YBTS - 10

Thinking about it, she couldn’t see and had lived alone in the countryside for two years, so she probably felt helpless and alone.

It’s the same logic as the palace eunuchs becoming greedy for money after being castrated: they are both hopeless in their own circumstances and find solace in money.

It was all Ding Shi’s fault for being too impatient, sending her back to the countryside so soon and wanting to take away her personal attendants. Even a rabbit would become desperate in such a situation.

After weighing the pros and cons, Su Hongmeng finally said, “Alright, I’m still breathing! Why are you mourning like this? If you can truly come up with a decent perfume balm formula, it’s only right that I reward you... But asking for a thirty percent share is completely inappropriate. At most, I’ll give you a twenty percent share of the profits from any new perfume balms sold at the shop. That should be more than enough for you! What does a daughter need so much money for? Even if you go to a winehouse every day, you couldn’t spend that much!”

Seeing her father give in, Su Luoyun slowly stopped sobbing.

It was a good thing she had sprinkled a few drops of medicated oil on her handkerchief beforehand. Pressing it to her eyes could immediately make them red. Otherwise, she could never have learned to cry on command in this lifetime.

Su Luoyun understood her father. He was very shrewd when it came to money and wouldn’t take a loss even for a little bit!

So, with Su Hongmeng giving in, she didn’t insist on more money and accepted the twenty percent profit share of the new perfume. However, she also made another request: Madam was right; when her sister got married in a few days, the house would be full of people and would not be peaceful.

She wanted her father to buy her a house. It didn’t have to be big or in a bustling, prosperous area. A peaceful place to live would be enough.

She liked quietness. After her father bought the house for her, she would move out and live alone. Of course, the deed to the house had to be in her name.

Su Hongmeng was now used to his eldest daughter’s whims, but her current demands were truly unbearable!

After hearing Su Luoyun’s audacity, he just scowled and said, “An unmarried girl living alone? What are you thinking? You might not care about your reputation, but I do!”

Luoyun replied, “How is it living alone? I was thinking that Guiyan has his preliminary examination next year, so he can move there with me. I can supervise his studies. Madam said earlier that she would be too busy with Caijian’s wedding to be distracted. If my brother and I move out, Madam will be able to rest easier. And, of course, she won’t have to worry about the personnel changes in that house.”

She wanted to get rid of Tian Mama and Xiangcao, to remove her trusted aides? No way!

Su Luoyun was determined to seize this opportunity to move out.

Su Hongmeng, thinking of Guiyan’s thick-headedness when he tried to memorize books, also felt a headache coming on. If Luoyun had nothing to do, it might be good for her to oversee Guiyan’s studies... But buying a house, how much would that cost?

Why did all his children, every single one of them, act like money-eating beasts, constantly draining his funds?

With that thought, he couldn’t be bothered to argue with his eldest daughter anymore. He just said dismissively, “I need to think about it. You go back first, and I’ll find you later!”

Only then did Su Luoyun stand up and curtsy, returning to her courtyard with the support of Xiangcao.

Having been away from the Su family for two years, Su Luoyun was not yet familiar with the paths there. Without the protruding cobblestones to guide her, she could only walk slowly while being supported by others.

When they returned to the courtyard, Tian Mama said in a low voice, “Eldest young lady, you’ve completely fallen out with Master for our sake!”

Su Luoyun smiled and went straight to get her brush and paper to practice calligraphy. She knew Tian Mama felt guilty and said in a gentle voice, “I wasn’t doing it just to keep you here. Guiyan has his examination next year, but his stepmother is using the excuse of him being slow-witted to keep him from studying with the two brothers, Jinguang and Jincheng. I heard Jincheng let slip yesterday that his mother was going to hire a failed scholar to teach Guiyan alone. What kind of a person would she hire to teach Guiyan? If we can move out and live separately, we can find a proper teacher for Guiyan to tutor him.”

Xiangcao was worried. “But you’re an unmarried girl, and you’re buying a separate house to live alone... What about your reputation? Will Master and Madam agree?”

Su Luoyun closed her eyes and said nonchalantly, “A sister accompanying her brother to study is a custom that has existed since ancient times. It’s not out of the ordinary. And I think my stepmother will probably persuade my father for me...”

Ding Pei was indeed a little too hasty today in her attempt to drive her away, but there was a reason: Caijian’s wedding was imminent, and the Lu family would be visiting frequently. If Su Luoyun and Lu Shi were to meet a few more times, Su Caijian would probably climb onto the roof and cry.

Ding Pei didn’t want Luoyun to see the Lu family often, which was why she was so desperate to get her back to the old house.

Moreover, Ding Shi had recently hired a famous Confucian scholar with a high salary to teach the two Jin brothers. If he had to teach three students, he would be distracted. So Ding Shi was thinking of hiring a failed scholar to get rid of Su Guiyan.

If Guiyan was sensible enough to move out and study, Ding Shi would probably be more than happy. So, she had only hinted at it and left the rest for her stepmother to handle.

It was said that after returning to her room that day, Ding Pei had a small argument with her father. It was probably because he blamed her for driving Luoyun away so early and offending his eldest daughter.

However, Ding Shi was still in her prime, her skin was like congealed cream, and when she cried, her tears were like pearls. She spoke of the various heartaches of being a stepmother.

Su Hongmeng eventually softened and gently comforted her.

The private words between the couple were not for outsiders to know, but in the end, Su Hongmeng agreed to Luoyun’s proposal. However, the house he bought was a very old, small house in Sweetwater Alley.

It was said that the price of the house was very cheap, so when the real estate agent mentioned it, Su Hongmeng bought it without even looking at it. He told Luoyun not to be too picky and that the public funds would be used to renovate it after she moved in.

Of course, there had to be a proper excuse for the deceased wife’s children to move out. He would just say that the eldest son, Su Guiyan, found the house noisy, so he bought him a house to study in. Su Luoyun, worried about her brother, also moved there to keep him company and supervise him.

This way, Master Su would appear to dote on his deceased wife’s children, showing his equal love for all of them and boundless paternal affection.

Luoyun couldn’t see, but on the day they went to inspect the house, hearing the creaking of the doors and the constant sighs of Tian Mama and Xiangcao, she knew the house was probably very dilapidated and not as spacious and comfortable as the Su family’s residence.

But for a miserly father to open his purse strings was something to celebrate. Su Luoyun smelled the faint musty odor in the room and, in turn, smiled and comforted Tian Mama.

Fortunately, the hired craftsmen said after an inspection that the main beams of the house were fine and the minor issues could be fixed with a little renovation.

Looking at the slightly run-down house, Su Guiyan felt very happy. He said that as long as it didn’t leak when it rained, it was a good house and they shouldn’t be picky.

Guiyan had been bullied by his stepmother’s two sons for a long time in the Su family’s residence, and he was not very happy. Thinking that he could move out and live with his sister, he didn’t care about the simplicity of the house.

Luoyun smiled as she listened to her brother’s chattering. Being so lively, like a little bird, was what a young boy should be. She didn’t regret moving out.

In fact, she was just like her brother; she didn’t want to stay in the Su family’s residence for even a day. So, without waiting for the house to be renovated, they moved in after a simple tidying up. They planned to live there while the renovations were being done.

Because Ding Shi was preoccupied with the dowry, her funds seemed to be tied up recently. Su Luoyun’s monthly allowance was not paid on time.

When Tian Mama finally went to collect the monthly allowance, Ding Shi said bluntly that the money for the house renovations would have to wait.

Luoyun couldn’t be bothered to argue with her stepmother over small amounts of money. On the day they moved in, Su Luoyun took out her private savings and had Tian Mama buy some wine and meat.

In the evening, everyone had a meal with laughter and chatter, then went to bed.

Old people say that you have to live in a house to know if it’s a good one. This saying was indeed true!

After Su Luoyun lay on the unfamiliar bed and tossed and turned for a while, she had just fallen asleep when she was awakened by the sound of music.

She lifted the bed curtain and asked Xiangcao, who was sleeping in the room below, “Where is that music coming from so late at night?”

Xiangcao quickly put on her clothes and searched for the source of the sound. She found it at the western wall of the house.

It turned out that the western side of their house was adjacent to a large residence in Green Fish Alley. The place was brightly lit, and it seemed people were having a party in the garden.

Xiangcao stood on a ladder but couldn’t see the people clearly. She just saw a group of women in thin clothes, with white necks and arms exposed, who were drunk and laughing and frolicking among a group of men. The atmosphere was one of living for the moment and a decadent lifestyle.

Xiangcao was too shy to look for long and quickly came down to inform her young lady.

Su Luoyun frowned slightly. She had only visited the house during the day and had no idea that this seemingly quiet alley was so wild at night, like a spider’s web of demons.

But who were these people, to be feasting and drinking all night and in such a lavish manner?

The next day, Su Guiyan had Tian Mama chat with the housewives who were buying groceries at the alley entrance. Only then did they learn that the large residence next to their western courtyard was inhabited by a descendant of the former emperor.

“It’s that heir of the Prince of the North, who came to the capital to study. The emperor granted him the residence next door in Green Fish Alley to live in temporarily. Ever since that noble person arrived, there have been feasts and parties almost every night, making it impossible for people to sleep peacefully. But they are a royal family member, and we common folk can’t just knock on their door and complain. Those who couldn’t bear it have all sold their houses and moved away!”

Upon hearing Tian Mama’s report, Su Luoyun took a deep breath. No wonder the original owner of the house had sold it so quickly and at such a low price. It turned out that the house was next to such a golden troublemaker.

She immediately remembered the incident on the street when she had encountered Young Master Han playing the zither and “begging.” It seemed that this wastrel’s ways of having fun were endless!

Other things were fine, but if her brother couldn’t rest, how would he prepare for his examinations?

Su Luoyun had been away from the capital for two years and didn’t know the details of this young master who had arrived later. As the neighbors had said, how could common folk provoke a royal relative? So, they had to endure the nightly revelry.

After a few days, Su Luoyun’s eyes were a little dark. But Su Guiyan, being young, was a heavy sleeper and slept soundly every night.

Fortunately, the person next door had a reversed schedule, so it was quieter during the day. Su Luoyun felt that as long as it didn’t affect her brother’s studies, it was fine. As for her sensitive hearing, she would just have to catch up on her sleep in the mornings until she had the means to buy a new house.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have much time to rest, because Princess Yuyang’s perfume balm still needed to be personally blended by her.

Every morning, even with a groggy mind, she had to get up and go to the shop to blend the perfume.

Su Luoyun had learned a lesson from how her mother had given away her self-blended perfume formulas but in the end couldn’t even help her own family. She took this to heart.

Although she had agreed to provide the formula, she didn’t hand it over to Shouweizhai. Instead, she took Tian Mama and Xiangcao to the spice warehouse to personally blend the ingredients.

The feeling of having to get up when you’re sleep-deprived was truly unbearable. Xiangcao had gotten water for her young lady and was about to help her get up, but she saw that the eldest young lady was still slumped in bed.