Nanny Li almost fainted with fear when she saw this. She crawled on the ground in front of Su Erya, and begged, “Please spare her life, Third Miss. If you beat her again, she’ll die!”
Su Zipei frowned. Nanny Zheng came forward with her cane, and Nanny Li closed her eyes expecting the worst.
“That’s enough.”
Su Erya moved weakly as she spoke. She left Nanny Li’s protection and looked directly at Su Zipei. “I’ve taken the rap for you, and I’ve paid the price of being kicked out of the mansion. Why don’t you leave me be?”
Su Zipei looked a little flustered. “What are you talking about?” She said with a cold face. “How could I be the one who stole the night-luminescent pearl?"
Su Erya’s body trembled. With a bitter face and a hoarse voice, she said, “I saw everything. That day when you went to see Cousin Yang at Sanhe Bridge outside the town, and you gave him the night-luminescent pearl with your own hands.”
Su Zipei grew pale, and started to panic.
How was this possible?
There was no one around Sanhe Bridge that day. How did Su Erya know?
Su Zipei rolled her eyes and regained her calm demeanor. She smiled and said, “What if I did it? You’re a sinner of the Su family. No one in the Su family will believe what you say. Even our oldest brother won’t believe you! And the oldest brother is only sixteen years old. There are still two years left to nominate him! But as for cousin Yang, this is his last year. What I did before was the best of both worlds. It was the right thing to do!”
“The best of both worlds?!” A voice full of anger suddenly came from outside the door, “So you should stand up and accept the thanks of your oldest brother!”
The sudden sound made Su Zipei tremble. When she recognized the owner of the voice, her ruddy little face turned pale again.
“B… brother, what are you doing here?”
Su Zipei turned her head stiffly and her lips trembled badly. When she saw Su Qingtan standing in the doorway, she wanted to pass out.
Had he heard everything she said?
“Get out of here!”
Su Qingtan swept his arm, and his strength was so great that it made the nannies stagger. He pointed at Su Zipei, and his every word hit her on the heart like a hammer. “You get out of here, too! I don’t want a sister like you who lives in the Su family while helping a guy of another family!”
Su Zipei panicked. If the eldest brother told her father about it, then she...she… Well the second sister was the best example of what would happen.
Mother, now only my mother can save me!
Thinking of her mother, Su Zipei had infinite motivation immediately. She ran away with the nannies in a panic.
Su Qingtan saw Su Zipei’s embarrassment, and his anger subsided a little. He looked back, and his eyes immediately became gentle, without a trace of hostility.
“Oldest brother...”
Su Erya called blankly. Her tears flowed like beads falling from a broken thread.
This was a cry of true affection. Even in the previous life, the oldest brother treated her very well. If the oldest brother had not sympathized with her because of her disfiguration, she would have been left to die in the wild.
However, the oldest brother believed in loyalty, righteousness, filial piety and honesty. He was quick to trust others. In her previous life, with Su Zipei’s scheming, he became a puppet and carried out all her bad wishes.
Now, Su Erya would change that.
Su Qingtan picked up Su Erya in his arms. A thick sense of guilt almost drowned him. As he coaxed Su Erya as if she were still a little girl, he asked Nanny Li to rent a carriage and drove directly to Baicao Tang in the town. Su Erya had so many injuries on her body that he couldn’t waste a single second.
In Baicao Tang.
“First young master of Su family, your sister...”
The old doctor hesitated. Su Qingtan grew nervous, “Dr. Qi, please say it directly. No matter how much valuable medicine you need, I...”
Dr. Qi shook his head and interrupted, “Her illness is a minor problem. But she’s too weak to do any heavier work. The wounds on her body...”
Dr. Qi looked puzzled. At last he could not help saying, “Young Master, please don’t blame me for my word. But your sister has too many injuries, new and old. Some of which are years old. If I remember correctly, your sister is only fourteen years old this year...”
Su Qingtan looked angry and said in a deep voice, “Doctor, don’t worry. I won’t let my second sister get hurt again.”
Dr. Qi stroked his beard slightly and told him, “OK, I’ll trust you for once. Remember. She needs rest. If you can’t find a way, send her here.”
Dr. Qi obviously did not trust him. Su Qingtan took a deep breath, picked Su Erya up, who was sleeping soundly, and left Baicao Tang without looking back. Although he trusted the doctor, he was too embarrassed to stay here.
Dr. Qi stood at the door and shook his head with some regret. Despite appearances, the girl was extremely intelligent. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it.
She had such a gift that she might be the right person to take up his mantle. Unfortunately, the Su family was very powerful in town, and he did not want to destroy his life. So he just put it behind him.
Su’s mansion was only a few miles from Baicao Tang, and soon Su Qingtan came home from the main gate with Su Erya, who was sleeping soundly. Nanny Li gave the cart driver money and followed Su Qingtan.
After that shock, she knew clearly that once she left the first young master, the punishment waiting for her would be no better than death.
In front of the western courtyard, Su Qingtan was about to go in, and Nanny Li finally could not help whispering, “First young master, the Second Miss does not live in the western courtyard.”
Su Qingtan was stunned. “All the women of Su family live in the western courtyard, don’t they? Why...”
Nanny Li sighed slightly and said, “Young master, the Second Miss has lived in the backyard with the maids since she was a child.”Su Qingtan looked angrier. How many such dark secrets had his mother and second mother kept from him all these years?The second mother was the second sister’s biological mother. How could she force the second sister to live such a hard life? The second sister had been so thin because of malnutrition.“Does my father know about these things?”“I don’t know, young master.”Su Qingtan snorted coldly and walked directly to the eastern courtyard with Su Erya in his arms. “From now on, my second sister will live in the eastern courtyard. Nanny Li, don’t go back to the western courtyard either. Just stay and take care of my sister.”Hearing this, Nanny Li was immediately relieved. She was full of joy. “Thank you, young master. I will take good care of the Second Miss and restore her health.”Su Qingtan nodded slightly.
The next morning, Su Qingtan went to the main courtyard. Before he entered the door, he saw his father having breakfast with the first mother and second mother.When the First Madam saw him coming, she gave a slight cough and smiled affectionately and said, “Tan, come and sit down. Today I ordered the kitchen to specially cook bird’s nest syrup.”The Second Madam was a little confused. Usually, her son never came to the main courtyard for breakfast. How did Zhu Yan know that her son would come today?Su Qingtan snorted coldly, sat down and said, “Father, I’m coming for—” “Your first mother has told me why you are here.”Su Huanli put down his chopsticks, looked up with a pair of dignified eyes, and continued, “This matter will not be announced. It’s ok to take Erya back and I will deal with Zipei. That’s all.” His father’s words made Su Qingtan incredulous. “Even if my sister comes back, she’s had such horrid accusations launched at her. How is
“Eldest brother, second sister!!”There was a childish voice calling from outside the room. Su Erya was a little puzzled.Su Qingtan was not the only boy in the family. Su Qinghao was the fourth child in the Su family.Su Qingtan and Su Qinghao were both the Second Madam’s sons. She and Su Zipei were the First Madam’s daughters. Because of that, although the Second Madam didn’t come from high status family, she still had a lot of rights.Su Erya couldn’t help but feel strange about Su Qinghao. When she had made a mistake in her previous life, she never saw Su Qinghao again. She didn’t hear the news about him until after she married that poor young master. Su Qinghao was poisoned and died when he was 15 years old. The killer was never found.“Second sister, I knew you were wrongly accused!”Su Qinghao, who looked very much like Su Qingtan, ran in with a smile. He had a snow-white leather hat on his head, which made his handsome little face look ext
Ink was very expensive, so Su Erya could not use it. There was a sand table for setting up war games in the study. Su Qingtan used that to teach her to write.Su Qingtan was surprised to find that the second sister was very smart. She could understand simple words after he taught her once. It took him less than an hour to teach her all the basic rhymes.So Su Qingtan let Su Erya practice basic calligraphy in the study. One of them read books in front of the table, and the other drew on the sand table. It was very quiet in the study. Instead of being distracted, the rustles of the sand allowed him to concentrate more.The servant girl, Zhu’er, who had been serving Su Qingtan, saw Su Erya go into the study of the first young master every day. She stamped her feet in anger and muttered: “How dare she disturb the young master’s reading! I’ll go and tell the Second Madam!”When the Second Madam heard Zhu’er’s words, she rushed to the Eastern Courtyard at on
When Mammy Li heard the footsteps outside, she immediately came out of the kitchen into the yard and asked with a shocked face, “Miss, why are you back so early today?”Su Erya smiled sheepishly and explained, “Nothing, the Second Mother came to see eldest brother. It was not wise to stay there. So, I came back first. Nanny Mammy, is there anything good for lunch today?”Mammy Li was surprised. She wiped her hands, took off her apron, hurried over and held Su Erya’s hands, looked at her and asked nervously, “Second Madam didn’t make trouble for you, did she?”“No, eldest brother was there,” Su Erya said, giggling foolishly.“Alas...”Mammy Li sighed. No matter how well-intentioned the young master was, he was still the son of the Second Madam. Once the young master better understood the ways of the world, he might not care so much about Second Miss.These thoughts had long hovered in the heart of Mammy Li. It was just that Su Erya was so happy rig
“You’re Erya?”Su Huanli looked shocked. He did not seem to be able to associate the beautiful girl in front of him with the ugly little doll who used to be as thin as bean sprouts. After three months of recuperation, Su Erya had changed her ugly demeanor. The warm red velvet clothes helped highlight her oval rosy face. Her nose was tall and small, and her pink lips glowed like honey. Long black hair spread behind her as if it were dyed by ink . Her eyes were like the stars, rippling with the purest colors in the world.The old housekeeper could not help exclaiming, “I didn’t expect that after the recuperation, Second Miss would look as if she had been reborn. You are really a beautiful girl! In a few years, you might be the most beautiful girl in Dasu Town!” Su Huanli now regretted his previous attitude. If he had known that Erya would look like this, he would never have let Erya take the blame for Zipei. But it was too late to say anything.When Su
“Housekeeper, give Erya some pocket money every month. Erya, you need to concentrate on cooking. There is no need for you to do anything else. By the way, housekeeper, get Erya some Caiyun Silk, which was transported from the Silk Shop in the province this year, and make her a good set of clothes.”“Thank you, father!”After that, Su Huanli left in a hurry. Nanny Li was very excited. She had been unhappy when Second Miss told her to find these leaves. She didn’t know they would be rewarded.“Nanny Nanny, come and help me to clean the kitchen. I’m feeling weak.”“Okay, I’m coming. Second Miss, don’t hurt yourself.”Su Erya was laughing as if she was really very happy. But when you looked carefully, you would find that her eyes were calm and cold.Su Huanli returned to the study and wrote a letter at once. He gave it to the housekeeper.“Now you go to the County and make sure to give the letter to Li Wei.”The housekeeper was surprised,
“My lord, my lord! Good news!” said the housekeeper when he returned.Su Huanli looked happy and asked, “Is it done?”“Yes!”The housekeeper clapped. “Squire Li really liked the delicacies, and he agreed at once.”But Su Huanli sneered and whispered, “This dish will definitely be a huge profit in the restaurant. He is raised by Li Shanbao. If he didn’t agree, there would be something wrong!”Su Huanli couldn’t help but sigh. “If the Su family didn’t focus on the cloth business, I wouldn’t give Li Wei the chance to make money on this. What a pity.”The housekeeper suddenly understood Su Huanli’s words. No wonder Li Wei made his decision without hesitation.“My lord, that recipe...”“You take the pen, ink, paper and inkstone and go to Erya,” Su Huanli said, then frowned. “It’s a huge matter… Just find a good excuse and take her to the study.”In a small courtyard, Su Erya sat quietly in the sunshine with her eyes closed, as if she