âSir, weâre from the Imperial City. Weâre here to find someone. Could we get inside to rest for a while and have some tea? Of course, we donât take things for granted.â This time, when one of the servants saw that a young but cold and serene man opened the doors, he smiled to create a good impression to the other and took out a silver. He believed that the other would become polite and invite them to get to the house and rest. In fact, the chief manager and momo* were more than fifty years old. How could they endure the summer heat like this!
(momo/ 叡叡- can be used as a suffix for an elderly lady or a wet nurse)
Moreover, it was a whole silver! To the people in such a rural and poor village, it was enough for one person to live on for the whole year. Such a good deal, he didnât think that this man, although not like a rural at all, would deny.
âApologies, weâre not a tea house or an inn. Guests, please leave. At your four-horse carriagesâ speed, I think you can return to the lively city where you can find everything in less than fifteen minutes.â Lin Si Yao stood at his door, stopping the others, his face emotionless. Compared to Situ Yunâs excuse to shoo them away, it was not much better.
âSir!â When the servant called after him, he felt cold air gathered around Lin Si Yao. He was suppressed, trembling backward to the old man.
âCough⌠CoughâŚâ The old man pretended to cough. He turned to look at the elder woman, who couldnât endure the blazing sunlight anymore and she already got a fever, shaking his head. âWe should come to the city and rest first.â Though they didnât have much time, they didnât know if they could find the Fourth Young Lady before the Elder Wangye (Prince Jing)âŚ
âButâŚâ The old woman was surprised, looking at Liang An. He⌠Wasnât he always more worried than I am? Why would he⌠The old woman tried to support her body which was about to faint, leaning against the wall.
âNo more talking. Your body canât endure such a long waiting.â Moreover, the old man calculated in his head, his intelligence report wasnât so sure. Perhaps, the woman in this house wasnât the Prince Jingâs Mansionâs Fourth Young Lady. They had come here without rest or sleep for several days. But now, their hope might vanish.
âA Yao⌠TheyâŚâ Su Shuilian followed Lin Si Yao to the main gate. She was curious, pointing at the group of people standing by her doors. Lin Si Yao cursed under his breath.
âDamn it!â Because he was listening to the other twoâs conversation, he missed one beat to close the doors. It was too late. Su Shuilian had seen them.
âFourth Young Lady!â the group of maids cried in surprise.
âFourth Young Lady!â the (male) servants inhaled.
âFourt Young Lady!â ⌠the two elders exchanged looks after they cried, both disbelief and astonishment.
Facing the Fourth Young Lady of Prince Jingâs Mansion, whom they hadnât met for one year and a half, pregnant, there was no need to mention how shocked they were. The rapid train of thought from Lin Si Yaoâs consideration was interrupted Su Shuilianâs next words.
âYou guys⌠mistook me with someone elseâŚâ Su Shuilian was perplexed, turning around to see Lin Si Yao and then looked back at the others. She said immediately, but then, she got a big possibility arising in her head: This body was actually the Fourth Young Lady that the others had mentioned. Oh my God, she had tried hard to hide but she still had to face them so soon?
âFourth Lady⌠You donât recognize the this momo?â The old woman shivered. Her two maids were trying to support her to walk to Su Shuilian.
Su Shuilian shook her head. âAuntie, do you mistake me with someone else? Iâm not the Fourth Young Lady youâve mentioned. Iâm Su Shuilian, and now Iâm Madam Lin,â she answered with a smile. Although she felt guilty that she had possessed the girlâs body, she knew that, no matter what, she couldnât be a give in and disclose the details.
âThe others may mistake you, but I will never. Youâre the Fourth Young Lady of Prince Jingâs Mansion. The Elder Princess (Wangfei) has been searching for you for one year round.â The old woman shook her head and rejected Su Shuilianâs excuse. âThe exact appearance. And the tiny black mole on your right earlobe. Itâs exactly the same with the late Yiniang* Jing.â
(ĺ§¨ĺ¨ / Yiniang: a concubine)
âI⌠I donât remember⌠the past stories..â Su Shuilian half closed her eyes.
If they confirmed her identity like that, the best excuse was to pretend a case of memory lost?
âPoor child,â the old woman had teary eyes. She took out a silk handkerchief and rubbed her eyes. âMy Lady, you have suffered for one year and a half.â
âAhemâŚâ When the old man saw their Fourth Young Lady actually in this small house, he was able to calm his anxious heart. He cleared his throat and talked to Lin Si Yao, who was watching Su Shuilian talking with momo. âAhem, Sir⌠Can we get into the house and talk? I think the Fourth Lady canât endure this scorching heat.â
Lin Si Yao put his tangling thought aside, reaching out to hold Su Shuilian and support her belly. Turning around, they walked to the main house. He neither invited the others nor closed the door in front of them.
Is it⌠the way they treat the guests? The old man and the old woman exchanged looks, forcing a smile.
âGuests⌠Please come and have a cup of tea. Our yard is small so Iâm afraid the carriages have to wait outside.â Su Shuilian was supported to the living room by Lin Si Yao. She turned and tenderly smiled at them. As they had believed that she was their Fourth Young Lady, she couldnât let them outside at noon like this.
Four people sat face-to-face at a square table.
After Prince Jing Mansionâs delegation entered the yard, Situ Yun had taken some corn steamed rolls and left to the new house through the backdoor. Although he didnât know why the beautiful sister related to Prince Jingâs Mansion, but before the accumulated wrath of his Uncle Si Ling explodes, he should get as far away as possible. His little life was more important, wasnât it?
âYoung Lady, Chiefmanager An and Xia-momo* werenât polite enough. We shouldnât sit at the same table with youâŚâ The old women signaled the two maids to leave. She looked at Su Shuilian lovingly.
(Sheâs referring to herself in third-person)
âNo need to be polite. Although I have no impression of the Fourth Young Lady identity youâve said, if you guys have crossed thousands of miles from Feng Cheng, you must have endured the hardship on the wayâŚâ
Su Shuilian poured them tea, talking tenderly.
The Imperial City Feng Cheng, she had read about it in Da Huiâs geography document, was more than one thousand and three hundred miles far from here. If the four-horse carriage ran fast, it would take more than two days and two nights. Moreover, the two in front of her, one was over fifty and the other was over seventy years old, had to endure a lot during the journey.
âI carve your mercy in my heart. But, Young Lady, after lunch, can you go with us to meet the Elder Wangye(Prince)?â The old man couldnât suppress his worry, asking directly.
Su Shuilian was bewildered. She turned to see Lin Si Yao sitting next to her and saw his perplexed, but frowning face. âChief Manager An, you see, my bodyâŚâ She was six-month pregnant. And because it could possibly be twins, she looked even bigger and heavier.
âDonât dream about that,â Lin Si Yao said darkly. Immediately, he turned to Liang An, who sat opposite to him. âI donât know if sheâs the one you want to find. What I know is, sheâs my wife. She got twins. If you worry for her, you shouldnât say this kind of thoughtless things.â
âA YaoâŚâSu Shuilian reached to Lin Si Yaoâs tight fist he placed on his thigh, smiling mildly. She wanted to comfort him, erasing his worries. She turned to Liang An and the momo who was said to be the dowry maid* of the Elder Wangfei.
âDo you have any urgent matter?â She asked as she could see these two wouldnât have a low position in the Princeâs mansion, even though they were old. They had been travelling for a long time, how could they endure that? Why the Princeâs mansion had sent them to search for her, ah, no, for the Fourth Young Lady?
âMiss, I donât want to lie to you. After you went missing, the Elder Wangye was so sick he couldnât even get up. Weâve hired many detectives to find you. We got nothing. As wangyeâs situation is getting worse, he often calls your name in his sleep. Her Highness knows His Highness missed you a lot. If he couldnât cure his ill heart, his body wouldnât get better.
Early this year, De Wangye(Prince), who is Missâs elder half brother from another mother, he had abdicated his imperial position because the elder Wangye had gotten sick. And early this year, the elder wangye and wangfei (princess consort) of the Xiang Princeâs Mansion, who have a good relationship with His Highness, had passed by the Fan Luo City to visit a pagoda to pray. They saw you by chance. Her Highness immediately sent some detectives to this city to find you for several months. When they got your address, weâre sent to take you home. Her Highness asked me to send you this message: âXu-er, youâve always behaved and be nice. You wonât hate us for a long time. The Princeâs mansion is your home. When youâve played enough, you should go home.â Sending the message of the former Wangfei of Prince Jingâs Mansion, the old man looked at Su Shuilian with hope. âFourth Young Lady, the Fifty Young Lady is grounded because of this. Her Highness ordered her not to talk and not to go out much before she gets married. Though it is not my place to say, but she has been punished enough for what she had done. About Yiniang Jing, your mother⌠After you went missing, her memorial tablet has been welcomed and placed in the Liang familyâs ancestral temple. His Highness and Her Highness accepted her. Young Lady, will youâŚâ
âI told you I donât remember the stories of the previous time.â Su Shuilian smiled and shook her head. She didnât pretend. She really didnât remember and she would never be able to remember.
However, listening to this elder ladyâs unclear explanation, she somehow understood why she had to hide in Mount Da Shi alone: Her mother passed away, and her memorial tablet hadnât been placed in the ancestral house of the Princeâs mansion. If so, she was an illegitimate daughter that the Princeâs mansion didnât accept? No wonder⌠She ran away from the mansion as the Fifth Lady mocked her. She didnât want anybody to find her so she hid in the deep, rural area like Mount Da Shi. Thatâs why she was gone and Su Shuilian got the chance to take her body.
Su Shuilian sighed inwardly. Liang En Xu? Could it be possible that you have replaced me and lived in Suzhou, China? Are you living well? From now on, youâre the famous eldest legitimate daughter, Su Shuilian, of the Su family in Suzhou, China. And me, I am now the Fourth Young Lady, Liang En Xu, of the Jing Wangyeâs Mansion in the Imperial city of Da Hui Empire. Itâs really mysterious, isnât it?
If itâs true, I hope that you, in the other dimension, can find a man who loves you and protects you like I do. I hope you would treat my mother, who has endured the hardship half of her life, well. And me, I will do the same for youâŚ