Su Rong woke up early, took great care to dress herself up and was met with astonished praises from Fen Ling. She shot Fen Ling a glance in return.
Fen Ling muttered under her breath, "Master, without the Lady Superior whispering in your ear, why are you paying extra attention to your appearance?"
She was about to meet her betrothed just like before, but when she first met Young Master Zhou, her attire and appearance were all forced upon her by the Lady Superior. Now though, without the Lady Superior around and meeting Second Young Master Ye, no one had anything to say, but she had prepared herself so that she radiated with beauty.
Su Rong had her own reasons, "Back then, I hadn’t met Zhou Gu and the betrothal wasn’t set by me. I didn’t know what he looked like, or whether he agreed to the marriage. Especially after hearing that he was competing with Xie Lin for a woman, I thought he might end up rejecting the marriage. So, I wouldn’t dress up willingly. But now things are different. Ye Guixue has come with sincerity, so I should also present my sincerity. As the saying goes ’A woman dresses to please those who please her’. When he sees how earnestly I dress up for our meeting, he would understand that I keep my promises. Having accepted his gifts, I will stay true to my words."
Upon hearing this, Fen Ling had an epiphany, giving a thumbs-up, "Master, in that case, I won’t hang around and get in your way. I’ll guard you in secret."
"Alright then!" Su Rong nodded in agreement.
She did not think his presence would be a bother. After all, with Ye Guixue, nothing inappropriate would happen.
As she woke up earlier than usual and dined half an hour earlier too, when Ye Guixue’s carriage came to the entrance of Shen Residence, she was already prepared and didn’t delay. With her hand holding her skirt, she stepped out of the courtyard.
Upon reaching the residence’s entrance, she saw Ye Guixue’s carriage parked there. With the curtain lifted, showing Ye Guixue sitting sideways with a scroll in his hand. Su Rong noticed that he really was like her elder brother, his hand never without a book whenever he was idle.
She stood before the carriage, smiling as she greeted, "Guixue!"
Seeing her radiant smile, Ye Guixue also broke into a smile, like a blossoming plum tree, "Get in!"
Su Rong tilted her head, grabbed hold of the carriage shaft with one hand and lifted her skirt with the other. With Ye Guixue lending a hand, he managed to protect her from hitting her head on the roof of the carriage.
After stepping into the carriage, Su Rong asked, "Where’s Little Qiuying? Why didn’t she come?"
Ye Guixue replied with a gentle smile, "She said she didn’t want to come, as she wanted to play at home by herself, afraid that she would bother you to take care of her."
His insightful words made Su Rong laughed out loudly, "What a smart little devil!"
Ye Guixue agreed, "Indeed, ever since she was able to remember, she was always very crafty and smarter than ordinary children." He paused and sighed softly, "Perhaps this is because she lost her mother at a young age, she has become more sensible than the average child."
Su Rong also dropped the smile. She lost her biological mother at a young age too, but she has a mother figure, unlike Ye Qiuying who had to mature early. Su Rong often behaved wildly, making the Lady Superior angry every now and then. She was scolded by the Lady Superior almost every day for being unreasonable, causing her sisters’ headaches. She did not change her ways and continued as she pleased.
Upon mentioning Ye Qiuying, Ye Guixue also remembered that Su Rong lost her mother at a young age. He gently asked, "Little Qi, when you were young..."
Interrupting him mid-sentence, Su Rong scoffed, "When I was young, I certainly wouldn’t behave sensibly. Everyone had to make way for me, and if anyone annoyed me, I would get upset. When I get upset, I would go out and start a fight. After the fight, I would be injured and would need medical supplies to treat my injuries, and food to restore my health. I would then go to the one who annoyed me and refuse to leave until they gave me money for my expenses, as well as buy me delicious food. After all, it was their fault that I was in a bad mood and went out to fight. If my father annoyed me, after the fight, he would have to give me his private money, at least one hundred taels each time. If my mother annoyed me, I would fight even harder, getting injuries on my arms and legs. I would invite the best doctor from Huichun Hall, forcing her to spend money to treat my wounds. If my elder brother annoyed me, well, I don’t think I could do much. It was mostly because I was disruptive and unreasonable, so he would reprimand me. After all, he really cared for me. He would give me fifty taels as my allowance every month. Additionally, I even stole his poem manuscripts to sell for money. I took the money but never gave him any. If one of my aunts or sisters annoyed me, it was easy. A minor injury would cost them one tael, don’t underestimate one tael. They didn’t receive much as their monthly allowance. One tael alone would make them wince for days..."
Surprised, Ye Guixue widened his eyes, "You’ve lived quite the life indeed, very impressive!"
Laughing, Su Rong looked at him, "Is it impressive? Shouldn’t you be saying that I’m shameless? My mother, who’s actually my Lady Superior, often says that I’m shameless. Despite having a sharp tongue, she has a soft heart. She would verbally reproach me but would never refuse any of my requests. Whenever I got into a fight, she reprimanded me in person, but she always backed me up behind closed doors."
Ye Guixue listened with interest, affirming, "Indeed, you are impressive."
He continued, "Your Majesty began secretly deploying people into Jiangning County five years ago when he found out about your existence. They would send him your news every month, which he also let me read. But the reports weren’t as detailed as what you just shared. They only mentioned that Miss Seven wasn’t bullied by the Lady Superior and that she loved to get into fights, indicating she wasn’t a peaceful child. However, they recognized her intelligence and talents. Every time the Lady Superior left her residence, she would make it a point to praise her seventh daughter, highlighting her filial piety, attractive appearance, and how she is the most outstanding lady in Governor’s Residence and so on."
Upon hearing this, Su Rong burst into laughter, "She tried hard to build a good reputation for me, putting great effort into praising me every time. Many people even joined in to flatter her due to her status as the Lady Superior. Only those who have fought with me know what I’m really like, but they swallowed their grievances and seldom talked about it. Just like Chen Zhou from the Duwei’s Residence, he was quite sturdy when he was young and somewhat older than me. He wasn’t able to withstand my bullying and cried every time. His mom was furious, but she worried about losing face if the news got out. Therefore, even a few months ago, when we had a big fight after growing up, I received a cut on my forehead while he ended up with a swollen face. I used a bottle of solid cream ointment, while he used three bottles. Despite Chen Family’s relatives living in the Capital City, news of our fights has not been leaked or spread around."
Ye Guixue chuckled, "None of this was mentioned in the letters. They provided limited and generalized information due to the need to avoid detection by you and your bodyguards, hence the inability to get too close to you."
Su Rong nodded in acknowledgment, "Anyway, as for Little Qiuying, if you don’t want her to act too mature, I can educate her more in the future."
Ye Guixue smiled warmly and said, "Good, please do teach her more."
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