Su Rong woke up, and it was already the afternoon.
Hearing that Su Rong had regained consciousness, the Governor Su could no longer sit still and rushed to see her.
Su Rong was lying in bed, helplessly accepting her father’s distressed care, evidenced by his uncontrollable cascading tears.
Blaming Master Xie Yuan, Governor Su lamented, "She’s severely injured, and it’s all that old Xie’s fault. What were those countless assassins waiting for? Why did they wait until her life was in danger to fight? Perhaps in the past when it was one or two assassins, you could manage. But now there are twenty assassins...".
Finishing his rant at Xie Yuan, he mentioned Fen Ling, "And what about that bodyguard, couldn’t she be more flexible? If only she had acted sooner, you wouldn’t have been hurt so badly. A girl like you, with such severe wounds, what if there’s a scar...".
Su Rong interrupted him, reminding him, "Father, there won’t be any scars. The physician from Huichun Hall prescribed ten bottles of Clotted Cream Jade Brocade Ointment."
Governor Su choked up, picturing the exorbitantly expensive ointment seemed like he was watching a tremendous amount of silver slipping through his fingers. Unable to be distressed for Su Rong for a while, he was at a loss for words.
Seeing his mouth finally closed, Su Rong intentionally said, "The physician’s consultation fees, medication costs, and the ten bottles of Clotted Cream Jade Brocade Ointment, all were paid from the Xie Residence’s account. Father, remember to repay uncle Xie."
Governor Su wanted to say that he didn’t want to repay old Xie. If it weren’t for him, could you be injured? Why should I pay him back? Let him bear the cost.
Su Rong seemed to know what he was thinking and rebutted him with a sentence, "You are still my father after all, how can we let uncle Xie bear the cost?".
Seemingly forgetting that from a young age, she had been consuming, wearing, and spending Master Xie’s resources all along, as if none of it ever happened.
Relieved at Su Rong’s words, Governor Su didn’t care about how much money the ten bottles of Clotted Cream Jade Brocade Ointment would cost anymore. All he knew was that even after knowing her true identity, Su Rong still regarded him as her father. His heart filled with joy, he grinned from ear to ear and his mood instantly improved, "Alright, alright, we will pay him back, I will repay him later."
He no longer fretted about Xie Yuan’s arrangement causing Su Rong to suffer such severe injuries in order to temper her. He just urged her, "You must rest well and recover from your injuries. Don’t worry too much about it. When recovering from an injury, you must avoid overthinking. We can deal with any serious issues after you’ve recovered."
His implications were clear - her true identity, the troubles associated with the Nanchu Queen, including those related to Crown Prince Yan Huisheng, would all have to be dealt with later.
Su Rong nodded, "Don’t worry, father."
Governor Su was not quite reassured, but catching a quick glance at the wet nurse Zhao, he was somewhat pacified. He instructed Nurse Zhao, "Nurse, you must look after Xiaoqi’s recovery."
Nurse Zhao smiled and nodded, "Sir, rest assured, I will look after Miss Xiaoqi at all times."
She had only sold herself to Su Rong, therefore, before anyone else, including Xie Yuan or Governor Su, she still referred to herself as a maid.
Governor Su nodded, then said to Su Rong, "Your mother still doesn’t know about your injury, the less people know about your identity, the better. Over the years, she probably has some speculations, but since I have never spoken about it, she never asked."
He looked at Su Rong, "Regardless of the current situation in Nanchu Country, unless necessary, your identity must not be revealed."
"I understand." Su Rong nodded. Her mother’s death had caused Dawei to suffer a moral loss and gave Daliang the advantage. If Dawei found out her mother had faked her death, a war between the two countries might break out again.
She looked at Governor Su, "But my mother is not an outsider. We kept her in the dark in the past, but now that I know, let her know as well!"
After thinking for a bit, she added, "As for my older brother, he needs to go to the capital for the imperial examination. To avoid distracting him with worry, let’s keep this from him! As for my other aunts and sisters, they’re timid and better left out of it. There’s no need to frighten them over my matters."
Governor Su nodded, "Alright, once we return, I’ll have your mother visit you. As for Xingze, he’s very clever and will soon head to the capital. If he doesn’t see you at his farewell, he might suspect that something’s happened."
"Can you think of an excuse? Can you find a reasonable explanation?"
"What kind of reason would he believe?" Governor Su shook his head, "I’m afraid we won’t be able to deceive him."
"If we can’t hide it, so be it." Su Rong said, "Maybe it will even motivate my brother to strive harder to protect me in the future."
Governor Su nodded sincerely in agreement, "True!"
After sitting for a while longer, as it was getting late, Governor Su told Su Rong he would return the next day and then left.
After Governor Su left, Nurse Zhao helped Su Rong with everything from drinking water to eating, and taking her medicine. Nurse Zhao handled it all perfectly, leaving Su Rong impressed, "Nurse, you are exceptionally caring. I never thought I would receive such attentive care."
It’s no wonder she used to serve the Empress Dowager.
Nurse Zhao laughed, "I hope I will not have to attend to you like this in the future, Miss. Your injuries are really serious. The physician said that we have to watch whether you develop a fever tonight. If so, it would be extremely dangerous."
"Don’t worry, I have great vitality." Although Su Rong had suffered such serious injuries, she knew herself and her body. She was just a little weak from blood loss, but it wasn’t life-threatening. Moreover, all the assassins who had come to kill her were dead, so, strangely, she was in high spirits.
Nurse Zhao nodded with a smile, but inside, she felt a touch of heartache. Su Rong’s strong physique was due to exercise and not being pampered. If the situation from years ago had never occurred, if Princess Zhenmin had been able to marry properly and give birth, with her status, she should have been delicately nurtured.
As the two of them were talking, hurried footsteps could be heard approaching from outside. Nurse Zhao poked her head out to see that it was the Madam and Su Xingze. She understood, and said softly, "It’s the Madam and the eldest young master."
Su Rong sighed, they had arrived so quickly.
Before Nurse Zhao could go to greet them, the Madam came rushing in. The sight that met her eyes was Su Rong, who was wrapped up like a dumpling lying on the bed. Due to excessive blood loss, Su Rong’s small face was pale and bloodless, which made the Madam’s face lose a few more shades of color.
Su Xingze didn’t rush into the room like the Madam, instead, he stopped at the doorway and asked his mother, "Mother, may I come in and see Xiaoqi?"
"Come in!" The Madam arrived at the bedside, seeing that Su Rong wasn’t uncomfortable and replied to Su Xingze.
Su Xingze also pulled aside the curtain, stepped over the threshold and behold of Su Rong’s condition, his face slightly changed.
"Your father informed me that your injuries were severe, but I never imagined that his description of ’severe’ would be this severe." The Madam, who usually was immune to Su Rong’s frequent fights and injuries, was taken aback, "Just how bad are the injuries for you to be wrapped up this way?"
"Don’t pay too much attention to the doctor’s exaggerated bandaging. It’s merely a flesh wound," Su Rong tried to make light of it.
The Madam didn’t believe her and turned to Nurse Zhao, "Nurse, you tell me, don’t try to fool me."
Nurse Zhao looked at Su Rong and honestly said, "There are eight injuries, two of which are serious. But the doctor said that there’s no harm to her vitals. With careful recuperation, she won’t develop any lasting maladies."
The Madam let out a sigh of relief, "As long as it doesn’t leave any lingering issues."
She looked at Su Rong, for a moment at a loss for words. After a while, she sighed, "We came here in a hurry and didn’t get a detailed explanation from your father, but regardless, what I want to tell you is that you were born as one of us, the Su family, and you’ll always be one of us. Don’t ever feel that you’re not a part of our family just because you’ve learned about your true origins, do you understand?"
Su Rong smiled, "I understand."
Seeing that she was still in high spirits, the Madam glared at her, "It’s a wonder that you can still laugh after getting injured like this. You truly..." she wanted to call her heartless, but in the end, she couldn’t utter the words, "Listen to the doctor and recover well."
Su Rong nodded.
The Madam stayed with Su Rong for a while before standing up, "I see that your spirits are still high, I’ll let your brother keep you company while I go to meet Master Xie. We rushed over here and I haven’t even had the chance to greet Master Xie."
Su Rong nodded.
The Madam left the room.
Nurse Zhao also mentioned that she needed to go home to pack her things and followed out.
Only Su Xingze was left in the room. After the Madam and Nurse Zhao left, he sat down on the chair beside Su Rong’s bed, looking at her in silence.
Su Rong felt uneasy under his gaze, "Brother, speak up if you have something to say. Don’t keep staring at me, have you finally understood why I don’t look like you?"
Su Xingze shook his head, "I’ve known for a long time that our seventh aunt was different from the other aunts."
Su Rong blinked, "Different how?"
Su Xingze gave her a "do I really have to spell it out?" look, "Don’t forget that I’m older than you. What you can figure out, I can too."
"Alright!" Su Rong knew Su Xingze was smart, especially his meticulousness that most men didn’t possess. It wasn’t surprising that he had noticed early on and pretended to be oblivious.
She smiled and asked, "Didn’t you ever secretly ask our father about it?"
"Didn’t want to ask," Su Xingze shook his head. "You are part of the Su family."
Su Rong understood, "Alright, I am part of the Su family, even if my biological father shows up, unless he offers a hundred and eighty taels of gold, I won’t acknowledge him."
Su Xingze laughed at her outrageous reply, "What do you need so much money for?"
Su Rong replied seriously, "To get you a wife and make a dowry for our sisters."
Su Xingze: "..."
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