In the afternoon, when Su Xiaoqi returned to the backyard, Guo'er informed her that Madam He had arrived.
Su Xiaoqi was not surprised, as she had anticipated that Wen Ruohua would come to find her.
She welcomed her in and offered tea, fruits, and pastries.
Wen Ruohua curtsied, startling Su Xiaoqi.
By all accounts, Wen Ruohua should not have been bowing to her. Her husband, He Qiu Miao, was a fourth-rank official serving as the Libationer of the Imperial Academy, two ranks higher than Shen Yun. Moreover, Wen Ruohua was older than Su Xiaoqi.
Su Xiaoqi dared not accept the gesture and quickly moved aside to avoid it. However, Wen Ruohua, with great excitement, held her hand and insisted she receive the bow. Seeing Wen Ruohua's overwhelming enthusiasm, Su Xiaoqi reluctantly accepted.
Only then did Wen Ruohua explain her reason. "It was all thanks to your rescue during the Dragon Boat Festival. Otherwise, my two children and I would have already… I've wanted to thank you in person for a long time, but you were never home when I sent my calling cards. My husband mentioned that you went to Tongzhou with Physician Shen to treat the plague. You are truly remarkable. For women like us, secluded in our chambers, the mere mention of illness or disaster frightens us, and we dare not even leave our homes. It's only when the situation improved that I dared to visit your Ling Garden. This visit was quite by chance."
Therefore, she thought it best to repay her gratitude to Su Xiaoqi all at once. Su Xiaoqi quickly told her not to be so formal. "As I said before, in that situation, anyone would have lent a hand. It's nothing to mention."
"No, no, no, it was only you. Look at the state of things then; with life and death all around, who else would dare to come out, let alone save people?" Even though a long time had passed, Wen Ruohua still vividly remembered the scene filled with bloodshed. She shivered, her grip on Su Xiaoqi's hand tightening.
Su Xiaoqi understood, thinking it was likely post-traumatic stress that needed time to heal. She gently patted her arm to help her relax and deliberately changed the subject, hoping to help her forget the incident. "By the way, I saw you talking with another lady in the hall earlier. What were you discussing?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Xiaoqi regretted it. Oh dear, she had brought up a sensitive topic! Knowing Wen Ruohua's struggles with conceiving, she had asked about it… As expected, this led to a period of silence from Wen Ruohua, who finally said, "Ah, it's nothing much, everyone in the capital knows. I have been married to my husband for over ten years, and we still have no children. Madam Li said she has a way to help me conceive. By the way, Madam Su, would you like to accompany me?"
Wen Ruohua thought of Su Xiaoqi’s relatively short marriage to Shen Yun and the fact that she also had no news of pregnancy, so she kindly invited her along. Su Xiaoqi blinked. She suddenly recalled a brief mention in a book about seeking blessings for children in the capital. The sentence, though passing, contained a startling secret. Driven by curiosity, Su Xiaoqi agreed. She also generously gifted Wen Ruohua and Madam Li ten face masks and a box of pastries from Chen Jin Ji. Wen Ruohua was so delighted that she held Su Xiaoqi's hand and thanked her profusely. It wasn't about the money, but rather that Su Xiaoqi's gesture gave Wen Ruohua great face in front of Madam Li. Su Xiaoqi, in turn, could use this opportunity to make a good impression. After all, Madam Li was not an unknown figure; her husband was the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, also a fourth-rank official. It was simply about forging good connections.
Indeed, after Wen Ruohua and Madam Li, whose surname was Lu, enjoyed the treatments, they specifically sought out Su Xiaoqi together to thank her. Su Xiaoqi also needed to return to the city, so she traveled with them, personally escorting them to their respective residences before returning to the Zhuangyuan Mansion. As soon as she alighted from the carriage, she saw Zi Cao waiting at the moon gate of the backyard.
"Zi Cao, what is it?" she called out.
Zi Cao leaned in and whispered, "Madam, the lady staying in the front courtyard has been brought into the backyard by the Old Madam."
Su Xiaoqi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, brought into the backyard? Why?" She had anticipated that Mei Xin might cause trouble, but she hadn't expected this turn of events. "She must have found someone to pass a message to the backyard. The Old Madam suddenly said she wanted to take a stroll in the front courtyard. Madam Zhao thought she just wanted some fresh air and accompanied her. As it turned out, the Old Madam headed straight for Miss Mei's room in the front courtyard, and when they met, they seemed to recognize each other."
Zi Cao looked a bit embarrassed. She was originally tasked with watching Mei Xin but hadn't expected her to seize this opportunity to cause trouble for her mistress. She felt she had failed in her duty.
Su Xiaoqi nodded. "I understand." She mused that since Shen Yun and Mei Xin had known each other since childhood, Madam Zhao must have known her. It was just that she hadn't thought much of it at the time. She hadn't expected Mei Xin to go this far. But why did she want to stay? Was it truly just to marry Shen Yun?
Su Xiaoqi pondered for a moment and did not blame Zi Cao. After all, the mother was the mistress of the courtyard, and her subordinates naturally could not stop her from doing as she pleased. "You did the right thing by notifying me promptly," Su Xiaoqi said, not taking Mei Xin seriously in her heart. If Mei Xin thought she could cause any trouble through Madam Zhao, she was greatly underestimating Madam Zhao.
Upon entering the backyard, Su Xiaoqi changed her clothes as usual and immediately went to pay her respects to Madam Zhao. Madam Zhao was very pleased to see her, beckoning her to sit down and pointing to Mei Xin, who was seated below her. "Xiaoqi is back. Look, who did I see in the front courtyard?"
Su Xiaoqi looked up at Mei Xin, who was smiling brilliantly, and offered a faint smile. "Isn't this Miss Mei Xin? I recall she was a witness in a case, and the official placed her in the front courtyard."
"Oh, so it was Xu Zhi who placed her in the front courtyard. I knew you wouldn't do such a thing, Xiaoqi." Madam Zhao smiled gently, the wrinkles on her face slowly smoothing out with an indescribable elegance. This grace was etched into Madam Zhao's very being; she had always been different from her siblings in Zhao family village.
"I'm sorry, Auntie. It was all my misunderstanding of my sister-in-law. I thought my sister-in-law looked down on me, being out in the world, and that's why she refused to let me into the backyard…" Mei Xin's acting was so convincing that tears began to fall as she spoke. Su Xiaoqi merely snorted lightly and lowered her head to sip her tea.
"Sister-in-law? Miss Mei Xin, if you say that, I dare not accept such a title." She only knew that Mei Xin knew Shen Yun since childhood, but she was unaware of any familial connection between their families.
"Oh, Mei Xin comes from the Mei clan. Her father, Mei Tian Wang, was always on good terms with Xu Zhi's father, and they even became sworn brothers…" Madam Zhao suddenly stopped. Not only were they sworn brothers, but the two families had also arranged a childhood engagement. However, the Mei family's firstborn child was a boy, and she had also given birth to a boy. Thus, the arrangement was treated as a mere jest. No tokens were exchanged, so no one took it seriously. Later, there was the engagement between Shen Yun and the Su family, which did involve the exchange of tokens and a set wedding date. Madam Zhao had initially forgotten about this. After all, the Mei clan was implicated in the matter of deposing the Crown Prince fifteen years ago and was subsequently exiled. Shen Yun's father was still alive then and had tried many ways to save them, but ultimately failed. Later, he himself passed away. As a woman raising two children alone, she was powerless. The matter was thus put aside. For a long time afterward, no one mentioned the Mei family. However, there was a period when she saw that Shen Yun and Su Xiaoqi were not getting along, and she thought he might still be thinking of that young girl from the Mei family. But Shen Yun later clearly told her that was not the case. He had no impression of that young girl at the time and had never met her since. How could he neglect his own wife for her? He had simply entered into a marriage of convenience with Su Xiaoqi, and they were unaccustomed to each other. They both needed time. Later, the young couple indeed lived harmoniously and affectionately, which greatly pleased Madam Zhao. However, someone who had seemingly vanished had suddenly reappeared. Of course, this was not a problem. As the daughter of an old friend, she naturally had to be welcomed and treated well, to honor Shen Yun's father's friendship with the Mei family. Madam Zhao's intentions were simple.
However, she did not realize that her perfectly normal actions filled Mei Xin with immense joy. It was as if she had found a crack in the strong alliance between Shen Yun and Su Xiaoqi. It was like a person walking in the desert receiving heavenly dew, or a drowning person clinging to a piece of driftwood that could help them survive. She was determined to hold onto this opportunity sent from heaven and fight a good comeback.