Chapter Twenty-Four: The Secret of That Year

  "No!" Aunt Li shook her head and gently bit her lip. "Now the only one who can help Third Sister is Eldest Sister!"

  Su Mojin smiled but didn't speak.

  Li Yiniang became somewhat anxious, losing her previous calm and composure. She "thudded" to her knees in front of Su Mochen, her eyes brimming with tears, "Please, Big Miss, save Third Miss!"

  Su Mojin hastily stood up, making way for the grand ceremony, and furrowed her brow, saying, "Auntie, what are you doing? If there's something to say, just say it properly."

  "Yun'er is already eleven years old this year, and in an ordinary family, she would have been betrothed long ago. However, the mistress doesn't care about Yun'er at all. Usually, Yun'er doesn't stand out in the manor, and the old lady doesn't bother with her either." She paused, her tone somewhat melancholic, "The master is neither strict nor affectionate towards Yun'er, and I really have no other choice but to seek help from you, Big Miss."

  Su Mojin let out a soft sigh and remained silent for a long time.

  In the Great Zhou Dynasty, any family with a good reputation would arrange marriages early on. Even after the engagement was settled, they would still need to discuss it for three to five years. These were all common practices! As Su Yunjin was born out of wedlock, she had to be even more careful and was somehow neither high nor low in status.

  It's just that she has always followed her parents' orders and listened to matchmakers' words, these things are fundamentally not something she can help with.

  She let out a soft sigh, bent down to help Li Niang get up, "I can understand the love and care you have for Sanmei, but this matter is indeed not something Jin'er can help with. Even if Liu Shi has made mistakes, she is now the mistress of the house, and as such, she should be in charge of the children's marriages. Now that I'm at odds with her, even if she gives her opinion, it will only be counterproductive."

  Madam Li listened as Su Mu Jin repeatedly referred to his wife as Liu Shi in front of her, and her eyes flickered slightly.

  "I understand all of this!" She stood up, sobbing, "I didn't plan on letting the eldest miss help with third miss's marriage either. It's just that third miss is getting older and has never left the estate to see the world. I heard that one of these days is the birthday of the Ning Wangfei, so I knew the eldest miss would definitely go, so I asked the eldest miss to ask Master to take third miss along to broaden her horizons!"

  Su Mu's eyes flashed, seemingly smiling yet not quite, as she gazed at Li Niang, "Niang's information is indeed well-informed!"

  "I don't need to be told, I know Master's heart belongs only to the first wife. I have no expectation of entering his eyes, but Third Miss has a hard life. As long as she can marry into a good family, I will spare no effort! Even if it means risking my own life!" Li Shiniang was an intelligent person and knew that in order to cooperate with Su Mochen, she had to show sincerity. She wiped away her tears and pulled out a thick stack of silver bills from her wide sleeves, handing them over to Su Mochen. Seeing the flicker in Su Mochen's eyes, she quickly explained, "Big Miss is someone who does big things, but it's simply impossible to get money from the public funds. With Liu's stingy personality, even though she won't be stingy with Big Miss's monthly allowance after today's lesson, she won't give her a single extra cent. Big Miss will be coming of age in two years, and if she doesn't save some private money now, she'll only be left empty-handed when she marries into another family."

  Su Mojin's gaze fell on the stack of silver notes, each with a denomination of 100 taels, and they were as thick as two fingers put together. It was estimated that there were at least 7 or 8 thousand taels.

  Two taels of silver are enough for a family of four to live on for a year and a half, yet she can take out so much silver.

  No wonder Father Liu rarely paid attention to her, but under such a stingy situation, she could still live very comfortably!

  However, she had no intention of marrying into the Ning Wang Fu.

  In this life, she vowed never to have anything to do with Ning Yu again!

  Silver, she indeed needs it, but Li Niang has a request for her, and she can't just agree so easily.

  She couldn't help but reveal a deep thought, and after a moment, she shook her head again, pushing the silver ticket to Li Niang. "Niang, please go back, you should also know that I almost didn't make it out of Chunhui Garden today. In this situation where I can barely protect myself, cooperating with you again will only bring more resentment from Liu's family..."

  Madam Li looked at Su Mu Jin, who was still unmoved despite the temptation of so many silver tickets. She suddenly became anxious and softly called out, "Big Miss..." Seeing that Su Mu Jin had turned her back, she remembered that Su Yun Jin, who had not yet been betrothed, was once again kneeling on the ground. This time, she truly shed tears and sorrowfully said, "Big Miss, Liu Shi has long regarded you as a thorn in her eye and a stab to her heart. It is said that the enemy of one's enemy is a friend. As long as I can find a good marriage for Third Miss, I am willing to obey your orders from now on and sacrifice my life if necessary!"

  She wasn't without a plan, but Liu's family was an ungrateful master, taking her silver but never putting her in their heart.

  The second daughter-in-law, however, was a proud and arrogant person who didn't take Yu'er, the illegitimate younger sister, seriously at all. The old lady was also concerned about saving face, and on normal days when Yu'er went to pay her respects, she wouldn't even give Yu'er a good expression, let alone help Yu'er find a marriage.

  Now the old master has gotten close to the eldest girl, as long as the eldest girl is willing to get close to Rong'er, with the old master's doting on the eldest girl, as long as the eldest girl speaks up, the old master will surely take Rong'er's marriage to heart. Even if Madame Liu is the mistress of the house, she can't go against the old master's wishes, right?!

  Watching Yun'er grow up day by day, becoming more and more elegant, how can she not be anxious? Looking at Su Mu Jin's calm face, her last hope was dashed, and she couldn't help but feel a surge of sorrow.

  Covering her face and sobbing uncontrollably, her voice was choked with emotion and she couldn't speak a word.

  Su Mojin knew that one couldn't push people too hard.

  She turned around and looked at Li's mother-in-law, her heart softened. If her own mother were still alive, she would have been able to do the same for her happiness.

  Madam Li saw the disturbance in Su Mu's eyes at a glance.

  She took two steps forward on her knees, grasped Su Mojin's hem, as if she had grasped the last straw to save her life. A hint of determination appeared in her eyes.

  She spoke in a very low voice, hoarsely saying, "As long as the eldest daughter is willing to help the third daughter, I will tell the eldest daughter a secret."

  Su Mu's eyes were calm and unruffled.

  "Doesn't the eldest miss want to know why the first wife had a hemorrhage in the first place?!"

  Su Mo's expression changed suddenly, and he said in a stern voice, "What do you mean by this?!"

  "I entered the mansion a year later than Liu, when I arrived, the first wife had already given birth to Big Sister and Second Sister. The master and his first wife were deeply in love, enviable to all. If it weren't for her being injured during the birth of Second Sister, she wouldn't have tearfully agreed to let the master take me as a concubine under pressure from Old Madam!"

  She gazed at Su Mu Jin's profound and unfathomable expression, continuing, "I don't know why Madam was injured when giving birth to Second Miss, but later when entering the manor, I personally saw Madam hemorrhage while giving birth to Young Master! At that time, Liu Shi had already entered the manor but didn't have any children. Did you never suspect that Madam's hemorrhage was related to Liu Shi?!"

  Digression

  Recommend a friend Tian Shang Lan Jin's new article "The Eldest Daughter of the High Gate", um... not the first time I've recommended this article, the author's writing is very good, everyone likes it and must collect comments.

  By the way, I'll ask for a message from you guys. Without messages, there's no motivation to write. Do you guys still want the male lead to come out and have some fun?