Chapter 176 Little Thing

Su Wan looked at her delicate face, filled with sincerity, and faintly tinged with a trace of anxiety, as if she were afraid Su Wan wouldn’t choose her. Her eyes gradually welled up with mist, making her look pitiful.

“You’re eating so little—do you even have the strength to work?” Su Wan thought of Gu Baozhu. When she had just crossed over, Gu Baozhu also said she ate little and would work hard to earn money for her. “You need to eat more so that you can serve others better.”

Xiao Yue’s eyes widened, still in a daze, as she watched Su Wan walk away. A flash of frustration crossed her eyes, and she lowered her head in dejection.

Her family was poor, and her parents valued boys over girls. They resented her for eating too much and sold her off.

No matter how hard she tried to figure it out, she couldn’t understand why a master would dislike her for eating too little.

Su Wan walked on and looked at the next person, a thin, small boy around thirteen or fourteen years old, whose eyes appeared very sharp.

Seeing Su Wan standing in front of him, he grinned and said, “Lady, my name is Chuyi. I can handle all the dirty and hard work. Most importantly, I’m loyal and will never betray my master.”

Su Wan smiled and then picked another person, a composed and dignified woman named Cuilan.

“Xiao Yue will take care of the Third Young Lady, Chuyi will attend to the Second Young Master, and Cuilan will look after the Old Lady. If you all serve diligently, I will not treat you unfairly. When the time comes for you to marry, I will prepare dowries and betrothal gifts for you.”

Xiao Yue and Chuyi were in disbelief, nearly jumping up—they had been chosen!

“Lady, we will certainly take good care of our masters!” The three of them immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

Su Wan then picked two older individuals specifically to handle the laundry work.

At that moment, Xiao Tao returned with a few others. 

They placed the vegetarian dishes they had prepared one by one in front of Su Wan.

Xiao Tao handed Su Wan a bowl and chopsticks.

Su Wan tasted each dish, and raised her eyebrows slightly—the flavors were quite good.

Granny Cao, observing Su Wan’s expression from the side, praised, “All of them have learned cooking from someone and passed my tests before being selected and sent here to you.”

Su Wan put down her chopsticks and took a sip of tea to cleanse her palate. “The three of you can stay.”

Granny Cao smiled so broadly that she couldn’t close her mouth. “Lady, would you like to pick any more?”

“No need,” Su Wan said, having selected a total of twelve people. “Calculate how much money that will be.”

“Lady, the people I’ve chosen for you are all good-looking, hardworking, and capable of doing all kinds of tasks. They also each have a special skill, so their price is a bit higher than others. These few, fifteen taels of silver each.”

Granny Cao gestured with her fingers, indicating the three who were skilled in cooking, as well as Xiao Yue and a few others. Her face was full of smiles. “The rest are seven taels of silver each.”

Su Wan looked toward Xiao Tao.

Xiao Tao whispered, “Young lady, that’s the correct amount.”

“Pay them,” Su Wan said as she stood up and instructed Xiao Tao, “Settle them in the servants’ quarters today. We’ll deal with the rest tomorrow.”

“Understood.” Xiao Tao told Granny Cao to wait for a moment while she returned to the main courtyard to fetch the money.

Having handled the matter, Su Wan quickly headed toward the entrance of the estate.

The carriage was already prepared, and Gu Huaizhi stood at the entrance, waiting.

Su Wan saw him and asked, “I just bought a dozen or so servants. Do you need anyone to serve you?”

“I already have some,” Gu Huaizhi replied, stepping onto the carriage first. While standing on the shaft, he extended his hand toward Su Wan.

Su Wan placed her hand in his palm, and Gu Huaizhi grasped it, pulling her up. He lifted the curtain, allowing her to step inside.

Su Wan felt that ever since they returned to the capital, Gu Huaizhi had become more attentive and affectionate toward her.

“What’s wrong?” Gu Huaizhi looked at her with clear, gentle eyes.

Su Wan suddenly pursed her lips and smiled, sitting down beside Gu Huaizhi under his gaze. “I’m a bit tired and want to lie down for a while, to think about how to speak to the Regent later.”

“Take a nap; I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

“Alright,” Su Wan pointed at his lap. “I want to sleep here.”

Su Wan was clear about her own feelings—she liked Gu Huaizhi. Gu Huaizhi had also admitted that he liked her. Not only had he held her while they slept, but he had also kissed her. Since they were husband and wife, Su Wan intended to exercise her rights.

Before, she had been too surprised, thrown off by Gu Huaizhi’s actions, but now that she had regained her clarity, there was no reason for her to back down.

Gu Huaizhi’s gaze darkened, and before he could react, Su Wan removed his hand from his lap, then lay down on her side, facing his abdomen. Her body tensed up involuntarily.

Su Wan nudged her head around, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

“Stop moving,” Gu Huaizhi said as his hand pressed gently on the back of her head.

“Oh, come on, don’t press on my head,” Su Wan grumbled, shifting her head uncomfortably. She boldly wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her face against his abdomen. A faint, cool scent drifted to her nose. Su Wan found the scent very pleasant and couldn’t help but take another sniff.

Gu Huaizhi’s breathing became a bit unsteady as he released his hand, and said with husky voice. “You, sleep well.”

Su Wan chuckled softly, clearly content with the arrangement.

Instead of loosening her hold, she tightened her embrace even more.

With a sigh of helplessness, Gu Huaizhi leaned back against the carriage wall, pulling a thin blanket from the side and gently covering her with it.

A small smile curved at the corner of Su Wan’s mouth.

The carriage stopped at the gates of the Regent’s residence.

Mo Yuan knocked on the door.

The gatekeeper, upon seeing Su Wan with her drowsy, half-awake expression, was momentarily surprised but quickly allowed them to enter.

Su Wan rubbed the back of her neck, feeling a bit stiff and sore, and sleepily made her way toward the main courtyard. Perhaps due to her drowsiness, the usual tension she felt had eased somewhat.

It wasn’t until she stood at the entrance that Su Wan noticed the Regent standing beneath a lush loquat tree in the courtyard. His wide, dark sleeves, embroidered with intricate patterns, draped elegantly to the ground.

In an instant, a line from 《Record of Xiangji Pavilion》^[1]Record of Xiangji Pavilion (《項脊軒志》) is a famous Chinese literary essay written by Zhang Dai, a renowned writer and historian of the Ming Dynasty. The work is a personal and reflective … Continue reading flashed through Su Wan’s mind: “There is a loquat tree in the courtyard, planted by my wife in the year of her death. Now it stands tall, shading like a canopy.”

Su Wan felt a bitter sensation in her heart, unable to move her feet.

Gu Huaizhi softly said, “This loquat tree was planted by mother-in-law.”

Luo Cheng silently appeared behind them, and hearing this, he added, “Your mother liked to eat loquats and planted this tree with the master. After it grew, the master said that when she came through the door, it would bloom and bear fruit.”

That year, the loquat tree bloomed for the first time, bearing abundant fruit, and Qi Min entered the Su family with a grand bridal procession stretching ten miles.

Not once had she eaten the loquat fruit.

Su Wan clenched the pouch in her hand, and the words she had prepared for so long were suddenly difficult to express.

The Regent turned his head and, upon seeing Su Wan, furrowed his sword-like brows. His stern face tightened, and the aura he exuded seemed to say, “Why are you here again?”

Out of sight, out of mind, he thought, as he turned to head back into the house.

“Wait!” Su Wan quickly rushed to catch up with him.

Gu Huaizhi called for Luo Cheng, “To the front hall.”

Fearing that Gu Huaizhi had urgent business, Luo Cheng followed him to the front hall.

This left only Su Wan and the Regent in the courtyard.

The Regent’s patience, aside from Qi Min, was something only Su Wan had the privilege of experiencing.

“Speak!” he commanded.

The Regent couldn’t quite understand how he had attracted such an annoying little thing.

Just the sight of her gave him a headache.

Seeing his face as dark as water, his patience clearly at its limit, Su Wan tightened her grip on the pouch in her hand. Perhaps this item could serve as her last-ditch effort to stop him from going to Xiliang.

“Take a look.” Su Wan extended her hand, offering the pouch to him.

The Regent gave it a cold glance but didn’t touch it.

Su Wan pressed her lips together. “It was found in the Qi family”

Only then did the Regent lower himself enough to pick up the pouch and open it. He emptied its contents into his palm. When he saw that it was a wooden figurine, a storm brewed in his dark eyes. But the moment he caught sight of the name “Ji Lingzhao” carved on it, his heart trembled.