Mr. Su was a penny-pincher at heart. Even though Su Xiaomo was his favorite daughter, he refused to pay for an extra servant’s train ticket, no matter what.
Over the next few days of packing, Xiao Cui tried all sorts of methods but couldn’t get anyone to agree to take her to Hong City.
Actually, Xiao Cui was quite clever. Her desire to go to Hong City wasn’t because she had worked for the Su Family for a long time and couldn’t bear to leave, but because she thought that once she got to Hong City, she could marry into the Shaoshuai Residence.
She wouldn’t dare to dream of the Young Marshal, but an adjutant by the Young Marshal’s side was certainly within reach!
In the novel, Xiao Cui ultimately succeeded, marrying one of Xiao Tang’s adjutants.
However, the book only described Xiao Tang and Su Xiaomo’s sweet life as they became the most distinguished man and woman in Hong City. It mentioned that no matter how many setbacks they faced, they could face them hand in hand. In the epilogue, it was briefly noted that the two went to Baodao. As for the man Xiao Cui married just before the grand finale, what her life was like afterward, and the specific details of Xiao Tang and Su Xiaomo’s future—none of it was made clear.
During these few days of packing, Ting Wan wasn’t idle either.
There was an immense amount of luggage, and a portion of it was the dowry her biological mother had left for her—jewelry, ornaments, and the red bridal veil her mother had embroidered.
Although she had no intention of marrying that short-tempered, paranoid male lead, she was also unwilling to let her mother’s belongings become Su Xiaomo’s dowry.
After all, for the past two days, Su Xiaomo had been seizing every opportunity to paint a terrifying picture of Xiao Tang for her.
So, Ting Wan specifically chose a day when Su Xiaomo and Mrs. Su were out to go speak with Mr. Su. She told him she wanted to deposit the dowry her mother left her in a foreign bank. Sang Yuan had connections, which would make it safer and prevent it from being lost on the road. She could withdraw it whenever she wanted, it would be kept by professionals, and she would be compensated if it was lost.
Mr. Su loved money. When Ting Wan said this, especially mentioning that the Sang Family had connections and was willing to help, he agreed even more readily.
If the dowry hadn’t been kept in his private vault at home, and if the family’s other large sums of money weren’t already in their usual bank, he would have wanted to deposit all of it together. Withdrawing everything at once would have been too conspicuous.
So, Ting Wan deposited the dowry into a bank under her own name and received her own deposit slip. But Sang Yuan helped her find someone to forge a slip with Mr. Su’s name on it, which she then gave to Mr. Su.
By the time all the luggage was packed and the family boarded the train to Hong City, another three days had passed.
Trains in the Republican era were slow. It was also because Mr. Su didn’t want to rough it that he bought tickets for a second-class private compartment. He, Mrs. Su, and a young, unfamiliar concubine shared one, while Ting Wan and Su Xiaomo shared another.
After boarding the train, Su Xiaomo continued to tell Ting Wan about the terrifying Xiao Tang. Ting Wan observed her with the gaze of an outsider before simply smiling.
Sister, the beads of your abacus, calculating how to marry into the Shaoshuai Residence, are practically smacking me in the face!
The original owner’s fear of Xiao Tang and her motivation to flee the marriage all came from Su Xiaomo.
Although Xiao Tang wasn’t a good person either—indifferent and paranoid, willing to disregard the lives of common people to achieve his goals—she had no plans to break off the engagement with him for the time being.
For one, the Shaoshuai Residence was dealing with the Red Faction. Having a more direct connection with the Shaoshuai Residence would make it very convenient for her to do certain things.
For another, she wanted to see how, with her not running away and not breaking the engagement, Su Xiaomo would manage to “reform” Xiao Tang and live sweetly ever after with him.
Su Xiaomo chattered on, but Ting Wan let it go in one ear and out the other. Amidst the gentle rocking of the train, she successfully demonstrated her excellent sleep quality.
The enthusiastic Su Xiaomo was talking away when she realized no one was responding. A glance at Ting Wan’s face revealed she was sleeping soundly.
She closed her mouth with some regret.
Ever since the drama club rehearsal, Ting Wan had been hanging out with Sang Yuan every day and hadn’t shown any fear of Xiao Tang for a long time.
Su Xiaomo was a little worried, so she had been whispering in Ting Wan’s ear for the past two days, her descriptions growing more and more exaggerated.
Who would have thought that every time she spoke, Ting Wan would remain completely unperturbed? It made her wonder if going to the White Tiger Hall so often and spending so much time with Sang Yuan had made Ting Wan bolder.
The Shaoshuai Residence—what a high status that was!
Her mother had said that becoming the Young Marshal’s wife meant becoming the most distinguished woman in Hong City.
If Ting Wan hadn’t been born prematurely, and if she herself had been born a little earlier, then the arranged marriage between the Xiao and Su families should have been hers! She was so well-liked, everyone adored her; such a good marriage should have been hers!
Su Xiaomo stared at the sleeping Ting Wan for a while before lying down to sleep herself.
After Su Xiaomo fell asleep, Ting Wan opened her eyes. She glanced at Su Xiaomo sleeping opposite her, rolled her eyes, turned over, and went back to sleep.
She just knew it. The book never mentioned it, but Su Xiaomo helping Su Youning escape the marriage wasn’t just out of concern for her sister. She was probably afraid it was because she wanted to marry into the Shaoshuai Residence herself!
The train swayed and rattled through the night. It was nearly noon the next day when they finally arrived in Hong City.
Because the Xiao and Su families had a marriage contract, they were considered in-laws. Thus, someone was waiting at the Hong City train station to receive them.
“Mr. Su, I am the steward of the Shaoshuai Residence. You can just call me Uncle Xiao. The Young Marshal is busy today and could not personally come to the station to greet you, so he sent a relatively useful person like me. The cars have been arranged to take you, your wife, and the young ladies directly to your new residence to freshen up and rest. The Shaoshuai Residence will host a banquet for you this evening.”
This Uncle Xiao wore a perfectly standard smile, yet it looked fake.
But Mr. Su didn’t think it was fake at all!
Back when the engagement was arranged, it was purely due to the friendship between the older generation. At that time, the two families had similar social standing. Now, the gap between their family statuses was anything but small.
Now that he was in Hong City, he would have to rely on the Shaoshuai Residence to do business!
Mr. Su didn’t dare to put on the airs of an elder.
Since Mr. Su didn’t dare to act arrogant, the others naturally didn’t either. A bit more sincerity appeared in Uncle Xiao’s smile as he gestured for them to head toward the station entrance.
Outside the station were four cars arranged by the Shaoshuai Residence—two for people and two for luggage. They steadily delivered the entire Su family to the residence Mr. Su had purchased in advance. The house even had two servants already hired for them.
The new residence was different from the one in Liu City. It was a small Western-style house with a garden.
However, one downside to this type of house was that everyone had to live together in the main building; there were no separate courtyards.
After dropping them off, Uncle Xiao returned to report back. Mr. Su entered the house, looked around, and after giving instructions to the two servants, he called Ting Wan over to speak.
“We’re going to the Shaoshuai Residence for dinner tonight. Remember to dress up beautifully and appropriately. Although you and the Young Marshal have a marriage contract, you still need to make a good impression.”
He was specifically reminding Ting Wan not to let them look down on her.
“I know, Father.”
Ting Wan agreed. She had already planned to dress as elegantly and appropriately as possible. Mr. Su’s instruction just gave her an excuse to do so.