A boat draped with white mourning curtains sailed along the Yongding River. Beside the curtains stood a pole bearing a fluttering "Su" character, swaying left and right in the chilly autumn wind on the river surface. Servant women stood outside the cabin delivering dishes, not daring to move excessively.
A senior maid in a duck-egg green jacket finally brought in a bowl of Longjing tea-roasted duck soup. This soup was meant to clear heat and reduce internal heat. She walked from the east cabin through the cabin partitioned by a curio shelf, arriving at the redwood Eight Immortals table.
Seated at the head of the table was a young woman around thirty years old. She instructed the maid to place the Longjing tea-roasted duck soup on her right side. To her right sat a girl with hair tied in twin buns, wearing only a palace-style plain snow-silk skirt. Her hair was as dark as clouds, her eyes like inked lacquer, her cheeks fresh as newly peeled lychees, with elegant brows and refined eyes—a sight so captivating it made one forget worldly cares.
"Zhenzhen, you haven’t slept well these past few days, and there are dark circles under your eyes. Today, Mother specially had someone prepare a soothing soup to reduce internal heat. You must eat more."
Su Yingzhen smiled and said, "Mother, if I haven’t slept well, you surely haven’t either. Let me serve you a bowl of ginseng chicken soup."
"County Princess, our young lady is truly filial. If I may say, if it weren’t for Miss Chen’s fondness for telling ghost stories, our young lady wouldn’t have become so engrossed." Aunt Xue was Princess Qinghe’s wet nurse and a trusted confidante. Having no children of her own, she had been promised by Princess Qinghe that she would be cared for in her old age, and thus regarded the County Princess’s children as her own.
Upon hearing this, Princess Qinghe set down her chopsticks and sighed, "If it weren’t for Old Madam’s instructions, why would we go to such trouble? We shouldn’t have rented this large boat in the first place—there are only a few of us in our family."
Mentioning Old Madam, Aunt Xue knew that Old Madam Zhou was the second wife of Pingzhang Hou. Originally the daughter of a prefect, she was chosen by the Marquis Household as the successor wife. She married from Prime Minister Meng’s residence and performed concubine rites before Lady Meng’s memorial tablet upon entering the household. Beyond that, she revered Lady Meng in every way, even going so far as to have her own son show the same respect to the children left by the original wife and their marital relatives. However, the fact that Princess Qinghe could speak of this openly at the table likely indicated that the master of the house was also dissatisfied.
Yingzhen took a sip of soup. She never imagined she would be reborn back to this time. She remembered celebrating her fortieth birthday, feeling drowsy in bed, and upon waking, discovering she had become younger—returning to the age of ten. At first, she thought she was dreaming, but only in recent days did she realize she had truly returned.
Seeing her mother’s noticeably younger face, she felt a surge of emotion. If many things could be addressed in time, perhaps the outcomes would be different.
"Mother, I don’t want to be with Sister Chen Liu."
Princess Qinghe was taken aback by her daughter’s words. Protective by nature, she quickly asked, "What’s wrong? Could it be that she dared to bully you?"
Chen Liu’s father held the fifth-rank position of a construction official, not particularly high in rank, but he had the advantage of being Prime Minister Meng’s son-in-law. Chen Liu’s grandfather had once served as a minister, but by her father’s generation, the family’s influence had greatly declined. Thus, Princess Qinghe did not pay much heed to them.
Su Yingzhen shook her head. She didn’t bully me, it’s just—" At this time, Chen Liu still concealed her true nature extremely well, but in the future, she would engage in unscrupulous and despicable acts without any bottom line. For now, Yingzhen found herself at a loss for words.
"Then don’t be with her. You were already feeling seasick, so rest here with me."
Without asking for reasons and believing everything she said, Su Yingzhen stood up and hugged Princess Qinghe. "Mother, you're so wonderful."
Princess Qinghe said to Aunt Xue with a smile, "Now that she's grown up, she's becoming even more clingy."
Observing the rule of not speaking during meals or before sleep, Yingzhen obediently sat and finished her meal. Meanwhile, Concubine Liu brought over a plate of Nanfeng tangerines. She was originally Princess Qinghe's dowry maid, who later became Su Run's concubine and helped her mistress manage the household. Su Run did not particularly favor her, but out of respect for her being Princess Qinghe's attendant, he treated her with some extra consideration.
"Yingzhen, go rest in your room."
Su Yingzhen knew that her mother wanted to speak with Concubine Liu and didn't want outsiders to overhear. She obediently went inside, already aware of what her mother was likely to discuss.
This was the tenth year of the Kaiyuan era. Su Fu, the Heir of Pingzhang Hou and her uncle, had passed away due to a leg ailment. They had returned to attend the funeral. Her father was to inherit the position of Heir, and precisely because Su Run and his wife understood this, they needed to plan everything carefully before officially assuming the position to avoid any unexpected complications.
"Miss, have some tea." The one presenting the tea was Suxin, who was eighteen this year and had practically raised Su Yingzhen.
Yingzhen took it and took a small sip. "From now on, don't call me Miss anymore. Call me Third Miss instead." In the Marquis Household, she ranked third and could no longer be addressed as she was outside.
Suxin was startled. Her young lady's gaze was so calm, and her demeanor was extraordinary, quite different from before—as if she had matured. Her young lady used to be overly indulged by the Second Master and the County Princess, more naive than shrewd. Now, however, she had become sensible.
"Yes, Third Miss." Suxin quickly corrected herself.
…
After drinking tea for a while, she dozed off drowsily. Then, she saw Princess Qinghe enter, accompanied by Concubine Liu. Just as Yingzhen was about to get up, her mother pressed her back down. "If you're sleepy, sleep more. That's how you grow taller." After saying this, she turned to Concubine Liu. "I have a plate of yam cakes here. Take them to the Second Young Master. With the Chen family here these days, he's staying in the west wing, and I haven't had a chance to check on him."
Concubine Liu accepted the order and left. Princess Qinghe gave further instructions, almost wishing she could personally care for her youngest son. Her eldest son was being raised by her mother-in-law, so she had only her son and daughter by her side, making her increasingly doting toward her youngest son. Even though he was already thirteen, she still wished he could stay by her side every day.
After Concubine Liu left, Yingzhen suddenly recalled an old story.
Su Yingzhen was born into a prominent family in Fufeng County. The Su Family of Fufeng County consisted of nine branches, divided into the inner five and outer four branches. Their Pingzhang Houfu belonged to the inner third branch. However, the origin of the third branch was not a man but a woman—the renowned female marquis Su Yan, who achieved fame through military exploits. Her father allowed her to remain in the family, and since she ranked third among her siblings, the Pingzhang Houfu was directly referred to as the third branch. Su Yan and her husband Du Fengchun had only one son, the current Marquis and Yingzhen's grandfather, Su Hu.
Su Yan chose the second daughter of Grand Secretary Meng for her only son, Su Hu. Lady Meng was dignified, virtuous, and a renowned talented woman of her time. She was also fortunate in childbirth, giving birth to two daughters and a son in quick succession after entering the household. However, fortune never comes in pairs, and misfortune never arrives alone. Lady Meng died during childbirth while delivering her son. Pingzhang Houfu and the Meng family discussed arranging a second marriage, originally intending to marry Lady Meng's younger half-sister, who was Chen Liu's grandmother.
Back then, the prefect of Fufeng Jun, Zhou Junxian, had a daughter of marriageable age. Because she was exceptionally beautiful, it was said that one family with such a daughter attracted proposals from a hundred others. Su Hu took the initiative to propose marriage to the Zhou family's young lady, so the Meng family had no choice but to give up. Lady Meng was extremely adept at handling relationships. Since she had chosen Lady Zhou as the successor wife, she actively provided a dowry. Lady Zhou originally came from a humble background, and with her stepmother in charge, her dowry was not substantial. Instead, Lady Zhou's stepmother, seeing that Lady Zhou was marrying into a marquis household, revealed her greedy nature, disregarding all propriety. The Meng family took the initiative to have Lady Zhou marry from their home, treating her as a sister, for which Lady Zhou was deeply grateful.
Thus, after entering the household, she treated Lady Meng's posthumous child as her own son, raising him to excel in both literary and martial arts. She even arranged for him to marry his beloved cousin, Princess Ningyuan, who later gave birth to a pair of twins.
With her attention divided, Lady Zhou gave birth to a son, Su Run, soon after entering the household. Pitying the original wife's son for having no mother, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to caring for Su Fu, naturally neglecting Su Run. Fortunately, Su Run was physically robust and exceptionally skilled in martial arts. At the age of eighteen, he passed the military imperial examination and gained the favor of the Prince of Nan'an.
Originally, the Prince of Nan'an intended to betroth his legitimate daughter, who had been exceptionally granted the title of Commandery Princess, to Su Run. However, Lady Zhou, citing that the status of a second wife's daughter should not surpass that of the eldest wife's, requested the third daughter of the Prince of Nan'an's side consort, Princess Qinghe—who was Su Yingzhen's mother.
Su Run was deeply dissatisfied with this. Fortunately, although Princess Qinghe was not as noble as her elder sister nor as favored in the palace, and she even had a bad temper and was prone to anger, she was exceptionally beautiful, renowned as a famous beauty. To Su Run's pleasant surprise, over the years, he and Princess Qinghe managed to live harmoniously.
After entering the household, Princess Qinghe first gave birth to the eldest son, Su Zhi, followed by the second son, Su Jin. Less than a year after giving birth to Su Jin, her husband, Su Run, was appointed to an external post. Originally, according to Princess Qinghe's plan, she intended to take both sons with her. However, her mother-in-law, Lady Zhou, insisted that boys of the Su Family should begin their education at the age of three and offered to take care of Su Zhi. At that time, Princess Qinghe happened to be pregnant again, and since her husband held a sixth-rank external post, for the sake of their legitimate eldest son, the couple agreed.
Su Yingzhen thought that perhaps even Princess Qinghe never dreamed in her wildest dreams that her eldest son would be raised to revere the lineage left by Lady Meng, just like Lady Zhou, becoming the greatest obstacle to Su Run's succession as the Heir.
According to Su Run's thinking, as the legitimate second son of Pingzhang Hou, only two years younger than his elder brother, he had risen from a sixth-rank external post to a third-rank Xuanwei Shi in just over a decade. With his elder brother deceased, the Peerage should rightfully be inherited by him.
However, from the perspective of the Heir's wife, Princess Ningyuan, they were the Eldest Branch, and she also had a legitimate son. With her husband deceased, the Peerage should naturally be inherited by the Heir's legitimate eldest son, Su Duan.
This created a conflict. Lady Zhou and Su Zhi had frequent interactions with the Eldest Branch, and Su Duan regarded Su Zhi as a blood brother. Having grown up in the Eldest Branch, Su Zhi was unfamiliar with his birth mother and instead recognized Princess Ningyuan as his Mother. As a result, Su Run, due to this matter, felt that his eldest son was not aligned with his intentions and wanted to pass the Peerage to his second son, Su Jin. Su Zhi, in turn, believed his parents favored his younger brother.
With these thoughts in mind, she turned to Princess Qinghe and said, "Mother, what if Grandmother and Eldest Brother both refuse to support Father becoming the Heir?"
Originally sitting there with great enthusiasm, thinking about how to choose the best courtyard for her son and daughter upon their return, she was stunned by her daughter Yingzhen's words. She shook her head again: "That's impossible. If your father were the Heir, your elder brother would have a Peerage in the future, and your grandmother would also gain prestige. They aren't foolish, are they?"
Princess Qinghe was brimming with confidence. Yingzhen thought that it was precisely this confidence that later fueled their fury when they discovered the resistance came from Lady Zhou and Su Zhi.