Chapter Five Can't Contain You

  Liu's mother saw Su Qingyun's furious appearance and hurriedly went to find Liu. Thinking of the grievances her daughter had suffered over the years, she burst into tears and couldn't help but kneel down on the steps.

  "Master, you must take charge for the young lady's sake." Lao Yiniang's voice was choked with sobs, tears streaming down her face. "Ever since Madam passed away and Liu Shi took over managing the household, she has become increasingly arrogant. Master, Miss has grown distant from you, and I've seen it all, my heart aching for them. You don't know that although Miss appears cold towards you on the surface, every time she sees you and returns, she can't help but shed tears. She still respects you in her heart. But in this big household, which servant doesn't curry favor with those in power and bully those who are not? They see that Miss is no longer favored by you, so they've started to look down on her."

  "Look at Miss's pale face, it's getting whiter and whiter. The people around her don't even need to mention the third-class maids in the Jin Garden who dare to show off their faces to Miss. The people around Liu Shi are even more so, they almost didn't scold Miss by name. Miss's monthly allowance was reduced from 40 taels of silver to less than 5 taels, and every day she wants to eat some better food, she has to take out the embroidered products she personally embroidered to bribe the kitchen maid! I'm heartbroken, I've seen Miss grow up, big miss is kind and filial, and Madame loved her dearly before she passed away. Seeing that the eldest daughter of the direct descent in the mansion is having such a miserable life, I really can't bear it. Miss is sensible, she knows you are busy every day, Master, and every time I want to tell you something, Miss always stops me, saying you don't like her, she worries that you will see her unhappy heart, and also fears disturbing your important work. Now that Master has seen Miss's situation, I can no longer remain silent, I will fight for Miss to get justice!"

  Su Qingyun was so angry that her hands were shaking, her eyes were bloodshot, and she was breathing rapidly!

  "Enough, nanny," Su Mu Jin hastily interrupted Nanny Liu's words. She supported Su Qing Yun's swaying body and forced a reassuring smile on her face. "Father shouldn't listen to nanny's nonsense. Who in the manor doesn't know that Father dotes on me the most? No one dares to show disrespect to his daughter." As she spoke, she frowned at Nanny Liu, "Nanny, you should go back to your room and rest for a while. I'll call Qiner later to clean up this place."

  Liu's wife wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, looking at Su Mu Jin with some anger and said, "Miss, Liu may be stingy and not close to you as the legitimate daughter, but Master is your biological father, not an outsider. If you have grievances, who can you tell if not him?"

  Su Qingyun felt that his daughter's fingers on his arm trembled suddenly, and he was choked with emotion for a long time, unable to speak.

  He thought of him, a seven-foot-tall man, holding the position of Taifu, and also being the principal of Qingfeng College. He was admired by many young scholars of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but he couldn't even protect his own eldest daughter. Thinking back to when he entered the brocade garden earlier, he hadn't seen any servants around. At that time, he was too joyful and didn't think much about it, but now thinking about it, it must be because the slaves and maids had long been accustomed to being lazy on weekdays, so they would be like this.

  Looking at his daughter's pale face, Su Qingyun remembered his wife's last words and felt ashamed, wishing he could tear a hole in the ground to crawl into.

  In just a short while, Shang Xiang had already led the way with a group of maidservants following behind her, like a multitude of stars surrounding the moon, to Liu's arrival at Brocade Garden.

  His gloomy eyes fell on Liu's body.

  But she saw her wearing a bright red dress with a large character for "good fortune" on it, over which was draped a deep blue jacket, and below that a magnificent red skirt with eight pleats, and a pair of embroidered shoes with jade inlays hidden under the hem. Her long hair was combed to shine like a mirror, styled in a low bun, and adorned with two golden phoenix hairpins on either side of her temples. Perhaps it was because she had spent the past two years living comfortably in the mansion, but the timid and reserved demeanor that used to be etched in his memory no longer existed, replaced by an unapproachable majesty and haughtiness that made it impossible for anyone to guess that she was once a concubine who had risen to become the madam!

  At that time, Rong'er was just a first-class imperial concubine and hadn't been so arrogant!

  In extreme anger, Su Qingyun suddenly calmed down instead.

  He stood with his hands behind him, looking down at Liu from a superior height, watching her walk towards him with a cold gaze.

  "I pay my respects to you, sir."

  Ms. Liu is over thirty years old but looks extremely well-preserved, and since she has never given birth to a child, whether from her face or figure, she looks like a woman under thirty.

  Today, Sheng Xiao went to Cuiliu Garden and told the old master that he was looking for her. She was overjoyed. The old master came from Jiangnan Yunzhou, and when he hadn't passed the imperial examination yet, he was just the eldest son of an ordinary family. She was his neighbor and knew that he was very good at his studies, so she had secretly admired him for a long time, thinking that he would have a bright future. However, Su Qingyun was focused on taking the imperial examination and never noticed her. She didn't give up, and when he went to take the exam, she took good care of the old lady in his family. Su Qingyun did not disappoint her expectations, and later he passed the imperial examination one by one, becoming a scholar, and then a high-ranking official.

  The Su family was just an ordinary household, where could they afford the expenses of one exam after another? She persuaded her father to deceive Su Qingyun and took the family's funds to give to the old lady. Su Qingyun won the title of Zhuangyuan, but married a girl from a prestigious family in Beijing, how could she be willing to stay behind? When Su Qingyun came to pick up the old lady to go to Beijing, she begged the old lady to take her along with her into the capital.

  Su Qingyun was very filial and obedient to her mother. She became a good person in the eyes of the old lady, who eventually took charge and raised her as a concubine.

  She has now become the legitimate wife of a first-class duke, but she has never been able to gain Su Qingyun's heart.

  Su Qingyun treated her neither good nor bad, giving her all the rights a wife should have, but the emotions she wanted were slow to respond. Now hearing that the old master was looking for her, she couldn't help but feel excited and dressed up carefully.

  Liu didn't hear the old master calling her to get up, and when she looked up in confusion, she saw Su Qingyun's gloomy eyes. Liu's heart skipped a beat at that moment.

  From her years of understanding Su Qingyun, this was an expression he only had when he was extremely angry.

  Her eyes rolled around and fell on the dishes on the stone table, and suddenly a flash of understanding appeared in her eyes.

  She narrowed her eyes and gave Su Mu Jin a cold glance, gritting her teeth in anger.

  She thought Su Mu Jin was just a pushover, being bullied by her all these years and never daring to speak out. It turned out that he had been waiting for her here, and even dared to frame her in front of the old master!

  His heart sank as he looked at Old Master's iron-green face. What was most important now was how to dispel Old Master's anger!

  Damn it, just wait and see how she'll be dealt with when the time comes!

  Thinking of this, Liu had an idea in his mind.

  She looked at Su Qingyun with a wronged expression, then glanced at the maid behind her. The old master was a person who attached great importance to family rules and would not embarrass his legitimate wife in front of others. Thinking of this, she said in a low voice, "Master, what's wrong with you? There are so many people watching!"

  Liu knew Su Qingyun, but he didn't know that in his heart, Chu Rou and her child were the most important. At this time, he was determined to avenge his beloved daughter, how could he care about these things!

  "A crowd of people are watching! Liu, you also know the word shame! My Su family's eldest daughter eats worse than your servant by your side!" Su Qingyun angrily swung her sleeve and swept two plates to the ground, sternly saying, "If you don't give me a reasonable explanation today, get out of Yunzhou! My Su family can't tolerate a woman with such an evil mind like yours!"