Before she could even open her mouth, Su Nansheng shouldn't have known her thoughts, let alone come up with an excuse in advance.
Just as she was thinking this, she heard Bitao say,
"Eldest Miss, Second Miss is really feeling unwell and should have a good rest. How about..."
Before she could open her mouth to drive the person away, Su Hele spoke first,
"It's just a bit of heatstroke. She'll surely be better tomorrow. Tomorrow, you'll go to Yanshou Street on my behalf to write letters for the common people. I'll accompany you in the carriage and keep an eye on things."
Su Nansheng propped herself up on her arms again, looking pained,
"Since elder sister insists, I can only endure my illness to share your burden. Fortunately, it's outdoors with good ventilation, so the heatstroke won't get worse. Bitao, fan me tomorrow."
"Yes," Bitao replied immediately.
Su Hele glanced at Bitao and said indifferently,
"All you're doing is writing letters. Having someone wait on you will make people say you're throwing your weight around as a young miss. It's not good for your reputation. And to prevent those with ill intentions from peeping, you should wear a veil hat tomorrow."
"I'm already suffering from heatstroke. If I wear a veil hat, I'm afraid I'll faint on Yanshou Street. I'm sorry I can't share your burden, elder sister. Bitao, see elder sister out."
Su Nansheng lay back on the bed and turned her back to Su Hele.
Bitao made a "please" gesture to Su Hele and said,
"Second Miss is really seriously ill. If she faints tomorrow, it'll not only be troublesome but also delay Eldest Miss's good deeds."
Su Hele squinted at Su Nansheng's back.
If she weren't afraid that Su Nansheng would really faint, she would have dragged her to Yanshou Street. But for now...
"Fine. I suppose my younger sister only wants to smile at the mistress of the marquis's mansion and is unwilling to do anything for those poor common people. I won't force you then."
The sound of the door opening rang out, and Su Hele left.
Su Nansheng turned around and sat up, a cold smile on her face and her eyes as black as raven feathers.
Su Hele, it's your turn to taste the bitter fruit this time.
...The west side of Yanshou Street is the bustling Western Market, where wealthy merchants gather. The north side is the residence of high - ranking officials and nobles.
As the only way connecting the two places, Yanshou Street is always crowded with people.
Today, Yanshou Street is even busier than usual. A group of people are gathered around a small stall, almost blocking the road.
In the center of the crowd is a woman in a plain white silk dress, wearing a veil hat.
She sits upright, listening attentively to the old woman sitting in front of her and writing a letter as she listens.
People who need to write letters line up beside, while some are just onlookers, craning their necks to look at the woman's handwriting and commenting on it.
At the end of Yanshou Street, there's a carriage parked in an unassuming corner, with a figure in a plain white silk dress faintly visible inside.
In the shadow of the alley, Su Nansheng looks at the letter - writing stall surrounded by people and the carriage at the end of the long street, a sly smile on her face.
She lowers her head and whispers to Bitao,
"Go find some strong young men and tell them to block all the alley entrances..." Bitao's eyes gradually widen as she listens, a look of joy on her face. Then she disappears into the crowd.
Su Nansheng waits for about half an hour before slowly walking towards the crowd.
At this time, outside the crowd, there's another letter - writing stall.
A young scholar in a blue robe slaps his pen on the wooden table with a "pop", gets up, and squeezes into the crowd.
"If Miss Su really wants to do good deeds, she should go to the suburban counties to write letters for the common people. This is the most bustling Yanshou Street. Which common person here really can't afford to hire a scribe?"
His tone is indignant, as if he's about to start an argument.
Some of the common people waiting for free letter - writing immediately become unhappy.
"She's taken your business away, so you can't make money. That's why you're causing trouble."
"Exactly. How can a scholar be so money - minded?"
The scholar sneers, "If she really means to do good deeds, I'd be willing to grind ink for her. But look."
The scholar points at the letter paper,
"It's just a family letter. She could have used the quick and time - saving cursive script, but Miss Su has chosen the most complicated small seal script. Not only does it take time, but what can it show on this cheapest jute paper?
And look at you all. How many of you really need to write a family letter? You're just here for the free service, but you've pushed those who really need it to the back."
The scholar helps an old man out from the end of the queue, his face full of anger.
"This old man has been in the queue for two days and still hasn't written his letter. He wants to pay for it but is afraid of being scolded by his family, so he can only wait here all the time, not daring to leave for a single step. He still hasn't had lunch yet.
Some people only care about their reputation and can't see these people waiting in vain. Their hearts are despicable!"
The scholar's words ring out clearly, silencing everyone. The surroundings suddenly become so quiet that one can hear people breathing.
Su Nansheng behind the crowd smiles brightly. It seems that she's not the only one who can see the truth.
The scholar stares at the woman in the veil hat. He only sees that she's just holding the pen and not saying a word.
The scholar can't help but snort,
"Old man, don't wait any longer. I'll write your family letter for free today too."
Saying this, the scholar helps the old man back to his own stall.
Just then, a noisy shout comes from not far away.
"Stop! Don't run!"
"What's going on up ahead? Disperse quickly."
"The Metropolitan Magistrate's Office is handling a case. Disperse, disperse." A series of shouts make everyone panic. When they hear it's the Metropolitan Magistrate's Office handling a case, they're even more frightened and quickly make way. Somehow, someone starts pushing, and then everyone starts shoving. People step on each other, and there are screams and curses everywhere.
Many people are pushed to the ground, and the scene is in complete chaos.
By the time a few yamen runners run over, the whole street is completely blocked, and there are people lying on the ground everywhere, shouting in pain.
"Get up quickly! Don't block the road!"
"He got away!"
"We finally saw him show up, and now it's all over. Boss Xu, what should we do?"
The few yamen runners curse and scold, and the anger on their faces is about to explode.
Xu Yi has well - defined muscles. His burly figure is almost bursting out of his yamen uniform. He grabs a man lying on the ground by the collar,
"Get up. Tell me, why did you all gather here?"
His other hand is on the saber at his waist, and his temple is throbbing, obviously extremely angry.
The man being grabbed is afraid that the saber will chop off his head the next second. He immediately points at the woman in the veil hat hiding behind the writing desk,
"It's Miss Su. Miss Su said she'd write letters for us for free, so we gathered here to queue up."
"Yes, yes. If she hadn't said it was free, who would have wanted to gather here under the hot sun?"
Others are afraid of being implicated and quickly agree.
Xu Yi throws the man to the ground, strides towards the writing desk, then draws out his saber with a whoosh and chops it down on the corner of the table.
"Tell me, why did you gather the crowd? What's your purpose?"
The saber slides down along the corner of the table. The writing desk is split into pieces, and wood chips fly everywhere.
The woman in the veil hat screams and steps back. Then her legs give way, and she falls to the ground. The veil hat also floats down.
Under the veil hat, a strange woman's face is exposed to everyone's view.