The next morning, Su Qingtan went to the main courtyard. Before he entered the door, he saw his father having breakfast with the first mother and second mother.
When the First Madam saw him coming, she gave a slight cough and smiled affectionately and said, “Tan, come and sit down. Today I ordered the kitchen to specially cook bird’s nest syrup.”
The Second Madam was a little confused. Usually, her son never came to the main courtyard for breakfast. How did Zhu Yan know that her son would come today?
Su Qingtan snorted coldly, sat down and said, “Father, I’m coming for—”
“Your first mother has told me why you are here.”
Su Huanli put down his chopsticks, looked up with a pair of dignified eyes, and continued, “This matter will not be announced. It’s ok to take Erya back and I will deal with Zipei. That’s all.”
His father’s words made Su Qingtan incredulous. “Even if my sister comes back, she’s had such horrid accusations launched at her. How is she going to face others? She did nothing wrong. Why?”
The more Su Qingtan said, the more hesitant Su Huanli grew. “Oh,”
The First Madam chimed in at once, “Tan, you can’t say that. If you tell everyone about Zipei, how will she find someone else to marry in the future? Besides, it has been more than a month since the incident happened, and the storm has died down. Perhaps others have forgotten it. If we bring it up again, there will be people who laugh at us.”
Madam Zhu got her point across.
Su Huanli became tough again and yelled at Su Qingtan, “There’s no need to talk about this! Your first mother is Erya’s mother. She doesn’t mind so you don’t need to meddle!”
Su Qingtan felt very angry. Looking at the friendly smile on the first mother’s face, he could not help satirizing, “We all know that you are the mother of the second sister. If we didn’t know that, I would have thought that the second sister was picked up from the garbage.”
First Madam’s face changed at once.
“That’s too much!”
Su Huanli slammed his fist on the table and spilled the porridge. “You come in here early in the morning to contradict us elders? That’s what you’ve learned from your book?” he said angrily.
“Master, he didn’t mean it. Remember, it was because he was angry that he had failed to get the recommendation!”
Madam Cui, the Second Madam who had been watching the scene, hurriedly stood up and whispered, “Apologize to your father!”
Hearing his mother’s words, Su Qingtan took a deep breath. He bowed his head and said sincerely, “Father, I’m sorry. But I hope my second sister can be compensated.”
Su Huanli swung his sleeves heavily. When the Second Madam mentioned the recommendation, his favoritism for the First Madam immediately dropped. He nodded and said, “She can stay with you in the eastern courtyard until she gets better.”
The Second Madam turned to remind Su Qingtan, who was standing still, “Thank your father!”
Su Qingtan knew that this was as good as it got so he saluted in a hurry. This matter was settled before the First Madam had time to object.
The Second Madam flashed a secret smile in her eyes when she heard the words. Although the First Madam still had a smile on her face, her expression was obviously stiff.
In the past, Madam Cui had respected her so much that she dared not to even speak. She didn’t expect that she would suddenly challenge her today.
For her, Erya was like a thorn in her heart. If she couldn’t get rid of her, she wouldn’t be able to relax!
“That bitch girl has given me so much trouble!” she thought viciously.
...
When Su Qingtan came back, he stood in front of the bedroom, ashamed and afraid to go in.
“Is it oldest brother?”
The soft voice came from the room.
Su Qingtan had a sour heart. Then there a peaceful smile grew on his face. He pushed the door and went in, and asked loudly, “Second sister, did you have a good rest today? I brought you bird’s neat syrup.”
When he entered the room, Su Qingtan was surprised to see that Su Erya was struggling to get out of bed. He hurriedly put down the food box and rushed to the edge of the bed to hold Su Erya, “What are you doing? Lie down!”
“I’m going to chop the wood and draw water.” Su Erya looked puzzled. “If I don’t chop the wood, Mammy Zheng will hit me.”
Su Qingtan shook his eyebrows violently and whispered, “You do not have to chop wood and draw water here. The only thing you have to do is to lie down and get better as soon as possible.”
“Okay.”
Su Erya tilted her head and huddled into the warm quilt. Her dark eyes lit up.
Su Qingtan could not help laughing. He touched Su Erya’s forehead and asked, “Second sister, you were bullied so much. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because Mammy Zheng didn’t let me tell you.”
Su Erya seemed to think of something, and there was a look of fear on her face, and she said no more.
Su Qingtan could not help sighing. “Silly girl, you are so soft and weak,” Su Qingtan said in his heart. “When I go to the Provincial Office, how can I leave you here?”
He now knew that his First Mother hated Erya very much. The father was absorbed with business, and the First Mother was in charge of all the little things in the family. After he left, the second sister was sure to be beaten and bullied again.
Somehow, Su Qingtan suddenly thought of Dr. Qi of Baicao Tang. Was it really necessary to send the second sister to Baicao Tang? But how could it be done in order to get father to agree with it?
Su Qingtan shook his head. There were still a few months to go before the recommendation period. This matter needed to be discussed in detail. Perhaps his mother would have a way around it.
“Eldest brother, second sister!!”There was a childish voice calling from outside the room. Su Erya was a little puzzled.Su Qingtan was not the only boy in the family. Su Qinghao was the fourth child in the Su family.Su Qingtan and Su Qinghao were both the Second Madam’s sons. She and Su Zipei were the First Madam’s daughters. Because of that, although the Second Madam didn’t come from high status family, she still had a lot of rights.Su Erya couldn’t help but feel strange about Su Qinghao. When she had made a mistake in her previous life, she never saw Su Qinghao again. She didn’t hear the news about him until after she married that poor young master. Su Qinghao was poisoned and died when he was 15 years old. The killer was never found.“Second sister, I knew you were wrongly accused!”Su Qinghao, who looked very much like Su Qingtan, ran in with a smile. He had a snow-white leather hat on his head, which made his handsome little face look ext
Ink was very expensive, so Su Erya could not use it. There was a sand table for setting up war games in the study. Su Qingtan used that to teach her to write.Su Qingtan was surprised to find that the second sister was very smart. She could understand simple words after he taught her once. It took him less than an hour to teach her all the basic rhymes.So Su Qingtan let Su Erya practice basic calligraphy in the study. One of them read books in front of the table, and the other drew on the sand table. It was very quiet in the study. Instead of being distracted, the rustles of the sand allowed him to concentrate more.The servant girl, Zhu’er, who had been serving Su Qingtan, saw Su Erya go into the study of the first young master every day. She stamped her feet in anger and muttered: “How dare she disturb the young master’s reading! I’ll go and tell the Second Madam!”When the Second Madam heard Zhu’er’s words, she rushed to the Eastern Courtyard at on
When Mammy Li heard the footsteps outside, she immediately came out of the kitchen into the yard and asked with a shocked face, “Miss, why are you back so early today?”Su Erya smiled sheepishly and explained, “Nothing, the Second Mother came to see eldest brother. It was not wise to stay there. So, I came back first. Nanny Mammy, is there anything good for lunch today?”Mammy Li was surprised. She wiped her hands, took off her apron, hurried over and held Su Erya’s hands, looked at her and asked nervously, “Second Madam didn’t make trouble for you, did she?”“No, eldest brother was there,” Su Erya said, giggling foolishly.“Alas...”Mammy Li sighed. No matter how well-intentioned the young master was, he was still the son of the Second Madam. Once the young master better understood the ways of the world, he might not care so much about Second Miss.These thoughts had long hovered in the heart of Mammy Li. It was just that Su Erya was so happy rig
“You’re Erya?”Su Huanli looked shocked. He did not seem to be able to associate the beautiful girl in front of him with the ugly little doll who used to be as thin as bean sprouts. After three months of recuperation, Su Erya had changed her ugly demeanor. The warm red velvet clothes helped highlight her oval rosy face. Her nose was tall and small, and her pink lips glowed like honey. Long black hair spread behind her as if it were dyed by ink . Her eyes were like the stars, rippling with the purest colors in the world.The old housekeeper could not help exclaiming, “I didn’t expect that after the recuperation, Second Miss would look as if she had been reborn. You are really a beautiful girl! In a few years, you might be the most beautiful girl in Dasu Town!” Su Huanli now regretted his previous attitude. If he had known that Erya would look like this, he would never have let Erya take the blame for Zipei. But it was too late to say anything.When Su
“Housekeeper, give Erya some pocket money every month. Erya, you need to concentrate on cooking. There is no need for you to do anything else. By the way, housekeeper, get Erya some Caiyun Silk, which was transported from the Silk Shop in the province this year, and make her a good set of clothes.”“Thank you, father!”After that, Su Huanli left in a hurry. Nanny Li was very excited. She had been unhappy when Second Miss told her to find these leaves. She didn’t know they would be rewarded.“Nanny Nanny, come and help me to clean the kitchen. I’m feeling weak.”“Okay, I’m coming. Second Miss, don’t hurt yourself.”Su Erya was laughing as if she was really very happy. But when you looked carefully, you would find that her eyes were calm and cold.Su Huanli returned to the study and wrote a letter at once. He gave it to the housekeeper.“Now you go to the County and make sure to give the letter to Li Wei.”The housekeeper was surprised,
“My lord, my lord! Good news!” said the housekeeper when he returned.Su Huanli looked happy and asked, “Is it done?”“Yes!”The housekeeper clapped. “Squire Li really liked the delicacies, and he agreed at once.”But Su Huanli sneered and whispered, “This dish will definitely be a huge profit in the restaurant. He is raised by Li Shanbao. If he didn’t agree, there would be something wrong!”Su Huanli couldn’t help but sigh. “If the Su family didn’t focus on the cloth business, I wouldn’t give Li Wei the chance to make money on this. What a pity.”The housekeeper suddenly understood Su Huanli’s words. No wonder Li Wei made his decision without hesitation.“My lord, that recipe...”“You take the pen, ink, paper and inkstone and go to Erya,” Su Huanli said, then frowned. “It’s a huge matter… Just find a good excuse and take her to the study.”In a small courtyard, Su Erya sat quietly in the sunshine with her eyes closed, as if she
“In the past few years, I have found that this jade might be produced in Yunjing. I should be quick, since time is limited.”If Zipei were admitted to the large family, though she might become her “adoptive mother”, her position would rise. After that, Su Huanli wouldn’t dare offend her!Zhu Yan smiled, as if she saw the beautiful future.Thinking of this, Zhu Yan took out all the jewels that she had stored for many years, and rushed to the pawnshop in the town.In the study, the old butler wrote down the recipe for zongzi that Su Erya told him.Su Huanli, sitting to the side and listening, was surprised. He never expected that a small zongzi was made in so many exquisite steps. His second daughter was really a genius for cooking.Unfortunately, the Su family did not have a restaurant. That’s why he allowed Li Wei the chance to make so much money!After dictating the recipe, Su Erya put the rest of the zongzi in a neat line, took a bow and l
Doctor Qi thought his identity was well hidden. Everyone was in the dark about who he was except for Su Erya, because she knew him from the barracks in her previous life.Back then, he had looked at Su Erya with some pity and a lot of disgust, as she was just one of many military prostitutes in the barracks.Now living in the remote Dasu Town, it was no wonder that no one could find him in this world.Once Su Erya stepped out, Qi Xianqing’s eyes immediately lit up. Su Huanli didn’t notice this. He introduced Doctor Qi to Erya at once, “This is my daughter, Erya. What do you think?”Qi Xianqing pretended to look up and down for a moment, and nodded slightly, “Miss Su is a natural beauty, and she must be very intelligent. I’ll stay here to give it a try for a few days.”Su Huanli was happy. He said, “Then the girl will have the honor to be your student, Mr. Qi.”Qi Xianqing smiled kindly with glistening eyes. “By the way, I’ve heard that your eldest