Drunken Flower Room - Chapter 2

The physician from the Rejuvenation Hall arrived quickly, navigating the Taishou Mansion with practiced ease. Knowing he was bound to earn a generous fee, he hurried over as if his life depended on it.  

 

  

 

After examining Su Rong, he smiled warmly and produced a jar of Jade Silken Balm, presenting it respectfully.  

 

  

 

“Seventh Miss, once the wound scabs over, you can apply this ointment. One jar is guaranteed to prevent scarring.”  

 

  

 

Su Rong nodded. “While you’re here, check my mother’s pulse too.”  

 

  

 

The matriarch stiffened, her expression frosty. “That won’t be necessary.”  

 

  

 

Ignoring her protests, Su Rong firmly grasped her mother’s wrist and gestured for the doctor to proceed.  

 

  

 

Chuckling, the doctor stepped forward. After checking the pulse, he announced with a grin, “The Madam is in no serious trouble, just a little overheated. I’ll prescribe a cooling remedy, two days, and she’ll be fine.”  

 

  

 

The matriarch withdrew her hand sharply.  

 

  

 

Su Rong nodded. “Go ahead and write the prescription.”  

 

  

 

The doctor stepped into the outer room to prepare the prescription. Su Rong followed and asked in a low voice, “You’ve been to Commander Chen’s estate, haven’t you? How’s Chen Zhou’s injury?”  

 

  

 

The doctor’s hand paused, and he sighed. “Ah, his injuries are severe. I had to prescribe him three jars of Jade Silken Balm.”  

 

  

 

Su Rong chuckled. “Good for you. Another windfall.”  

 

  

 

The doctor was quick to respond. “Seventh Miss, rest assured, I’ll uphold my end of the deal.”  

 

  

 

Satisfied, Su Rong took the balm, nodded to Yuewan, and strolled away with a carefree air.  

 

  

 

The doctor left behind the prescription, collected his payment at the accounts office, and left the mansion with a spring in his step, clutching his pouch of silver.  

 

  

 

The matriarch, however, was fuming over the expense. “That reckless girl! It’s one thing for her to ruin herself, but if we don’t marry her off soon, she’ll bankrupt this household!”  

 

  

 

The other daughters were numb to her complaints.  

 

  

 

Third Miss spoke up, “Mother, instead of focusing on marrying off Seventh Sister, why not get us married first? At this rate, there won’t be enough dowries left for us!”  

 

  

 

Fourth Miss agreed. “Exactly, Mother. We don’t need to cling to Seventh Sister’s coattails to secure good matches. If she fails to marry, she’ll just become another burden for you.”  

 

  

 

The matriarch felt a stab of pain in her chest and head. “Her coming-of-age ceremony is only a month away. I’ll write to the Duke of the Protectorate and see what their plans are. If they call off the engagement, she’ll truly be useless to us. Who would’ve thought that young master Zhou would turn out to be such a disgrace?”  

 

  

 

Trying to reassure them, she added, “The Duke’s family values their reputation above all. With the old duke still around, they shouldn’t back out. As long as they uphold the engagement, your prospects will improve alongside hers.”  

 

  

 

“Mother,” the eldest daughter said hesitantly, “we’ve always lived in Jiangning. If your plan is for us to marry into noble families in the capital, can we really compete?”  

 

  

 

“Why not?” the matriarch snapped. “All the silver we’ve spent on your tutors, your lessons in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, shouldn’t go to waste. Compared to the young ladies of the capital, you’re no worse.”  

 

  

 

Her expression darkened. “It’s just the Seventh kid. Apart from that pretty face, everything she’s learned is a mess. And yet, I’ve spent the most money on her!”  

 

  

 

“What if the Duke’s family annuls the engagement?” Second Miss asked cautiously.  

 

  

 

“That…” The matriarch faltered. “It’s hard to say.”  

 

  

 

Gritting her teeth, she made a decision. “You’re all still young, the oldest is only seventeen. Waiting six more months won’t hurt. Even if Seventh Sister fails us, your elder brother is set to take the imperial exams in autumn. If he succeeds, all your prospects will improve.”  

 

  

 

The daughters nodded in unison, their expressions finally softening. “Brother is the most reliable, after all.”  

 

  

 

The matriarch picked up a letter beside her, jabbing at its contents in frustration. “Look at Xingze! Every letter he sends is three pages long, and two of them are all about Seventh Sister. But that ungrateful girl just stormed in here and didn’t even bother to ask what Xingze wrote about her.”  

 

  

 

She called for a servant. “Wang Ma, take this letter to Seventh Miss. Make her read it and write a reply. That useless girl, her brother dotes on her more than anyone, and yet she keeps stirring up trouble. Let’s see if she has the nerve to ask him for help again.”  

 

  

 

Wang Ma obeyed, hurrying off with the letter in hand.  

 

  

 

Though Lord Su held the esteemed title of governor, Jiangning’s wealth wasn’t enough to make him rich. A rigidly upright man, he refused to enrich himself through corruption. Instead, he relied solely on his modest salary and the remnants of his family’s inheritance to maintain appearances.  

 

  

 

But Governor Su had one glaring flaw: a weakness for beautiful women.  

 

  

 

What little wealth the family had was spent expanding the rear courtyard, filling it with concubines. Each new woman claimed her own pavilion, and each daughter born required another. By the time Su Rong was born, there were no pavilions left.  

 

  

 

As a result, Su Rong grew up sharing her late mother’s quarters. After her mother passed when she was seven, Su Rong and Yuewan remained there, lingering in the shadow of a life that had ended far too soon.  

  

 

One day, a month later, Su Rong got into a fight and was so exhausted that she accidentally knocked over a candlestick. That night, the wind was strong, the windows were open, and the flames quickly caught. The house was soon engulfed in fire. Su Rong and Yue Wan were too weak to extinguish it, so they barely managed to run outside. When they turned back, the entire house was ablaze.  

 

  

 

Lord Su deeply loved the Seventh Concubine. Seeing the house his beloved had lived in and all her belongings destroyed in the fire, with not even a single tile left, was too much for him to bear, he collapsed on the spot.  

 

  

 

The Seventh Concubine’s courtyard had been the most exquisite, with everything of the finest quality.  

 

  

 

Now, everything was gone in the fire. How much did that cost?  

 

  

 

The matriarch was furious. In a fit of rage, she banished Su Rong to a decrepit, abandoned courtyard in the northeast corner of the estate.  

 

  

 

Later, Lord Su wanted several times to rebuild the Seventh Concubine’s courtyard, but Su Rong’s constant fights were draining the family finances. With no silver to spare, the idea was abandoned each time with a sigh.  

 

  

 

Su Rong, however, found the shabby courtyard quite to her liking. It was far away from the main courtyard and others, making it easier for her to sneak out by climbing walls instead of crawling through dog holes. She found it so convenient that she ended up living there for years.  

 

  

 

Outsiders, unaware of the truth, spread rumors that the matriarch was jealous of the Seventh Concubine’s former favor. After the concubine passed, the matriarch treated the other concubines’ daughters kindly, but she was harsh toward Su Rong, denying her good food, clothes, or drink. She even resorted to physical punishments, forcing her to copy scriptures in the ancestral hall as a regular penalty. Letting Su Rong live in the rundown courtyard seemed reasonable.  

 

  

 

One day, Wang Ma arrived at the shabby courtyard. Each visit made her recall the Warm Fragrance Pavilion where the Seventh Concubine had lived, a golden chamber filled with warmth and elegance, now tragically destroyed. It was no wonder the matriarch cursed Su Rong as a troublemaker.  

 

  

 

Hearing footsteps, Yue Wan peeked outside and called out loudly, “Miss, Wang Ma is here!”  

 

  

 

Su Rong was sharpening a dagger on a whetstone. Upon hearing this, she quickly stashed the dagger and stone, then efficiently lay back on the bed, feigning a headache with groans.  

 

  

 

Nanny Wang, a shrewd old woman, immediately sensed something was amiss. Yue Wan’s guilty expression was a dead giveaway. Wang Ma sighed inwardly, Su Rong might be unruly, but she was clever as a fox. In contrast, Yue Wan was as clueless as ever, a simpleton despite growing up on the same rice.  

 

  

 

How could the gap between them be so wide?  

 

  

 

Entering the inner room, Wang Ma approached the bed and respectfully handed Su Rong a letter. “Miss, this is a letter from Young Master Su Xingze. The matriarch asked me to deliver it to you and said you should reply this time.”  

 

  

 

Su Rong opened her eyes in surprise. “Doesn’t Mother always reply to his letters?”  

 

  

 

“Because every letter he sends is three pages long, and two of them are about you. The matriarch has been furious after reading them for a year. She said since the Young Master doesn’t think of her but only of you, the letters should naturally be replied to by you.”  

 

  

 

Su Rong: “…”  

 

  

 

She would rather her brother not think of her at all.  

 

  

 

Taking the letter, she expected the usual two pages of stern warnings about not causing trouble, fighting, or making life hard for her parents. To her surprise, this letter was different, gentle and caring, detailing concerns about her well-being.  

 

  

 

At the end, he mentioned that she was about to come of age and promised to return for the occasion.  

 

  

 

After reading, Su Rong muttered, “Did Big Brother hit his head or something?”  

 

  

 

Wang Ma thought to herself, If anyone hit their head, it’s you.  

 

  

 

Su Rong reread the letter. Su Xingze mentioned that he was doing well, with no trouble on his end. Still, the sudden warmth felt jarring. Handing the letter back to Wang Ma, Su Rong said, “My hands hurt from fighting, so I can’t write. Take it back and have Mother reply. Just tell Big Brother it’s only a coming-of-age ceremony. Why bother coming all this way? The other sisters, whose ages are close to mine, have had their ceremonies this year, and he didn’t return for those. He should focus on his studies. I don’t need this kind of special treatment. The family is counting on him to shine in the upcoming autumn exams.”  

 

  

 

Her words implied: Don’t come. I don’t want to see you.  

 

  

 

Nanny Wang: “…”  

 

  

 

She coughed and stayed put, her eyes glancing at Su Rong’s bedside. “Miss, your dagger and whetstone are still in plain sight. Just now, before I entered, didn’t you have the strength to sharpen it? Surely you can write a reply.”  

 

  

 

Su Rong: “…”  

 

  

 

She turned to look and sure enough, the dagger hilt and part of the whetstone were sticking out from under her pillow. In her surprise earlier, she must have knocked them out of place.  

 

  

 

In the entire household, everyone feared her except for Wang Ma, Su Xingze’s former nurse.  

 

  

 

Grumbling under her breath, Su Rong slowly got out of bed and barked, “Yue Wan, grind the ink!”  

 

  

 

Yue Wan quickly brought out red letter paper and carefully selected a fine brush. Su Xingze was particular, letters had to be written on premium orchid-scented stationery, which he had specifically gifted her before leaving. The set was pristine and unused until now.  

 

  

 

Taking the brush, Su Rong began writing in neat small script, each stroke precise. Nanny Wang nodded in approval. Regardless of what nonsense Su Rong wrote, her calligraphy, taught personally by Su Xingze, would undoubtedly please him.