"Nan Sheng came quite early. After all the toil yesterday, she should have had more rest," Chen Wanrong said. Seeing that it was He Xun and his wife who had come first, the smile on her face was even harder to contain.
Su Nansheng curtsied, saying, "As a daughter-in-law, I should come early. How could I let Mother and Auntie wait for me?"
Concubine Li glanced outside, a flash of displeasure crossing her face.
Nanny Wang behind her immediately gave a signal to a maidservant beside her. The maidservant curtsied and turned to leave.
Just then, He Jin came with Su Hele.
"Mother, Auntie, A Le is in poor health, so she got up a bit late," He Jin explained.
Concubine Li snorted. "Such a delicate flower!"
Chen Wanrong, however, didn't mind. She just nodded with a smile.
Immediately, a maidservant served tea. Su Nansheng bowed and presented the teacup to Chen Wanrong, with her head lowered and eyes downcast, showing great respect.
In contrast, Su Hele still looked cold and arrogant. But her usually straight back finally bent a little.
Concubine Li was so angry that she rolled her eyes, but she still held back her temper for the sake of face. She just made Su Hele bend her back longer when Su Hele presented the tea.
After the tea - presenting ceremony, Chen Wanrong looked at He Xun and said,
"I know you are newlyweds, but we still have something to talk to the new brides. You two brothers don't need to stay here. Go and attend to your own business."
Hearing this, He Xun looked at Su Nansheng, but she just stood there with her head down, seemingly not even interested in looking at him.
After He Xun and the other left, at Chen Wanrong's signal, more than a dozen maidservants rushed into the flower hall.
"You two just got married and are not familiar with everything yet. You can learn the rules and the ways of dealing with people in the mansion slowly.
I've specially picked these maidservants for you. You can ask them about simple matters. Take them back with you."
Chen Wanrong was not a person who liked to enforce strict rules. Giving them a few maidservants to help and guide them was enough.
"Yes, Mother," Su Nansheng replied immediately. But Su Hele didn't respond for a long time.
When she noticed everyone's eyes on her, Su Hele raised her head and said,
"I should be grateful for Mother's kindness, but I've always led a simple life. I prefer to do everything by myself and don't want to rely on others. Moreover, there are already people serving in my courtyard. Having so many maidservants would be a waste."
Chen Wanrong paused in the middle of sipping her tea, then smiled and said,
"I've long heard that you have a plain and unworldly disposition, disdaining fame and fortune. Now I see it's true. Since you don't want these maidservants, then I'll give them all to Nansheng."
"Thank you, Mother. I'm the laziest. The more people to serve me, the better," Su Nansheng said with a bright smile.
Chen Wanrong joked to Concubine Li,
"Look, it's not that I'm partial to Nansheng. It's just that He Jin's wife doesn't want to be served by others." Concubine Li nodded with a forced smile.
...
After leaving the main hall, Su Nansheng returned to the Listening-to-the-Wind Courtyard. She told Bi Tao to arrange the maidservants she had brought back properly, and then asked,
"Have you seen the eldest young master come back?"
Bi Tao shook her head.
It was the little maidservant Ruyi who was serving nearby who said that He Xun had gone to the Willow-shaded Courtyard.
Su Nansheng hesitated for a moment and then headed for the Willow-shaded Courtyard.
He Xun had left in a huff last night, and this morning he had rushed to the front hall in a hurry. They hadn't even had a chance to say a few words.
She had to take advantage of the time before He Xun left the capital to cultivate their relationship.
The Willow-shaded Courtyard was next to the Listening-to-the-Wind Courtyard. It didn't take long for Su Nansheng to arrive.
The courtyard gate was ajar. Two young servants were guarding beside it. When they saw her coming, they immediately opened the gate.
The green plants in the courtyard were much denser than the last time she came. The willows provided a cool shade, and the sounds of insects and frogs created a unique scenery, blocking out the noise from the outside world.
Walking around the corridor, she saw someone sitting in the pavilion from afar. She could tell it was He Xun just from the back.
Su Nansheng was about to step forward, but then she remembered that she had nothing in her hands. So she turned back to get some tea snacks.
"Linchuan, you haven't had breakfast yet. I've brought you some tea snacks. Have some," Su Nansheng said with a smile, deliberately softening her voice.
He Xun didn't move. He had known she was there the first time she came. He was just wondering why she had left. Now he knew she had gone to get breakfast.
"We are already husband and wife. If you want to see me, you can just come directly. There's no need to make excuses," He Xun said.
He didn't understand. They had got along well before, but now there was a sense of awkwardness between them.
Moreover, before the wedding, Su Nansheng had clearly had feelings for him, but now she just said she wanted a child.
Humph, without his love, what good would a child be?
Su Nansheng's intention was seen through, so she stopped trying to persuade He Xun to have breakfast.
Seeing that he was sitting with his back to her and ignoring her, she took a fishing rod and sat beside him, fishing with him.
Under the sun, their two figures, one long and one short, were intertwined.
...
When Su Hele returned to her room, a pair of hands immediately wrapped around her waist.
"Did Mother make things difficult for you?" He Jin buried his head in Su Hele's neck.
"Hubby, please watch your behavior," Su Hele pretended to pull He Jin's hands away but failed, so she had to let He Jin hold her.
"Mother likes me very much. It's just... Forget it," Su Hele said, sounding a bit hesitant.
He Jin let go of her and pulled her to sit beside the tea table. He then sat on the other side and started making tea for Su Hele.
On the tea table were a stove, a sandalwood fan, a tea tray, a tea grinder, bamboo chopsticks, and a tea towel. Everything was in place.
"What's the difficult thing that makes A Le so hesitant to speak?"
Su Hele took the roasted tea cake and put it in the tea grinder, grinding it bit by bit.
"Hubby knows that I've always been indifferent to fame and fortune and don't care about worldly affairs. I can't do the thing of bowing and scraping to serve the mistress, and I don't want to follow the common etiquette of paying morning and evening respects every day."
"Paying morning and evening respects is the most basic rule. Moreover, the mistress is always kind. It's just a formality every day. Please just bear with it for a while," He Jin said gently.
Su Hele's expression remained unchanged, and she continued,
"If it's just a formality, why does the mistress insist on it? It's such a hassle. I could finish copying several calligraphy posts in this time. Doesn't hubby want me to write more poems and paint more pictures?"
She presented the jasper teacup in her hand to He Jin. Her eyes were watery, and with the mole of tears at the corner of her eye, she was more charming than a flower.
Her expression was cold and proud, but her eyes were full of grievance, which made He Jin's heart soften.
Although it was difficult, He Jin couldn't bear to refuse.
"Alright, alright, don't be aggrieved. You can go these days. When I come up with a way, you won't have to go through this hassle anymore."
"Thank you, hubby," Su Hele said, with a hint of pride on her lips.
...
"She claims to be so simple and noble. If that's the case, then she shouldn't use any maidservants at all. Let her do everything by herself," Concubine Li scolded, venting her anger.
Without even asking her, Chen Wanrong had given away the maidservants. Su Hele was really getting out of control.
She couldn't let Su Hele act so recklessly. She had to teach her a lesson and let her know that there was still her, the concubine, in this mansion.