Although the Emperor had declared the Crown Prince as the Regent, overseeing all affairs, Yan Huisheng did not sidestep him but treated him as a figurine either. He sought the Emperor’s approval on his decisions before issuing imperial edicts.
Therefore, after receiving Yan Huisheng’s reply, Su Rong left three hundred thousand soldiers at the border city, under the command of Jiang Zhu and Ning Ze. Meanwhile, the three Zhou brothers led the original three hundred thousand soldiers of the Duke Residence back to Capital City. Su Xingze received the Crown Prince’s appointment and set off for Jibei City with forty thousand soldiers.
Su Rong did not return to the Capital City with the Zhou brothers and their soldiers. Instead, she went ahead with Fen Ling.
On the road, Fen Ling said, "Hey, sister, we are braving the wind and snow for what? If we knew that Dawei would not dare to fight, we should have entered the capital with the old duke when we saw him."
Su Rong reminded her, "We have to go to Jibei City first."
"Oh, right, we haven’t been in vain. You have taken in Sister Shen as a student." Fen Ling almost forgot about Shen Yi.
Shen Yi naturally wouldn’t go with them to the capital; she stayed with the soldiers at the border.
The two rode fast horses and arrived back in the Capital City half a month later, ahead of the Zhou brothers and their thirty thousand-strong army.
Upon their return to the Capital City, not having sent word of their return, neither the Eastern Palace nor the Duke Residence or even the Lady of the Su Family received news of their arrival.
Upon entering the City Gates, they heard rumors spreading in the Capital City about Zhou Gu infiltrating the Jibei Army camp twice to assassinate the commanding general, praising the young master of the Duke Residence for his remarkable double-handed swordplay.
The rumors spread quickly; in just one month, Zhou Gu’s exploits in Nanping were famous across the streets and alleys of the Capital City.
Fen Ling chuckled, "Sis, your husband is famous now."
If the rumors had already spread to the Capital City from distant Nanping, it meant they had likely spread across Daliang too.
Su Rong smiled and nodded.
After they stopped and listened for a while, they rode directly to Xie Residence in East Fourth Hutong.
The Lady of the Su Family had not been sleeping or eating well these days. After hearing news of Nanping being besieged by the Jibei Army, she worried about Su Rong every day. She didn’t worry about her son, Su Xingze, since he had gone with the old duke, leading two hundred thousand soldiers, and she believed he was not in much danger. But Su Rong was different.
While the Lady handled the marriage affairs of the three Su sisters, she prayed every day for Su Rong’s safety.
Su Rong wrote a letter to the Capital City when she arrived in Nanping, saying that everything was well. After that, she didn’t write back.
One day, as the Lady sat in her room sighing, her three daughters-to-be were sewing their wedding dresses in their rooms. The other three daughters accompanied the Lady to distract her. The three older daughters had their marriages arranged, so the three younger ones were not as rushed. The Lady planned to wait for news from Su Rong before looking for potential matches for them. She was busy and had no heart to attend to this matter now.
The fourth daughter comforted the Lady, "Mother, don’t worry. The old duke has already returned with his soldiers, and it’s heard that Zhang Ping’s rebellion has been resolved. No news from Seventh Sister is the best news."
"No news isn’t necessarily good news. The assassins from Nanchu will not let her go until they kill her. They were so rampant in the Capital City; who knows what they might do to her outside the city?" The Lady sighed, "What a tragic fate. If only she was just my daughter, and not the Nanchu Princess."
The fifth daughter immediately said, "Seventh sister is good at fighting; she is not afraid of them."
The sixth daughter chimed in, "That’s right. It’s not certain who will kill the deer. Don’t worry too much, Mother. If Seventh Sister sees you like this, she will feel sorry."
The Lady snorted, "That heartless girl doesn’t know how worried I am about her."
As she finished saying this, someone rushed in to report, with a voice full of excitement, "Lady, good news, Seventh Young Miss is back!"
The sound of his shouting pierced the room.
The Lady sprang up in great joy, "She’s back? Is she really back?" She hurried out without even putting on a thicker coat.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth daughters were also overjoyed and followed the Lady rushing out.
Su Rong dismounted and strolled into the Residence. She saw the Lady in her thin clothes and her three sisters coming out hurriedly. Startled, she picked up her pace, "Mother, Fourth Sister, Fifth Sister, Sixth Sister, what’s the rush? Are you eager to see me?"
As the Lady approached and saw that Su Rong looked just like before, she slapped her on the shoulder, "If I’m not eager to see you, who else? You damn girl, you only sent back one letter, don’t you know we’re worried about you at home? We don’t know whether you’re dead or alive."
Su Rong realized she had indeed only sent one letter home amidst the chaos of the past many days. She felt a bit guilty. Noticing the Lady’s thin outfit and gaunt look, with dark circles under her eyes, she feared the Lady had indeed lost sleep worrying about her. She took off her cloak and put it on the Lady, "Didn’t I come back safe and sound? What’s the rush? Didn’t you think to put on more clothes before coming out?" She turned to her sisters, "You three too. I can’t run away."
After saying that, she urged everyone, "Come on, let’s talk inside."
The Lady had planned to scold her more, but held back in response to Su Rong’s actions and urging. She grumbled, "I’m very healthy. How could I catch a cold in such a short time?"
Although she said that, she didn’t say anything else after Su Rong forcefully draped her cloak over her and led her quickly towards the Residence.
The three daughters felt the cold without the benefits of a cloak, hugged their shoulders, and quickly followed them back inside.
When the four of them returned to the main room, the other three daughters had received the news and rushed in.
All the women of the family gathered, filling the room. Everyone’s eyes fell on Su Rong, finally finding time to examine her closely.
The Lady furrowed her brows, "Why have you lost so much weight?"
The eldest daughter intervened, "And turned darker."
The second daughter questioned, "Did Seventh Sister lose weight from fatigue?"
The third daughter had sharp eyes, "Looking at Seventh Sister’s complexion, it seems pale, her breath is also weaker than before, I’m afraid she’s injured, right?"
The fourth daughter also thought the third daughter was right, "Right? Have you been injured?"
The fifth daughter felt distressed, "Seventh Sister looks like a gust of wind could knock her down."
The sixth daughter suggested, "Mother, send someone to find a doctor for Seventh Sister to check. Don’t let her hide it from us."
Su Rong: "..."
This back-and-forth, reminded her of old times. She realized that she had missed it quite a bit.
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