Female Lead Quits Chapter 8
Ever since diedie beat Third Uncle in a match in front of everyone, Su Rong hadn’t once come over; it was very peaceful.
Su Yuan added two hours of martial arts practice to her daily routine; not only that, but she also took her younger brother who hadn’t yet reached four years of age to practice with her together. This little guy was still young after all, so Su Yuan was just teaching him some superficial moves that looked nice; it was just to help him exercise his bones and muscles.
Father Su was in favour of this. It’d be best if his son chose to be a scholar in the future, but if he decided to be a martialist, he won’t object; if they taught him both literature and martial arts now, the child could choose which path he’d want to take in the future.
Father Su was very lenient towards his finally-obtained son and was the same towards his daughter; he only had a pair of son and daughter, so no matter how he loved and pampered them it was never too much.
Mother Su’s thoughts were pretty similar to Father Su’s. Her husband worked hard in a bureaucracy to earn a future, then what she had to do was buy many properties for her son and daughter and save silver taels so her two children won’t have any financial problems in the future.
Su Yuan followed her A-niang in learning the principles of household and finance management; these things were actually quite different from business management. One had to plan strategies at the back of their residence; the most important things to develop were insight and the ability to control.
What kind of business should be operated in what kind of place, what kind of person was suitable for what kind of role, in which areas could properties easily increase in value or need to be disposed of, where valuable properties could be bought at a cheap price…
She had to say, the reasons why A-niang could manage her household so well were one, because of her family background – nobody would dare fight against the Duke of Qi residence in terms of property; they’d try to make any process as smooth as possible – and two, because of A-niang’s own insight and abilities.
Business management favoured those with talent. A-niang was one of those extremely talented people; as far as she knew, her maternal grandmother wasn’t very good at managing money, nor was she the type of person who knew how to use money to earn more profit. Among all the officials’ wives in the Capital, A-niang’s household and financial management were the most commended.
Now Su Yuan had two manors and three stores belonging to her which she’d manage as a temporary practice; the monthly output would be her allowance. This way, the residence no longer needed to give her the monthly silver taels; those (1) three melons and two dates weren’t enough to even stick between her teeth.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Autumn departed and winter arrived; another year had passed.
A draft-list of names had already been reported; news came from the palace that the draft’s main purpose was to choose a Crown Princess for the Crown Prince, not for adding more people to the harem.
Either way, Su Yuan hadn’t passed the age of twelve after the New Year and wasn’t eligible for it, so her name naturally wasn’t on the list. Even if she was at the eligible age, her family never planned on getting her involved with this; the Empress and Crown Prince were also clear on this matter.
Since Su Yuan wasn’t even at the age of drafting, then the other girls in the Duke of Qi residence were even less eligible for it.
How many families aimed for the Eastern Palace, especially for the title of Crown Princess? But since the palace decided to pick the Crown Princess from the draft, that meant the Duke of Qi residence’s Eldest Young Lady wasn’t going to enter the Eastern Palace; otherwise, with her background, even if she married into the imperial family she wouldn’t become a concubine.
So Su Yuan found her relationship with others had become much better; every now and then she’d receive invitations to attend poetry groups, to enjoy the plum blossoms and play with the snow, to taste tea… There were invitations to go everywhere.
During the New Year’s banquet at the palace, the male lead who she hadn’t met face-to-face for a very long time seemed to become more polite.
He was, after all, a prince – even if he was to fawn over someone he wouldn’t keep following behind a maiden – so he secretly assigned someone to send her a snack, whenever he guessed her tea was cold he sent someone to change it, and intentionally or otherwise glanced at the maiden with gentle eyes and a smile on his face; with a presentable leather bag, in addition to his princely bearing and identity, he presented himself as such.
If she really was just a teenage girl, it’d be hard not to be moved.
Su Yuan retracted her gaze from the Fifth Prince and held up her teacup, turning it absent-mindedly.
Since their return from the summer resort, she already hadn’t seen the Fifth Prince for a long time; she reckoned he thought she was going to enter the Eastern Palace, so he avoided doing anything that might arouse suspicion for a while.
After the draft-list came out, he presented his previous attitude once again. During the first few days, he even assigned someone to send things into her residence – the handiwork of the palace’s Imperial chefs. The desserts all suited her taste, and although it was hard to say how valuable they were, it showed his kindly feelings.
Su Yuan hadn’t used her own name to send the Fifth Prince a gift in return. Instead, she sent a gift in return using the Duke of Qi residence’s name. The gift she sent was completely different from the Fifth Prince’s – although more valuable, it wasn’t intimate.
She thought the Fifth Prince would dispel his ideas, never expecting he hadn’t given up. Su Yuan ignored him; if he wanted to fawn over her, then she’d let him fawn. Either way, his great efforts were useless.
She could actually understand the Fifth Prince’s thoughts. Her Crown Prince cousin’s position was stable; even if the Fifth Prince wasn’t conspiring to steal the position if he married the Crown Prince’s biological biao-mei, he’d obtain obvious benefits. In the future, when the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he wouldn’t be left behind; he could become one of the Capital’s most distinguished figures.
The Fifth Prince’s biological mother died early; if he didn’t know how to scheme, even if he could survive in the palace he wouldn’t live well.
Su Yuan didn’t mind the Fifth Prince’s schemes even if it involved her; she’d just not give him an answer. The Fifth Prince was smart; after he came to this realisation, he’d no longer waste his efforts.
It was much better dealing with smart people than stupid people. After all, Su Yuan wasn’t the original female lead; although she knew the novel’s content, she didn’t plan on spending a lifetime with the Fifth Prince. Whether this person was scum or not had nothing to do with her.
Even though the Duke of Qi was the Empress’ relative, he would only visit the palace for a banquet two or three times a year. Those eligible for the banquet, excluding the Duke of Qi and his wife, only left Su Changping’s family of four; the rest weren’t eligible to go.
But Su Changqing’s family, who had just quieted down, began making disturbances again before the New Year. They begged Duke of Qi to give the Second Young Lady their requested nanny, a second-grade nanny who was part of the Empress’ dowry and followed her since her marriage. Now, she could be considered a person of great reputation.
To invite such a nanny to guide the residence’s Second Young Lady, that family’s thoughts could be described as (2) ‘everyone on the street knew what was in Sima Zhao’s mind’.
Su Yuan had no intention of disturbing other people’s road from rags to riches. It’s just, thinking about Su Rong becoming a concubine after several years and her needing to bow in greeting each time they meet made her feel inevitably uncomfortable.
No wonder so many women wanted to marry into the Eastern Palace; who didn’t know about the strict palace rules? It was better to be outside the palace, where once could be free and happy; however, compared to the outside there truly were great opportunities for the future within the palace.
For her to suddenly receive so many invitations in such a short length of time was only because her biological aunt was the Empress, wasn’t it? Everyone intended to find her aunt and cousin’s preferences through her.
Ignoring that bit of discomfort in her heart, Su Yuan sent back gifts in return to the Fifth Prince using the residence’s name. She never responded to the Fifth Prince’s intentions; even when she went out to play and encountered him if she could avoid arousing suspicion she would.
However, he was obviously the type of person who wouldn’t change his mind easily. See now, when Su Yuan came out wanting to listen to a play, she was caught red-handed.
Many people who came to listen to the plays in the theatre were men; not many women came here. There were little to no girls here who hadn’t married yet. Although Su Yuan hadn’t married, she was dressed in men’s clothing and came here to listen to plays with a man’s identity; there were also fixed private rooms here.
Su Yuan was caught right here in one of the private rooms. The music outside didn’t stop and, from time to time, there was the sound of applause. Su Yuan didn’t let anyone close the door and windows. She invited the Fifth Prince to sit down, and he even personally poured her a cup of tea.
“Why did you come in person? If Your Highness has anything to say, please say it. I’m listening.“
It was time to have a good chat with the Fifth Prince anyway, lest he wasted time on her.
With such a happy and content appearance, she probably really forgot she was a lady and thought of herself as a man just by wearing men’s clothing.
“You have to know that if I can find you here, that means others can too. You watching plays and listening to music is nothing to me, but there are several elders who may not be able to bear it. There are very few elders in this world like uncle and auntie. As your cousin, I want to remind you that you’re completely allowed to invite the troupes to your residence, or even to permanently keep them in your residence. That’s much better than coming out and joining the bustle,” the Fifth Prince said mildly.
This biao-mei who had no blood relationship with him could be considered as rebelling against orthodoxy. Fortunately, she was still young. Even trees that’d grown crooked could be straightened, not to mention people.
Su Yuan blinked with discomfort. With her current relationship with the Fifth Prince, there was no need for him to worry about this.
“It can’t be you personally came here just to tell me this, right?” Su Yuan stiffly stared at the other. “I am a person with no ambition, so I do things according to my own wishes and don’t think too much about it. The main thing I like to picture when listening to plays here is the atmosphere. If I really did set up the troupe in my residence, I’ll no longer have that feeling. It might be difficult for Your Highness to understand, but we’ve always been two kinds of people; in the future, we’ll also be living two kinds of lives. I thank Your Highness for your kindness, but there’s truly no point in discussing these matters.”
The Fifth Prince was neither her biological cousin nor her fiance; if she really had to describe their relationship it’d be awkward more than anything else. The Emperor’s concubine had no blood relationship with her at all.
The Fifth Prince wasn’t the type who didn’t understand words; it was exactly because he understood these words that he felt angry. This person clearly didn’t want to enter the Eastern Palace, but it appeared as if she didn’t look up at him either.
Su Changping wasn’t someone who liked to use his common sense – he was either the most-behaved or the worst scoundrel.
A girl resembled their father – Su Yuan and Su Changping really were blood-related; both of them carried a rogue manner when speaking.
“Alright. Since biao-mei said it like that, then (3) ben-huangzi won’t remain to argue needlessly. Enjoy watching the play.”
Watching plays and listening to music, admiring the flowers and playing with birds, according to the people he sent over, this person even disguised herself and visited the gambling house – how was this a noble lady? She was clearly a good-for-nothing, hedonistic son of rich parents. He wanted to see just what kind of person Su Yuan could marry in the future.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
March arrived, bringing peach blossoms in full bloom. The much-anticipated draft had also opened the curtains. Outside the palace, there were many discussions on who the Crown Princess was; even Su Yuan discussed with her A-niang who would be chosen to become her cousin’s Crown Princess. Would it be Prime Minister Zuo’s eldest granddaughter, Duke Lu’s youngest daughter born from the first wife, or would it be someone chosen from the noble Jiangnan family…?
There were only so many candidates who could become the Crown Princess. It was said there was a shop that even set up a betting match for this, but whoever won or lost had to be decided after the drafting’s completion; after the title had been conferred.
But just as the drafting proceeded with daunted and vigorous momentum, another title was conferred in advance; not of the Eastern Palace’s Crown Princess, but of a (4) princess.
Duke of Qi’s legitimate heir’s daughter, Su Yuan, was conferred as a first-grade princess, titled Anle.
Su Yuan herself was stunned; before she received the imperial decree, nobody had disclosed this information to her in advance. Looking at diedie and A-niang’s expressions, they must’ve also just known about it.
(5) Princess Anle; this title was actually very suitable. From the very start, she never wished for riches or glory – she just asked for peace and happiness in this lifetime.
Although the palace’s imperial decree was, designated by name, for Su Yuan, everyone in the Duke’s residence came over to receive it, including the Duke and his wife.
Although the Duke of Qi didn’t like the way his eldest son handled things, a princess was born from their Su Family; it was clear the heavens favoured them. As the head of the family, he was naturally happy – this must’ve been His Majesty’s reward to his wife.
Those rebellious thieves caught in Yuxi Mountains were the result of his wife’s dream; because she dreamt the Crown Prince getting attacked in Yuxi Mountains, the court could arrest them in advance.
Not many people knew about this and the Emperor never bestowed a reward for this; turned out it was left for this.
Right, his wife was already the highest-grade Duke’s wife, there was nothing more to bestow her. Even if she was to be rewarded, how could antiquities and jade possibly compare to a title? The princess title was usually for a Crown Prince’s daughter and only a (6) Prince’s daughter born from the first wife could be granted it. Since the founding of this dynasty, this was the first time someone with a different surname became a Princess; not to mention how excellent the meaning of ‘Anle’ was.
Such a reward was worthy of his wife’s contributions.
The only ones who knew of the truth were the father-daughter pair Su Changping and Su Yuan – even Mother Su didn’t know – so those who were more informed thought Su Yuan was conferred with this title due to Duke of Qi’s wife whilst those who were uninformed (for example, Su Changfeng’s family) could only believe it was the Empress’ contributions.
After all, Su Yuan was the legitimate heir’s only daughter whilst the remaining ladies had more distant relationships with the Empress.
Nothing about this could cause anger from unfairness. Some people were born to be prince or princesses, some people were born to be beggars; everything was predestined. They were inferior to the top but superior to the bottom.
Since she was a first-grade princess, that meant even if she was to enter the palace unless the other was a first-grade wife or concubine, she didn’t need to greet others with courtesy.
Su Yuan was also impatient with those courtesies; since she could follow less, then this was a good thing.
“Sitting in a princess’ position isn’t as simple as greeting people with less courtesy.” Mother Su wasn’t sure whether to cry or laugh as she continued, “Let’s not talk about anything else. Marriage itself could bring many benefits. However, even though we can choose people at will, even if you’re married off there’s a big difference between whether you have a title or not. Even a mother-in-law cannot carry herself with arrogance if your grade is higher than hers – although slightly embarrassing, she can only carefully and discreetly deal with you; she won’t dare act impressive before you. But you also have to remember, you cannot rely on bullying others. It’d be best if you can live harmoniously with the elders and the rest of the family.”
Even if she couldn’t, nobody could bully her.
To bring up the matter of marriage, the just-turned twelve Su Yuan couldn’t adapt. Even if people of this era talked about marriage between a man and woman at a relatively early age, they still had to wait until they’ve reached the (7) hairpin age, right?
She didn’t have any longings for marriage nor did she hold too many expectations for the relationship between a man and a woman; although her parents in this life were enviably affectionate, her parents’ marriage from her previous life was a complete mess. She even planned to die alone back then, though she didn’t have that kind of idea for this life anymore.
The world wouldn’t allow it; unless she became a nun, it’d be impossible for her to stay as an unmarried old lady in the residence. Rather than becoming a nun and staying in a temple for an entire lifetime – having to sneak around just to eat a meat dish – she’d rather have a normal marriage.
With such a large range of options, she’d find a suitable one sooner or later, right?
Not all men in the world were crooked; even if she did make an error of judgement, it wasn’t like she couldn’t divorce. If she couldn’t successfully divorce him, then she’d send him to become a eunuch. If neither was to succeed, then it was never too late to become a nun.
(1) Three melons and two dates – meaning small trifles
(2) ‘Everyone on the street knew what was in Sima Zhao’s mind’ – a Chinese idiom (original in present tense) referring to how a person’s supposed ‘hidden’ intent (Sima Zhao’s intent was to usurp the throne) is so well-known it’s not hidden anymore.
(3) Ben-huangzi – the same ‘ben’ as ‘ben-gong’, this term is used by princes (‘皇子’ huangzi) when referring to themselves
(4) Princess – ‘郡主’ (jun zhu) could be translated as ‘infanta’, a term originating from Spain and Portugal that means ‘daughter of the ruling monarch’
(5) Princess Anle – the reason why Su Yuan says this title was suitable is because 安乐 means ‘peace and happiness’
(6) Prince – the prince used here is not ‘huangzi’ but ‘王爷’ (wang-ye) a title used for the Emperor’s brothers
(7) Hairpin age – in Ancient China, when a girl reaches fifteen years of age she’d take part in a rite of passage known as the ‘hairpin initiation’, a coming-of-age ceremony. This is because children didn’t tend to use hairpins, and instead styled their hair in braids.
