Alas, what I wouldn’t do to save you, my little Xuanzi!
Xuanzi hadn’t woken up yet, but Xi Que had returned. Seeing her keeping vigil by the bed, Su Tang couldn’t help but sigh and take her out to talk.
“How are things going?” Su Tang asked whilst pouring tea.
Xi Que took out a scroll from her sleeves and handed it to Su Tang saying, “It’s all done, Xiao Mo asked me to give this to you.”
Su Tang opened the scroll and saw that there were various documents inside, all signed and drawn by Xiao Mo. But he had returned these things to her, which showed her his sincere heart.
Xi Que still muttered, “I only knew that Xiao Mo was called Xiao Mo, I didn’t expect him to have a name: Mo Wangen1To not forget the favour of others… What a funny name!”
Su Tang couldn’t help but feel slightly moved. She remembered when she gave Xiao Mo the proof of his citizenship, he didn’t know his name. Thus, he chose the words that meant ‘Don’t be ungrateful’ as his name as a way of telling himself to never forget the kindness she had shown him.
“And Miss, I think Xiao Mo is rather strange. I know that he’s usually well-spoken, but today he strangely didn’t talk at all. When I went over to talk to him, he just lowered his head, seemingly not knowing what to do. I even saw his face reddening! I really don’t know what was on his mind! Furthermore, when he sent me back, he asked me to gain weight2Take care of oneself/yourself! Agh! So irritating! I’m so fat already and yet he asks me to gain weight!”
Looking at Xi Que’s angry scowl, Su Tang laughed, and then her mind wandered. Xiao Mo blushed? Thinking of all the previous clues, she suddenly understood.
That’s it! That’s it! Su Tang looked at the innocent Xi Que and smiled.
Xi Que was startled at Su Tang’s ambiguous smile, but ignored her and continued. “Miss, please don’t meet Lord Zhan anymore. As he couldn’t see you today, he kept asking ‘Where is Brother Su? Why hasn’t he come?’ Humph, he thinks of you even though you’re a married woman!”
Su Tang was ashamed. It seemed that in Zhan Yizhi’s eyes, she was a man. What a handful little girl (Xi Que).
Seemingly thinking of something, Xi Que drew closer and asked, “Miss, what did you do with Ruyi and the others later? You made me leave early, I didn’t get to watch the show! That Ruyi is too hateful, it’s time to cut her and feed her to the dogs!”
Su Tang looked at the way Xi Que rubbed her hands eagerly and said, “It looks like your young lady here has let you down!”
Then, she told her how she punished them.
Xi Que was truly disappointed. “That’s it? Their punishments are too light!”
“What would you suggest then?”
Xi Que thought for a long time before blurting out a solution. “They should have been given some beating at least!”
“They are far too fragile and tender for beatings. I estimate that they’ll be killed just after a few blows, and it wouldn’t be a trifling matter if one of them really died; moreover, if they aren’t dead we’ll have to pay someone to heal them. The trouble is simply not worth it.” Su Tang sipped her tea and sighed. “Actually, even though I want to be stern and give them a proper lesson, I dare not go too far. After all, they’ve come out of the palace and even if I don’t care about their family, I’ll still have to respect the emperor—”
As she spoke, Su Tang remembered what Du Juan had previously mentioned. Ruyi is in correspondence with the emperor? What’s going on?
It was really shameful for the emperor to commit adultery with a woman whose hand he had given in marriage to a minister! Su Tang could vaguely see a green hat on Son Shian’s head…
Regarding Su Tang punishing the four beauties, the commotion in the general’s household soon spread throughout the city. However, the reason for the punishment was deliberately obscured by the general’s mansion. So, everyone only knew of the fact that Xuanzi had fallen into the water because of the four beauties but they were in the dark about his previous experiences. The general’s mansion had started to curb the news but it was inevitable that people would hold doubts and couldn’t help but talk about it. They said General Song married a jealous woman (Su Tang) as she couldn’t tolerate the existence of the four beauties in the mansion, so she deliberately schemed and set them up. Su Tang was placed on the proverbial pedestal for a while.
It’s so wrong!
Besides, the two women who knew the inside story were quite dissatisfied with the intensity of Su Tang’s punitive actions.
One was naturally the old lady from Furuiyuan.
Jin Xiu poured tea for the old lady and asked, “How do you think the young lady should’ve dealt with this?”
The old lady squinted her eyes slightly. “Gentler.”
Jin Xiu was surprised. “But these four cannot be killed, we cannot send them back to where they came from, they can’t be sold nor be sent back to the palace. The young lady has done everything she could, and this slave thinks it’s pretty good. She put Ruyi in custody, sent her trusted subordinate– who had betrayed her–back to serve her. I’m afraid Ruyi might not have a good life.
The old lady nodded slightly. “That’s true. A cut with a blunt knife is more painful. But, Ye Changmeng3A prolonged delay may be detrimental. Ruyi still communicates with the emperor. The emperor being a soft ear, who knows what might happen once she says something to the emperor!”
“What do you think?”
“Write a letter to the Empress Dowager,” the old lady said slowly.
Inside the palace, the Empress Dowager looked at the old lady’s letter, her phoenix eyes narrowed, and then she sighed softly. “Although the words in this letter sound reasonable, I’m afraid she still cares about the palace. I had encountered a similar thing back then. Do you know how I dealt with it?”
The old eunuch on the side respectfully said, “Your Imperial Highness watched Concubine Rong and the others kill each other; reaping the best benefits out of it. The late emperor had also praised Your Imperial Highness for being virtuous and indifferent to power!”
The empress dowager massaged her forehead and smiled gently, “I can’t remember things as I’m putting on years. Ruyi is not dead, a pity. The young lady has a reputation as a jealous woman, a pity.”
Three days later, Ruyi finally received a letter from the little emperor. Life in the Ancestral Hall was too miserable and desperate. She couldn’t make it through here, yet she didn’t give up hope and wrote a letter seeking help from the emperor. The letter was really touching, she didn’t believe that the little emperor would let her bear such a life!
She was ecstatic when she saw the letter, but after reading the first two lines, her sky fell apart.
Alas, what I wouldn’t do to save you, my little Xuanzi!
Xuanzi hadn’t woken up yet, but Xi Que had returned. Seeing her keeping vigil by the bed, Su Tang couldn’t help but sigh and take her out to talk.
“How are things going?” Su Tang asked whilst pouring tea.
Xi Que took out a scroll from her sleeves and handed it to Su Tang saying, “It’s all done, Xiao Mo asked me to give this to you.”
Su Tang opened the scroll and saw that there were various documents inside, all signed and drawn by Xiao Mo. But he had returned these things to her, which showed her his sincere heart.
Xi Que still muttered, “I only knew that Xiao Mo was called Xiao Mo, I didn’t expect him to have a name: Mo Wangen1To not forget the favour of others… What a funny name!”
Su Tang couldn’t help but feel slightly moved. She remembered when she gave Xiao Mo the proof of his citizenship, he didn’t know his name. Thus, he chose the words that meant ‘Don’t be ungrateful’ as his name as a way of telling himself to never forget the kindness she had shown him.
“And Miss, I think Xiao Mo is rather strange. I know that he’s usually well-spoken, but today he strangely didn’t talk at all. When I went over to talk to him, he just lowered his head, seemingly not knowing what to do. I even saw his face reddening! I really don’t know what was on his mind! Furthermore, when he sent me back, he asked me to gain weight2Take care of oneself/yourself! Agh! So irritating! I’m so fat already and yet he asks me to gain weight!”
Looking at Xi Que’s angry scowl, Su Tang laughed, and then her mind wandered. Xiao Mo blushed? Thinking of all the previous clues, she suddenly understood.
That’s it! That’s it! Su Tang looked at the innocent Xi Que and smiled.
Xi Que was startled at Su Tang’s ambiguous smile, but ignored her and continued. “Miss, please don’t meet Lord Zhan anymore. As he couldn’t see you today, he kept asking ‘Where is Brother Su? Why hasn’t he come?’ Humph, he thinks of you even though you’re a married woman!”
Su Tang was ashamed. It seemed that in Zhan Yizhi’s eyes, she was a man. What a handful little girl (Xi Que).
Seemingly thinking of something, Xi Que drew closer and asked, “Miss, what did you do with Ruyi and the others later? You made me leave early, I didn’t get to watch the show! That Ruyi is too hateful, it’s time to cut her and feed her to the dogs!”
Su Tang looked at the way Xi Que rubbed her hands eagerly and said, “It looks like your young lady here has let you down!”
Then, she told her how she punished them.
Xi Que was truly disappointed. “That’s it? Their punishments are too light!”
“What would you suggest then?”
Xi Que thought for a long time before blurting out a solution. “They should have been given some beating at least!”
“They are far too fragile and tender for beatings. I estimate that they’ll be killed just after a few blows, and it wouldn’t be a trifling matter if one of them really died; moreover, if they aren’t dead we’ll have to pay someone to heal them. The trouble is simply not worth it.” Su Tang sipped her tea and sighed. “Actually, even though I want to be stern and give them a proper lesson, I dare not go too far. After all, they’ve come out of the palace and even if I don’t care about their family, I’ll still have to respect the emperor—”
As she spoke, Su Tang remembered what Du Juan had previously mentioned. Ruyi is in correspondence with the emperor? What’s going on?
It was really shameful for the emperor to commit adultery with a woman whose hand he had given in marriage to a minister! Su Tang could vaguely see a green hat on Son Shian’s head…
Regarding Su Tang punishing the four beauties, the commotion in the general’s household soon spread throughout the city. However, the reason for the punishment was deliberately obscured by the general’s mansion. So, everyone only knew of the fact that Xuanzi had fallen into the water because of the four beauties but they were in the dark about his previous experiences. The general’s mansion had started to curb the news but it was inevitable that people would hold doubts and couldn’t help but talk about it. They said General Song married a jealous woman (Su Tang) as she couldn’t tolerate the existence of the four beauties in the mansion, so she deliberately schemed and set them up. Su Tang was placed on the proverbial pedestal for a while.
It’s so wrong!
Besides, the two women who knew the inside story were quite dissatisfied with the intensity of Su Tang’s punitive actions.
One was naturally the old lady from Furuiyuan.
Jin Xiu poured tea for the old lady and asked, “How do you think the young lady should’ve dealt with this?”
The old lady squinted her eyes slightly. “Gentler.”
Jin Xiu was surprised. “But these four cannot be killed, we cannot send them back to where they came from, they can’t be sold nor be sent back to the palace. The young lady has done everything she could, and this slave thinks it’s pretty good. She put Ruyi in custody, sent her trusted subordinate– who had betrayed her–back to serve her. I’m afraid Ruyi might not have a good life.
The old lady nodded slightly. “That’s true. A cut with a blunt knife is more painful. But, Ye Changmeng3A prolonged delay may be detrimental. Ruyi still communicates with the emperor. The emperor being a soft ear, who knows what might happen once she says something to the emperor!”
“What do you think?”
“Write a letter to the Empress Dowager,” the old lady said slowly.
Inside the palace, the Empress Dowager looked at the old lady’s letter, her phoenix eyes narrowed, and then she sighed softly. “Although the words in this letter sound reasonable, I’m afraid she still cares about the palace. I had encountered a similar thing back then. Do you know how I dealt with it?”
The old eunuch on the side respectfully said, “Your Imperial Highness watched Concubine Rong and the others kill each other; reaping the best benefits out of it. The late emperor had also praised Your Imperial Highness for being virtuous and indifferent to power!”
The empress dowager massaged her forehead and smiled gently, “I can’t remember things as I’m putting on years. Ruyi is not dead, a pity. The young lady has a reputation as a jealous woman, a pity.”
Three days later, Ruyi finally received a letter from the little emperor. Life in the Ancestral Hall was too miserable and desperate. She couldn’t make it through here, yet she didn’t give up hope and wrote a letter seeking help from the emperor. The letter was really touching, she didn’t believe that the little emperor would let her bear such a life!
She was ecstatic when she saw the letter, but after reading the first two lines, her sky fell apart.
