After everyone had a cup of sour tea, the Madam, holding her cheek, no longer disturbed Su Rong and Duanhua. She left the two of them alone, and took her six daughters out of Su Rong’s courtyard.
After the Madam left, Duanhua whispered to Su Rong, "The Madam of Su family is indeed as you said, very nice."
Su Rong looked at her.
Duanhua added, "And your sisters, they are all very nice too."
From her childhood, she had seen countless sisters in the mansions fighting for their lives, even squabbling over silk flowers, fabrics, and vermilion hairpins, but she had never seen such harmonious sisters. Especially, this harmony was not feigned; anyone who looked could tell that the Su family was peaceful and harmonious, giving a sense of joy.
Su Rong nodded, "So what?"
Duanhua sighed, "If only my mother had given me such sisters."
Su Rong was relieved, thinking that she had some ulterior motives to join the Su family, not because she was unwilling to have her as a sister-in-law, but because she was too delicate and not at all a caring person. Choosing a sister-in-law was not the same as choosing a sister; even though Su Xingze was strict with her, she still hoped that her elder brother wouldn’t have such a hard life and could marry someone gentle and considerate.
Besides, even if her brother was talented, marrying a Princess was still considered marrying above his status. When two people live together, it’s better if their statuses matched.
She sighed sadly. That was so realistic, surely she was a good daughter raised by the Madam. From the Madam’s words just now, it was clear that she didn’t want her son to marry above his status.
"Why are you sighing? Are you thinking that my mother is too old to have more children?" Duanhua squinted her eyes.
"No," Su Rong shook her head, "I just thought that even if your mother has children now, it is too late. After all, you are so grown-up, wouldn’t raising younger siblings be like raising children?"
Duanhua was silent, also letting out a sigh of regret.
Su Rong yawned, "Are you leaving or staying? If not, would you like to continue sleeping?"
Duanhua’s lips twitched, "I’m leaving."
She didn’t want to sleep with her anymore. If she turned into a pig from sleeping too much, it wouldn’t matter as she was delicate. But she couldn’t, she needed to digest her meal and maintain her slim figure.
So she stood up, "Then, I will come to see you tomorrow."
Su Rong waved to her, "Tomorrow my mother was supposed to visit your residence to see the Princess, but they say the examination results will come out tomorrow, so we will have to delay our visit. My elder brother must have done well, so you can come and join the excitement."
Duanhua slapped her forehead, "Right, the examination results will be released tomorrow. Your mother will be busy." She nodded happily, "I will come again tomorrow. I’m leaving now, you sleep!"
She didn’t linger after saying that, she left promptly.
Su Rong lay back in bed and fell asleep again in a daze.
The Madame had changed her clothes and was prepared to have Duanhua stay for dinner. She planned to cook herself to let her taste, as a show of hospitality. However, before she could start preparing, she heard someone report that Princess Duanhua had left.
The Madam looked at the sky, and went to Su Rong’s courtyard herself.
Su Rong was sleeping soundly and was woke up by the Madam, "Didn’t you sleep for half a day already? Why are you sleeping again? You’ve never been so affected by your period before, why is it so severe this time?"
Su Rong sleepily opened her eyes, "I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s because Jiangning County is warmer, and the winters are not so cold, unlike here in the Capital city."
Although they were only a thousand miles apart, the climates were drastically different.
The head lady agreed, she reached out and touched her hand, frowning, "So cold."
She turned to instruct someone to get two more hand warmers before she took off her shoes, climbed into bed, and snuggled with Su Rong under the same cover.
Su Rong: "....."
She didn’t want to share the bed with her. Was it too late to reject now?
Seeing her expression, the head lady said displeasedly, "I just want to talk with you for a while. I am tired. You can’t expect me to sit down while I talk, let me rest. What’s that look on your face? Don’t worry, I won’t sleep with you tonight."
Su Rong immediately felt relieved, "Please, go ahead."
The head lady snorted, "Just as you, I wonder what’s good about you that Zhou Gu can’t let go of. Can you guess what I heard from the Duke’s wife today? Zhou Gu is considering abandoning the path that the Duke and the Eastern Palace have paved for him since childhood, to go to Nanchu with you."
A solemn look crossed Su Rong’s face, and she sat up abruptly, looking at the head lady, "The Duke’s wife said that herself?"
The head lady did indeed look tired. Seeing Su Rong sit up so excitedly, she lay still and told her, "Although the Duke’s wife didn’t make it explicit, I could hear it. She said that ever since you called off the engagement, Zhou Gu has been struggling in pain. He knows he shouldn’t do it but couldn’t get over it. As a mother, it hurts her to see him like this. When I mentioned that you are a princess of Nanchu and planning to go there, she said although Nanchu is far, it’s only about a month’s journey, not like going to extremes. As long as it’s what her son wants, she will support him."
Su Rong furrowed her brows.
The head lady watched her and continued, "She is also a woman of hard fate. When the Duke sacrificed himself for the country, knowing he was bound for death, he resolutely went. She knew she couldn’t stop him, so she didn’t. But all these years, she has often regretted it. She feels that if she had tried to stop him, what if things were different? Even if she can’t stop him, at least she wouldn’t regret not saying a few soft words to him before he left or letting him leave something. In the urgency of the battlefield, the Duke didn’t even leave a will behind. Now she says that for her son, she doesn’t care about losing face, and even if it doesn’t end well in the end, as a mother, she must do what she should do for him."
"Alas, it’s pitiful for a pair of lovers to be separated by life and death, and it’s pitiful for parents’ love for their children," the head lady sighed, "I’m thinking that if my son were trapped by love, I’m afraid I would do the same. She is the wife of a national hero, a widow with the power of supplying the middle, typically a rational person. It must be very seldom for her to behave out of the ordinary since she was young. Therefore, her ability to cast aside her face now is rare. She and I are different. I come from a humble family, what’s the face to me for the sake of my son? But she can take such a step for her son, which really impresses me. After all, not many of us, the wives of the noble families in the capital, can do this. The higher the status, the more important the face."
Su Rong remained silent, but her eyebrows were tightly furrowed.
The head lady continued, "So, I guess, Zhou Gu may be planning to go to Nanchu. Otherwise, you are a princess of Nanchu and have decided to go there. He is a young master from Duke Residence, the future advisor to the Emperor. If he wants to stick to his existing path, how can he marry you and follow the same path?"
Su Rong had a troubled look on her face, "So, what does the Duke’s wife mean? She wants you to persuade me?"
The head lady shook her head, "The Duke’s wife did not say such a thing. She just told me that she knows the second young master of Ye Xiang Residence is an excellent man, being an elder, once I meet him, I will undoubtedly be very fond of him. There’s no elder who wouldn’t like him. But she asked me to leave some room for him. Not for any other reason but since before Zhou Gu met you, he was clearly unhappy about the planned marriage. Yet, once he went to Jiangning County, he genuinely regarded me as future mother-in-law."
Su Rong was silent.
The head lady looked at her, "That’s all I have to say. Considering the Duke’s wife’s love for her son and your involvement, I deliberated and decided that you should know about it. After all, your feelings for Zhou Gu... Ah, you broke up with him not because he is not a good person. And Zhou Gu still can’t let go of you. If you look at it this way, it will be hard for you two to untangle your feelings for a while, and I’m afraid it will affect your future. The sooner you know, the better you can prepare."
Su Rong was silent.
The head lady patted her hand and sleepily said, "Alright, I’m done. You can go back to sleep."
Su Rong thought, after talking so much with me, if I could still go back to sleep, I would be truly heartless.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
