“Was my sister not here? Were you well-behaved?” Cheng Chun broke into a smile upon seeing Cheng Guo’er, the gloom between her brows vanishing instantly, her lively eyes filled with joy.
Su Xubai found himself unable to look away from Cheng Chun like this.
While Cheng Chun was speaking with Cheng Guo’er, Guo’er’s father returned. He stared at his beautiful daughter for a long while, hardly daring to recognize her. In the end, it was Su Xubai who stepped forward and called out, “Father-in-law!”
Shitou was momentarily stunned before snapping back to reality. “Ah, ah, the food is all ready. We can sit down and eat as soon as you like. I’ve prepared some wine—will you join me for a drink, son-in-law?”
Su Xubai naturally agreed with a smile.
The Cheng family’s courtyard was small, and the tables and chairs were old, but everything was clean and tidy. When they sat down to eat, Su Xubai naturally took the chopsticks and bowls, and even poured wine for Shitou. At first glance, they truly resembled an ordinary father-in-law and son-in-law.
A pile of Huimen gifts was arranged in the courtyard, inevitably drawing the attention of curious onlookers. Some said Cheng Chun had soared to the top of the branch and become a phoenix, while others spoke more harshly, claiming she must have forced the issue first—otherwise, how could she have been so fortunate?
Fortunately, such words never reached Cheng Chun’s ears. While Shitou and Su Xubai were drinking, Guo’er’s mother pulled Cheng Chun into the house. “A-chun, tell your mother the truth—does he treat you well?”
Cheng Chun glanced at the closed door and nodded. “Yes, he has a gentle nature and treats everyone well.”
“A gentle nature?” Guo’er’s mother frowned. “If he’s so gentle, how could he have… how could he have done that that day…”
Cheng Chun knew her mother still held a grudge, but there was no turning back now. After thinking for a long while, she took out a pouch from her bosom. “Mother, this is the betrothal silver he gave at the time. You let me take it all when I married, so things at home must be difficult, right?”
Guo’er’s mother choked up but still managed a smile. “You underestimate your mother. After all these years, how could I not have some savings…”
“Mother, listen to me!” Cheng Chun pressed the silver into her mother’s hand and held it firmly. “In the Su family, I’m a concubine—a Liangqie, to put it nicely, but still just a concubine. If I’m not careful, who knows what kind of life awaits me in the future? Take this silver, buy some land, or even a shop!”
“How can I…”
“Mother!” Cheng Chun grasped her mother’s hand. “Just think of it as me leaving it with you. Consider it a way out for your daughter. If… if I’m ever cast aside in the future, at least I’ll have a path to survival.”
Hearing this, Guo’er’s mother’s heart ached, and tears immediately fell. Gritting her teeth, she replied, “Ah, ah, I understand, I understand!”
Though they were farmers, they understood the principle that it was better to be the wife of a poor man than the concubine of a rich one. Becoming a concubine meant becoming an object—whether one lived or died was entirely up to the master of the house. The Cheng family cherished their daughter dearly. If it hadn’t been absolutely necessary, how could they have borne to let Cheng Chun become a concubine?
Seeing her mother cry, Cheng Chun’s heart ached terribly, but she held back her tears and whispered, “Mother, as his concubine, I have no control over anything. Let Guo’er go to school. Let him study—not to pass the imperial exams, but just to learn to read and write. It’ll give him another path in life, and in the future… he can also stand up for me.”
At this moment, Guo’er’s Mother was truly heartbroken beyond measure, and could only agree through her tears.
Guo’er’s Mother had originally seen Su Xubai as someone like an immortal descended to earth, thoughtful and proper in all matters, and had worried that Cheng Chun might have already given her heart to him. Yet she never expected that Cheng Chun could see things so clearly.
But it was precisely because Cheng Chun saw things too clearly that made her heart ache: “A-chun, it’s your mother who has wronged you, it’s your mother’s fault…”
Cheng Chun gently embraced Guo’er’s Mother and whispered, “Mother, I will be fine. You must take good care of yourself. As long as you all are well, if anything happens, I still have a home to return to!”
Guo’er’s Mother nodded through her tears.
They returned in the evening. With reddened eyes, Guo’er’s Mother saw her daughter off at the door. As the carriage departed, she stubbornly chased after it for a while, only returning home dejectedly when she could no longer see the carriage.
Cheng Chun in the carriage wasn’t faring much better either. She kept her head lowered, her nose red, clearly looking as if she had been crying. Sitting beside her, Su Xubai couldn’t help but ask, “Are you very sad?”
Cheng Chun shook her head against her true feelings.
Seeing her like this, Su Xubai said somewhat helplessly, “In the villa, you are the mistress. If you miss your mother, you can come back to visit. It’s no trouble at all.”
Cheng Chun rarely looked up at Su Xubai: “Really?”
Looking at Cheng Chun’s flushed face, Su Xubai couldn’t resist reaching out and gently pinching her nose, then smiled: “Really!”
Cheng Chun was startled by Su Xubai’s action, almost instinctively shrinking back, and then her head bumped with a “thud” against the carriage wall behind her.
Cheng Chun groaned in pain, clutching the back of her head, while Su Xubai was amused: “You can’t keep being this afraid of me. Although we haven’t held a wedding ceremony, you are, after all, now a member of my household. If you remain this fearful of me, how will we live together in the future?”
“I’ll try!” Cheng Chun responded with her head lowered.
Su Xubai sighed helplessly but said no more. Their first meeting had been extremely unpleasant. Some things could only be changed with time—like Cheng Chun’s fear of him.
Although Cheng Chun never spoke of it, he knew. After all, that day, he truly hadn’t acted like a decent person.
Whenever he thought of this, Su Xubai felt deeply ashamed.
After returning to the estate, Cheng Chun had originally thought Su Xubai would go back to his own room to sleep. She never expected that the room she was now sleeping in was actually his bedroom.
“With such a large villa, surely there can’t be only this one room?” The thought of Su Xubai sharing the same room with her made Cheng Chun feel utterly uncomfortable, her tone even rising uncontrollably.
Hongdou, while making the bed, said, “Of course there’s more than just this one room. But the Fifth Master said the mistress must stay in the master bedroom, and in this courtyard, there’s only this one master bedroom!”
Cheng Chun’s face first turned red, then gradually turned pale, and finally became ashen and weak.
Seeing Cheng Chun’s expression change unpredictably, Hongdou smiled and said, “The Fifth Master is an easygoing person. There’s no need for the mistress to look so worried!”
“Hmm,” Cheng Chun replied with her head still lowered, still not very happy.
After helping Cheng Chun settle in, Hongdou left. Her washed hair had been scented with fragrant ointment, but Cheng Chun didn’t like the smell, finding it rather unpleasant.
But Hongdou said that this fragrant ointment was the best for nourishing hair, made with the finest spices and quite valuable. She couldn’t say much, lest she voice some foolish opinion and invite ridicule for nothing, so she let Hongdou apply the ointment for her.