Chapter 3 Before the Storm

  As soon as the words fell, the door was already open, and a middle-aged man stepped into the room. The man wore a crimson official uniform with an embroidered pattern of a crane on his chest, his figure stood tall like a green pine tree, his face was handsome, and the corners of his eyes had a few fine lines that added to the elegance and composure that came with age. Just by looking at him, one could tell that when he was young, he must have been a dashing and extraordinary young nobleman.

  This middle-aged man was Su Mu Jin's father, Su Qing Yun. At this time, Su Qing Yun had a worried face and could see that he hadn't even changed out of his official uniform before rushing over, which showed how much he truly doted on Su Mu Jin.

  "Dad!"

  Su Mu Jin gazed at Su Qing Yun's approaching figure, her eyes slightly reddening. In her past life, she had become estranged from her father, always thinking that his taking of a stepmother as his wife was an unfilial act towards her mother, and so she never gave him a good face to look at, until finally the two could hardly afford to meet each other's eyes.

  It was only later that she realized just how wrong she had been.

  The Su family suffered a great change overnight, and the father was sentenced to death by the emperor for selling the imperial examination questions. At that time, Cong Er had already passed away, and she and Su Yunjin were the last flesh and blood of her mother. In order to save them, Father immediately married her off to Ning Wangfu and sent Su Yunjin away. As a married woman, she could escape disaster.

  At this moment, Su Qingyun was both excited and sad, this time she would never hurt her father's heart again.

  But upon hearing Su Mu Jin's call, Su Qing Yun was slightly startled.

  His footsteps paused slightly, and his eyes were also somewhat red.

  Since his beloved wife passed away, he took in a stepmother as the lady of the house and this eldest daughter had been calling him "father" in a distant tone, no longer willing to call him "dad". He thought that for the rest of his life, he would never hear her call him that again. Thinking of his late wife and looking at his daughter who looked almost identical to her mother, his eyes turned red. He quickly walked over to the bed and sat down. As soon as he sat down, his eldest daughter grasped his hand, and Su Qingyun's heart skipped a beat as he pulled his daughter into his arms.

  "Don't be afraid, little one. Father has already severely punished the aunt who was in charge of guarding the garden. This kind of thing will never happen again. In the past, it was all Father's fault. Because Father neglected you, those servants thought that you, the young lady, had lost favor and didn't take good care of you with all their heart and strength. It was all Father's fault."

  "Dad, don't you want me and Cong'er anymore?" Cong'er struggled out of Su Mu Jin's arms, her big eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Su Qing Yun. "Cong'er heard them say that Dad only loves Second Sister and Third Sister now, and doesn't want Eldest Sister and Cong'er anymore... it's because Cong'er caused Mom's death, so Dad dislikes Cong'er..."

  Xiao Cong's soft and gentle words made everyone in the house feel heartbroken.

  Su Qingyun's heart trembled violently as he heard his son say this, and his trembling fingers stroked Su Cong's eyebrows. This child was the bloodline that his wife had risked her life to leave behind for him; how could he possibly not want him?

  Regret is even more so at this time.

  He shouldn't have distanced himself from them all these years just because the children didn't understand, to the point where even the servants bullied them.

  If it weren't for the servants deceiving their masters, how could these rumors have reached the children's ears?

  And Liu, how has she been managing the household supplies all these years, and how has she been instructing the slaves in the house, that the legitimate young master and daughter have suffered such humiliation!

  "Foolish child, you and your elder sister are the apples of Father's eye. How could Father possibly not want you?" As he spoke, he tightly hugged little Cong'er in his arms. He rarely hugged this son of his, although he had married a new wife, but he didn't trust her to raise his son, so the child was always raised by the elderly lady. Watching his son grow up day by day, with features that increasingly resembled those of his wife, he truly loved him dearly. But the aloofness and coldness in the child's eyes made him not dare get close. Now, feeling Cong'er's small, soft body, Su Qingyun's heart almost turned to mush.

  "But Father never comes to see me and elder sister, Cong'er misses Father so much, Cong'er also knows that elder sister misses Father too. Cong'er has seen elder sister shouting 'Father' in her sleep, but Father still doesn't come."

  The pure and clear phoenix eyes of Xiao Cong'er were full of grievances.

  Su Qingyun's heart ached upon hearing this, and looking at his eldest daughter's pale and weak face, he felt even more guilty. Holding Cong'er in his arms, he stroked his cheek which had turned slightly red from grief, and all he could say was, "It's all Father's fault, it's Father who has wronged you..."

  Liu's nanny stood by the bed, watching this scene and couldn't help but redden her eyes. She was Su Mu Jin's personal nanny, Chu Rou, who had always seen the love between the old master and mistress. Seeing the mistress pass away, the old master and eldest daughter gradually drifted apart, she felt anxious but helpless with no solution. Now seeing the family seemingly reconciled, she was even more moved, using her handkerchief to wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes, Liu's nanny smiled lightly.

  "This is the way it should be, Master and young lady. If Madam were aware of this from beneath the spring, she would smile in satisfaction. Master, the young lady's body has not fully recovered yet, the imperial physician is still waiting outside, let him come in to examine her first."

  "Alright, alright, let's take a look at the patient first!"

  The curtain was put back in place, and Su Mu Jin only exposed one hand outside the curtain. The spring chill was sharp, and because Su Mu Jin's body had taken in cold air, two braziers of charcoal fire were lit inside the house, bringing a faint warmth that wafted up to her. Su Mu Jin felt her body go limp inch by inch, her consciousness gradually becoming hazy due to her physical discomfort and the intense emotional ups and downs she had experienced over the past day.

  When she woke up again, the light outside the window was like a glow, and the hazy light passing through the paper window illuminated the room. Suddenly, the entire Jin Garden looked warm, but Su Mu Jin felt no relief after waking up, instead feeling heavy-headed, lightheaded, sore-throated, and stuffy-nosed, becoming even more uncomfortable.

  "Miss, you're awake!" At this time, there was only Shuangxiao in the house. She sat on a stool facing the light and embroidering clothes. Hearing the noise and seeing that Su Mochen had woken up, she quickly put down her embroidery and carefully poured a cup of water to feed Su Mochen to drink. "Today, the doctor came to see you and prescribed some medicine for you. Master told me that when you wake up, I should give you a bowl of porridge to drink." Seeing that Su Mochen had only drunk half a cup of water and couldn't drink anymore, Shuangxiao smiled and took away the tea water, helped Su Mochen sit up, and set up a small table. "Miss, you haven't eaten anything all day. Yuxiang has already ordered the kitchen to prepare some food for you. You should eat something first. The doctor said that you can only take your medicine after finishing your meal. Wait a moment, I'll go get someone from the kitchen to bring over your food."

  "Food?!" Su Mo's eyes sparkled as she looked up at Sheng Xiao, "Where's Father?"

  "After the young lady fell asleep, the master instructed us not to disturb you. He accompanied you until around noon and saw that you still showed no signs of waking up, so he went to the outer study to attend to official business. The master also told me to inform him immediately if the young lady wakes up."

  When mentioning the old master, Sheng Xiao became somewhat agitated. The young lady had a proud temperament. In the two years since Madame Liu was promoted to be the mistress, she had just taken over the management of the household and was likely afraid of being criticized by others, so she took good care of Big Miss, Second Miss, and Little Master. As time passed, seeing that the old master didn't care about Big Miss and Little Master, she gradually became bolder and started to cut back on the young lady's monthly allowance. Sheng Xiao felt a pang in her heart, thinking that as the eldest daughter of the Grand Marshal of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the head of the Clear Wind Academy, the standard monthly allowance should be at least 40 taels of silver, but now not only was it not 40 taels, even 10 taels were not available.

  Perhaps because the girl never resisted or reported, Liu's courage grew bigger and bigger. Now she even refuses to make new clothes for the girl every season. The clothes in the girl's closet are still from two years ago. The girl is growing up now, how can she wear the clothes from two years ago? The sleeves are too short, the waist is too narrow, and the skirt can't even cover her embroidered shoes.

  Now the young lady and the old master are close, and Liu will certainly not dare to bully the young lady again in the future.

  "Xiao Xiao, go find Father and tell him that I haven't had a meal with him for a long time and I miss him very much."

  Shang Xiao was a clever and steady little maid, and after a moment's thought she understood Su Mu Jin's intention.

  Her eyes lit up instantly, "I'll go invite the master right away!"

  Digression

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