After speaking a few words with Madam Jiang, she claimed to be tired and wanted to rest.
Madam Jiang patted her head and told her to lie down peacefully.
Once Madam Jiang left, Su Zhan, as an unrelated man, had no reason to stay.
As soon as the man was gone, Xue Ning got out of bed directly, walked barefoot to the window, and watched the retreating figures of the mother and son.
Snow fell heavily, blanketing the courtyard in a layer of white—another cold day as the year drew to a close.
But now, everything was completely different.
She had prevented that cup of Spring Wine.
She had changed her fate of marrying Su Zhan.
She would no longer spend ten years waiting alone in an empty chamber, no longer wait with all her heart for Su Zhan to bestow upon her a pitiful shred of love.
This time, she would personally push Su Zhan out of her world.
She would live thoroughly for herself.
Xue Ning couldn’t contain her joy. Her eyes curved into crescents, and she felt an unprecedented sense of relief in her chest.
“Bao Chan!”
“Miss, I’m brewing medicine!”
Bao Chan poked her head out from the small kitchen. Seeing her young mistress barefoot, she flushed with anger.
“Miss, you just fell into the water. Why aren’t you wearing shoes?”
Xue Ning was overjoyed. She ran barefoot out of the room, hugged the still plump Bao Chan, and said with reddened eyes, “Bao Chan, I’m hungry. Let’s share a bowl of Yangchun Noodles tonight. No, no—we must eat Yangchun Noodles together every year… every single year…”
“What nonsense is the young mistress saying?” Bao Chan was puzzled. Being hugged by the girl’s warm body made her feel uneasy all over. Ever since the master, mistress, and Shizi passed away, the young mistress had grown distant from everyone except for Young Master Su. “What delicacies does the Marquis’s residence lack? Why would the young mistress want Yangchun Noodles?”
Xue Ning rested her chin on Bao Chan’s shoulder, tears falling pattering.
Yes, the Xuanyi Marquis Mansion was noble and luxurious—what rare delicacies did it lack?
As long as she didn’t overstep or force things, she would remain the most esteemed young lady of the Marquis’s residence.
In the future, when Su Zhan became the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet, she could still, under his protection, marry into an ordinary, honest, and good family, living comfortably and freely.
Having thought all this through, what more did Xue Ning have to be dissatisfied with?
She had just come of age this year. At most by next year, Madam Jiang would begin making arrangements to find a match for her.
This time, she insisted on marrying a man who loved her, to experience what it felt like to be cherished.
Unable to resist Xue Ning’s pleading, Bao Chan finally cooked two bowls of noodles.
The mistress and servant, hiding from the other maids and matrons, spent a satisfying half-hour eating in the room warmed by golden charcoal.
Bao Chan hesitated over whether to say something. “I heard that Princess Xiuning drank some wine and isn’t feeling well. She’s staying at the mansion, in the courtyard next to the Shizi.”
Xue Ning buried her head in her noodles, pretending not to hear. “Hmm.”
Bao Chan found it extremely strange. “Miss, didn’t you hear clearly?”
Xue Ning took a big bite of Yangchun Noodles, feeling warmth spread through her stomach.
She raised a pair of clear, beautiful eyes. “I heard clearly. What does it have to do with me?”
Bao Chan scratched her head helplessly. If she remembered correctly, in the past, the young mistress had disliked Princess Xiuning the most.
…
Early the next morning, Xue Ning got out of bed bright and early.
Madam Jiang managed the Xuanyi Marquis Mansion, and the rules weren’t overly strict. The demands on the children of the household were also few.
They only needed to report to her Qiushui Garden on the first and fifteenth days of the month.
The matriarch of the Marquis's residence, Xie Laofuren, came from a distinguished background but was a stern woman.
In the past, Xue Ning feared her the most and thus disliked paying morning and evening respects to the elderly lady.
Moreover, having lost both parents and with her elder and younger brothers having died on the battlefield, she had lived under others' roofs for many years, making her temperament more reclusive and fragile than other young ladies.
Madam Jiang almost always granted her every wish. If she did not wish to see others, Madam Jiang allowed her to live in her own small courtyard.
Yet it was only after marrying into the Su family that Xue Ning came to understand that one cannot live solely for oneself.
For her sake, Madam Jiang endured pressure from all sides—tormented by Xie Laofuren, mocked by the second branch, and looked down upon by the third branch—and later died so tragically…
It was hard not to suspect that Su Zhan's disdain for her might also stem from her having wronged Madam Jiang.
Now, reborn in this life, she could no longer allow Madam Jiang to struggle so painfully in the inner household for her sake.
"Are you truly going to pay respects to Laofuren, Miss?"
Bao Chan fetched the cloak trimmed with gray squirrel fur and draped it over Xue Ning, reluctantly saying, "Laofuren doesn’t like you, and the young ladies from the second and third branches aren’t close to you either. Wouldn’t it be better not to go?"
Xue Ning, holding a hand warmer, walked out. "Starting today, I will go every day."
"Huh?" Bao Chan was puzzled. "Didn’t you dislike interacting with others in the residence?"
Xue Ning smiled gently. "It’s fine to interact. We are all one family, brothers and sisters."
Bao Chan teased, "Even with the Shizi?"
Xue Ning paused and said solemnly, "Even with the Shizi."
Bao Chan fell silent, her eyes wide as she followed her young lady, her mind filled with confusion—had her lady lost her senses?
Wasn’t she the one who liked the Shizi the most and wanted to become his wife? How could they now be like siblings?
Xue Ning walked with light steps. Ever since falling ill, she had spent most of her time lying dazedly in bed.
The weather in Yongzhou was unpleasant all year round, especially in winter, where snow would fall for months without a glimpse of the sun.
After falling ill, Bao Chan’s life had also grown increasingly difficult, with the servants in the old residence making things hard at every turn.
She was practically confined to that small, square courtyard, relying only on Bao Chan for companionship.
Now, feeling light as a swallow, free from worries and at ease, her mood could not be better.
The distance from Qiyun Pavilion to Xie Laofuren’s Wanshou Hall was the farthest. Back then, Madam Jiang had deliberately placed her in a remote courtyard, worried that she would be disliked and feel uncomfortable.
She walked through the snow for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before reaching the entrance of Xie Laofuren’s courtyard, already somewhat out of breath.
Bao Chan was extremely worried. "Miss, are you all right?"
Xue Ning smiled. "I’m fine."
Bao Chan began to waver. "This servant still thinks it’s better not to go. It’s not too late to turn back now."
"Don’t be afraid, Bao Chan. Once you’ve started on the path forward, don’t look back."
Her body was still weak from falling into the water the day before.
She had originally intended to rest outside the courtyard for a moment before entering.
But then she saw Su Zhan, wrapped in a dark ink cloak, walking over with two other young masters of the residence, holding silk umbrellas.
Xue Ning did not wish to encounter Su Zhan and almost turned to leave immediately.
Yet someone called out loudly to stop her.
"Isn’t this Miss Xue, who always hides in Qiyun Pavilion and avoids outsiders?"
The speaker was Su Yu, the eldest son of the second branch, with peach-blossom eyes, a flirtatious and capricious nature.
In the Su family, he was the one who clashed with Xue Ning the most.
Sure enough, as Xue Ning was about to enter Wanshou Hall, Su Yu directly reached out and grabbed her slender, pale wrist, pulling her aside. "In previous years, Miss Xue cherished her noble demeanor and kept her doors closed by day. How is it that now, just after her coming-of-age ceremony, she is so eager to wander before Grandmother?"
These words were filled with sarcasm.
It was almost as if he had outright stated that Xue Ning had deliberately come today to block the paths of the young masters of the Marquis's residence, flattering and currying favor.
As a beautiful orphaned girl, the most important matter after her coming-of-age ceremony was her own lifelong marriage.
The Marquis's Shizi was dignified and imposing, reserved and self-restrained, and a rising star in the court.
The Marquis's young master was carefree and unconventional, handsome and dignified, born into the noble lineage of a marquis.
Marrying either one would be considered climbing the social ladder for Xue Ning.