Chapter 320

Chapter 320: Wanting to Reunite Zhao Susu's mockery of Mama Zhou was excessive even to those standing nearby. Let alone Mama Zhou herself. Being called dirty in front of so many people? "What, not paying up?" Wang Hechun's Wife urged. Mama Zhou took out the money and was about to let it go when Wang Hechun's Wife withdrew her hand, and the silver fell to the ground. Wang Hechun's Wife said, "Fine, whoever wants it can pick it up. Consider it our lady's act of charity today." She then looked at Mama Zhou again. "A good dog doesn't block the way, understand?" She shoved Mama Zhou aside, who nearly stumbled and fell to the ground. After getting the medicine and returning to the Lou residence, hearing her mistress fretting again over Madam Zhao's matters, Mama Zhou couldn't help but say, "Madam, actually, I ran into the young lady today." "You ran into Susu? Why did she go to the pharmacy? Is she ill?" Madam Bai was very concerned about her daughter and said urgently, "Speak up! Cat got your tongue?" "I could see the young lady was doing quite well. She was probably buying some nourishing medicine." Mama Zhou looked up at her mistress. "It's just... just that the young lady was very rude to me. Madam, now that Princess Consort Rong is dead, and you've done so much for the young lady, shouldn't we tell her about her origins?" Otherwise, the young lady would remain in the dark and continue treating them as enemies. In the past, Madam Bai would have definitely said no. But now, she was tempted. She still wanted to be close to her own daughter. When her elder sister was still alive, Madam Bai was afraid of being found out, so she could only watch from afar, never daring to approach. Now that her elder sister was dead, no one would care about such things. Madam Bai also didn't want to be called a slut by her daughter every time she saw her. "But I'm still afraid..." Madam Bai hesitated. "What if Susu doesn't acknowledge me? What then?" "She won't. If not for your careful planning back then, would the young lady have enjoyed such a life of luxury?" Mama Zhou said. "She will surely understand you and be grateful to you. Otherwise, she would just be a girl from the Lou family, and who knows—she might have experienced the same suffering as Miss Xian." Hearing this, Madam Bai felt much better. "Yes, if I hadn't switched the two of them, how could Susu have enjoyed such blessings for all these years?" Her daughter should be grateful to her. Madam Bai had given so much, but couldn't tell those like Madam Xia. She longed for recognition in her heart, and she felt Mama Zhou's suggestion was feasible. Mama Zhou thought that since Mama Wang and the others looked down on them, let them know—then see who would dare treat them that way again. Having persuaded her mistress, Mama Zhou knew what to do. "I'll send a note to the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion later." "What if Susu doesn't come out?" Madam Bai was nervous at the thought of reuniting with her daughter. "She will. The young lady will surely understand your good intentions," Mama Zhou said. If she didn't come out, Mama Zhou had ways to make her come out. While Madam Bai was looking forward to reuniting with her daughter, at the academy, Cui Lingrong finally waited for Xie Yunting to return with his men. Xie Yunting had a slight injury on his arm. Just as Cui Lingrong began to ask about it, he said it hurt terribly. "I'm afraid there's wood splinters in it. The people around me are all rough sorts. Would I trouble Sister to take a look for me?" He said it was just his arm. If Cui Lingrong delayed any further, she would seem overly prudish. And she thought, it's just an arm—rolling up the sleeve would suffice. But Xie Yunting had already slipped his clothes halfway off, pulling his arm out from the sleeve, revealing half of his chest. Xie Yunting's muscles were well-defined. Even with just a brief glance, Cui Lingrong could sense the vigorous strength hidden beneath the muscle. Cui Lingrong dared not let her gaze wander. She looked at Xie Yunting's wound—the bleeding had already stopped. She took cotton and wine, and carefully cleaned the wound bit by bit. She had always been meticulous. After about a quarter of an hour, beads of sweat had formed on Cui Lingrong's forehead. When she stood up, a drop of sweat fell onto Xie Yunting's arm. Cool and refreshing, it stirred up boundless ripples. Xie Yunting couldn't help but look up at her, his voice even deepening. "Sister Cui, did you find anything?" Cui Lingrong shook her head and said no. "Fortunately, the wound isn't deep. What did that person say?" "You mean the one who pretended to be a ghost?" Xie Yunting said. "On the way back, he tried to run and ended up tumbling off a cliff, knocked unconscious. But there must be someone in the manor working with him. I'll definitely find out who it is." "With the General's words, I feel much more at ease." Cui Lingrong trusted Xie Yunting's abilities. "I just wonder, who would want to harm me?" Could it be Zhao Susu again? It was possible. After all, Zhao Susu had ruined her own reputation, so she would naturally direct her resentment toward Cui Lingrong. After thinking it over, Cui Lingrong planned to meet with Madam Li once she returned to Bianjing. She washed her hands clean and walked out of the room, intending to bid farewell to Xie Yunting, but he said they should return to Bianjing together. Cui Lingrong was going to take the carriage, but Xie Yunting said his arm was injured, so Cui Lingrong had no choice but to let him ride in the carriage with her. Inside the carriage, Nanny Qiu couldn't help but sigh inwardly—a persistent suitor is hard for any woman to resist. General Xie's actions clearly showed he hadn't given up. The only question was whether her mistress could withstand the temptation. To be honest, Nanny Qiu also thought General Xie had a fine appearance, but between him and her mistress, they weren't quite suited to each other. Rather, it was Master Zhuang, the maternal uncle, who was more compatible with her mistress. After returning to the Cui residence, Nanny Qiu swallowed all these thoughts. Seeing Yu-jie and Qi-jie'er gather around, she smiled and went to prepare the evening meal. Cui Lingrong was surrounded by the two young girls, who were curious about whether the academy was really haunted. "Auntie, I heard people say that in some mountain forests, there are ghosts of those who died far from home. They can't return to their homeland, so they stay in one place and eventually become vengeful spirits. Is that what happened at the academy?" Zhuang Qi was especially curious—she had wanted to go herself. Song Yu said it was unlikely. "If there really were ghosts, with so many people around, how come no one has ever seen one?" "Maybe the ones who saw them all went mad?" Zhuang Qi asked. "If one went mad, could everyone go mad?" Song Yu said, then looked at her mother. Cui Lingrong said someone was playing tricks to scare people, and Zhuang Qi looked a little disappointed. "What a pity. I thought I might get to see one." Zhuang Qi was curious about everything. Cui Lingrong smiled and said, "If you really got to see one, you wouldn't say it was a pity—you'd be crying and calling for your father and mother. Now then, have you two been well these past two days? Has anything happened at home?" Zhuang Qi was too busy playing to pay attention to outside matters. It was Song Yu who spoke up. "Yesterday, Father came by. But I didn't let him in." She was, after all, the younger generation. If she actually met her father face to face, she couldn't very well scold him outright, so she simply chose not to see him. "Did he say what it was about?" Cui Lingrong asked. "It seemed like he wanted to talk about Xuan-ge's matter," Song Yu said. "Alright, I understand." Cui Lingrong had mutually divorced Song Shulan, but her two sons were still members of the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, so it was unavoidable that she would meet Song Shulan again. But if Song Shulan truly had something urgent, he would surely send someone to ask again. Just as Cui Lingrong expected, early the next morning, Song Shulan came over.