007 Trampling Him
After the long journey, even in a new place, Su Niao slept soundly. By the time she woke, the morning meal had already passed.
But now she was the boss of Su Garden, so naturally she could eat whenever she pleased.
After finishing her morning meal and stepping outside, she saw Xie Chenyan already waiting in the courtyard for her orders.
Su Niao had racked her brains the night before and come up with a temporary plan she wanted to try.
She told Xie Chenyan she wanted to make herself a fox-fur cloak and ordered him to go into the mountains to hunt foxes. "If you catch any prey, I'll buy it from you at market price."
The original agreement was for him to serve as her household servant, not a hunter, so Su Niao offered a reasonable solution.
Chen Yan knew his martial skills were far from ordinary and naturally had no fear of going into the mountains. He had merely assumed this young lady would keep him by her side to torment him deliberately—he hadn't expected her to send him away instead.
So Chen Yan received a set of bow and arrows from the storeroom.
Glancing at the shabby, worn-out weapons in his hands, he said nothing and headed out the door toward the mountains.
The young lady certainly held a grudge.
Then again, that made sense—she had dared to draw a blade against him even when subdued in the carriage. She was never the docile type to begin with.
Ping'an Lane sat at the edge of the county town. From the stone bridge at the end of the lane, crossing the small river led to a narrow path. Following the road forward, fields stretched in continuous patches on both sides, extending all the way to the foot of the mountains—a short half-hour's walk would bring one into the hills.
Su Niao watched Xie Chenyan's retreating figure disappear and secretly hoped some wild beast or wolf would devour him in the mountains.
She asked the steward, "The weapons you gave him—no problems?"
Steward Uncle Jing hurriedly replied, "All broken and useless, unfit for any purpose."
Su Niao nodded in satisfaction.
After the morning meal, Su Niao went out for some fresh air. After all, the scenery here was truly lovely—no need like in the capital to ride for ages from behind high gates and grand walls just to reach places for amusement.
As she stepped out the door, she noticed people throughout the lane casting glances in her direction, both openly and covertly.
After all, Su Garden was impossibly prestigious, and word had spread that the young lady who had moved in was an incomparable beauty. Everyone wanted to see for themselves what kind of face could truly earn the title of "incomparable beauty."
So as Su Niao walked toward the stone bridge and the small river, more and more eyes gathered around her.
She didn't wear a veiled hat—she was home now, and covering herself all day would be both inconvenient and somewhat affected.
She was simply born this beautiful; why should she skulk around hiding it?
There were many people by the stone bridge. The morning meal had just ended, the weather wasn't yet hot, and it was a leisurely time of day. As Su Niao walked over, she heard people on both sides murmuring amongst themselves—all the same compliments she had long grown tired of hearing.
By the time she neared the bridge, she finally understood why everyone had gathered there. Someone was painting a portrait, and the subject was a gorgeously dressed young woman seated beneath a willow tree beside the stone bridge.
The gorgeously dressed young woman was named Jin Mingzhu, daughter of a wealthy merchant in Jining County, known by the title of Jining's First Beauty.
Everyone nearby knew that Miss Jin Mingzhu had taken a fancy to Chen Xu, the second son of the Chen family. Since the Jin residence wasn't far from Ping'an Lane, Jin Mingzhu frequently came around this area.
Today, she had paid one tael of silver to have Chen Xu paint her portrait.
First, while painting, the artist had to keep staring at her, and Jin Mingzhu had dressed up beautifully precisely because she wanted Chen Xu to look at her. Second, she had heard that a new Miss Su had moved into Peace Lane, and rumors claimed this Miss Su was far more beautiful than her, the supposed number one beauty of Jining.
Jin Mingzhu refused to believe it and charged straight over.
But when she saw the woman strolling over nonchalantly amid the crowd's hushed whispers and stares, her eyes went wide.
First disbelief, then uncontrollable indignation.
Jin Mingzhu didn't want to admit it but had to—she had been outshone!
But she wasn't bad either!
Where had this little vixen come from, moving into Peace Lane—what if she set her sights on Chen Xu?
At that thought, Jin Mingzhu's fighting spirit reignited, and she shot Su Niao a vicious glare.
Su Niao: ?
She ignored the oddly hostile girl in fancy clothes—after all, that one wasn't even on her level, hardly worth a second thought.
Su Niao was looking at the painter instead—or more precisely, at his painting.
If Su Niao had any talent at all, it was painting. She had a natural gift for it, though she'd always been too busy eating, drinking, and having fun with Xie Qinglan to ever sit down and paint properly. But she had to admit—she loved painting.
And she knew her art.
This person's work was actually quite impressive; this level of skill could make a name even in the capital.
Absorbed in studying the painting, Su Niao unconsciously drifted closer, not noticing the girl being painted across from her, whose eyes were growing wider and expression more furious by the second.
Oh no—she really was after Chen Xu!
Just then, Su Niao suddenly saw the painter's brush waver, dragging an ink streak across the otherwise perfect painting. As she stared in bewilderment, the man toppled straight sideways…
Beside him was a stone bridge, and beneath the bridge lay the riverbank's jagged, chaotic rocks—a fall there would mean a bloody head.
More importantly, she was right next to him, and he was falling toward her.
Su Niao shoved him back: "Hey, what are you doing?"
Chen Xu had braced himself for a bloody fall, but the expected pain never came. His uncontrolled body was pushed back, and he hurriedly grabbed his easel to steady himself, then heard a voice that was anything but friendly.
At the same time, the dizziness before his eyes faded, and Chen Xu stared blankly at the face that appeared before him like clouds parting to reveal the sun. His mind went momentarily blank… then burst into a riot of blooming flowers.
Jin Mingzhu had already rushed over, inserting herself between Chen Xu and that fox spirit, gazing at him with utter concern.
"Chen Xu, are you alright? Are you okay? It's all my fault—I shouldn't have made you paint when you've just recovered from being sick… You painted so beautifully, I love it. Here's your fee."
Chen Xu stepped back half a step, declining with his usual polite but distant courtesy: "The painting isn't finished. I shouldn't accept payment."
Jin Mingzhu grew frantic: "It's almost done! Why are you so stubborn…"
Su Niao watched the two of them bickering and clinging to each other in that sickeningly sweet way, then looked away. She picked up the brush from the ground, rinsed it, dipped it in paint, and without even looking, swept it across the canvas in a few quick strokes.
"Done!"
Su Niao tossed aside the paintbrush that was so worn it nearly ruined her feel for the work, stepping back. "I'm done. Those who need to collect the painting can collect it, those who need to pay can pay. Now can you move out of the way? I need to cross the bridge."
Jin Mingzhu stared in disbelief at the portrait that had become flawless in just a few moments. Beside her, Chen Xu slowly tore his gaze away from the painting and instinctively stepped back two paces, only to see the young woman who had just saved him lift her skirts with a casual air and step onto the stone bridge, walking off into the distance with her maidservant…
Su Niao hadn't done it to save anyone—pushing the boy back had been more out of disgust than anything else. But unexpectedly, at lunchtime, a knock came at her door from a little bean of a child, saying she had come to express gratitude.
The little girl wore patched, old clothes, but they were still clean. Carefully, she held out a ceramic bowl containing something dark red, dotted with green scallions… stir-fried fish?
The little girl finally snapped out of her amazement at seeing the fairy before her, and spoke in a soft, thin voice: "Miss Su saved my second brother. My mother said this is the stir-fried fish she made—it goes wonderfully with steamed buns—and she asked me to bring it to thank you."
After a moment's thought, the little girl continued: "My eldest brother isn't home, my mother can't see, and my second brother is a boy so it's not proper for him to come, so I was sent instead."
So the one she'd shoved aside today was Xie Chenyan's current younger brother, huh? Tsk!
Su Niao normally wouldn't think much of food from poor, humble households, but this wild vegetable stir-fried with small fish smelled so fragrant, spicy, and savory that it actually made her want to try it.
She waved her hand for Lichun to take the large bowl, and a moment later, the little girl walked back to her own courtyard carrying a large plate of exquisite pastries.
Chen Xu approached nervously, but when he saw those fine pastries rarely seen even in Jinling County, he froze: "Aning, what happened?"
Chen Ning spoke again in her soft, thin voice: "Miss Su said thank you for the fish, she really liked it. She said 'you gave me something, so I give you something in return,' and gave us these pastries."
Chen Xu knew that what Miss Su must have meant was the principle of reciprocity.
Looking at the exquisite pastries on the plate, thinking of the girl he'd glimpsed in a flash of light after his dizzy spell that morning, his heart stirred. He clenched his fist, barely suppressing the feeling.
On the other side, Su Niao had Lichun stuff some stir-fried fish into a freshly steamed bun for her to try, and she discovered that indeed—it was fragrant, spicy, and savory… delicious.
But she rarely ate spicy food and couldn't handle the heat well. Soon she was sipping iced sour plum juice between bites, unable to stop herself from taking one mouthful after another. Lichun watched with a furrowed brow, afraid her young mistress would burn herself out on the spice.
When Su Niao offered her some to taste, she refused, and just as she was about to move the fish away, she accidentally knocked it to the floor.
Su Niao said angrily, "You did that on purpose."
Lichun looked utterly innocent: "This servant is wrongly accused…"
Su Niao shot her a glare, and Lichun cheerfully went to clean up the mess.
When Chen Yan walked into the courtyard carrying a white-furred fox, he happened to catch sight of the stir-fried fish in the trash bin.
Because they often made this dish when their family improved their meals, it looked somewhat familiar, so he gave it an extra glance.
After handing the fox to the guard and learning that Miss Su was resting and he should come back later for her reply, Chen Yan turned and headed back to his own home.
His aunt's eyesight was poor and she was ill, and Chen Xu had just recovered from sickness as well—he couldn't help but worry.
As he entered the courtyard, he saw little Aning running over holding up a piece of pastry: "Big brother, eat, it's really good."
The fine pastries didn't look like something the neighbors would give. Chen Yan casually asked about it, and heard his little sister say that Mother had sent her to give Miss Su a bowl of stir-fried fish, and Miss Su had sent this back as a gift in return.
Chen Xu, his ears red, explained how Miss Su had saved him.
Chen Yan remained silent, recalling the stir-fried fish in the trash bin at the Su residence.
That was a dish his family had been reluctant to eat themselves, sent over as thanks… and like the dried fruits the neighbors had enthusiastically offered, it had gone straight into the Su family's trash bin.
He patted his sister's head, then rose and walked into the house, speaking gently: "The Su family is wealthy and lacks nothing. Auntie, don't send things over anymore—it's a waste for nothing."
Aunt Chen felt a little embarrassed: "Did I embarrass you?"
Chen Yan shook his head. "How could you?"
A moment later, Chen Yan was summoned to the Su garden.
Su Niao looked him over—not only had he not been torn apart by wild beasts, he didn't even have a scratch… Even though she already knew this fellow was highly skilled, seeing him return safe and sound still filled her with bitter disappointment!
She waved her hand listlessly: "Fine, continue tomorrow. As for today's fox…"
Before she could finish, she heard Xie Chenyan speak in a calm voice: "The fox will serve as repayment for the pastries Miss Su sent today. In the future, please refrain from sending things to my home—a humble household cannot bear such favor."
Su Niao paused, turned to look at him, and curled her lips: "What, a little pastry pricks your pitiful self-esteem?"
Seeing Xie Chenyan displeased, Su Niao's mood improved at once. She deliberately humiliated him: "It was your family who eagerly sent things to me—returning the favor is simply my good breeding. You really needn't be so overly sensitive and insecure."
However, Xie Chenyan across from her showed no trace of anything resembling insecurity. Instead, he looked straight at her: "If you truly had breeding, you wouldn't so openly discard others' goodwill like worn-out shoes."
Su Niao was stunned for a moment, then remembered the little fish that had been swept into the trash bin after being spilled on the ground.
But she certainly wouldn't deign to explain herself to Xie Chenyan—besides, she had intended to humiliate him before killing him anyway. She curved her lips into a smile: "That depends on what kind of goodwill it is. Some things are too shabby to catch my eye."
As she finished speaking, she indeed saw the coldness on Xie Chenyan's face at his family's feelings being trampled upon.
Su Niao's mood grew even better. While savoring the sight, she leisurely peeled a grape for herself.
Chen Yan looked up and met the condescending, contemptuous smile of the eldest Miss Su.
Mocking and humiliating him seemed to delight this young lady greatly. She unhurriedly fed the grape into her mouth, her lips stained translucent and glistening by the grape's juice…