Su Qing lifted her hand and gently smoothed her neatly combed sideburns.
“What’s the use of knowing now? None of that matters anymore. Look at you, then look at me—I am the Empress now! Back then, Father wanted you to marry Young Master Wu, and you refused in every possible way. And now you’ve ended up like this. It truly pains your little sister to see it.”
After speaking, Su Qing still seemed unsatisfied. She leaned close to Su Fu’s ear.
Word by word, she said slowly, “Oh, by the way, Sister—the Heir of Prince Xiao was not killed by the enemy troops of Xiling.”
With that, Su Qing swayed her hips and walked away.
The string that had been tightly wound in Su Fu’s heart suddenly snapped.
It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in her mind, leaving her whole being in a daze.
At that moment, everything around her seemed to blur. Su Fu stood frozen in place, her eyes hollow.
She could only blame herself for being blind in her previous life.
At the thought of Xiao Junhe, her heart felt as though it were being pierced by thousands of needles at once. She clutched her chest tightly, trying to steady the pain, but his figure kept surfacing in her mind.
Thankfully… thankfully, it was not too late.
In this lifetime, she would protect Xiao Junhe.
She would protect the General’s Manor.
…
“Miss, Miss, what’s wrong?” Qiu Shuang asked anxiously when she saw her mistress’s distressed expression.
“Miss, should we call the physician to take a look?”
Seeing her two maids so worried, Su Fu felt a wave of relief. Thankfully… they were still here.
“There’s no need. I’m fine. I’m just a little thirsty. Qiu Xue, pour me a cup of tea.”
Just then, the sound of a young maid greeting someone came from outside the door. “Madam, Second Miss.”
Madam Zhou and Su Qing walked in slowly. Upon entering, they saw Su Fu half reclining against the bed. Though her face was somewhat pale, she looked fairly spirited.
“Elder Sister, you’re awake? You’ve finally woken up!”
“If you hadn’t, I would have blamed myself to death! It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have told Father. It’s just… that bracelet was a gift from my maternal grandfather…”
As she spoke, Su Qing lowered her head aggrievedly, looking as though she were about to cry.
Madam Zhou stepped forward and took Su Fu’s hand, reproach in her tone. “Fu’er, why didn’t you have a maid inform Mother when you woke up? I’ve been worried sick about you these past two days!”
Then she turned sternly to Su Qing. “Hurry and apologize to your elder sister.”
Tears welled in Su Qing’s eyes. “Elder Sister, I’m sorry.”
Su Fu sneered inwardly. Worried she wouldn’t die, more like it.
If she had not been reborn with the memories of her past life, she might truly have been deceived by the superb acting of this mother and daughter and believed their words.
Since you are so fond of acting, how could I possibly lose to you?
A trace of cunning flashed in Su Fu’s eyes. Her voice trembled slightly as she said, “Second Sister, I do not blame you…”
She deliberately slowed the words “do not blame you,” emphasizing them so they sounded filled with endless grievance and reluctance.
“I lost my mother when I was young. Thanks to Mother’s care over the years, I have always remembered her kindness and never dared to forget it.”
As she spoke, two lines of tears slid down her cheeks, making her appear even more pitiful and moving.
Outside the door stood Su Zhe, who had just returned to the residence. Upon hearing from a maid that the eldest young lady had been unconscious for two days, he had come to Lanxiang Pavilion to see her.
Just as he was about to step in, he heard her words. Thinking of his deceased wife, his heart could not help but soften.
As if only just noticing him, Su Fu hurriedly wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, as though she did not want him to see. Her expression was cautious and aggrieved. “Fa–Father, why have you come?”
Only then did Madam Zhou and Su Qing notice Su Zhe stepping inside.
“Master.”
“Father.”
Su Zhe looked at Su Fu. “I heard from the servants that you were unconscious for two days, so I came to take a look. Now that you’ve woken up, that’s good.”
“I have troubled Father to worry,” Su Fu replied, her face showing a trace of flattered surprise.
The atmosphere grew awkward, and for a moment Su Zhe did not know what to say.
Seeing Madam Zhou and Su Qing present, he said, “Fu’er has just woken up. Let us not disturb her rest. We should all return.” With that, he left first.
Shortly after he departed, a servant at his side brought several boxes.
“Eldest Miss, these medicinal herbs are sent by Master to nourish your health. They are treasured herbs Master has kept for many years—excellent for replenishing the body.”
Su Fu instructed Qiu Shuang to take the boxes. “Please thank Father for his concern. Once I’ve recovered, I will personally go and thank him.”
Inside Ninghua Pavilion—
“What did you say? Father actually gave those precious medicinal herbs to Su Fu?”
Su Qing stared at the reporting maid in shock. “When I was injured last time and Mother asked Father for them, he refused. And now he gives them to Su Fu?”
A maid named Xiao Shui carefully carried a cup of tea to Su Qing.
“Miss, please don’t be angry. How could the Eldest Miss compare to you? She lost her birth mother when she was young, and Master has never favored her. Master probably just pities her now.”
After a brief pause, she continued, “But you are different, Miss. You are beautiful and clever, cherished by both Master and Madam since childhood. And you have a distinguished maternal family. Who knows how many noble young masters are lining up to marry you?”
Xiao Shui’s words indeed eased much of the anger in Su Qing’s heart.
“You certainly know how to talk.”
Back at Lanxiang Pavilion, Su Fu gazed at the boxes Su Zhe had sent, lost in thought.
In her previous life, Su Zhe had wanted to marry her off to Wu Yuan—was that not pushing her straight into a pit of fire?
And later, during their exile, his cold indifference toward her as a daughter—
She had long been the one abandoned by the Su household.
She had simply realized it too late in her past life.
Heh. So this was her father.
“Miss, Master actually sent such precious herbs to nourish you. It seems he treats you differently than before,” Qiu Xue said.
Su Fu looked at the young maid before her, whose eyes still held traces of innocence and youth. She reached out and gently patted Qiu Xue’s head.
“Remember this—within this residence, aside from the three of us, you must not trust a single word from anyone else.”
Qiu Shuang, two years older than Su Fu, felt that her young mistress had suddenly grown up—so different from before.
“Yes. This servant will listen only to Miss.”
After resting for several days, Su Fu felt nearly recovered. Having been absent from paying her respects to the Old Madam and Madam Zhou for so long, she decided that today she would go.
Qiu Shuang brought over a light green gauze dress embroidered with golden threads. “Miss, how about wearing this one?”
“All right.”
Su Fu was already fair-skinned.
The green dress made her complexion appear like snow.
The young girl wore a flowing light green gauze dress embroidered with golden silk.
The wide skirt billowed like drifting clouds, brushing gently against the ground.
The pale green resembled the fresh buds of early spring, full of vitality and hope.
Seated before a bronze mirror, Su Fu gazed at the lightly made-up reflection of the young girl—only fifteen or sixteen, in the prime of youth. None of those calamities had yet occurred.
There was still time… everything was still in time.
Upon arriving at the Old Madam’s courtyard, she ran into Su Qing, who had also come to pay her respects.
Su Qing warmly linked arms with her. “Elder Sister, you’ve come to greet Grandmother today as well? You haven’t been here these past days—Grandmother keeps mentioning you!”
Su Fu withdrew her arm from Su Qing’s grasp.
“I do not like being too close to others.”