Chapter 18: Outsmarting the Lin Family (Part 2)
Seeing Su Jianrong's grim expression, Lin knew something was amiss. She quickly knelt down and complained, "It's all my fault for not teaching the servants well. Why didn't the young lady tell me earlier, but waited until the master came back? I can't even clear myself of this, even if I jump into the Yellow River."
Unexpectedly, Su Ying said innocently, "Mother, you've wrongly accused me. If Father wasn't here and Su Ying had come looking for Mother, wouldn't that just give people a pretext to accuse her of taking advantage of Father's absence to cause unrest at home?"
"Now that father has returned, I'd like to take this opportunity to present the account books. Let's discuss the matter clearly and clearly to avoid complications later. I know this matter has nothing to do with mother, but it's just that the servants are ignorant. Let's close the door today and put an end to this matter. Wouldn't that be neat and tidy?"
Su Ying's words were so cautious and restrained that Lin was speechless for a moment. She was furious but dared not show it at all. She could only shed tears to hide her hatred.
The twin boy and girl were obviously also inheriting Lin's true teachings. Seeing their mother covering her face and crying, they rushed forward and hugged her, feeling very aggrieved.
Seeing Su Ying's understanding, Su Jianrong was willing to make a big deal out of a small matter, so he followed Su Ying's words and said, "Ying'er is right. Your mother is usually kind, but she let her subordinates take advantage of her. Your mother and I are both aware of this matter, so let's just let it go. If something like this happens again in the future, Ying'er, you can tell your mother directly. Don't worry."
After saying this, he had the weak and frail Lin helped up, and ordered someone to take the two children downstairs to have dinner.
Seeing that the matter had been resolved as she had hoped, Su Ying stopped talking and simply bowed respectfully to Su Jianrong, saying, "Thank you, father, for your consideration, and thank you, mother, for your understanding. Ying'er knows that mother has always been a good housekeeper. This happened once, and it won't happen again. It's getting late, please have dinner early, father and mother."
She paused again, pointed at her clothes, and said apologetically, "Excuse me, my daughter. This dress is too tight and I can't breathe. Please allow me to go back and change clothes."
After hearing this, Su Jianrong nodded and said, "Go."
After her father finished speaking, he lowered his head to look through the account books. Su Ying then slowly stood up and walked to Lin.
She didn't know if it was because she stood up too quickly, or because she had been wearing this tight dress for too long, which made her feel uncomfortable. As soon as she stood up, she felt dizzy. With a slight sway, the red gold butterfly hairpin on her head fell to Lin's feet and broke in two.
When Lin saw this, her face turned even paler than before. She glanced at Su Jianrong and saw that he was still flipping through the account books and didn't notice anything. She then breathed a sigh of relief.
Su Ying leaned over and picked up the broken "red gold" hairpin. With a twist of her hand, she presented the blue-gray broken end to Lin. The respectful and obedient expression she had shown to Su Jianrong earlier was gone. Her eyes were cold, and she spoke in a weak voice, "Mother, please excuse me."
Only then did Lin realize she had been tricked by Su Ying. But facing this "sensible and thoughtful" young lady, even if she wanted to lash out, she couldn't find a reason. She could only feign composure, winking at the maid behind her and saying, "Help the young lady back to the courtyard. If she's feeling unwell, please rest. I'll have the kitchen bring her some food. If she feels like running the small kitchen is too much trouble in the future, you can let me know. In short, feel free to ask if you have any questions."
Although Lin's words were gentle and considerate, she almost gritted her teeth.
Seeing Su Ying lost in thought as she stared at the assorted stir-fried rice cakes, Rong thought her niece was homesick and feeling a little sad. She hurriedly called out to her, "Why are you just standing there? Don't you want to eat your aunt's cooking?"
Su Ying came back to her senses, her eyes smiling as she said, "How dare Ying'er not eat the food Auntie cooked!"
Seeing her niece's expression normal and even able to joke, Rong Shi felt a little relieved. The aunt and niece finished their lunch with a table full of dishes, chatting and laughing.
Su Ying's original plan to sort the books in the library had been put on hold because she was summoned to the East Courtyard to copy the Diamond Sutra that morning. However, the sutra was still quite long and would take at least six or seven days to complete. With this in mind, Su Ying adjusted her schedule slightly, going to the library after noon each day to sort out the catalog.
Although managing the library is a long process, copying the scriptures requires careful attention to every stroke and cannot be neglected.
After lunch, Su Ying took a short break and said goodbye to her aunt. She took the catalogue in her arms and headed from the side courtyard to the library. As she reached the path, she saw Du Heng coming from the main courtyard.
It wasn't that Su Ying intentionally looked towards the main courtyard, but after lunch, there were few servants walking on the road.
She saw a figure standing in the distance, walking steadily but not slowly, with a demeanor that was uncharacteristic of a servant. She didn't look closely, but from the corner of her eye, she recognized who it was.
Su Ying felt a little helpless. Wasn't this man supposed to study diligently every day? Shouldn't he have stayed in his study and not come out? Why could she see him in the morning when she went to the library, and also after lunch? Was it the library's location that connected him, or was it just a conflict between her and him?
I clearly don't want to meet him, so as not to arouse Cheng's suspicion and get her into unnecessary trouble, but why do I meet him again and again?
However, she had just pretended to forget something this morning and abruptly turned and walked away. Doing the same thing again now would only be embarrassing. After thinking it over, Su Ying simply bit the bullet and headed straight for the library, pretending that her eyesight was poor and she hadn't seen anything.
Du Heng had just finished appreciating Su Ying's calligraphy in Weibei style and was already curious. Unexpectedly, as he left his grandmother's main courtyard, he saw the calligrapher walking towards him from afar.
Out of courtesy and curiosity about her, he thought he should bow to her, so he walked towards Su Ying with a friendly look on his face.
However, the person opposite didn't seem to see him?
She was halfway there, before she even stepped onto the corridor, when she turned from the path and headed towards the library built by her second aunt and uncle.
Du Heng was stunned and stopped, not moving forward.
The library was usually only visited by his aunt and her servants, and he only went there when he needed to browse through his uncle's collection of ancient books. Not to mention that Su Ying hadn't seen him just now, if he had gone to the library now, he and Su Ying would probably be alone there. He knew it was unreasonable, so he had to give up.
As she turned around, a familiar thought suddenly flashed through her mind. Did she not see him, or was she avoiding him?
My mind was undecided, and for a moment I couldn't tell what it felt like.
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