For this year's Qianqiu Banquet, it should have been Mrs. Tong who accompanied her son and daughter to attend. However, two days before the banquet, the weather in Shengjing suddenly changed. She accidentally caught a cold. Although she had taken the medicine prescribed by Su Qingyu, her condition did not improve. In the end, she could only let her two children go alone.
She knew that Su Qingyu was going to perform music in front of the Queen that night and was looking forward to her daughter shining at the banquet and winning the Queen's favor. But she never expected such an outcome.
Thinking of this, her emotions surged violently. She couldn't help turning her face away and coughing violently. Su Qingyu and the maid behind her quickly stepped forward to comfort her.
"Mother, it's okay. It's just three hundred copies of *The Admonitions for Women*. As long as I'm diligent, I'll finish copying them soon."
Finally calming down, Mrs. Tong tightly held Su Qingyu's hand and gritted her teeth. "Don't worry, Yu'er. Mother will never let you suffer this injustice in vain. Tomorrow, I'll go to the palace to see your aunt and ask her to think of a way for you and put in a good word for you in front of the Queen. I believe Her Majesty will spare you for the sake of the Tong family."
Su Qingyu nestled into Mrs. Tong's arms and choked with sobs. "Mother loves me the most. Mother, my hand really hurts... I'm afraid I won't be able to give you and Prince Jin acupuncture for a while. What should I do?"
Mrs. Tong sighed and gently stroked her back, feeling even more heart - ache for this daughter. "Silly child. It's so hard for you to still think of your mother and your cousin at this time. Since you're injured, just have a good rest. I'm almost fully recovered now, and your cousin's is an old ailment. The imperial physician has the medical records. I'll ask Zining to go to Prince Jin's mansion and tell them to send the imperial physician to replace you for acupuncture. He knows your difficulties and will surely not blame you."
Su Qingyu responded movedly. After the mother - daughter pair had some tender moments, Mrs. Tong got up and left with the support of the maid.
On the way back, although Mrs. Tong was wrapped in a thick fox fur and held a hot water bottle in her arms, her face was extremely cold. "Zining, find a way to spread the news that Yu'er was scalded by that stupid girl from the Duke's mansion tomorrow. We can't suffer this injustice."
The maid supporting her on the side immediately replied, "Yes, Madam."
...
On the other hand, in the carriage of the Duke's mansion. After hearing what happened at the Qianqiu Banquet from Mrs. Mo, Su Qing immediately flew into a rage.
"Good for the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion and good for Su Qingyu! How dare they hurt my precious daughter! They simply don't take me, Su Qing, seriously! No, I can't swallow this insult. I'm going to seek justice for Yuanbao tonight!"
"Afu! Change the route to the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion!" Su Qing shouted to the coachman outside. Mrs. Mo quickly said, "Afu, don't listen to him. We're going back to the Duke's mansion!"
"Madam! I can't bear it!" Su Qing gritted his teeth in anger.
"You have to bear it even if you can't! His Majesty and Her Majesty have already punished the people from the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion. If we go to cause trouble at this time, we're afraid the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion will make a big deal out of it and label us as disrespectful to the king!"
Su Qing angrily said, "Are we just going to let it go like this?"
Mrs. Mo said, "Of course not. We'll wait until the storm has passed. A gentleman can take his revenge in ten years. We'll have plenty of opportunities in the future. Anyway, we've definitely made an enemy of the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion!"
The couple exchanged a meaningful look. Su Qing said meaningfully, "Madam is quite right. We can take our time to settle this score."
When it came to what happened at the birthday banquet, Mrs. Mo mentioned a name that neither of them was particularly willing to hear. "It's quite strange. Cang Xuan actually helped our Yuanbao today, and twice at that."
Su Qing frowned again. "How did Yuanbao get involved with this scoundrel?" After hearing all the details from Mrs. Mo, he sneered.
"Humph, if it weren't for him, why would we have moved from Mobei to Shengjing? And why would you have been invited to take Yuanbao to the Qianqiu Banquet? In the end, Yuanbao fell into the water because of him! Does he think I, Su Qing, will owe him a favor? Dream on!"
Mrs. Mo knew he would react like this and sighed. "He is indeed hateful, but our affairs and Yuanbao's affairs are two different things. If you're free some other day, send him some good tea. That way, we'll have repaid this debt of gratitude. Don't let Yuanbao owe him a favor."
When it came to their daughter, worry appeared on their faces again. Mrs. Mo said, "I wonder why Yuanbao suddenly became so afraid of dogs. She was scared like this by a little puppy."
Su Qing looked into Mrs. Mo's arms. His daughter was already sound asleep in her arms. But her brows were tightly furrowed, there were still tears on her eyelashes, and her hands were still tightly clutching Mrs. Mo's sleeve. She looked so small, helpless, and pitiful, instantly hitting the softest part of Su Qing's heart.
He raised his calloused hands and gently stroked his daughter's hair. His eyes were moist, and he sighed. "Maybe the incident of falling into the water really scared her. Our Yuanbao has suffered."
Mrs. Mo suddenly remembered a piece of news she heard at the banquet, and her eyes immediately lit up. "Husband, I heard at the banquet that there's a very spiritual temple in Shengjing called Foxing Temple. In a few days, it will be their Buddhist assembly. At that time, the abbot of Foxing Temple, Master Kongwen, will conduct a religious ceremony. How about we take Yuanbao to Foxing Temple and let Master Kongwen take a look at her?"
Su Qing's first reaction was to refuse. "We martial artists never believe in ghosts and gods. We only believe in the swords in our hands."
Mrs. Mo said, "But Yuanbao is different from us." Her hand gently stroked her daughter in her arms. "People say that a person has three souls and seven spirits. Maybe our Yuanbao lost her soul, which is why she's like this."
Su Qing fell silent. After a while, he said awkwardly, "You can go if you want. I've killed too many people in my life, and there's too much killing intent on me. I'm afraid I'll disturb... the gods and Buddhas. I don't want them to blame my sins on Yuanbao and make things worse."
Mrs. Mo pushed him and said with a pout, "Stop talking nonsense."
Soon, the carriage arrived at the Duke of Yong's mansion. Su Qing took the sleeping Su Yuanyuan from Mrs. Mo's arms and got off the carriage one after another. Behind them, the carriage carrying Wei Linlang also stopped. After Wei Linlang got off, the whole family walked towards the Duke's mansion.
Su Yuanyuan originally had her own courtyard, next to Mrs. Mo's "Mo Yi Pavilion", called "Mingzhu Garden", meaning "pearl in the palm". But because of the ups and downs she experienced tonight, Mrs. Mo was really worried about leaving Su Yuanyuan alone. After returning to the mansion, she took her directly to her own room and planned to sleep with her daughter that night.
Sure enough, in the middle of the night, Su Yuanyuan, who was sleeping on the inside, had another nightmare. Her body trembled violently, and she uttered extremely frightened words like "Don't eat me" and "Don't bite me" in her sleep. Her forehead hair was completely soaked in sweat.