Su Wan acted swiftly, hiding the poetry collection just as Su Lin entered.
Nanny Liu helped Su Lin sit down, and Su Lin assumed a haughty posture.
“I don’t want to stay here long,” she said.
“I’ve come only to inform you of one thing. For the next six months, you may continue to stay at the Lu Mansion, but during this time, you are not to have any ambiguous interactions with Lu Lang.”
“When Grandmother sent you from Liuzhou to me, we both know what she intended.”
“During these six months, I will try my best. If I still cannot conceive, then I will give up and personally send you to Lu Lang’s bed to satisfy you.”
Su Wan was somewhat surprised, and Su Lin noticed her astonishment.
With a disdainful tone, Su Lin remarked, “You must be secretly cursing me, hoping I won’t conceive. Just wait. Even if I don’t, I will still hold the position of Lu Lang’s rightful wife. No matter how much you covet him, he will never belong to you.”
Su Wan felt like laughing.
Lu Guizhou had never been her target. If she were to reveal her ambitions, she would probably scare her Eldest Sister to death.
“Then I’ll hold you to this six-month agreement, Sister.”
Su Wan nearly wanted to applaud Su Lin, thanking her for granting her half a year of freedom.
Su Lin stood up, glared at her, and scolded her in the tone of an elder sister.
“Since coming to the Upper Capital, you’ve been currying favor with Lu Jiayu, thinking that pleasing the Lu Family’s young lady will elevate your status. You’re dreaming.”
“The other day, when I passed by Jiayu’s courtyard, I overheard the maids saying that the young lady had lost a hairpin, and they were adamant that you were the one who stole it.”
“Look at you—enduring humiliation and shamelessly flattering Jiayu, only to end up branded a thief. Don’t you find yourself ridiculous?”
Su Lin turned to face her directly, a smirk curling her lips. “You didn’t actually steal her hairpin, did you? A concubine-born daughter is just that—unworldly and unaccustomed to fine things.”
With that, she pulled a gold hairpin from her hair, tossed it to the ground, and sneered, “Take it. Consider it a gift, so you won’t covet others’ belongings. If you lack anything in the future, just ask your sister.”
Not long after Su Lin left, Nanny Liu hurried back to offer a few words of comfort to Su Wan.
“The Eldest Young Lady was just speaking out of anger. The Second Young Master hasn’t stayed home for a long time, and as soon as he returned, he rushed to your room. Seeing that, the Eldest Young Lady was furious and said those hurtful things.”
Having lived long and learned much, Nanny Liu knew better than to burn bridges. She bent down, picked up the gold hairpin, and pressed it into Su Wan’s hand, smiling as she said, “You are both sisters of the Su Family and should work together for the family’s sake. If you are truly in need of anything, Miss Wan, just send a maid to let this old servant know.”
“Before leaving Liuzhou, the Old Madam called me to her side and repeatedly instructed me to look after you in secret. You are a daughter of the Su Family, and you must not be bullied by outsiders.”
After delivering these kind words, Nanny Liu quietly took her leave.
Jin Tao rolled her eyes. “What nonsense! Who wants this old hairpin? It’s clearly been worn for ages, and she has the nerve to give it away.”
Su Wan glanced down at the gold hairpin in her palm and smiled. “It’s free, after all. Let’s keep it. It might fetch some silver in the future.”She then called Can Yan over and instructed her, “Can Yan, exchange some silver for broken pieces and use them to build good relationships with the maids and servants of the Lu Family. Have them inform us of any major or minor events happening in each courtyard.”
Can Yan distributed the silver, and two days later, she went to Lu Jiayu’s place to gather information.
The rumors had shifted once again, now claiming that the young lady of Xiangfei Courtyard, Su Wan, was pure and kind-hearted—how could she possibly steal anything? It must have been the young lady playing around and dropping it outside.
Fortunately, Su Lin’s sarcastic remarks that day had also reminded Su Wan not to ignore the rumors.
As an outsider, a young lady who constantly curried favor with Lu Jiayu, there were bound to be those who disliked her. If she allowed the servants to slander her, her reputation would suffer.
Her friendship with Lu Jiayu could also be undermined by others.
Money can make the devil turn the millstone. Since anything that could be resolved with silver was worth it, why not spend a little?
Preparing for the future, she wanted to lay every brick for her own path ahead.
That day, Su Wan stewed a pot of pork rib and corn soup and had Jin Tao and Can Yan deliver it to each household.
Alone, she held an oil-paper umbrella and headed to Huixing Avenue.
Almost all bookshops were concentrated on Huixing Avenue.
Writing brushes, ink, paper, paintings, and books—everything could be purchased there.
Su Wan browsed several bookstores but couldn’t find her poetry collection on any of the shelves.
Finally, in a slightly dilapidated small bookstore, she found her poetry collection tucked away in a corner.
Su Wan’s face immediately darkened.
She had gone to great lengths to publish her poetry collection, but only a few copies had sold, and the rest were hidden away in corners gathering dust.
Throughout history, achieving fame has always been difficult.
Fame not only requires seizing opportunities early but also hype.
Clearly, Su Wan currently lacked the means to create hype.
She bought a copy of her poetry collection and walked straight out of the bookstore, even forgetting her oil-paper umbrella.
A loud rumble echoed in the sky, followed by rolling thunder, and in an instant, rain poured down.
Su Wan ducked under the eaves of a teahouse, cursing her bad luck.
However, the heavy rain came and went quickly, lasting only about half an hour before the sky cleared again.
Poor Su Wan was not only drenched from head to toe, but the hem of her emerald-green skirt was also stained with mud.
She hugged herself and crouched down.
Passersby hurried along, and though few noticed her, Su Wan could still sense some malicious gazes.
It was all because she took such meticulous care of her body, striving for perfection in every way.
Especially her figure, which she held to extremely high standards.
She regularly consumed cow and goat milk to nourish herself, resulting in a pair of snow-white peaks that stood tall and proud. Now, drenched by the rain, her dress clung to her skin, revealing a hint of her curves and attracting the lecherous gazes of a few ruffians in the teahouse.
Su Wan gritted her teeth in frustration.
Hugging herself, she wanted to dash out.
But as soon as she stood up, she heard a few whistles from the second floor.
Those ruffians were drinking tea upstairs, leaning out to stare at her with lustful eyes, boldly admiring her curves.
Reluctantly, Su Wan had to crouch back down.
Her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall over her shoulders, and her slender waist, so delicate it seemed one could wrap their hands around it, was fully exposed to the breeze.
In the distance, a carriage slowly approached the teahouse.
The curtains were tightly drawn, but a deep voice came from inside.
“Come here.”
Seeing that the ruffians were about to come over and harass her, Su Wan glanced over, recognized them as members of the Chen Family, and heard Chen San’s voice. Overjoyed, she thought to herself,
Heavens!
Thank you!
This chance encounter was truly timely.Yet on her face, she feigned an expression of utter bewilderment, casting a gaze full of resistance toward the carriage.
The carriage curtain remained completely still.
Su Wan did not move; she was gambling.
She had deduced that Chen San was an exceedingly proud man, one who never took the initiative for a woman. She wondered what it would be like to tame such a proud man.
One of them had to make the first move.
But Su Wan refused to be the one to take that step.
Seeing the ruffians drawing closer, Su Wan gritted her teeth, stood up, and dashed forward.
Her skirt swept through the muddy ground, staining it with a dark smear. She brushed past the carriage without a hint of hesitation or any intention of stopping.
Finally, the carriage curtain was drawn aside, revealing Chen Luosheng’s sharp features in Su Wan’s line of sight.
His dark eyes were filled with coldness.
“I told you to come here. Are you deaf?”