Chapter Four

On a dark, ink-black night, with the trees rustling in the breeze, the moonlight filtered through the leaves and cast a mottled pattern on her body.

She wrapped her thin robe tightly around her body and hurriedly hid in a clump of grass, afraid to even breathe.

There is a string of footsteps stepping on dead leaves; has it found her?

The low growl of a wild beast gradually grew louder in her ears, getting closer and closer. She could almost imagine herself being torn apart.

“No, no!”

In the next moment, hot animal blood splashed on her face.

Su Mi woke up, covered in cold sweat, and looked towards the window. The faint light of dawn was shining through the lattice.

She had dreamt again all night. Every time she returned from the Lingquan Temple, she would remember that incident and have the same nightmare.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

“Ykpp, yal usw yzaktbv? Pke usw byhl ydsvbla dktbvxyal?” Ubwd Ylk blyae Fw Yk’p nau yde bwaaklezu caswtbv shla y cypkd qsa oypbkdt. Fbl bye oyzjle vss qypv, yde psxl sq vbl oyvla bye prkzzle swv sd vbl oyu.

“R’x qkdl,” Fw Yk vssj vbl bydejlanbklq yde okrle vbl polyv qasx bla qsalblye. “Pke xu pkpvla yaakhl vseyu?”

Ubwd Ylk alzymle obld pbl blyae Fw Yk pyu pbl oyp sjyu yde prsjl xsal nyzxzu. “Ykpp, R oyp fwpv ycswv vs vlzz usw. Mbl pleyd nbyka sq Ykpp Dkyd yde vbl Zswdt Yypvla byp yzalyeu pvsrrle swvpkel! Fbyzz ol ts vs vbl qasdv byzz? Yypvla yde Yyeyx yal vblal, yp olzz yp vbl vos ywdvklp. R blyae vbyv Zswdt Yypvla caswtbv cynj xydu tkqvp.”

“Ls dlle; zlv’p oykv qsa y obkzl.”

Mbl xykd byzz sq vbl Flnsde Odvaydnl Tyzz kp dso zkhlzu yde fsuqwz. Mbl Nk qyxkzu’p plahydvp qszzsole yzsdt yde rkzle wr vbl tkqvp oayrrle kd ale nzsvb yv vbl ldvaydnl sq vbl byzz. Mblu pyke vblal olal plhlayz tkqvp qsa lynb bswplbsze. Gwdvkl Hbys oyp elzktbvle yde rknjle swv vbl sdl qasx bla sod assx okvb y pxkzl sd bla qynl.

Gqvlaoyaep, vbl vos osxld cke qyalolzz vs Fw Ykdtel, yp vblu olal sdzu nsdnwckdl yde vblu bye vs yhske pwprknksd, lprlnkyzzu pkdnl Gwdvkl Nkw ldvlale vbl bswpl zyvl yde oyp pvkzz uswdt.

Ebld vblal olal qlola rlsrzl kd vbl byzz, Zw Ckdtdkydt rwzzle bla lzelpv eywtbvla shla yde zssjle yv bla nzsplzu okvb xskpv lulp. “Dkyd’la, pkv esod yde zlv xsvbla byhl y zssj.”

Fw Dkyd oyp sdzu vos ulyap szela vbyd Fw Yk, yde pbl oyp tldvzl yde taynlqwz, okvb yzxsde-pbyrle lulp qwzz sq vldeladlpp, fwpv zkjl bla dyxl pwttlpvp. Gv vbkp xsxldv, pbl zssjle yv Zw Ckdtdkydt okvb zshl kd bla lulp, yde vbl xsvbla yde eywtbvla olal ellrzu yqqlnvksdyvl. Tla lulp vwadle ale, yde pbl nbsjle swv, “Ysvbla.”

As a man, Su Mingde naturally would not have such emotions. He patted Li Xiuyuan’s shoulder and asked, “How is your father doing, Xiuyuan?”

“Father-in-law, my father is doing well.” He asked me to greet you on his behalf before I came. Li Xiuyuan smiled.

He was dressed in a lake blue silk straight robe, was tall and handsome, and could be considered a talented person. However, his eyes were a bit gloomy, and upon closer inspection, he was not very friendly.

“What about older brother?” Li Xiuyuan asked about Su Qi, the son of Auntie Zhao, who was adopted by Yu Qingniang.

“Qi’er? I sent him to the county branch to work as a shopkeeper and learn something. He may not be back until next month.” Su Mingde mentioned his only son, and his face was full of satisfaction.

Originally, he only had one son and had gone to invite a high monk. The high monk told him that he would only have one son, and this son was precious beyond measure. Later, he had indeed given Su Qi to Yu Qingniang for adoption, and he never had another son again.

After Li Xiuyuan and Su Mingde exchanged a few more pleasantries, Li Xiuyuan pretended to casually look around and didn’t see Su Mi.

“What, you’re pregnant?” Yu Qingniang’s voice suddenly rose a little beside them, catching Su Mingde’s attention.

Su Xian’s face flushed, and she nodded. “Yes.”

Yu Qingniang felt sorry for her daughter and said, “Then why did you come back? You should take good care of yourself. The road is so bumpy, you won’t be able to handle it.”

“The carriage was running smoothly, mother.” “Don’t worry, I just missed you.”

“Don’t worry, mother-in-law. I will take care of Xian’er and the child all the way and make sure they are safe,” Li Xiuyuan said, gently glancing at Su Xian with a hint of meaning that no one else could understand.

Su Xian lowered her eyelids and said, “Mother, I want to go see Mi’er.”

“Okay, I’ll accompany you for a while.” “I also have something to tell you,” her mother-in-law replied.

Su Mi’s courtyard was in the southwest corner of the backyard, the most secluded corner of the entire Su Mansion. It was not accessible on a daily basis unless one intentionally walked over.

There were only two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a small, clean room at the corner, all visible at a glance upon entering.

The entrance was a narrow gallery with lush flowers and plants in front of it. Not far from the gallery was a pavilion with rattan chairs and tables.

When Su Xian arrived at the small courtyard, Su Mi was reading a book and eating cherries in the pavilion.

She wore an apricot-colored ruqun, leaning lazily on a rattan chair with her curves exposed. In her left hand was a book, while her right hand occasionally picked up a cherry and put it in her mouth. Her lips were shiny and pale pink, like two petals with dewdrops, touching the bright red cherry in between, both of which were delicate and tempting, arousing one’s imagination.

After a year of not seeing her, Mi’er appeared even more charming than before.

“Mi’er,” Su Xian softly called out, holding an umbrella to block the sun.

Mi’er put down the book and showed a delicate and beautiful face. When she saw the visitor, she jumped up with joy.

“Sister!” Su Mi’s joy was evident on her face. She ran out of the pavilion without even putting down her book.

“Why are you still so impulsive?” Su Xian stroked Su Mi’s hair with her bare hand.

“Isn’t it because I saw my sister? How many days are you going to stay this time?” Su Mi took the umbrella from her sister and supported Su Xian towards the pavilion.

“My husband said I could stay for seven to eight days since it’s hard to come back this time,” Su Xian nodded.

“Oh, where’s Su Yue?” Su Mi asked.

“I asked her to wait outside the courtyard,” Su Xian replied.

Su Xian placed her hand on her belly, a habit she had developed in recent days. Although she did not look pregnant, she couldn’t help but think of her child whenever she touched her belly.

Su Mi grew up with her, and seeing her habit, she suddenly had the thought, “Sister, are you pregnant?”

Otherwise, she wouldn’t remember her sister having this habit.

Su Xian nodded and blushed.

“Great!”

Su Xian saw her sister carefully reach out to touch her small belly, and the bit of frustration in her heart disappeared. Her own sister was always more caring than others.

She thought of Li Xiuyuan’s intentions and probed, “Mi’er, you’re also at the age to get married.”

“This matter can’t be rushed. I’ve only had two marriage proposals rejected. How could a matchmaker come so soon?”

Su Xian considered and said, “What about your brother-in-law?” I heard from Mother that when you two went to pay respects at the temple yesterday, the divination stick…”

“Sister, how can we trust divination and fortune-telling?” Su Mi smiled, showing her clear reluctance.

“Mi’er doesn’t want to marry your brother-in-law.”

Su Mi looked into Su Xian’s eyes and said lightly, “No.”

Although there were sisters who shared a husband in the folk, Su Mi had never thought it was a good thing. She knew she couldn’t make decisions about her marriage, but no matter who asked her, she would at least say that she wouldn’t marry. The Su family was not strict in their rules, and Su Xian had agreed to her own marriage proposal, which is how it was settled. Therefore, she believed that her sister and mother wouldn’t force her, and as for her father, he probably wouldn’t care about her affairs.

Seeing that she refused resolutely, Su Xian knew she couldn’t persuade her and changed the subject. They talked about personal matters, and when Su Xian left, they arranged to go to the Drunken Night Tower in the city tomorrow. Su Xian heard that there was a new chef from the capital, and she wanted to taste his food.

Su Mi saw Su Xian off to the gate, where her dowry maid, Su Yue, was waiting. Su Mi watched Su Yue help Su Xian and felt relieved before returning to the courtyard.

Su Xian walked slowly as usual, and Su Yue saw Li Xiuyuan walking towards them at the intersection.

“Hello, sir,” Su Yue bows.

“Well, I’m accompanying my wife.” “You can go down first,” Li Xiuyuan said.

“Yes, sir.”

Li Xiuyuan looked at Su Yue’s back as she walked away. Her appearance was not as good as Su Xian’s, but sometimes plain dishes had unique flavours. Once he got Su Mi, he could make her a side concubine.

“Husband, we’re so close, you don’t need to come pick me up,” Su Xian said.

“Now that you’re pregnant, I have to come,” Li Xiuyuan said, putting his hand on Su Xian’s waist. His voice was gentle, and he looked like a gentleman.

“I asked about that matter you wanted me to ask to Mi’er.”

Su Xian hesitated and said, “Mi’er said she doesn’t want to marry.”

Li Xiuyuan sighed, “Ah, she’s still thin-skinned, afraid that you’ll be unhappy.”

“I won’t be unhappy. Having Mi’er by my side is good,” Su Xian explained quickly. She had been raised to be gentle and obedient, and having a husband with multiple wives was commonplace. Though she couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed, she didn’t want to become a jealous wife.

Li Xiuyuan looked at Su Xian with affectionate eyes and said, “Now that you’re pregnant, my mother’s intention was to find me another wife. I brought up Mi’er because I was afraid that someone else would mistreat you. Your body isn’t good, and only Mi’er will treat you sincerely. How can I trust anyone else?”

“My husband,” Su Xian was moved. She had misunderstood him at first. “But Mi’er doesn’t want to…”

“Mi’er is a woman who has been rejected twice. How can she directly accept your proposal?” Li Xiuyuan coaxed her. He tightened his hand around Su Xian’s waist, holding her in his arms. His eyes were full of tender love, and she didn’t see his scheming.

“I’ll try to persuade her again.”

“Xian’er, I have a way, but I need your help.”

“What way?”

Li Xiuyuan whispered a few words in Su Xian’s ear, and she was shocked.

“I can’t do this, my husband.”

“It’s just a sleeping powder to calm her down. I’ll spend one night with her; I will stay with her for one night, and she will have a way out to marry me peacefully. It’s also for her own good, and you know that.”

“My heart only loves you.”

Su Xian bit her lip and hesitated for a moment. “But…let me think about it.”

“Okay, Xian’er. I won’t force you. Hmm, I think she wants to be with you too.”

Li Xiuyuan held Su Xian in his arms, and a wicked smile appeared on his lips. Su Xian’s character was weak and easy to control. He would persuade her tonight.

Actually, it wasn’t difficult to marry Su Mi. The matchmaker’s process was too long, and Su Xian’s recent pregnancy prevented any physical intimacy. Li Xiuyuan’s evil desires were becoming uncontrollable. He couldn’t wait any longer. As the saying goes, if there is a flower that can be picked, it should be picked.