Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Stirring of Spring Longings

Inside, a man dressed in azure robes with a cold, stern face replied, "I merely wanted to see what Nanxing's wife and daughter look like."

Another man in similar attire, his features gentle, laughed, "Nanxing actually married and had a daughter in secret, behind our backs! How could he betray your sixth sister's devoted heart?"

The cold-faced man responded, "Dong Yuxuan, spare me your words. Do your eighth and ninth sisters know about this?"

Dong Yuxuan grinned, "They said they’d be willing to become his concubines."

He turned to the man in white and said, "Ange, you must be at ease, with only sons in your household."

Liu Ange leaned against the window frame and looked at the two, "Ruifeng, your sixth sister is not easily fooled. Before Nanxing married, she still had hope. If she finds out about this, she will surely cause a scene."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door to the private room was kicked open, crashing against the wall and bouncing back. A young woman stormed in, fury blazing, and shouted at Yao Ruifeng, "Whose brother are you really? How could you not tell me Su Nanxing got married!"

Yao Ruifeng shed his usual severity, soothing her gently, "Pianpian, I just learned about it myself..."

Yao Pianpian strode up to him, glaring, "You just found out, yet you rushed to Dongchang Tower to watch the commotion?"

Yao Ruifeng hurriedly stood up, vacating his chair, and pressed her shoulders down to have her sit. "Pianpian, I truly didn't mean to keep this from you. If you don’t believe me, ask them."

Liu Ange immediately chimed in, "It's true. The three of us met here today to discuss cultivation techniques, and only then did we discover the Saintess is Nanxing's daughter. We all thought Nanxing was in seclusion, cultivating, but he managed to have a daughter instead."

Yao Ruifeng poured a cup of tea and handed it to Yao Pianpian, comforting her, "Calm yourself. They say the Saintess's mother was born and raised in another world, still very young, and by beauty, she cannot compare to you. Besides, she and Nanxing have not formalized their marriage contract; her name is neither proper nor recognized, and cannot be considered Nanxing’s legitimate wife."

Yao Pianpian refused the tea, puffing her cheeks in anger, "What of giving birth to the Saintess? If I had a son before her, I would certainly win Nanxing’s affection."

Dong Yuxuan thought to himself, "A son, you say? Nanxing never even looked at you properly! My two sisters have better chances."

Liu Ange watched the lively scene and was thoroughly amused. The thought of Nanxing returning and facing all this made him smile even more.

Yao Pianpian noticed Liu Ange laughing and suddenly burst into tears, "Liu Ange, you must be secretly mocking me."

Liu Ange was bewildered, thinking, "Is the ability to cry at will innate to women? Luckily I have only brothers at home and no sisters, otherwise life would be unbearable!"

Seeing Liu Ange remain silent, Yao Pianpian cried even harder, "Second Brother, you must help me!"

Yao Ruifeng felt his heart nearly breaking and hurried to console her, "Don’t cry. Nanxing dislikes girls who are tearful. If your eyes swell from crying, he’ll notice immediately and it will ruin his impression of you."

Dong Yuxuan thought, "What impression could you possibly ruin? Nanxing hardly remembers you at all!"

Yao Pianpian stopped crying, took out a glass mirror, and examined herself closely. Seeing her complexion poor, she called toward the door, "Green Butterfly!"

A timid little maid entered, her voice soft, "Miss."

Yao Pianpian glanced around the room, took Green Butterfly to a corner, set up a formation to hide them, changed her soiled clothes, had Green Butterfly redo her hair, and applied some powder. Her mood improved somewhat.

Once she was tidy, she sent Green Butterfly to stand guard at the door, then walked over to Yao Ruifeng and asked, "Second Brother, how do I look?"

Yao Ruifeng, naturally full of praise, replied, "A noble beauty, radiant as spring flowers."

Yao Pianpian’s face lit up with delight, but Dong Yuxuan suddenly interjected, "They say the Saintess's mother hails from the Qin family; compared to her, there are hardly any ladies in the whole capital who can be called noble."

Yao Pianpian was stunned on the spot, tears falling once more.

Yao Ruifeng shot Dong Yuxuan a fierce glare, thinking he'd forgotten about this crucial detail—he only remembered the girl’s surname was Tao, but forgot that her father was from the main branch of the Qin family!

For a moment, he didn’t know how to comfort Yao Pianpian, so he kept repeating that Tao Ming and Nanxing had not formalized their marriage contract, and that Yao Pianpian still had a chance.

As for whether she truly had a chance, who could say?

After crying and tidying herself up again, Yao Pianpian sat by the window and kept looking outside, hoping Su Nanxing would enter the city soon and relieve her longing.

...

The Dong family, inner courtyard.

Dong Yushan and Dong Yujiao sat together, talking. Both were born of the same mother as Dong Yuxuan; Dong Yushan was only two years older than Dong Yujiao. Raised together since childhood, their bond was strong.

Dong Yushan sat at the table, propping her chin on her left hand, gazing listlessly out the window.

Dong Yujiao rummaged through the wardrobe for a while, found nothing, and joined her at the table. She poked Dong Yushan’s arm and said, "Aren’t you anxious? Why not go out together and see?"

Dong Yushan’s eyes remained fixed outside, replying calmly, "Do you remember the last time we saw him?"

Dong Yujiao was a bit dejected, "More than two years ago."

Dong Yushan curled her lips, "Just over two years, and he already has a daughter."

Dong Yujiao grabbed a lock of Dong Yushan’s hair and twirled it on her finger, "Neither of us ever had a chance to marry him as his legitimate wife. Now that he has one, perhaps we can enter his household sooner."

Dong Yushan blushed, pulled her hair back from Dong Yujiao’s hand, and said, "Girls ought to be more reserved."

Dong Yujiao shook Dong Yushan’s shoulders, "Let’s go see him together! Don’t you miss him at all?"

Dong Yushan’s mind flashed back to Su Nanxing’s last visit to the Dong family, her heart beating faster, though her mouth said, "Seventh Brother told us to stay at home. He’ll bring him back himself."

Dong Yujiao leaned against her chair and sighed, "If Seventh Brother were so capable, we’d have moved into the Su family mansion long ago!"

Dong Yushan turned to Dong Yujiao, teasing, "Are you really so eager to live in the Su family mansion?"

Dong Yujiao retorted, "If you’re not, you can wait until I bear a son before entering."

Dong Yushan spat at her, "Talking about having sons already, you have no shame!"

Dong Yujiao reached out to tickle Dong Yushan, who dodged. Thinking for a moment, Dong Yujiao said, "If we’d known he had a daughter before formalizing his marriage contract with that woman, we should have taken the initiative. Who knows who would enter his household first now?"

Dong Yushan blushed even more, "Are you saying he likes assertive women?"

Dong Yujiao began to undo Dong Yushan’s dress, "Let me see what assets you have first."

The two tumbled about, each with her own thoughts.

...

The Su family, Star-Plucking Courtyard.

Qiao Ruowei personally directed her eight senior maids to clean and tidy up. The already immaculate Star-Plucking Courtyard now looked freshly renovated.

Qiao Ruowei called over the two maids who usually attended Su Nanxing’s washing and grooming, instructing, "Big Girl, Little Girl, go to the storeroom and fetch a bedding set made of blood-red silk, and bring some things little girls like, as well as festive decorations."

Big Girl and Little Girl responded and set off toward the storeroom.

Once they were some distance away, Big Girl glanced around and whispered, "Master dislikes red the most."

Little Girl replied with a blank expression, "Once there’s a young mistress, it won’t be our place to meddle."

Big Girl snorted softly, "You act as if you have no feelings for Master."

Little Girl blocked her with a single sentence, "Ever since Master renamed me Little Girl, I haven't had any feelings left."

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