A kiss? Su Yu gave her forehead a stern poke with her finger, thoroughly exasperated. “Keep your mouth shut, will you!”
An innocent, naive young girl—flirting recklessly over who-knows-what? It left Su Yu genuinely at a loss for how to even get properly mad at her. Pressing her palm to her forehead again, she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of good deeds she must have done in her past life to run into such a little darling.
She couldn’t beat her, couldn’t scold her, and still had to let herself be taken advantage of from time to time. Su Yu mused that she really ought to win back some ground—she couldn’t go around helping people count coins after being sold out by them. So she put on a fierce, provocative threat: “If you keep abusing my favor like this, see if I don’t give you a taste of my bad side!”
Yet the moment the words left her mouth, she felt something was off. Seeing the young girl’s brows drop in disappointment—looking for all the world like a delicate flower wilting under the scorching sun—a pang of unease struck Su Yu’s heart. Recalling that the girl had just suffered a fright earlier, her voice softened naturally: “Kissing you is out of the question, but I suppose telling you a joke is doable.”
“A joke?” Lingmiao’s eyelashes fluttered as she reluctantly agreed. “Then, a joke will do, I suppose.”
That begrudging tone made Su Yu want to blow her top all over again. A thought crossed her mind, and with a stoic face, she began telling the story of “The Little Girl Who Went Fishing.”
Xue Lingmiao uttered a soft sound of surprise, innocently tugging at her fiancée’s sleeve in utter confusion, her tone completely earnest: “Ayu, this joke isn’t funny at all.”
“How is it not funny?” Su Yu snatched back her sleeve, completely unabashed. “Was I not talking about a little girl?”
“Yes.”
“And are you a little girl?”
“I suppose I am.”
“Then there you have it!” Su Yu crossed her arms, her eyes sparkling with mischievous light.
The young girl pressed her lips together, keeping her feelings to herself. “I understand now. What Ayu is saying is that I am the joke.”
“What? I clearly told a story about a little girl who went fishing and got teased by the fish instead.”
The girl turned her body away and lowered her head, falling silent. Su Yu froze, finally realizing she had genuinely upset her. Scratching her head awkwardly, she was too proud to lower her posture and coax her with sweet words right away—having spent time together, she had almost forgotten that this was a girl burdened with deep self-doubt.
Silence filled the inner chamber, save for the rhythmic rise and fall of soft breathing. Feeling uneasy, Su Yu used her finger to poke the young girl’s supple, delicate cheek—only to be met with a flustered, indignant glare.
Since the little kitten wouldn’t let herself be poked, Su Yu could only sheepishly poke her own cheek instead. “Hey now, look at me.”
Xue Lingmiao clutched the hem of her skirt, her face turning bright red as she huffed in petulance, “I can’t see! Have you gone stupid?”
Su Yu fell silent.
Fine then. Holding back the urge to beat someone up, Su Yu cleared her throat. “I—I am the fish.” Kneeling on the bed with one leg and propping herself up on her arms, she tilted her head and used her index finger to lightly lift the girl’s soft, slender chin. “You are the little girl. The little girl went fishing and got teased by the fish—understand now?”
With the pad of Su Yu’s finger resting against her chin and her scent wafting over, Lingmiao opened her eyes to an endless, dark void. She pressed her lips together softly. “You are the fish?”
In all her years growing up, when had Su Yu ever coaxed anyone like this? Being so foolishly “gazed” at, her lips twitched, and she nodded. “Mhm, I am the fish.”
“And I am the little girl?” Xue Lingmiao held back a smile, tilting her head up slightly as she asked in a sweet, crisp voice, “Why did the fish tease the little girl? The little girl never intended to hurt the fish when she went fishing.”
“Maybe.” Su Yu’s fingertip caressed her skin gently—the texture beneath her touch was astonishingly soft—as she murmured softly, “Maybe because the little girl looked far too easy to pick on.”
The young girl’s inner timidness was completely swept away by this rare display of tenderness. Gathering her courage, she fumbled for Su Yu’s waist and wrapped her arms around her, pressing her cheek against Su Yu’s chest, letting out a nervous yet joyful hum: “Ayu is the fish, and she’s my little girl too.”
Having been unexpectedly flirted with, the playgirl Su Yu’s small face darkened slightly, yet in the end, she didn’t have the heart to push her away.
Xue Lingmiao was thrilled beyond belief. If—and she meant only if—Ayu liked it, then staying as a “little girl” forever wouldn’t be bad at all. Being teased by her wasn’t anything unbearable; worst case, she would simply flirt back.
The tea had grown cold. Standing guard outside the door, A-Zhi’s heart suddenly settled into peace.
Perhaps there was no need to detail before their master how Young Master Ning had crossed the line. Their master held her own scale of judgment in her heart—whether to believe it or not depended entirely on who weighed heavier.
After dinner, darkness completely settled over the sky. Su Yu plucked two stalks of plantain grass to teach the young girl how to play grass-fighting.
This was a physical duel, where human pull and the grass’s tensile strength determined victory. Two grass stalks crossed into an ‘X’, and both players pulled—the one whose stalk remained unbroken won. Compared to cockfighting or horse racing, it was an exceedingly refined and charming pastime.
Having just bathed, Lingmiao felt listless and tired. Yet playing together with Ayu was something they had agreed upon beforehand. Though one was a top-tier player and the other a blind girl who couldn’t even see where her opponent’s stem was, none of that mattered.
Grass-fighting wasn’t about winning anyway—being guided hand by hand by Ayu was all she truly wanted.
“You lost again.” Su Yu tossed aside the resilient stalk of plantain grass, her enthusiasm not dampened in the least by her opponent’s weakness. Since the young girl was willingly keeping her company, her attitude toward her softened considerably. “Go to sleep. You’ll still be the one waking me up tomorrow morning.”
A wave of sleepiness surged, and a faint mist of moisture blurred the young girl’s eyes. She gave Su Yu an affectionate hug, then shyly stepped back two paces, letting A-Zhi help her out the door.
Having been hugged by the young girl and left covered in her floral fragrance, Su Yu dusted her sleeves lightheartedly, turning up her nose: “An undisciplined child, clinging and needy—most annoying.”
Falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, Su Yu was awakened in the middle of the night by a knocking at the door. She called out in annoyance, “What is it?”
A-Zhi’s panicked voice pierced through the quiet night: “N-Not good! Mistress has a high fever!”
Her mind still hazy, Su Yu let out a yawn, about to go back to sleep. A moment later, she froze, threw off the blanket, and flipped out of bed.
The door swung open, startling A-Zhi.
Damn it! How did a fever suddenly break out?
With the moon high in the sky, Su Yu rushed to the nearest pharmacy to haul over an elderly physician for a diagnosis, fetching the prescription and medicine in a whirlwind of chaotic effort.
Once the herbs were brewed into a liquid, she held the medicine bowl and looked down at the unconscious, feverish girl, force-feeding it to her without room for argument.
Her chin pinched tightly and choked by the potion, the girl lying on the bed coughed painfully twice. The moment she coughed, Su Yu hurriedly stroked her back to help her breathe, leaving A-Zhi standing nearby with her mouth half-open, not knowing what to say.
After coughing a few times, the girl remained groggy and unawake, occasionally mumbling in her sleep as the late hours stretched on.
Listening to the little girl timidly whispering that she was scared in her sleep—mumbling “scared” twice, then calling “Ayu” thrice, until tears seeped from the corners of her eyes—Su Yu wiped them clean with a handkerchief, an edge of restless irritation surging in her heart. “Tell me everything that happened during the day, down to the last detail.”
Frightened as she was, A-Zhi’s spirits lifted. Not daring to embellish or exaggerate, she poured out the exact truth word for word.
A soft pop resonated as the candle wick flickered in the room. Su Yu’s face turned ash-gray with rage. Just as she was about to blow her top, the young girl wrapped in the embroidered quilt whimpered softly: “Scared, need Ayu’s kiss.”
Su Yu: “?”
The little maid standing to the side blushed bright red in an instant, hurriedly creeping out of the room on tiptoe for fear of getting in the way.
Her body is trembling. Realizing this, Su Yu couldn’t bring herself to hold a grudge. With a touch of pity, she brushed aside the long hair clinging to the girl’s cheek. The pretty face that came into view was flushed with sweat and illness, carrying an alluring grace it usually lacked.
She was so delicate, so young, yet at this moment, her beauty was breathtaking, bearing a mature charm. Whether it was those softly opening and closing lips, or that snowy-white neck glistening with fine sweat, Su Yu closed her eyes, opened them again, and carefully wiped away her sweat with the handkerchief.
“Ayu.”
Su Yu suddenly gripped the handkerchief tightly, crumpling the little embroidered carp on it. She turned her face away and took a sip of cold tea: “Stop calling. Even when you’re sick, you won’t stay still.”
Receiving no response, the pleading voice gradually faded into silence.
Turning back, she saw the young girl frowning in grievance even in her sleep—a silent accusation. A sharp pang struck Su Yu’s conscience. She gently stroked the top of the girl’s head with her palm. “Be good. A pat on the head, cheer up.”
A faint scent of medicinal broth drifted through the bedchamber. Su Yu stayed by her side, listening to her occasional murmurs, an unbidden smile creeping onto the corners of her lips.
Exhausted from days of tension, compounded by sudden fright—her body simply couldn’t handle it and collapsed. Recalling the physician’s words, the look in Su Yu’s eyes shifted.
If the little girl had been fine, she wouldn’t have bothered settling scores with Ning Zhou. A friendship of over ten years was enough to excuse a few reckless moves. But to lay a hand on such a delicate, harmless little kitten—did he have no conscience whatsoever?
Or was it that in their eyes, she was merely an ignorant, foolish fool who could be pulled over the eyes at will?
She let out a cold sneer and stood up. If they thought that way, they were dead wrong. She didn’t mind the Ning siblings being ruthless and cruel, but since they dared to cross her line, what did friendship matter anymore?
To ensure she could “raise her cat” in peace, she had deliberately paid a visit to the General’s Manor—and this was Ning Xi’s promise to her? This was Ning Zhou’s idea of loyalty between friends!
The more she thought about it, the more furious she became. Taking two steps toward the door, she paused, turned back to tuck in the open corner of the girl’s blanket, then returned to her room to grab her scimitar before leaping onto her horse and riding off into the night.
A-Zhi watched her master’s silhouette galloping into the dark night under the moonlight, a little figure in her heart cheering ruthlessly while waving its fists, yelling: Fight! Fight!
At the hour of the Tiger (around 4:00 AM), Su Yu slammed open the gates of the General’s Manor with an expressionless face.
A gatekeeper opened the door bleary-eyed, cursing under his breath. But the moment his lantern illuminated her face, he froze in sheer terror.
The Su and Ning families were old friends, and their eldest young lady adored Miss Su. Knowing this playgirl was not one to be messed with, the gatekeeper was about to offer a sycophantic smile when a foot slammed right into his backside: “Go get Young Master Ning out here!”
Ning Zhou hadn’t slept soundly that night. He had assumed his elder sister would be able to keep Su Yu occupied, which was why he had dared to flash his blade at the blind girl on a whim. Yet before the blade could even leave its sheath, Ayu had rushed back, leaving him in an utterly embarrassing plight.
In hindsight, he knew he had acted rashly after returning to the manor. His sister had been beyond furious, berating him sharply for acting recklessly.
Some things were either left undone or done to the absolute extreme. Doing half a job, failing to eliminate the target, and exposing oneself instead—that was a major cardinal sin in the General’s Manor!
With a large, bloody bump on his forehead caused by his sister throwing a teacup at him, Ning Zhou lay on his bed, completely drained of sleepiness.
He had indeed messed up. But, so what if the little girl stayed? Was the Su family’s threshold really that easy to cross? At most, she would end up as a concubine, and getting rid of a person in the inner courtyard was easier than drinking a cup of tea.
He had overstepped his bounds and ruined his sister’s big plans. His sister wanted him to pack his bags at daybreak and flee to the Capital for refuge.
Prime Minister Su was right there in the Capital. Even if Ayu were furious, she likely wouldn’t chase him all the way to the Capital to drag him back. Most likely, before he could even settle down in that territory, he would be forced by Prime Minister Su to revitalize the family line.
A noisy commotion broke out in the night. He sat up.
A servant boy stood at the door, trembling so violently his teeth chattered: “Young, Young Master, run! Miss Su, Miss Su-Su-Su is coming with a blade!”
“So fast?” Ning Zhou threw on an outer robe and stepped outside.
The General’s Manor instantly blazed with bright lights. A scimitar was thrusted straight before Young Master Ning’s eyes, its tip gleaming with razor-sharp light. Shocked to his core, he blurted out, “Su Yu, have you lost your mind?”
“I’ve lost my mind? Ask your own conscience—what kind of rotten thing did you do?”
The blade grazed past his eyebrows, drawing countless gasps from the surrounding onlookers. Even knowing she wouldn’t strike a killing blow, Ning Zhou’s temper flared.
Seeing his elder sister rushing over from not far away, along with his parents who had come at the sound of the commotion, he raised his voice and shouted, “Even if I had poked a hole in the heavens, Su Yu, you shouldn’t be pointing a scimitar at me!”
Infuriated by his shameless posture, Su Yu drew a long sword from a guard’s waist with a flick of her wrist and hurled it straight at him. Ning Zhou caught the sword and scrambled to parry the thrusting blade tip.
Flashing blades and shadowed swords collided amidst a tumult of voices. After a few exchanges, Su Yu pressed her wrist down, shearing off a lock of her friend’s long hair the instant she lifted her blade: “You scared my cat! What else do you want? If I tolerate you any further, my surname Su will be written backward!”