Su Yushan was unaware of his thoughts. She fell asleep shortly after lying down. When she woke up the next day, Hongli was nowhere to be seen. Changyue said that he had gone to the palace to attend court.
While making the bed, Chang Yue didn't see any bloodstains, meaning the two hadn't consummated their marriage the night before. It was quite strange that Fourth Master had actually lain there so obediently all night; however, this could be considered a good start.
She was pleasantly surprised by breakfast today. The kitchen not only served her hot porridge but also added shrimp. There were usually only four side dishes, but today they served six: chestnut stewed tofu, pickled bamboo shoots, scrambled eggs, braised pork liver, etc. For noodles, they served red bean paste buns and scallion pancakes, which were much more exquisite than usual.
As long as the food suited her taste, Su Yushan was in a great mood. All she wanted was this peaceful and stable life; she didn't ask for anything else.
The news quickly spread throughout the mansion, reaching not only the servants but also the maids.
Among the maids in the mansion, Hongli often visited the residences of Princess Gao and Princess Jin.
Princess Gao was born into the Imperial Household Department, and her father, Gao Bin, was currently a secretary in the Imperial Household Department, in charge of all affairs of the Suzhou Textile Bureau. She was well-educated, gentle, and rarely interfered with which courtyard Hongli went to.
In her view, there were many maids in the mansion, and they were all equal. Who could gain favor depended on their own abilities!
Jin Gege, however, did not think so. She cared deeply for Hongli, not in the way a concubine cares for her master, but in the way a woman admires a man. Once she developed feelings for him, she would feel uneasy if Hongli went anywhere else.
A few days ago, she heard that Hongli had gone to Su Gege's place but hadn't stayed overnight and had even argued with her. She thought she had one less rival, but unexpectedly, only three or four days later, things took a turn for the better, and Jin Gege couldn't help but become suspicious.
"How could a person lose their memory? Such a far-fetched excuse is probably made up. I thought that Su Gege came from the common people of Suzhou and was not presentable, but it turns out she is not an easy person to deal with."
The maid Xin'er chimed in, "She is neither a Manchu nor a member of the Eight Banners, nor is she the daughter of an official. She has no family background whatsoever. Apart from being pretty, she is of no use. Your Highness need not take her to heart."
With a slight furrow of her brows, Jin Gege glanced at Xin'er and asked, "How pretty is she? Prettier than me?"
Realizing her slip of the tongue, Xin'er quickly corrected herself, saying, "How can a country bumpkin be compared to you, Princess? Fourth Master is just infatuated for a moment. Once he gets to know her and finds that she has no literary knowledge and that they don't get along, he will forget about her."
Hearing Xin'er say that, Princess Jin felt a little better. She took a sip of her flower tea, her eyes narrowed, and she whispered, "Keep a close eye on Tingfeng Pavilion. Report any movement immediately!"
Xin'er claimed that she had been secretly observing the movements of Tingfeng Pavilion.
Su Yushan was unaware that she had become a thorn in the side of others. She only felt that life in the mansion was somewhat boring and that she should do something to pass the time.
It was a warm day, and she was just about to take a stroll in the back garden when a servant came to report that her family had come to visit her.
The doctor said that there is no cure for amnesia; the only thing to do is for her family to spend more time with her, tell her about her past, and help her recover her memory.
But she had no past memories at all, and no matter how much others talked to her, she couldn't recall anything. However, since the doctor had said so, she naturally had to cooperate.
She had always thought that the original owner of this body came to Suzhou alone, but today she learned that she actually had an older brother and two younger brothers.
The person who came to visit her today was her eldest brother, Su Mingfeng. Since she had never met Su Mingfeng before, she could easily feign amnesia in front of him.
Su Mingfeng mentioned several names, but the girl said she didn't recognize any of them. Su Mingfeng sighed anxiously, "What about Zheng Lin? He's your fiancé, don't you remember him either?"
Upon hearing this, Su Yushan was stunned. Wasn't she Hongli's concubine? How come she had a fiancé?
"Zheng Lin? Who is that?" Su Yushan used the excuse of amnesia to ask her older brother for some information.
Seeing that her younger sister had no memory of the past, Su Mingfeng had no choice but to patiently explain the whole story to her.
It turns out that Su Yushan had been engaged to the Zheng family long ago. Later, the Zheng family came to the capital to do business, and their business became more and more successful, so they settled down there.
Now that the children of both families have reached marriageable age, Su Mingfeng brought her younger sister here to discuss the wedding arrangements. Coincidentally, the Zheng family matriarch's birthday is approaching, so the Su siblings are staying at the Zheng family's residence temporarily. Little did they know that this stay would lead to trouble!
Su Yushan was beautiful and attracted attention wherever she went. Zhao Yun was a relative of the Zheng family. He came to the Zheng family a few days in advance to help prepare for the birthday banquet. When he saw Su Yushan, he had evil intentions and wanted to take her for himself. Zheng Lin could not tolerate his fiancée being harassed, so he got into a fight with Zhao Yun in a fit of anger.
Zhao Yun was hit on the head and fell into a coma. The Zhao family was furious and refused to accept compensation, so they directly sued Zheng Lin in the government.
Seeing his son being arrested and imprisoned, Master Zheng was so anxious that he tried to pull strings everywhere and bribe officials, but no one could help him. This was because Master Zhao's brother-in-law worked in the Ministry of Works. With this connection, even if the Zheng family was in the right, they had nowhere to appeal and could only suffer in silence.
Su Mingfeng was a scholar who firmly believed that as long as he didn't give up, he could get justice for Zheng Lin. So he wrote a petition and planned to stop the sedan chair of the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. Su Yushan was worried about her brother and insisted on going with him.
The brother and sister waited for most of the day under the blazing autumn sun before the prefect finally returned.
The prefect was initially unwilling to get involved in this matter, but when his servant lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and he saw the face of the woman kneeling on the ground through the corner of the curtain, the prefect's eyes lit up and he instantly changed his mind.
He decided to help Zheng Lin seek justice, but on one condition: Su Yushan had to go to the palace.
As is well known, the Qing court's imperial concubine selection was mostly open to women from the Manchu and Han Eight Banners. Ordinary Han women did not need to participate in the selection. However, for noble women from the Eight Banners, their background and character were the most important factors, and their appearance was not strictly required, which resulted in the candidates being generally not very attractive.
Although emperors all claimed to be averse to women, officials would still secretly search for beautiful Han women from the common people and send them to the palace.
Once a woman sent by an official is selected, she will not only receive a reward, but may also have the opportunity to enter the royal family and gain a promotion.
The Shuntian Prefect had originally chosen a woman from Yangzhou, but she was unlucky and suffered from acclimatization problems upon arriving in the capital. She developed a rash and sought treatment from two or three doctors, but none of them could cure her.
Seeing that he was about to miss a golden opportunity, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture was very worried. But when he saw Su Yushan, his eyes lit up. He secretly thought that if he sent her to the palace, she would surely be chosen.
Therefore, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture set a condition that she and more than thirty other women from the common people could enter the palace to participate in the selection. According to the Prefect, two women would be selected from each province. After layers of selection, at most one or two women would be selected.
The prefect's intention was simply to have her go through the motions.
Zheng Lin suffered this imprisonment because he saved her, and Su Yushan felt guilty towards him. She was determined to get him out. With no other options at the moment, she disregarded her brother's objections and decided to agree to the prefect's conditions and take the risk.
However, no one expected that she would stand out from so many beauties among the common people and be chosen by Emperor Yongzheng to be the maid of the fourth prince, Hongli.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
