YBTS - 8

Upon hearing this, Xiangcao’s tone immediately changed as she looked at the young master with makeup on his face and a feminine air. “What a pity for such a handsome face. He’s a perfectly good man, but he’s painted his face white with powder. He’s probably just a wastrel lost in wine and women.”

But being good-looking made begging easier. Many ladies and young women were captivated by Young Master Han’s handsome looks and threw copper coins and silver into the bronze basin in front of him, the jingling sounds like pearls falling onto a plate.

As a result, before the lovesick song was even finished, the overflowing basin was spilling copper coins and broken silver. In a short time, he was able to pack up and leave.

Su Luoyun had been waiting for a long time. She took a breath when she heard the sounds of the wastrels cheering and laughing gradually fade away, and her carriage could finally move. She wondered if her uncle had been waiting anxiously.

After the crowd dispersed, the Su family’s carriage followed the street to the entrance of the post station.

Hu Xuesong, in military attire, was standing in front of the post station, waiting for his niece to get out of the carriage.

When he saw Luoyun, the bearded man’s eyes welled up slightly. He said to her, “I haven’t seen you in a long time. You’ve become so thin. Did your father use all the Su family’s money to save up for his own coffin? Did he even take good care of you?”

Su Luoyun heard her maternal uncle’s booming voice, and she also couldn’t hold back her tears. Her eyes reddened, and she sniffled softly. “Hearing your voice, Uncle, you sound so full of energy! You must have become much more robust over the years! The military camp is indeed a good place for people to grow. I wonder if you brought me back a suitable aunt?”

Hu Xuesong, however, laughed at himself. “I’ve squandered away my family fortune and have nothing to my name. I shouldn’t involve a good woman and make her suffer with me!”

After they entered the room and exchanged greetings for a while, Hu Xuesong got straight to the point. “I came here to take you and your brother away from the Su family. When you had your accident two years ago, I was in Jiangzhe, serving in the army and fighting river pirates. I was living a life on the edge and couldn’t take care of you. Now I have a salary to support a family, so I’ve come to take you out of there, so you won’t be schemed against and tormented by that vicious woman.”

Su Luoyun, feeling her way to a few plates of pastries she had brought in her food box, placed them on the table and asked softly, “You still haven’t married, Uncle. If you bring your deceased sister’s two burdens with you, do you still hope to marry a respectable wife in the future?”

Hu Xuesong waved his hand dismissively and said with a look of remorse, “What is a man without a wife? In the past, I was ignorant, gathering friends for drinking and partying, and I squandered my family fortune, so I couldn’t help my sister in her time of need, and I couldn’t take good care of you. Now that I can finally stand on my own two feet, if I don’t take care of you, how can I have the face to see my sister after I die?”

Su Luoyun shook her head. “Guiyan is a very spirited child. When he first started school, his teacher said he had great potential for the examinations. If you were to take the Su family’s children away without a reason, he would definitely be removed from the Su family’s genealogy. Then his reputation would be tarnished, and if he couldn’t pass the preliminary examinations, it would be a waste of Guiyan’s talent.”

Hu Xuesong understood. The current emperor valued an official’s reputation the most. His niece’s considerations were more thorough than his.

Thinking of this, he sighed. “To send a daughter with an eye condition to the countryside... how cruel must that be? Now, because I insisted on seeing you, he brought you back. When I leave the capital, won’t he just send you away again?”

Su Luoyun smiled slightly. “I have a way to stay, so you don’t have to worry, Uncle. But you’ve come to the capital and need to build connections. Did you prepare any local specialties?”

Hu Xuesong had earned his official position through his own abilities, but he was stationed in a barren land along the river. This was his first time coming to the capital with a superior, and he hadn’t thought about such social niceties at all.

Su Luoyun, however, had already planned everything out. She had Xiangcao hand over a note. “These are the gifts I’ve already bought and stored at the local specialty store in the west of the city. The officials’ names that correspond to each gift box are also marked. You just need to make sure you don’t send them to the wrong person. When I was in the capital before, I attended some tea parties with Miss Lu, and I have some understanding of the households of the officials in the shipping department. A few days ago, I also overheard Father talking about his interactions with his superiors, so I took the liberty of preparing a few things. You came with your superior this time. If you prepare lavish gifts and send them secretly, it will seem like you have ulterior motives, and it would be overstepping the rules. If you don’t prepare anything, you’ll seem ignorant of social etiquette. It’s better to prepare some clever, heartfelt small items. That way, the officials will just remember that there is a capable person like you in the Two Rivers Naval Forces.”

The things she had prepared were not expensive, but they were very thoughtful.

For example, Master Li from the shipping department enjoyed fishing, but he always returned empty-handed. So she had bought some new fishing hooks from Japan for her uncle, a tool that was excellent for catching big fish and was still rare on the market.

For Master Bai, who was doting on his wife, she had gotten a dress-sizing card from Lu Lingxiu. The Lu family’s embroidered clothes were priceless and hard to get. Unless you were a marquise’s daughter or a princess, you had to wait in a long queue.

Madam Bai had always loved beauty and was particular about her clothing and food. There was nothing more thoughtful than a number card that would allow her to get a dress custom-made ahead of everyone else.

In this way, Su Luoyun had thought of and carefully arranged everything for her uncle.

Her uncle’s visit this time was not for personal gain, and the gifts were not expensive. The recipients would accept them without any burden and would feel a sense of thoughtfulness and warmth. Naturally, they would remember her uncle as a clever person.

For an official, when they are short on capable people, they hope to find a sensible and clever subordinate. When a chance for promotion arises in the future, her uncle would have a better chance of being chosen.

Su Luoyun said to Hu Xuesong, “Uncle, you don’t need to worry about my brother and me. You are our support. The more stable your position is, the better our lives will be in the Su family.”

Having gone through the decline of his family’s fortune, Hu Xuesong was no longer the arrogant young man he used to be. He naturally understood his niece’s words.

He lamented that he was more than ten years her senior, yet he wasn’t as thoughtful as his niece.

After a few words of mutual advice, the niece and uncle parted ways.

On the way back, Tian Mama was a little worried. “Young Master’s words make sense. What if Master wants to send you back again?”

Su Luoyun smiled faintly, gently rubbing her fingers. The lingering fragrance on her fingertips was the scent she had left when testing the perfume balm on Miss Lu’s hand.

This perfume could last for two days. When she tested the scent on Lu Lingxiu, she had deliberately applied it to the pulse point on her wrist. The warmth of her body would cause the fragrance to diffuse farther...

She just didn’t know if the perfume-loving Princess Yuyang would like the scent...

This question was answered the next day.

Su Hongmeng got up early to shave and get dressed, preparing for his first day of work at the Office of Trade and Exchange.

Ding Pei had even specifically ordered a maid to buy a whole table of Sichuan dishes from the Shu Xiang Restaurant, intending to reward her husband for his first day on the job.

However, before the master returned to the residence, Ding Pei had a person invite the eldest young lady over. The official reason was to have her measurements taken for a few new clothes, but in reality, Ding Pei planned to talk to her about sending her back to the old house in a few days.

Although Su Hongmeng had this intention, he found it difficult to bring it up with his eldest daughter, so he tossed this hot potato to the shrewd Ding Pei.

Ding Pei smiled as she had a maid take Su Luoyun’s measurements, and she sighed with emotion. “You seem to have grown taller in the past two years. It seems the environment in the old house is good for people!”

Luoyun smiled faintly. “When I first arrived in the old house, I was unaccustomed to the environment and fell seriously ill, so I became as thin as a rail. I didn’t expect that it wouldn’t hinder my height at all. Now I’m making Madam go to the trouble of having me measured for new clothes.”

Ding Pei’s smile didn’t falter. “After a while, you’ll get used to it. In fact, every place is the same. The old house is really more suitable for a sick person to recuperate. Your father even said that when he retires, he also wants to return to Yinzhou. But if the old house doesn’t have someone capable to manage it and is just left to the servants, they might get lazy and let the courtyard fall into disrepair. It’s not like when you were there, and you kept the courtyard well-organized.”

Although Su Luoyun couldn’t see, she still looked coldly in Ding Shi’s direction. “Madam, if you have something to say, why don’t you just say it?”

Ding Pei smiled and continued, “You came back to the capital just to see your uncle. Now that you’ve seen him, you don’t have to worry about each other anymore. In a few days, your sister will get married, and the household will be busy. We might not be able to take care of you properly. Your father and I have discussed it and feel it’s better to send you back to the countryside so you can have some peace and quiet, away from the commotion of the house.”

Hearing this, Tian Mama, who was standing nearby, clenched her hands together, holding back her anger.

Su Caijian, on the other hand, looked overjoyed but tried her best to restrain herself. She couldn’t show her true feelings. But then she remembered that her sister couldn’t see, so she couldn’t help but smile again, feeling that her future marriage was going to be smooth sailing.

Su Luoyun remained calm as ever. “Is Madam asking for my opinion, or have you already decided and are just informing me?”

Since there were no outsiders present, Ding Pei was not afraid of anything. She put on the air of the mistress of the house and said earnestly, “Actually, the affairs of children are all decided by their parents. I’ve never heard of a household where the parents lived their lives according to their children’s wishes. You just need to remember that your father and I are doing this for your own good... Your sister’s wedding is approaching, and the household is short of experienced and reliable servants. I was thinking of keeping Xiangcao and Tian Mama here this time and assigning you two other clever maids. That way, we don’t have to worry about old Tian Mama’s energy not being enough.”

After she said this, Tian Mama immediately glared at her and said coldly, “Madam, my deed of sale is not with the Su family. What you’re doing is probably not appropriate.”

Ding Pei’s smile disappeared, and she said slowly, “I know you are a dowry maid who came with my sister-in-law from the Hu family, and I have always respected you. But Luoyun now has an eye condition, and she needs someone with enough energy by her side to make us feel at ease. You are also getting on in years and should be enjoying your retirement. If you feel that I am not worthy of having you in this household, then you don’t have to quarrel with me every day. You can just go collect your silver and return to the Hu family.”

The old hag, thinking that since her deed of sale was not with the Su family, she couldn’t be controlled? Su Luoyun was her stepdaughter. Su Luoyun herself had no say in who served by her side!

Before, because of Hu Shi’s dying wishes, she couldn’t just get rid of Tian Mama. But Su Luoyun was almost eighteen and an adult, so she no longer needed the old servant who was entrusted to her. If she “politely” sent the old woman away, no one could find fault with her.

Upon hearing this, Tian Mama was so angry she couldn’t hold it in. What “she wasn’t at ease”? This was just a way to take advantage of the young lady’s eye condition to get rid of her trusted servant, and then let Ding Shi control her as she pleased.

Su Luoyun, however, remained composed. “Is this... also Father’s wish?”

Ding Pei slowly picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said, “Family matters don’t require the master’s attention. He is now busy helping the officials in the Office of Trade and Exchange select spices. If you are sensible, you will not bother your father about this!”