Female Lead Quits Chapter 3
“The Emperor told (1) ben-gong everything. This matter was all thanks to you.” The Empress took her niece’s hand and sat her down; just by saying this made her heart tremble in lingering fear.
The Emperor wasn’t short of sons, but Song Yu was her only child; if something really did happen, it’d kill her.
Su Yuan smiled awkwardly. “Auntie knew? I thought…”
…That I could hide it. Sure enough, nothing could be hidden from the imperial family in this era. Nobody could’ve been snooping during the conversation between her and her diedie in his study, but the fact that her diedie went to the palace straight after couldn’t be hidden.
She didn’t know too much about the imperial family’s capabilities, but diedie did. Since he knew yet still didn’t cover his traces completely, that meant he did this deliberately.
He didn’t want outsiders to know the inside story to this matter, yet still wanted her uncle, aunt and cousin to bear her love; she had to say, it was very well-intentioned.
Su Yuan’s father from her past life failed to give her any paternal love, but it seemed she’d been compensated for that in this life; it made her feel both warm and a little uncomfortable.
“Ben-gong understands your concerns; don’t worry, this won’t be spread to outsiders,” the Empress reassured her softly. “Only a few individuals from our family know of this. Anyhow, it was all thanks to you this time. Ben-gong and your biao-ge will remember this.”
There were still many days to come; this gratitude would be repaid sooner or later.
The Third Prince, Song Yu, directly cupped his fist into his other hand and bowed to his cousin. “There are no words to express how grateful I am for your help. Song Yu will definitely bear this friendship in mind and in heart.”
Su Yuan hurriedly took a step back. “Auntie and biao-ge is taking this too seriously. I really didn’t do much; I just dreamt of something and told my diedie because it made me feel uneasy. Even without me, biao-ge may not have been in trouble. Since everything is over, we should let it go. We’re all in the same family, so there’s no need to be so polite.”
Su Yuan didn’t want to be considered his saviour; after all, the two of them had different statuses and it wasn’t like she truly went out to save him. A dream, at most, served as an early warning. Her aunt and everyone else didn’t know the plot of the novel, and they may have not completely believed in her dream; even if she didn’t do anything, it was possible her cousin wouldn’t have died anyway.
But putting the novel’s plot aside, this would really benefit her. The Third Prince was already her biological cousin, and now that she’d mistakenly helped him, her clutch around his golden thighs had definitely become sturdier.
Although she currently didn’t have any difficulties for her cousin to help out with, she’d never know when she’d encounter hardships in the future. With her current identity, not many people would want to help her, so this favour was not for the moment, but for the unpredictable future.
Although her niece said it like that, the Empress still couldn’t help but take this matter to heart. Just by dreaming of her son getting in danger, then speaking up about it so the danger could be avoided, showed just how noble her niece was.
Her niece and son were already cousins – moreover, they had a close relationship with each other – and now that something like this happened… Wouldn’t it be better if they truly became one family?
A-yuan was a noble, a match made in heaven for (2) Yu-er; in the future, she’d definitely be a good wife for him. By then, she’d be both her aunt and mother-in-law, and be able to prevent anyone from bullying A-yuan.
But right now, A-yuan was still young and wasn’t at the age where marriage should be a concern; she needn’t be impatient.
It was fortunate the Empress didn’t mention this matter; if she did mention it to Su Yuan, their conversation wouldn’t be as cheerful as it was now.
The Third Prince who died in the novel made her feel very regrettable; although the living, breathing cousin sitting in front of her couldn’t be considered a beautiful man, she still felt relieved.
It’d been two years since Su Yuan came to this world; she’d met her cousin more than just a few times, hence she had a high degree of affection towards him.
He was a model prince; whether it was his virtue or abilities, absolutely nothing could be criticised. He was also an excellent cousin.
Now that such an excellent cousin treated her as his saviour… Nothing could possibly be better than this!
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
After knowing how A-yuan couldn’t stay idle all day, Song Yu specially gave her a waist token that allowed her to freely walk around the resort.
“There is a hunting ground outside of the resort. Although it isn’t hunting season yet, if (3) biao-mei is interested you can practice your hunting skills there; just let me know when, and I’ll arrange someone to take you there. There’s also a county a few miles away; though it isn’t prosperous, it has a good scenery…”
This enthusiastic biao-ge… Even the term ‘considerate’ couldn’t be used to describe him now. Su Yuan began to think that maybe she underestimated the influence of this matter.
Su Yuan didn’t want his favours wasted on such trivial things, so she refused several times; however, in terms of eloquence, she just couldn’t compare to her cousin. How worthy of the Third Prince praised by all ministers! She couldn’t find an adequate reason for her refusals and he appeared so excited that she had no choice but to accept the waist token.
The Empress was smiling as she watched the pair; the more she looked, the more she found them suitable for each other. There was a 4 year difference between them – Yu-er was only fifteen this year. She’d originally planned on hosting a talent show next year to find the right lady for him to marry, but delaying it a few more years was okay too; it was fine to wait a bit longer.
In the presence of her niece, the Empress said nothing; after all, she was only an eleven-year-old girl who was still yet to understand things properly. But after her niece left, the Empress voiced her thoughts out to her son.
“There’s not a big age gap between the two of you, and marriage between cousins has been a common event since ancient times. In addition, she saved your life. (4) Mu-hou is thinking how, in the future, I’d also like to hear your biao-mei call me mu-hou. Yu-er, what do you think?”
Childhood sweethearts, gratitude from one saving the other, plus the kinship between them would make no marriage more appropriate than this one.
Yu-er didn’t have an opinion on this; compared to his not-yet-developed biao-mei, the Third Prince was still older by a few years, and was more mature than the rest of his peers. Even though he hadn’t thought about marrying a wife or concubine, he already had a thorough understanding of the relationship between a man and woman.
“Mu-hou’s idea is good, but this arrangement may not be suitable for biao-mei. Biao-mei has a candid and lively temperament, so she wouldn’t want to be constrained. There are many rules in the imperial family… It’s unsuitable for her. (5) Er-chen can be a good cousin, but may not become a good husband; biao-mei should find a husband suitable for her. With mu-hou and er-chen watching over her, she definitely won’t be bullied.”
To live a happy and comfortable life was better than marrying him.
For as long as he could remember, Song Yu, as the Empress’ son, knew that he was different from his brothers. His goal was to inherit his father’s throne, but in truth, it was more than just that. He wanted to be better than his father; better than his ancestors; better than any Emperor known in history.
Love between a man and woman was a mere display, like icing on a cake. For an Emperor, passion was better than infatuation, ruthlessness was better than passion. He had something more important stored in his heart; he naturally wouldn’t want to place efforts on a romantic relationship between a man and a woman.
He didn’t know whether he’d have survived the journey to the resort without his biao-mei’s warning, but he was grateful, which gave him further reason to not marry her; although he respected his biao-mei, he wouldn’t be able to give her the feelings a wife deserved.
The Empress looked at her son in a daze; she’d always been a calm person, yet at this moment she didn’t know what to say. The most respected positions in the world would never surpass that of an Emperor and Empress’. Back then, the reason why she married the Crown Prince, now the current Emperor, was also for the honour that came with it.
To be the most respected woman in the world, a lady must go from becoming a Crown Princess to the Empress, then finally the Empress Dowager; this was something all women longed for.
So how was it that, in her son’s perspective, becoming an Empress wasn’t the best choice?
“It’s too early to say that; we haven’t even asked her yet, so how would you know if A-yuan’s willing or not?”
It was true her son was unwilling, even though he appeared to be taking her niece’s feelings into consideration, but it was hard to see whether it was because of his own selfishness. The Su Family held the hereditary privilege of becoming the Duke of Qi; now there was an Empress that also came from that family. Yu-er may not be happy because of this.
It was difficult for an Emperor to put his children’s feelings before his own intentions.
The Third Prince was confident. “Then in two years, mu-hou may personally ask biao-mei.”
In accordance with his biao-mei’s temperament, she wouldn’t want to marry into the imperial family; what his mother regarded as a treasure may not be cherished by others.
But if his biao-mei really did agree in two years, then he wouldn’t refuse. He could afford her the position of Empress if she truly wanted it.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Without knowing what her aunt and biao-ge were thinking, Su Yuan appeared to be at ease; when the convoy stopped to rest, she even personally went to feed her (6) bay-horse.
This bay-horse was personally chosen by her. It was a tribute to Great Yan from a foreign tribe – the world’s best species of horses. Only ten were delivered the year before the last, so even Su Family only managed to get a single one. Father Su had allowed Su Yuan to choose. On that day, Su Yuan was the only lady there to pick a horse; a little girl with her hair still in double buns. Everyone let her choose first.
At that time, Su Yuan wasn’t able to differentiate between a good and bad horse; after all, no matter what, they were still the best – and rarest – species of horses in the world. Her criteria depended on the horse’s appearance, so among the ten horses she chose the most beautiful bay-horse and named it (7) Hongyun.
It was just that she was too young, so she didn’t get many opportunities to go out and ride her horse; the training ground in her residence was too small after all. It was unfortunate for the horse too; it couldn’t gallop in the mountains, forests or grasslands.
Su Yuan patted Hongyun’s head with some regret; this little rascal was still eating the hay and rubbing its head affectionately against her hand.
Su Zhidong watched enviously, yet she was too afraid of touching it, so she could only watch her sister with impatience. Her pair of staring dark eyes were extremely round – extremely (8) meng.
With one hand embracing the little rascal and the other holding onto its leg, Su Yuan slowly smoothed out Hongyun’s fur. “You have to be gentle. When you grow up, sister will gift you a pony so you can feed it and brush it yourself. After a while, it’ll become close to you.”
Even Su Zhidong’s breathing was light, her voice extremely low in fear of spooking the horse. “Then (9) Dong-lang’s pony has to be as beautiful as Hongyun.”
Right, another face-judger. Guess it’s true that birds of a feather flock together.
Su Yuan readily accepted. “Deal. When the time comes, I’ll take you to choose one.”
It was just a pony. She could afford to gift her even a thousand ponies, she’d definitely find one suitable for Dong-lang.
(1) Ben-gong – used by an Empress or a high-ranking concubine when referring to herself
(2) Yu-er – the suffix ‘er’ mean ‘son’
(3) Biao-mei – refers to a female cousin
(4) Mu-hou – refers to mothers in the imperial family. Used by the mother herself, or her children
(5) Er-chen – used by a prince of the imperial family when referring to himself in a conversation between him and his parents
(6) Bay horse – a horse with a reddish-brown coat
(7) Hongyun – the literal translation of this name is ‘red cloud’
(8) Meng – cute
(9) Dong-lang – the suffix ‘lang’ means ‘youth’. Refers to someone younger
