Chapter 309

Chapter 309: Love Bite Mrs. Fu followed all the way to the entrance of the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion. "Marchioness Song, wait a moment." Zhao Susu hadn't yet grown accustomed to being addressed as Marchioness Song. It was only when Wang Hechun's Wife reminded her that she turned around to look. "Mrs. Fu, what do you want with me?" Having lost face at the Prince Wu's residence today, Zhao Susu was in a foul temper, so she spoke to Mrs. Fu without any courtesy. Mrs. Fu stepped up onto the stairs. "I simply can't stand by and watch. That Cui Lingrong is truly going too far. After all, you were once family. Her two sons still have to live under your roof, yet she treats you with such aggression. She really doesn't know how to conduct herself." She had come specifically to remind Zhao Susu that if she couldn't deal with Cui Lingrong, she could take out her anger on Song Mingxuan and his brother instead. Mrs. Fu bore a deep grudge against Cui Lingrong for saying her son was fond of men. But Mrs. Fu didn't know that since Cui Lingrong had dared to seek a Mutual Divorce, she had already settled Song Mingxuan and his brother's affairs and wouldn't allow Zhao Susu to interfere in their matters. Song Mingxuan now stayed at the academy, not even returning on the first and fifteenth of the month—only coming home for New Year's Eve. As for his food and supplies, even though the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion would arrange them, Cui Lingrong would send someone to deliver a separate set, and Song Mingxuan would only use what Cui Lingrong sent. Song Mingjin, meanwhile, lived at the Duke of Dingguo's residence practicing martial arts and studying. He only returned once a month for a meal and to pay his respects to Old Madame Song and Song Shulan. Neither brother was even present at the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion—how could Zhao Susu deal with them? So hearing Mrs. Fu's deliberate instigation now, Zhao Susu said crossly, "If you're so capable, then go find Song Mingxuan and his brother yourself. Trying to use me as your knife—do you really think you're clever?" With that, Zhao Susu turned and left without even glancing at Mrs. Fu. Mrs. Fu had thought she was being kind by coming to warn her, only to be rebuffed and humiliated. She flicked her sleeves as she descended the stairs. "No good deed goes unpunished. No wonder she can't compete with Cui Lingrong—the stupid fool!" Mrs. Fu cursed as she climbed into her carriage. Meanwhile, Zhao Susu was also cursing Mrs. Fu. "Does she think I'm that stupid, or is she deliberately trying to disgust me? If she'd bothered to inquire, she'd know Song Mingxuan and his brother don't even live at the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion. Saying such things—she just wants to see me make a fool of myself, doesn't she?" Wang Hechun's Wife kept her head lowered, not daring to speak. "Infuriating! That bitch Cui Lingrong actually dared to produce those things in public—she clearly planned this against me!" The more Zhao Susu spoke, the angrier she became. Upon returning to Wutong Courtyard, Zhao Susu smashed things in a frenzy. The room echoed with the "crackling" sound of things shattering across the floor. Several maids exchanged uneasy glances, none daring to enter. Only Wang Hechun's Wife remained inside, steeling herself to counsel her mistress. "Madam, please don't be so angry." Du Cheng also urged, "That's right, Susu. Getting angry now won't help. What's done is done. Better to think of a way to salvage your reputation and strike back." "That Cui Lingrong has aired all my dirty laundry—how can I possibly salvage anything?" Zhao Susu snapped. She was furious inside, but unwilling to vent at Du Cheng, so she took it out on Wang Hechun's Wife instead. "You useless waste! At Prince Wu's residence, you couldn't help with anything. If you had half a brain, would I have been bullied so badly?" Wang Hechun's Wife felt wronged. What could she have said in that situation? Lady Cui had already slapped the evidence down on the table. If anyone was to blame, it was her mistress herself—if she had made inquiries about Lady Cui attending the banquet, she should have prepared in advance. But with her mistress scolding her, what could she do? If she talked back, she'd only be scolded even worse. "Madam, this servant thinks Master Cheng is right—things may not be entirely without room to turn around." Wang Hechun's Wife cautiously lifted her head to glance at her. "The things Lady Cui mentioned are all in the past. If Madam wishes to restore her reputation, why not let everyone see what you're doing now?" Zhao Susu asked, "What can I do?" Wang Hechun's Wife felt exhausted. "The Ji'en Hall in the southern part of the city takes in many elderly, weak, women, and children. If Madam continues to bestow charity there, and after some time lets people discover it by 'accident,' naturally someone will speak of your kindness. Besides the Ji'en Hall, there are other charitable deeds you could do as well." Reputation was not something that could be restored with one good deed or two—it required sustained effort. Zhao Susu found it troublesome. As she frowned, Du Cheng also made the same suggestion, and only then did she reluctantly agree. Only then did Wang Hechun's Wife quietly breathe a sigh of relief, personally sweeping up the broken porcelain shards from the floor. This, too, puzzled the maids of Wutong Courtyard. Mama Wang was the mistress's personal senior attendant—such sweeping and cleaning should have been left to the junior maids. Moreover, for quite some time now, everything in the mistress's chambers had been handled personally by Mama Wang, with only occasional calls for others to come in and clean together. Even when they did enter, Mama Wang would keep watch the entire time, as if they might steal the mistress's belongings. Wang Hechun's Wife swept up the porcelain shards and saw the maids all standing around. She snapped, "What are you all standing there like idiots for? No sense at all—can't you reach out and lend a hand?" Having been scolded by her mistress, she took it out on the maids. One after another, the maids hurried to clean up. Among them, Qiuju was sweeping the hall when she suddenly heard a gasp. She thought she had misheard, but then another sound came. "Qiuju, what are you standing there dazed for?" Wang Hechun's Wife came in and yanked Qiuju hard. "Didn't I say, once you're done working, get out? Staying here to slack off?" As Wang Hechun's Wife scolded, the inner room fell silent at once. Du Cheng and Zhao Susu's intimacy came to a halt. Du Cheng rose and said the feeling was gone. "This way, we can never last. What if someone discovers us one day?" "Whoever breaks the rules and comes in, kill them!" A flash of murderous intent crossed Zhao Susu's eyes as she pulled Du Cheng to continue. But Du Cheng refused her. "Forget it. We can't even get hot water today." He didn't want to continue. Zhao Susu's inner emptiness went unsatisfied. She dressed and went out, shouting at Wang Hechun's Wife, "Is it done?" "Done, done. Already sprinkled water and swept twice." Wang Hechun's Wife had just finished speaking when she saw the Marquis approaching, and stammered in fright, "Marquis, you... why have you... come?" "Can't I come?" Song Shulan glanced at Wang Hechun's Wife and walked straight toward the inner room. "Zhao, what exactly did you do at the Prince Wu's mansion today?" On the way over, someone had already found Song Shulan and asked him how he could be so foolish—abandoning the virtuous Cui and being bewitched into protecting Zhao Susu. He was immediately baffled. He hadn't gone to the Prince Wu's mansion today, so he didn't know what had happened. When Song Shulan grabbed someone to ask, the person said he'd heard it from his own wife. "Zhao went around saying how terrible Cui was, but Cui produced evidence instead. You've been married to Cui for over a decade, and Cui has always had a fine reputation in Bianjing. I believe that someone who can maintain a good reputation for over ten years must be a good person. As for that Zhao, you'd better think carefully. Not to be meddlesome, but as a friend—marry for virtue, you should know this." Song Shulan wished he could crawl into a crack in the ground from embarrassment. He got off his sedan chair and hurried over. Because he only wanted to interrogate Zhao Susu, he didn't notice the disheveled bedding, nor the corner of Du Cheng's robe that had hastily hidden behind the bed. "I... I didn't do anything." Zhao Susu's heart raced, her eyes darting around as she turned the blame back. "I did it for the good of the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion. When people asked, I said Cui Lingrong was no good. What else was I supposed to say? Was I supposed to praise Cui Lingrong? Who knew Cui Lingrong would suddenly show up? She's a scheming bitch—she went to the Prince Wu's mansion with testimony just to ruin my reputation. Master Song, you don't even feel for me. You come in and interrogate me right away. I'm so heartbroken." She collapsed onto the table, sobbing loudly. Song Shulan was momentarily speechless seeing Zhao Susu cry instead. "You... why are you crying?" "Shouldn't I cry?" Zhao Susu threw off Song Shulan's hand in a tantrum. "I was bullied, and you come to scold me instead. Have you regretted it? Do you think Cui Lingrong is better than me? Then go find her!" Song Shulan was even more speechless. He had been angry to begin with, and now watching Zhao Susu wail and carry on, a breath lodged in his chest, feeling something rush straight to the top of his head. After a moment, Song Shulan realized he couldn't reason with Zhao Susu. He strode to the door and declared, "Susu, if you keep being this willful and reckless, no one can help you!" The moment he stepped out of Wutong Courtyard, Song Shulan instinctively thought of when Cui Lingrong was there—back then he didn't have to worry about any household matters, only handling things outside. Now everything was going wrong for him, and he had to face Zhao Susu's unreasonable tantrums. Song Shulan was utterly exhausted. Meanwhile, back at the Cui residence, Cui Lingrong changed her clothes and asked Nanny Qiu if she had noticed anything. Nanny Qiu glanced around before leaning in closer. "You mean the love bite under Zhao's collar?" Cui Lingrong nodded in confirmation. "I still find it strange. Back when I was still at the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, Song Shulan no longer stayed overnight in the rear courtyard. How could he have left such a deep love bite on Zhao Susu's body?"