."
Sui He: "Neither mysterious nor profound, neither shallow nor deep?"
"Yes, it's a divination slip from Zhuge Liang's Divine Calculation."
"If you find a path, a principle, then do it without worrying about anything else. He is, and so are you."
“Sounds good, then you can call yourself that.” Sui He tugged at his cheek. “Tell your sister Zhou to get you more meat to eat, you’re as skinny as a stick.”
When Zhou Niangzi first met Chu Feixuan, she felt extremely sorry for him. Sui He thought that she might be thinking of her own child, that little girl was really hard to find anywhere in the world.
Sui He sighed and continued on his way, hurrying to Rongyang, reminding himself to pick up as few people as possible.
Contrary to her expectations, when they arrived in Rongyang, there were indeed four or five carriages: one for her and Madam Zhou, one for Sui Cheng and Chu Feixuan, and the rest for various other people.
Upon arriving in Rongyang, seeing the Zheng family's surprised expressions, Sui Cheng remained silent. What else could he say? He could only say that his sister seemed to have a penchant for bringing people home.
Originally, it was supposed to be He's carriage, then his, and then the rest of the group. But then, unexpectedly, there were too many people, and it was too crowded at the back. Calling another carriage would be too wasteful, so they moved to their two carriages to squeeze in.
Sui He chuckled.
Sui Cheng smiled, but this gesture won his fiancée's favor. His fiancée even secretly came out to watch him interact with a group of children. Coincidentally, it was Sui He and Chu Feixuan who were being lectured.
"Look at the state you're in now! Especially Ah, leading them in this mess. There are many bandits on the mountain, and you dared to run up there without a few guards with you?"
“Brother! I brought it, I really brought it, you can’t slander me.”
Sui Cheng was stunned by her anger. Pointing at the group of people, he said, "You, Chu Feixuan, go to the military quarters, Xia Wan, go to the medical quarters, and the younger Zhou Niangzi will keep an eye on things. In short, you are all unfamiliar with this place, so take good care of yourselves."
"Especially..."
“It’s me—I know! I definitely won’t let them mess around with me again. Last time was definitely an accident. I heard that your fiancée went up the mountain to pray to Buddha, so I was just curious, and a bunch of little brats followed her there.”
Noticing his sharp gaze, Sui He changed the subject, "Brother, don't worry, I will never do it again!"
"Pfft—"
Sui Cheng turned his head and saw a gentle and beautiful woman. Who else could she be but his fiancée?
Upon seeing this, Sui He ran away in a flash.
Sui Cheng blushed and stammered, "Madam Zheng..."
Everything went smoothly after that, and they went to Jingzhou after the wedding and the return visit to the bride's parents' home.
Sui He had always had this idea in his mind: perhaps the Sui family could have another dormitory specifically for pitiful people like Madam Zhou and Chu Feixuan.
The proposal was approved by Suicheng, but that does not mean that other members of Suicheng agree with it.
Sui He insisted on plotting this matter, and therefore did not accompany Sui Cheng to inspect the side branches.
Just like when Sui He was eighteen, her plans were still not approved, and she hid alone in the study facing the fluttering papers.
Suddenly, a report came from outside: "The young master is in trouble!"
Sui He pushed open the door. "What did you say?"
"On his way home, the young master encountered bandits. His carriage fell off a cliff, and his body was unrecognizable."
Sui He had been staying in the study when he suddenly heard something, and his vision went black. In the next courtyard, Madam Zheng had completely fainted.
When she woke up, Sui He sat by her bedside and said, "You're almost two months pregnant."
Sui Cheng is dead. Sui He can't accept this fact no matter what. He's gone, and his wife is almost two months pregnant.
The position of the young master of the Sui family has become vacant. The head of the family means that he cannot wait for the child to be born, let alone wait for the child to grow up.
It's been too long; the heavy responsibility of the family head cannot be entrusted to a child who is neither here nor there.
Sui He clenched his fist, got up, and told her to get some rest.
"Ah!" Madam Zheng called out to her, and stood up shakily.
Sui He quickly stepped forward to help her up, saying, "Sister-in-law."
“I know that you and your husband share the same aspirations. You are his trusted sister and student, and I believe in you too.”
"Sister-in-law?"
“Go, I would much rather you sit in that position than anyone else. My husband said you are no worse than him, and one day you will surely surpass him.”
With tears in her eyes, Madam Zheng gazed at Sui He. At that moment, Sui He's inner struggle was resolved. She gripped Madam Zheng's hand tightly and said, "I will."
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