Chapter 2 Letters

The doctor from Huichun Hall arrived very quickly. He was very familiar with the route to the Governor's Residence and knowing that he would certainly earn some silver, he ran as fast as a rabbit.

After examining Su Rong, he took out a jar of lardice balm with a cheerful smile and handed it to her respectfully, "Little Miss Seven, once your wound forms a scab, you can apply this ointment. One jar will ensure you don't end up with any scars."

Su Rong nodded, "Also, check my mother's pulse."

The lady doctor stiffened, "I don't need it."

Su Rong didn't speak, she just forcibly pulled the lady doctor's arm indicating the doctor to come forward.

With a friendly smile, the doctor stepped forward and after checking the lady doctor's pulse, he said with the same friendly smile, "The lady's body is fine, she just has a bit of heat. I'll prescribe a treatment to reduce the heat and she'll be fine after taking it for a couple of days."

The lady doctor drew back her hand.

Su Rong nodded, "Then do it!"

So, the doctor went to the outer room to prepare the prescription.

Su Rong followed him and asked while standing beside him, "Have you been to the residence of Captain Chen? How is Chen Zhou's injury?"

The doctor paused and sighed, "That, Young Master Chen's injury is very serious, I've already given him three jars of lardice balm."

Su Rong laughed, "Well, you made some extra money."

The doctor was very cooperative and whispered, "Miss Seven, rest assured, I will do what I promised."

Su Rong was satisfied. Holding the jar of lardice balm, she left with Yuewan with ease.

The doctor left the prescription, happily went to the accounting room to settle the bill, and then left the Governor's Residence cheerfully with a bag of money.

The lady doctor sighed at the sight of the silver, "This wasteful thing, she ruins herself and that would be fine, but if she isn't married off soon, she will bankrupt our family."

The few younger sisters were already numb to this.

Third Young Miss spoke up, "Mother, instead of thinking about marrying off Seventh Sister, you could marry us off first. We're afraid that by the time we get married, we won't be able to manage even a dowry."

Fourth Young Miss added, "Yes, mother, we don't want to rely on Seventh Sister to climb up either. If this continues and she cannot get married, we'll all be stuck with you."

The lady doctor held her chest in pain and sighed, "She has a coming-of-age ceremony in one month, I'll send a letter right away to inquire about the procedure at Duke Residence. If Duke Residence cancels their marital agreement, then we really can't count on her any longer. Who would have thought that Young Master Zhou would also be so unruly."

She comforted them, "Duke Residence values reputation immensely. The old duke shouldn't cancel the marriage. As long as Duke Residence acknowledges this marriage, your marriage matters will also improve."

"Mother, we have always lived in Jiangning. If we follow your plans and move to the Capital City, will we be capable?" the eldest young Miss voiced her worry.

"Why wouldn't we be? All these years, the money spent on your education, hiring teachers, learning music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, wasn't all that in vain, was it? Have some faith. With your manners, you won't be far behind the girls in the harem of the Capital City."

She whined, "It's just the Seventh one, apart from her good looks, everything else is a complete mess. The most money was spent on her."

"What if Duke Residence cancels the marriage?" The Second Young Miss asked.

"That…" The lady doctor paused, "I can't be certain of that."

She made up her mind, "This year, the oldest of you is just seventeen. You can still wait for half a year. Even if you can't count on the Seventh one, you can still rely on your elder brother. He's going to take the examination this autumn. If he succeeds, you will also have a share of the benefit and the criteria for choosing a husband will also be raised by a notch."

All the ladies nodded in unison, their faces finally lighting up with smiles, "Our brother is the most reliable."

The lady doctor picked up a letter from the side and pointed at the content, feeling enraged. "Look at Xingze, every time he writes a letter home, it's just three pages long, two of which are about the Seventh one. But the Seventh one, she just came over and didn't even ask about Xingze's letter."

She called someone, "Nurse Wang, take this letter to the Seventh one, let her read it, and reply to Xingze. What a reckless creature, her brother hardly spares a thought for me and only cares about her. Let's see if she has the nerve to bring up the trouble she caused."

Nurse Wang agreed and hastily took the Young Master's letter to look for Su Rong.

Even though Mr. Su was the governor of a city, and Jiangning was prosperous, Mr. Su, being a peculiarly upright person, was not adept at making money. He relied on his salary and the inherited properties to barely maintain his lifestyle. Such an upright person was not supposed to have any flaws, but Mr. Su certainly did, he was fond of women.

Therefore, his limited assets were all spent on women for the backyard.

As a result, the backyard of the Governor's Residence was filled with women. Every woman had her own courtyard. When a daughter was born, another courtyard was added, and by the time Su Rong was born, there were no more courtyards for her. Su Rong could only live with her mother, but her mother died when she was seven. So, she and Yuewan had to stay in her mother's courtyard for another month.

One month later, after a tiring fight with someone, Su Rong accidentally knocked over a candlestick. There was a strong wind that day and the windows were left open. The wind further fanned the flames inside the room. Su Rong and Yuewan were exhausted and couldn't put out the fire. They could only run out of the house. By the time they ran out of the yard and looked back, the whole house was in flames.

Master Su was very fond of Madam Qi. When he saw that the mansion and all the possessions of his beloved concubine were burned down with nothing left, even a tile, he fainted.

The courtyard of Madam Qi was the most exquisite, and everything in it was of the best quality.

How much money did it cost when it was all burned down?

The head madam was very angry. She exiled Su Rong to a dilapidated small yard in the northeast corner, which was uninhabited.

Later, several times Master Su wanted to rebuild the courtyard where Madam Qi once lived, but because his daughter used up too much money in her fights, there was no money left and he had to give up with a feeling of regret.

Su Rong thought the small yard was great. It was far away from the main yard and other courtyards, which made it convenient for her to escape by climbing over walls. She didn't need to sneak through small holes. As a result, she lived there for many years.

But outsiders who didn't know the situation speculated that the head madam was jealous of Madam Qi because she was favored. After Madam Qi's death, the head madam treated everyone's daughter well, except for Su Rong. It seemed reasonable for her to scold Su Rong harshly, depriving her of nice food, clothes, and even went as far as punishing her by making her repeatedly copy scriptures in the Ancestral Hall and forcing her to live in the dilapidated yard.

When Nurse Wang came to the small desolate yard, each visit reminded her of Madam Qi's mansion, Nuanxiang Pavilion. It was a lavish golden house filled with jade and silk. It was a great loss to see it ruined, and she couldn't blame the head madam for scolding Miss Seven as a calamity.

Yuewan heard footsteps and peeked out, loudly reporting, "Young Mistress, Nurse Wang is here."

Su Rong was sharpening her dagger with a whetstone. Hearing this, she immediately hid the whetstone and daggers and lay back on the bed smoothly, pretending to have a headache with her eyes closed.

Nurse Wang, an experienced old woman, knew there must be something dubious going on in the room since Yuewan was acting guilty. Despite Miss Seven's notorious reputation, she was cunning and clever, but her maidservant was rather dimwitted and not at all cunning.

How could they grow up eating the same rice and turn out so differently!

She entered the room, came to the bed, respectfully handed Su Rong a letter from Su Xingze, "Miss Seven, it's a letter from the young master. Madam asked me to bring it to you for your perusal. She said that this time you need to reply."

Su Rong immediately opened her eyes in surprise, "Doesn't mother always reply to the household letters?"

"Because this household letter didn't contain one reply, it's three pages long, two of which are about you. The madam was very angry when she read it. She said that since the young master doesn't think about her and only thinks about you, you should be the one to reply to this letter."

Su Rong: "..."

She would rather Su Xingze didn't think of her.

She took the household letter, expecting to see another two pages of stern warnings again, telling her not to fight, cause trouble, bully her siblings or upset her parents. She was tired of all these but this time, the letters were different. Every word was gentle and caring, expressing his concerns for her.

Only at the end did he mention that her coming-of-age ceremony was approaching and he would be back on the day of the ceremony.

After reading the letter, Su Rong was confused, "Did big brother hit his head or something?"

Nurse Wang thought to herself. The one who needs to check their head is you.

Su Rong read the letter once more. Su Xingze said he was fine, which meant nothing had happened. But she felt disturbed by the sudden warm and soft words. She handed the letter back to Nurse Wang, "My hand hurts too much from fighting; I can't write a reply. Take it back and let mother write for me. Tell my big brother, it's merely a coming-of-age ceremony. What does he need to come all the way back for? There were three or four sisters of mine who had their ceremonies this year, and he didn't come for theirs. Let him focus on his studies. We're counting on him to make us proud in the autumn examination. I don't need this preferential treatment."

The hidden message: Don't come back, I don't want to see you.

Nurse Wang: "..."

She coughed and stood still, her eyes catching sight of something by the bedside, "Miss Seven, you did not hide your dagger and whetstone well. Just before I came in, you were still energetically grinding your dagger by hand, right?"

The implication being: the grinding certainly couldn't have been done by foot, right? If you're energetic enough to grind the dagger, you should be able to write a letter.

Su Rong: "..."

She turned her head slightly and indeed the handle of the dagger and the edge of the whetstone were visible at the side of the pillow. It was probably because she had been too surprised earlier and her sudden movements had revealed them.

Everyone in the residence was afraid of her, except for Nurse Wang, who was Su Xingze's wet nurse and did not fear her.

She grumbled in her heart, she slowly got out of bed, and growled, "Yuewan, grind the ink!"

Yuewan efficiently found the red paper and selected a fine brush. The young master required that letters be written on high-quality orchid stationery. This was specially brought when he left. It was brand new and hadn't been used yet.

With pen in hand, Su Rong's finely crafted handwriting appeared on the paper. Nurse Wang watched with satisfaction. After all, these handwriting skills were taught by the young master himself. Regardless of the absurd contents of the letter, as long as the young master saw the handwriting, he would be satisfied.