Chapter Eighty-Eight: Ruanruan Is Beaten (Part One)

The two of them chatted idly for a while longer before Su Nanxing returned with the two little ones. He gave Qiao Ruowei a tiny wink, and she gave the slightest nod in return. With that, Su Nanxing’s heart settled at last, and he said, “Mother, I will take them to Star-Gathering Courtyard so they can look around.”

Qiao Ruowei asked, “There are only Daya and Xiaoya serving in Star-Gathering Courtyard. Shall I arrange a few more?”

Su Nanxing knew full well that Tao Ming disliked others touching her things at random, so he declined. “Mother, two maids are enough. Mingming has always done things herself.”

Qiao Ruowei’s pretty face tightened. “You are truly muddled. How can the young mistress of the Su family do everything with her own hands?”

Tao Ming could not help but sigh inwardly. Even when a beauty was angry, she was still especially lovely.

After sighing, she helped Su Nanxing out. “Auntie, Nanxing is right. I do not like others moving my things about. Besides, Ruanruan and Nuonuo were both brought up by me. There is nothing I cannot do.”

Seeing Tao Ming speak up for Su Nanxing, Qiao Ruowei was greatly pleased. Hearing this, she said, “If in future you feel the maids are not enough, we can always add more.”

Su Nanxing carried the two little ones and motioned for Tao Ming to follow as he headed out, leaving behind one parting line: “Mother, I’ll take them over first.”

Qiao Ruowei watched the family of four leave and sighed. “Truly, a son who marries a wife forgets his mother.”

As they walked, Su Nanxing introduced the general layout of the Su residence to Tao Ming. “The Su estate is basically an irregular rectangle, longer east to west and wider north to south. The main gate opens onto Dong'an Lane in the south, and there are side gates on the other three sides.”

“My mother’s Weixiang Courtyard sits roughly in the very center of the estate. From there northward is considered the inner court. All my brothers and sisters live in the inner court, choosing whichever courtyard they like.”

On hearing this, Tao Ming could not help asking, “I had thought your brothers would live in the outer court. To think they live in the inner court; that is really beyond my expectations.”

Su Nanxing smiled. “You can think of the Su family as a building lying flat on the ground, with the little courtyards inside like separate units. The outer court is like the business district, and the inner court is the residential area.”

With that explanation, Tao Ming immediately understood, and it became easy to accept that the Su brothers lived in the inner court.

Star-Gathering Courtyard was close to Weixiang Courtyard, and they arrived within a few minutes.

Su Nanxing said, “Star-Gathering Courtyard was chosen by my mother for me, so naturally it is the closest to Weixiang Courtyard.”

Tao Ming looked at the courtyard wall made of blue brick and estimated it to be over three meters high. The courtyard gate stood wide open at this moment, and above it hung a plaque reading Star-Gathering Courtyard. At a glance, she saw a garden, with the outlines of buildings rising beyond it.

Su Nanxing stood aside and said, “Ladies first.”

Ruanruan struggled to get down, shouting, “I’m a lady too.”

Amused, Tao Ming took Ruanruan from him and set her on the ground, patting her little bottom lightly. “Go on then. You’ll be living here often from now on.”

Su Nanxing also set Nuonuo down, and the two little ones shouted excitedly as they ran inside, darting around the garden.

Tao Ming called after them, “Be careful! Run slower! Don’t leave the courtyard!”

The two of them then crossed a winding garden path and came upon a cluster of buildings.

Su Nanxing pointed to the middle one and explained, “This is the main house, with the bedroom and bath. The room beside it is my study.”

Then he pointed behind them. “There are side rooms in the back, rooms for the maids, the kitchen, the storeroom, and so on. There’s also an open space that isn’t being used yet. We can set up a little play area for the two of them.”

When he had finished, he handed Tao Ming a string of keys. “These are the storeroom keys. Most of my belongings are kept in there.”

Tao Ming accepted them without ceremony. “I’ll sort them out when I have time.”

Su Nanxing looked around in surprise. “Where are Daya and Xiaoya?”

He raised his voice and called, “Daya? Xiaoya?”

But no one answered.

Su Nanxing rubbed his nose awkwardly. “Perhaps they went to the large storeroom to fetch something.”

Tao Ming did not mind. She lifted the curtain and went into the main house.

The main hall was large, at least fifty square meters, with green walls and rosewood-colored tables, chairs, and furnishings, which made Tao Ming feel rather uncomfortable.

Su Nanxing explained, “I rarely stay here, so it has not really been tidied up. You can arrange things however you like later.”

Tao Ming nodded.

Su Nanxing scooped Tao Ming up at once, strode through the small door on the left, passed through a slightly smaller room, and entered another small door, which led into the bedroom.

He set her on the bed and kissed her deeply before saying, “This is the bed I slept in as a child. Try it and see how it feels.”

Tao Ming looked around. The entire bed was red, and when she shifted her body, it gave beneath her, soft and springy. She could not help but smile. “Is this bed stuffed with cloud fleece?”

Su Nanxing’s breathing had grown a little uneven. “It is indeed cloud fleece.”

Then he leaned close to her ear and murmured, “Wife, you have no idea how badly I want you to sleep in my bed.”

Tao Ming tipped her head back and kissed him once. “At least wait until nightfall, all right?”

Su Nanxing grinned wickedly. “I’ll just collect a little interest first.”

His hands soon became restless. Tao Ming giggled and said, “Stop bothering me, it’s ticklish!”

Just then, a sharp rebuke rang out from outside. “What wild little girl is making such a racket in Star-Gathering Courtyard?”

Then came Ruanruan’s crying voice. “Mama, where are you?”

Tao Ming’s heart jolted. She shoved Su Nanxing aside and ran out. Su Nanxing followed right behind her, yet he could not catch up.

All the while, Tao Ming shouted, “Mama is here,” and hurried toward the sound of the crying to find Ruanruan.

When she reached them, she saw Nuonuo encircled by a white halo of light, shielding Ruanruan behind her.

There were two clear handprints on Ruanruan’s little face, and one could tell at a glance that the blows had been vicious. Her cheeks had already swollen up.

Beside them stood a woman who looked quite young.

Fury surged through Tao Ming. Since the day Ruanruan was born, she had never even laid a hand on her, and she had felt guilty for half a day if she so much as spoke harshly. Yet here was someone not only striking her child, but striking her in the face!

Su Nanxing saw the scene as well, and his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys all seemed to ache at once. He thought, this is bad. Tao Ming will surely refuse to stay. He glared at the woman and snapped, “Daya, was it you who hit her?”

Daya hurriedly bowed as soon as she saw Su Nanxing. “This servant went to the storeroom to fetch some ornaments. When I returned, I saw this little girl making a loud fuss in the courtyard. The young master has always preferred quiet, so I stepped in to discipline her.”

By then Tao Ming had already crouched down beside the two little ones. Ruanruan was crying, “Mama, my face hurts so much.”

Nuonuo said anxiously, “We were playing hide-and-seek, and it was Ruanruan’s turn to be it, so she kept calling for me.”

Tao Ming’s heart ached so badly that tears streamed down her face. She reached out to touch Ruanruan’s face, then hesitated, afraid of hurting her further.

Looking at the swelling on Ruanruan’s face, Tao Ming asked in a trembling voice, “Ruanruan, why didn’t the formation on your body work?”

Ruanruan sniffled and replied softly, “I thought it felt too heavy, so I took it off.”

At that moment, Su Nanxing also crouched down and tried to comfort Tao Ming. “I have an excellent ointment here. If you apply it, the swelling will go down very quickly.”

Tao Ming gave a cold snort. “Shall I stab you first and then apply some medicine? Would that be all right?”

She picked up one child in each arm and looked at the woman. “They are so small. Even if they were a bit noisy, a word or two would have been enough. You are a grown woman, and you actually laid hands on two children?”

At this point, Daya also sensed that something was wrong. According to the message she had received, the young master should only have one daughter, yet there were two identical little girls here, both wearing clothes that looked hardly worth anything. Could the information she had been given be mistaken?