Female Lead Quits Chapter 6
Anshan Temple was just a small temple on the Capital’s outskirts; it didn’t take up too large a space, and there weren’t any famous monks that sat there, so the incenses weren’t very exuberant.
Su Yuan went to Anshan Temple for its peaceful scenery. There were very few monks and pilgrims at the temple, but everything that should be there was there and the view wasn’t bad; their vegetarian foods were also quite tasteful. There was a maple forest at the back of the mountain that was very calming and quiet within.
She came out to have fun, so she naturally wouldn’t go to places she hadn’t been before; she’d gone around the Capital so many times she’d already felt bored by it.
Following Su Yuan were a few guards her diedie arranged. It wasn’t her diedie’s day off today, so he naturally couldn’t come along; A-niang was a believer of Jinhua Temple, so she typically didn’t go to other temples.
As for Dong-lang, despite the little rascal being barely four years old, he’d already awoken from ignorance and was learning from the gentlemen; his time was even tighter than Su Yuan’s.
Su Yuan came out purely for fun; she didn’t make an appointment with friends, nor was she here to collect folk songs and paint. Only after walking around Anshan Temple and having tasted the popular vegetarian foods here did she finally ride away.
After wandering around the Capital, she began looking for fun places outside the Capital; let’s not mention outsiders, even Mother Su couldn’t quite understand her daughter.
She’d encountered mischievous little girls who firstly didn’t like doing homework but found joy in going out for feasts, and secondly would secretly read and write storybooks; she’d also encountered mischievous little boys who liked to hang out with bad company, to watch excitements, to go wherever there were crowds of people and drill themselves wherever there were noise…
They were all different from her daughter. Although A-yuan liked to go out and play, she was very self-disciplined in martial arts, reading and calligraphy – everyday, she’d devote a period of time to practice. Even during the two days she went out for fun, she’d definitely make up for the homework she’d missed when she came back at night.
In addition, A-yuan wasn’t the type to follow excitement, nor was she very keen on attending banquets; she didn’t like making appointments with her girls around her age, and although she liked wandering around the bustling markets, she also liked visiting the quiet mountains and ancient forests.
She was very different from Mother Su when she was younger, and different from her husband; although her husband wasn’t one to use his common sense, he didn’t like to go out and instead preferred to stay at home.
As for the other elderly people at home, Mother Su didn’t quite understand them; however, she did know a thing or two about her sister-in-law – or the current Empress – and noticed her temperament to be even more different from her daughter.
When the Empress was still in the harem, she had a very big reputation for being both a beautiful and talented woman; relying on these two qualities, in addition to her background, nobody from the circle of ladies within the Capital could compete against her for first place.
Her daughter’s only similarity with the Empress would be her appearance. Of course, this didn’t mean the aunt-niece pair looked the same; they just had one common feature – beauty.
The Empress’ appearance was of a bright beauty, whilst her daughter’s appearance held more of a heroic and androgynous image; in addition to her preference for wearing men’s clothing, anyone who wasn’t familiar with her would typically not realise she was a woman disguised as a man.
No matter if looks or temperament, this daughter of hers must’ve been reincarnated into the wrong body; if she was a boy, the Duke of Qi residence would definitely be trampled by matchmakers in the future.
It wasn’t like her daughter wouldn’t be able to get married off; it was just, in comparison, as a girl she’d have to suffer more.
Mother Su typically didn’t restrain her daughter as she knew how responsible this child was; although she liked to go out and play, all the places she went to were proper and decent, unlike those red light districts some mischievous kids liked to make their way into even at such young ages.
Although A-yuan loved fun, she wasn’t a troublemaker – nor was she someone with no sense of propriety.
As a mother, of course she’d see her daughter as perfect; even if she did find any flaws, she’d be able to find reasons to justify them. However, the same couldn’t be said for outsiders. Sometimes, bones could even be picked out from eggs – moreover, Su Yuan truly was different from the flaunting lady-like women seen nowadays.
Wife Sun had always felt the Eldest Young Lady to be displeasing to the eye; after the Crown Prince’s blatant difference in treatment towards her, she felt even more displeased.
They all had Su blood running through their veins. The old grandma had a dream and saved the Crown Prince, but this gratitude should’ve belonged to the entire Duke of Qi residence – how could it solely belong to Su Changping’s family? And the one who received the biggest advantage even turned out to be that girl Su Yuan.
No matter how she thought about it, she felt angry.
The angry Wife Sun couldn’t control the Crown Prince; even if she was to work hard, she could only place her efforts on her daughter and mother-in-law.
She got her daughter to interact more with the Eldest Young Lady, who’d go out every now and then without the legitimate heir and his wife caring. It was said the Crown Prince gave her a waist token – who could possibly believe there’s nothing fishy going on? She was definitely going out to meet with the Crown Prince. If her own daughter could go out with the Eldest Young Lady to meet with the Crown Prince, they’re bound to gradually grow feelings for each other.
Besides, although her mother-in-law was the earnest wife of Duke of Qi, she wasn’t bothered to put in the effort for her; her husband wasn’t born from this woman’s womb, so, according to standards, she just simply wasn’t her true daughter-in-law. The only person she’d bother putting effort into taking care of was Concubine Wu; after all, she was the person who gave birth to her husband.
Concubine Wu wasn’t at all a shrewd person; not only that, she could also be considered quite foolish. Wife Sun and Concubine Wu have interacted with each other quite a bit, so she knew this person was easy to deceive and knew the right methods into deceiving her. She couldn’t speak to her in a straightforward manner; rather, she had to speak using more poetic wording.
“The Second Lady’s has grown up right before our eyes. People like us have to prepare early, especially for our daughter’s marriage; if all the good men are snatched by others, then there wouldn’t be any good ones remaining.”
Before Wife Sun began saying this, she’d already dismissed all the servants.
“As parents, it’s fine as long as you understand all this. Just prepare whatever you need to prepare.”
What else could Concubine Wu say? She was of no help when it came to these kinds of matters. Anything to do with the women of this residence relied on Duke of Qi’s wife; even the Duke of Qi himself probably wasn’t able to understand such things.
Her daughter-in-law came to the wrong place; rather than coming to her, it would’ve been better to go to the Duke of Qi’s wife.
Wife Sun wore an expression of sadness. “If my husband and I had the ability to do so, then I wouldn’t be here begging for your help today. As you know, many noble families are very particular. I’d rather marry my daughter to someone with a lower family background than having her marry someone as a high-ranked concubine. The number of connections my husband and I have are limited – it’s incomparable to the legitimate heir and his wife’s. The Eldest Young Lady and Second Young Lady are only one year apart; if these two sisters could get close to each other, then we can let (1) Madam take them two out to future banquets together, which would also lessen our concern for marriage.”
Rong’er came out from her womb, so she was the daughter of a first wife, but her husband came out from Concubine Wu’s womb, so he was a bastard son.
A bastard son’s daughter of a first wife; no matter how one looked at it, this identity was slightly embarrassing.
There was no sign of embarrassment on the person speaking, but the person listening was at a loss.
Aunt Wu’s sight was directed to the floor. Her background not only held back her son, but also held back her granddaughter and several grandsons – those covered in mud from the very beginning would never be able to cleanse themselves for this lifetime.
“Since we all live in one residence, then just let Rong’er go to the Eldest Young Lady’s place a bit more. They’re still children, so a bond would gradually grow.”
“That’s easier said than done.” Wife Sun spoke with slight irritation. “The other is Duke of Qi’s eldest granddaughter, and her (2) eyes are about to grow on her forehead; Rong’er has already gone to her so many times, yet always came back rejected. You should also let Father Duke take care of this matter. They’re both sisters of the same family, so even if both sides want to be unpleasant to each other they have to wait until their marriage to do so. If we want them to support each other, we have to let them develop a good relationship now – it’ll be good for both of them.”
Let Father Duke take care of this matter? Concubine Wu opened her mouth, yet no sound came out; she didn’t refuse nor agree.
“For women, marriage is a major event in their lifetime. I’m not expecting Rong’er to find someone with a high social status, but she should be able to find herself presentable at all times in the future. I have no abilities and have too little connections. All those noble young men out there appear bright and neat, but who knows what they’re truly like on the inside. With her status and connections, Madam must know much more inside information. The relationship between our two families hasn’t been very good, so I’m not expecting my relationship with Madam to improve, but the Eldest Young Lady and Second Young Lady are still young; if they can study together and play together, then a sisterly relationship can still be cultivated between them.”
After so many words, Wife Sun came to find Concubine Wu just for Father Duke to take action and arrange the Eldest Young Lady and Second Young Lady to study together.
Don’t look at how the legitimate heir and his wife never discipline the Eldest Young Lady, all the female gentlemen they hired to teach her were all first-class in the Capital; if her Rong-er was to study with her, she definitely won’t suffer.
“If Madam could offer some advice on family management for Rong’er, that would be even better; that would be something Rong’er could benefit from for life. I must trouble Concubine Wu with discussing this with Father Duke. We’re all one family. When Rong’er becomes mature, she’d definitely become a big help for the Eldest Young Lady in the future.”
Everyone in the residence knew how well Madam was with money; if Rong’er could learn even half of her methods, she’d definitely have no financial difficulties in the future.
Concubine Wu didn’t like requesting things from the Duke, but this matter was different from other matters; this was a major affair in a young lady’s life. In addition, Wife Sun was right – the juniors are still young, so as long as they interacted with each other they’d definitely develop a good relationship.
(3) One couldn’t write ‘Su’ with just one stroke; they were all Duke of Qi’s descendants, so it’d be better for them to support each other in the future rather than relying on outsiders.
“I’ll give it a try not just for the Second Young Lady, but also for her younger brothers. As a mother, since you’re doing all this for your children then you have to interact with the other family a bit more. Although we’re all family, there are still distinctions between higher and lower statuses, so don’t always put on airs.”
Wife Sun didn’t like to listen to such words. Su Changping was just allowed to inherit a title; if it wasn’t because Madam gave birth to a son a few years ago and hadn’t yet adopted one of her sons, the title would’ve definitely been handed to one of her sons.
Something she once thought to be at her fingertips was now held tightly in another’s hands; other than praying for an accident to happen upon Madam’s baby, Wife Sun couldn’t do anything else.
The Duke of Qi’s Residence used to have his wife as the stewardess, then it became Madam; Concubine Wu couldn’t even manage her own courtyard during her earlier years, let alone assigning manpower for her cause.
She wanted to give her son an opportunity to fight for his future, but never had the chance to do so.
Wife Sun returned to her place straight after confessing her thoughts of Concubine Wu. Although Concubine Wu had no talent in other aspects, she was very skilled in obtaining the Duke’s favour. She was already at such an age, yet she could still hook the other’s heart into visiting once every while.
(1) Madam – refers to Mother Su
(2) Eyes are about to grow on her forehead – she has metaphorically bad vision
(3) One couldn’t write ‘Su’ with one stroke – if two people are from one family, they shouldn’t rely on outsiders
T/N: Su Zhidong is actually a boy (and is Su Yuan’s younger brother), but because the author didn’t put in any pronouns indicating him to be a boy, nor did she specifically say he was he brother (and because of the way he was described) I assumed that ‘he’ was a ‘she’. I’m sorry for the mistake ^^’
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