“It’s nothing serious.”
Su Wan’s eyes reddened, and as her eyelashes fluttered, a few tears and a look of grievance flickered in her gaze, making Lu Jiayu’s heart ache.
“How can it be nothing serious when you’ve been beaten like this? Tell me who hit you, or I’ll drag you to my mother and have her ask you.”
Faced with Lu Jiayu’s “aggressive questioning,” Su Wan reluctantly spoke up.
“Actually, it’s not my sister’s fault. It’s mine.”
“Ah, was it Second Sister-in-Law who hit you?” Lu Jiayu covered her mouth in surprise.
In the eyes of the Lu Family, Su Lin was considered virtuous and gentle, and she had always been ingratiating toward Lu Jiayu.
“I really couldn’t tell that Second Sister-in-Law was such a two-faced person. She’s never like that in front of me.”
Jin Tao and Can Yan stood to the side, admiring their young lady’s ability to change expressions and lie effortlessly.
She truly spoke without hesitation. Was this still the same gentle and kind young lady from before?
Su Wan took out a handkerchief, wiped the tear stains from the corners of her eyes, and forced a bitter smile. “My sister is a good person. It’s because I did something wrong that she got angry and hit me.”
“Then, Sister Wan, what did you do wrong?” Lu Jiayu asked curiously.
Su Wan took Lu Jiayu’s hand and led her into the boudoir. After hesitating for a moment, she said hesitantly, “Sister Jiayu, I’m only telling you this because I consider you a good friend. You mustn’t tell anyone else.”
Lu Jiayu, who had just come of age, was in her adolescence, an age where little brats valued friendship the most.
She immediately promised, “I definitely won’t tell anyone.”
Only then did Su Wan reluctantly tell Lu Jiayu, “Actually, coming to the Upper Capital this time and shamelessly staying in your Lu Mansion was all my sister’s idea. My sister… her health hasn’t been properly restored, and she can’t have children for now, so she asked me to take her place.”
Lu Jiayu was even more astonished, as if she had heard a huge secret. “What do you mean by ‘take her place’? If Second Sister-in-Law can’t have children, are you supposed to have them for her? But… children can’t just appear out of thin air.”
She then thought of her second brother, blushed, and stomped her foot. “How could Second Sister-in-Law do this! She actually wants you and Second Brother to… that…”
“Yes, my sister wants me to become Second Brother Lu’s concubine.”
Su Wan then put on another hypocritical performance for Lu Jiayu, showing what it meant to be helpless.
Lu Jiayu cautiously asked her, “Then, Sister Wan, do you like my second brother?”
Su Wan sat down in front of the dressing mirror and deliberately avoided answering the question, instead changing the subject. “Let me try doing your makeup today.”
Her makeup box was filled with all sorts of items, including various brushes she had specially commissioned from a craftsman.
Soft horsehair brushes of different sizes and various shades of rouge.
Lu Jiayu loved beauty and was quickly distracted.
After more than an hour of work, with Su Wan’s exquisite makeup skills,
Lu Jiayu’s beauty instantly rose to another level.
Her skin was sufficiently hydrated, allowing the powder to blend better into her complexion. With the addition of eyeliner, blush, pearl powder highlighter, and other modern techniques,
Lu Jiayu exclaimed excitedly as she looked in the mirror.
“In three days, Madam Wei is hosting another Hundred Fruits Banquet. Please, Sister Wan, do my makeup like this again then.”
A spark of light flickered in Su Wan’s eyes.
She pretended to tease her, “If you change your hairstyle and wear new clothes then, you’ll be even more dazzling. The young gentlemen at the Hundred Fruits Banquet won’t be able to take their eyes off you.”Lu Jiayu shyly bit her lip and smoothly brought up Madam Wei’s Hundred Fruits Banquet: “Madam Wei holds eight Hundred Fruits Banquets every year. Since I came of age, I’ve attended three, but they all ended without any result. Those young masters who attend the banquets are all shallow fellows who judge by appearances.”
Su Wan inwardly rejoiced.
A matchmaking banquet attended by the legitimate daughter of Lu Mansion would surely be of a decent standard at the very least—a perfect opportunity to snag a wealthy husband.
Lu Jiayu then whispered softly, “Sister Wan, with your looks, those shallow fellows would all fall at your feet. Why don’t you come with me? If things work out, you wouldn’t have to become my second brother’s concubine.”
After some polite refusals, Su Wan finally nodded in agreement.
“But my status… I’m afraid it’s hardly fit for such an elegant occasion.”
“It’s fine. I’ll go beg my mother. As long as she writes you a letter of recommendation, Madam Wei won’t turn you away at the door.”
Ah, this matter would have to trouble Madam Zhou.
And Madam Zhou was not someone easily fooled. Su Wan grasped Lu Jiayu’s hand, tears finally falling: “Jiayu, my dear sister, my entire future rests on you now.”
A delicate beauty’s tears could not only stir men’s pity but also awaken in women a desire to protect her.
Lu Jiayu felt the weight of Su Wan’s fate on her shoulders, so she put in extra effort.
She made several trips to Madam Zhou’s room, pleading with her to write the recommendation letter to Madam Wei.
Madam Zhou’s jaw was tightly clenched, her eyes like smoldering embers as she looked at Lu Jiayu.
“Silly child, that Su Wan is clearly a very scheming person. She’s charmed you until you don’t know which way is up. Do you think I’ve been the mistress of this household all these years for nothing?”
“She’s deliberately getting close to you, wanting to use you to enter the Hundred Fruits Banquet and climb the social ladder.”
Lu Jiayu pouted. “What’s wrong with climbing the social ladder? Is it a crime? When you send me to the Hundred Fruits Banquet, aren’t you also hoping I’ll climb the social ladder? As long as Sister Wan can make me look beautiful in paintings, why care about her intentions?”
“Mother, please help me. If she goes with me, I’ll have company and won’t be so nervous.”
Madam Zhou still refused to yield. She absolutely could not allow her daughter to become someone else’s stepping stone.
Lu Jiayu’s eyes darted, and she hugged Madam Zhou’s arm, cooing, “Mother, I’ll tell you a secret, but you mustn’t tell anyone. Actually, Sister Wan likes my second brother in her heart. She wouldn’t even look at other young masters. It’s just that I want her to accompany me.”
Madam Zhou looked at her daughter. “She told you that?”
“No, I asked her, but she didn’t answer and deliberately changed the subject. Mother, isn’t that what you often call ‘protesting too much’?”
The ambiguous attitude Su Wan deliberately displayed in front of Lu Jiayu played a crucial role.
Madam Zhou was shrewd; Lu Jiayu had to use a big move to force her to agree.
Sure enough, upon learning that Su Wan fancied her own son, Madam Zhou smiled smugly.
“Both Su sisters want to marry my son. What a pity—there can only be one principal wife. Since her elder sister became the principal wife, if she marries in too, she can only be a concubine at most.”
Madam Zhou thought of Su Wan’s appearance and figure. Having her as a concubine wouldn’t be a loss for her son.
In truth, Su Wan’s move from Liuzhou to the Upper Capital was never without ulterior motives. Madam Zhou had guessed earlier that her daughter-in-law, growing anxious and restless, had brought her sister here to seduce the second young master.Thinking she can seduce Second Young Master with her looks and then have children? Dream on.
Madam Zhou twisted the gold bracelet on her wrist. If she could make Su Lin unable to conceive, she could do the same to Su Wan.
She could allow Su Wan to be taken as a concubine, but only if the Su family provided a substantial dowry.
Once she slowly transferred the dowries of both sisters into her own hands, she would then use their inability to bear children as an excuse to divorce them and expel them from the Lu Mansion.
After weighing the situation for a moment, Madam Zhou thought that since Su Wan had her sights set on Second Young Master, there was no need to worry about her having other schemes. She decided to grant her daughter’s request.
“Alright, alright. I’ll write a recommendation letter to Madam Wei right away, asking her to add Su Wan’s name to the guest list for the Hundred Fruits Banquet. From now on, she’ll be free to attend all future banquets. Are you happy now?”
Lu Jiayu smiled and kissed Madam Zhou on the cheek.
“Mother, you’re always so good to me.”
Three days later, Su Wan got her wish and rode in the same carriage as Lu Jiayu to Madam Wei’s residence, where they attended a high-end matchmaking banquet.