Just as Su Shuilian was immersed in embroidering the <drunken beauty="">, the gossip loving Aunt Lao and Aunt Tian appeared at their house with some news. It was neither big nor small news, however it was fresh gossip: Hua Houseâs daughter, who married the richest man in the city, had come back to visit their maternal in-laws with their own daughter.</drunken>
âShifu, Iâm telling the truth. The visiting Hua Houseâs pretty daughter had asked me about you.â Tian Dabao jumped and skipped along the river as he picked the wild mushrooms by the river bank. He continuously swore to Lin Si Yao that he was not lying.
âWhatâs the point of asking about me?â Lin Si Yao said in a disapproving tone.
If Dabao hadnât emphasized that it was a woman, he would have suspected that the person was a spy sent by Feng Yao Court. If it was a womanâŚhaâŚunless Feng Qingya had changed the system, then from his knowledge, of the 500 or so people, there was not a single woman in Feng Yao Court.
âThat, I donât know. Eh? Shifu, what if she had found you pleasing and wanted you to marry her, as an inverted door*? AhahahaâŚUh Shifu mercyâŚmercy ah! I donât dare anymore⌠OkokokâŚIâll go stand on the piles thenâŚâ
(ĺćé¨ inverted door â to marry and live with the brideâs family. If anyoneâs read Adorable Consort, itâs mentioned quite often there haha)
Poor Dabao, just as he got the courage to repeat the things he had heard from the gossiping women to his handsome and stoic Shifu, he got hit by his Shifuâs Xuan Feng palm and pushed onto the quincuncial piles that he had hated the most.
Plaintively standing on the piles, Tian Dabao secretly swept a glance at his expressionless Shifu who was flipping the mushrooms and quietly complained, âIt was just a joke, I know Shifu already has Shi Niang⌠But that woman is pretty, just not as pretty as Shi NiangâŚ.â
âConcentrate! Unless you want to stand there all afternoon.â Lin Si Yao had heard his mutter and coldly responded.
âI understand ShifuâŚ.â Dabao grunted. Going to Xuifeng was much more fun than practicing on the quincuncial piles. Tian Dabao immediately started to focus his mind and qi. He stood on his toes as he moved around the piles practicing the Xuan-yi footwork.
â-
Knock knock knock
It was rare for people to come on a windy afternoon, so it took Su Shuilian a while before she was sure there was someone actually at her door.
During this time, Lin Si Yao was out with Tian Dabao practicing swordwork. As for Aunt Lao and Aunt Tian, although they enjoy coming over to gossip, they knew she had accepted a big project and only came when necessary. And if it was them, the sound of knocking would be louder and it would also be accompanied with them calling her nameâŚThen who could it be?
âMiss?â Su Shuilian opened the gate and greeted with a smile. In front of her was a girl who had been slightly disoriented by the strong wind. Su Shuilian recognized this girl, she had met her three times before: it was Lu Wanâer. Both were surprised to see each other.
âEh? Wasnât this Lin Si Yao, Lin gongziâs house?â When Lu Wanâer saw it was the delicate girl who had been by her desired manâs side, she felt her heart freeze. However, she still asked on.
Those two bastards just took my money without making it clear! Oh, well, I was also too eager to find his address and just rushed here without inquiring about this (married) womanâs identity. Was she Lin Si Yaoâs wife or someone else?
âIs this lady looking for A Yao?â Su Shuilian asked. Her heart suddenly surged with an indescribable, weird feeling. This Lu Wanâer really did like A Yao; she had even chased him to their house. However, did she not know he was already married? Or maybe she didnât care, she didnât care what status, whether she was the main wife or a concubineâŚ.
Su Shuilian thought back to her mother. Her father had never paid any mind to her motherâŚ. She herself, was she going to have a tough rival just like her mother? And Lin Si Yao, would he be just like her father? To choose a woman who could only wait in bed over the main wife?
Ha, thatâs right, mother had the backing of her large maternal family. So even if her father wanted to, he could not divorce her. But she, she was a helpless girl in this foreign world. How could she defeat such a glamorous girl from a large, wealthy family? Ah! What kind of nonsense was she thinking?! A Yao would never be like that! Su Shuilian shook her head and cleared the inexplicable speculation that had flashed through her mind.
It seems that her motherâs experience had left a large influence on her. If A Yao found out that she had compared him with her unscrupulous father, he would definitely use this as an excuse to âpunishâ her.
Once she thought about Lin Si Yaoâs punishment, Su Shuilianâs ears reddened.
She recovered from her thoughts, tidied her clothes and looked up at Lu Wanâer. Smiling, Su Shuilian said, âMiss Lu, the wind is strong, if you donât mind, come inside and talk. â
âCough* cough*âŚ.. YouâŚ. you recognize me?â Lu Wanâer snapped out of her daze, she cleared her throat and awkwardly asked.
âYes, we have met a few times before, right?â Su Shuilian found it laughable as she looked at her. She remembered it clearly; the first time Lu Wanâer had confronted Lin Si Yao, she had revealed her full name.
The customs of Dahui Country was strange. Just like in the Republic of China, along with conservative traditions, there were also some bold actions that were also accepted. For example, women were allowed to attend poetry clubs. And if a woman were to meet a man that she favored, she could take the initiative to court them. Of course, there were prerequisites, the said women were misses from wealthy and influential families.
As for daughters of ordinary families, they were busy caring for their family and scraping enough for their dowry. They had no such time to go to poetry clubs, paint, or drink tea. They did not have the confidence or time to one-sidedly pursue a man they had only met once without knowing their family background.
âOh yeah. I am Lu Wanâer from the Lu House in the city. You areâŚâ In front of Su Shuilian, who looked to be of her age, but already a madam(married woman), Lu Wanâer did not know how to continue.
âI am A Yaoâs wife, Su Shuilian.â
Su Shuilian took the initiative to finish her sentence. She admitted she had deliberately added extra information to dispel Lu Wanâerâs motives.
âCome in and warm yourself up.â Su Shuilian smiled as she politely invited Lu Wanâer who was shivering in her single layer purple dress.
She herself could not stand in the bone chilling wind, however, the other person showed no intention of leaving, so Su Shuilian could only invite her in to talk. Thinking back to the <drunken beauty=""> project, it seemed she would have to delay it for a while.</drunken>
When Lu Wanâer entered the main room, she could not help but be surprised.
From the outside, the house seemed nothing more than simple and neat, but once inside, it wasâŚUh⌠very grand and welcoming!
Although the house was smaller, but it was refurbished with high quality items. The Jichi* wood furniture in this house, in Lu Wanâer opinion, was comparable to the mahogany furniture in her house.
*(First mentioned in chapter 31)
The embroidery pieces on the Kang, couches, and chairs were of superior quality. Besides the bright colored embroidery, the large âĺâ* word on top of the bedroom door was blinding; it left Lu Wanâer breathless.
(ĺ/happiness: Was mentioned many chapters ago, but as a quick recap: Su Shuilian learned to cut out a âĺâ from a red paper. Hereâs what it looks like.)
How was she so sure before that, with just her beauty and Lu Houseâs prestige, she would be able to bring Lin Si Yao home with her?
âSorry Lady Lu, I only have some homemade wild flower tea to serve you with.â Su Shuilian came back with a pot of tea. Although it was homemade, from the mellow smell, one could tell the tea was comparable to the tea served in the cityâs tea houses.
âMany thanks.â Lu Wanâer took a small sip. It was indeed good tea. It was unexpected that she could have such pleasant and clean tea from a small village.
She then looked up at Su Shuilian. Her countenance was warm and beautiful; her every gesture noble and elegant.
âInquiring which House Lady Su is from?â Lu Wanâer suddenly had a ridiculous illusion. This Su Shuilian, she couldnât be a young miss from a noble family, right? Though, immediately, with flatten lips, Lu Wanâer dismissed such an impossible possibility.
When Su Shuilian heard her question, she was shocked. Not because Lu Wanâer had asked for her background, but because she had called her âLadyâ. That title is used for unmarried women⌠Was she(LW) unwilling to admit that she was A Yaoâs wife? Or was Lu Wanâer sure that she was able to win Lin Si Yaoâs favor?
Ah! Su Shuilian internally reprimanded herself, how could she doubt Lin Si Yao again!?
Just as Su Shuilian was thinking of how to answer her question, Xiao Chunâs bark sounded from outside. This meant that Lin Si Yao and Dabao are also back!
Su Shuilian smiled at Lu Wanâer and said, âIt seems my husband is back.â She once again subtly reminded Lu Wanâer that Lin Si Yao was her husband.
Lu Wanâer did not take the hint. Her mind and heart became chaotic from excitement due to the single âheâs backâ.
She looked down at her thin winter clothing and tried to tidy her hair that had become somewhat messy from the wind. She put on an enchanting smile that had never failed to impress other men; she was ready to meet the man that she had longed for six months.
Su Shuilian coldly watched as Lu Wanâer ran out to open the gates. At Lin Si Yao who had put down the goat grass and was washing his face in the river wash, she called out âLin dĂ gÄ*!â
*(大ĺĽ, big brother â I forgot if I made a note for this before, but big brother is a intimate way of addressing an older male. Kinda like how koreans would use the word âoppaâ)
Very good! She previously called him Lin gongzi, now it was Lin dĂ gÄ, soon after, was she going to replace her and call him husband? Su Shuilian thought as she massaged her temple. Following Lu Wanâer, she walked out from the main house.
She internally sighed and thought: she had wasted a lot of time today and now she had to do a lot of catching up on her work tomorrow.