When thinking of the second young lady, Su Yuanyuan, Zining couldn't help but feel a deep sense of pity.
There was a time when this second young lady of the Marquis Mansion was the belle of the ball in Shengjing. She was the talk of the town!
With her stunning beauty, flamboyant personality, and extraordinary talent in poetry, calligraphy, music, and etiquette, she was the envy of all the young ladies in Shengjing and the pride of the Marquis Mansion.
However, it was precisely her flamboyant personality that led to her downfall.
Being flamboyant could be seen as being independent and unique on the one hand, but on the other hand, it could also be interpreted as lacking in dignity and composure.
Especially after the eldest young lady, Su Qingyu, was brought back to the mansion, the second young lady's personality seemed even more willful and overbearing in comparison.
The eldest young lady had been living in the countryside for many years, and when she was finally recognized as a member of the Marquis Mansion, the Marquis, his wife, and the heir naturally wanted to make it up to her. But the second young lady was a spoiled brat. When she realized that her parents were no longer doting on her, she threw a tantrum and made things difficult for the eldest young lady at every turn.
More than once, the servants in the mansion had witnessed the second young lady pushing and shoving the eldest young lady. But when questioned by the Marquis and his wife, she stubbornly refused to admit it. With her unyielding personality, the Marquis and his wife gradually became more and more dissatisfied with her.
Zining remembered that the most outrageous thing the second young lady had done was to plot to ruin the eldest young lady at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. But perhaps it was the will of heaven that the second young lady ended up suffering the consequences of her own actions. She really had no one to blame but herself.
Thinking of this, Zining said to Lady Tong:
"Madam, you were only doing what was best for the second young lady. You hoped that she would tone down her personality and marry into a good family in the future. It was just that she was too stubborn and ungrateful. After all, which parent would ever want to harm their own child?"
"Yes, she was just too rebellious and refused to listen to discipline. I just wanted her to be obedient," Lady Tong murmured.
She was not wrong. It was that child who was in the wrong.
That child was just unlucky. Right after she got married into the Lu Mansion, Lu Chuan's family was ransacked. Since she was already married, she was a member of the Lu Mansion in life and in death. The Pingyang Marquis Mansion had no right to interfere in her affairs or collect her body. Otherwise, it would be an open act of defiance against the imperial edict.
Lady Tong closed her eyes and repeated these words to herself over and over again. Gradually, her heart began to calm down.
Seeing that Lady Tong had stopped trembling and her face had regained some color, Zining offered the calming soup again:
"Madam, it's still early. Drink some of this calming soup and get some more rest."
This time, Lady Tong did not refuse. She took the soup from Zining and drank it all in one gulp. Then she lay down and fell asleep again.
An hour later, Lady Tong woke up from the same nightmare, sweating profusely. Zining had not left. Hearing her cries, she quickly rushed over and asked, "Madam, did you dream of the second young lady again?"
After having the same nightmare twice in a row, Lady Tong's eye sockets were slightly sunken, and she looked even more haggard than before. When she woke up, she got out of bed without even putting on her shoes. She waved her arms wildly around her, as if she had gone mad.
"Yuan'er, Yuan'er? Is that you? Mother knows you've suffered in the Lu Mansion, but it was all Lady Qin's fault. Go and take it out on her. Please spare mother, okay?"
Seeing that something was wrong, Zining rushed forward and grabbed Lady Tong. She looked like she was on the verge of madness.
"Madam, it was just a dream. Don't take it seriously!"
Lady Tong turned around and grabbed Zining's shoulders tightly. "Zining, in the dream, she was eaten by wild dogs in the mass grave until there was nothing left but bones. She kept crying out to me, 'Mother, it hurts so much...' She hates me. She really hates me..."
"She was always so delicate. She used to cry and ask me to comfort her when she broke a finger while playing the piano. You can just imagine how much pain she must have been in in the dream..."
Lady Tong pressed her hand against her chest, tears streaming down her face. "When a child is in pain, the mother's heart aches even more. How could I just stand by and do nothing?"
Zining sighed inwardly and tried to console Lady Tong. "Madam, when I was a child, I once heard that if a person dies with a heart full of grievances, they will not be able to pass on to the afterlife. Over time, they will come back and haunt their loved ones in order to find peace. I think the second young lady must be in the same situation."
Zining's words seemed to have struck a chord with Lady Tong.
"You're right. Dying in such a way, she must have hated us to the core," Lady Tong murmured. Suddenly, an idea came to her.
She lowered her voice and whispered a name into Zining's ear. Then she said:
"Tomorrow morning, go and invite this person for me. Remember, don't let anyone know. Especially the Marquis and Miss Yu."
Zining replied, "Madam, aren't you going to the palace tomorrow... Okay, I understand!"
For the rest of the night, Lady Tong was too afraid to fall asleep. She was terrified of being trapped in the nightmare again. She asked the maids to light all the lamps in the room and then stayed up until dawn.
...
While the night in the Pingyang Marquis Mansion was filled with unease, the courtyard of the main mistress of the Yongguo Duke's Mansion was peaceful and serene.
After being comforted by Lady Mo, Su Yuanyuan slept soundly for the rest of the night without any dreams. She didn't wake up until the next morning when her stomach started to growl.
Lady Mo was no longer by her side. There was only a maid guarding the room.
When the maid noticed that Su Yuanyuan was awake, she immediately smiled and called out, "Madam, the young lady is awake."
The next moment, the curtain on the door was lifted, and Lady Mo walked towards Su Yuanyuan. She tapped her on the nose playfully.
"My little lazy bun, you slept until the sun was high in the sky. Come, let mother take a look. Does your face look better?"
Lady Mo held her face in her hands and looked at her from side to side. She nodded in satisfaction. "Your complexion is rosy, and your breathing is steady. It seems that you slept very well last night. It seems that mother's northern ballads are still quite effective."
She talked to herself, not caring whether Su Yuanyuan would respond or not. It seemed that she was already used to this kind of mother - daughter relationship.
Su Yuanyuan didn't want to make her feel left out. She touched her stomach and said pitifully, "Mother, Yuanbao is hungry."
Lady Mo laughed. "Sleeping until this hour, of course you're hungry. Mother has prepared breakfast for you. Get up, wash your face, and you can eat."
Lady Mo led Su Yuanyuan out of bed and sat her down in front of the dressing table. When Su Yuanyuan looked up, she saw her own reflection in the mirror.
The girl in the mirror was very beautiful, but her baby fat had not yet faded. Her cheeks looked chubby. Although she would be coming of age in half a year, she looked like a thirteen - or fourteen - year - old. At first glance, she looked like a lifeless jade doll.
Lady Mo picked up her long hair and tied it into two buns. The girl in the mirror looked even cuter. Lady Mo looked at her from all angles and sighed:
"Who would have thought that our Yuanbao will be coming of age in half a year. I wonder which lucky boy will be able to marry her? Mother really wants to keep Yuanbao by her side forever."
Su Yuanyuan turned around and hugged her. She rubbed against her and said, "Stay with mother forever."
Since she had turned around, she didn't notice that there was a red mole under her right earlobe, near her neck. It was exactly the same as in her previous life.
"My little smarty pants," Lady Mo said as she stroked her hair and smiled affectionately.
After getting dressed and washing up, Su Yuanyuan and Lady Mo went outside to have breakfast.
The breakfast that Lady Mo had prepared was very sumptuous. There were several kinds of delicate pastries and some sweet red bean and white fungus soup that had been cooked to a soft consistency. In her previous life, Su Yuanyuan was not picky about food. She could eat anything, whether it was salty, sweet, or sour. She didn't have to worry about exposing herself because of her taste.
Just as the mother and daughter were about to start eating, a strong and powerful male voice came from afar.
"Hahaha, my lady, Yuanbao, I'm back! Come and see what good things I've brought for Yuanbao this time!"
A tall and imposing figure strode into the room. Su Qing, the Duke of Yongguo, finally got to meet Su Yuanyuan face to face.