Drunken Flower Room - Chapter 3

 

 

After finishing the letter to Su Xingze, Su Rong felt utterly drained, as if she’d lost half her life. It was even more exhausting than a fight.  

 

  

 

Wang Ma watched Su Rong collapse on her bed, looking utterly spent. Writing a letter seemed to have taken the same toll as carrying bricks for an entire day. She shook her head, her voice tinged with disapproval.  

 

  

 

“Seventh Miss, a dagger is a weapon, a dangerous one at that. When did you start playing with something like this? If The matriarch finds out…”  

 

  

 

“She won’t find out if you don’t tell her, right?” Su Rong sat up, clasping her hands together in a mock gesture of pleading. “It’s just for self-defense, to scare people. Otherwise, with my empty hands and no tools, I’d be at a disadvantage in a fight.”  

 

  

 

Wang Ma gave her a skeptical look. “With your skills? You, disadvantaged? Even against three or five men, you could easily take them down. Don’t think I don’t know. That Master Chen had at least three or five guards with him, and yet you still managed to beat him like that. Do you expect me to believe your excuses?”  

 

  

 

Su Rong pointed to the scar on her forehead. “But I still got hurt, didn’t I?”  

 

  

 

She pulled out her dagger, polished to a bright shine. “With this, all I need to do is show it. Any coward with intentions but no courage will think twice about messing with me.”  

 

  

 

Wang Ma nodded slightly. “True enough, but you must be careful with it. You absolutely must not stab anyone. Even though your father is the lord, he abides by the law.”  

 

  

 

“I know, I know.” Su Rong waved her hand, urging Wang Ma to leave. “I won’t misuse it.”  

 

  

 

Wang Ma wanted to lecture her further, but it was clear that this little troublemaker had no patience left. With a sigh, she left the room.  

 

  

 

As soon as the door closed, Yue Wan, Su Rong’s maid, rushed over with curiosity. “Miss, where did you even get the money to buy such an expensive dagger? It looks pricey!”  

 

  

 

“A few days ago, I saved someone, and this was their reward.”  

 

  

 

“Who did you save?”  

 

  

 

“Probably some nobleman from a high-ranking family. He didn’t look like a local, more like someone from the capital.”  

 

  

 

“Someone from the capital? What’s his name? How did you save him?”  

 

  

 

“I didn’t ask for his name. He was being chased, and I happened to be fishing behind the Chenghuang Temple outside the city. I saw him being hunted and used my fishing net to trap the two men after him. That man didn’t waste any time, he turned around and killed them both.”  

 

  

 

Yue Wan gasped, her hands covering her mouth. “He… he killed them?”  

 

  

 

Su Rong nodded. “Yes, killed them.”  

 

  

 

“What about the bodies?”  

 

  

 

“Threw them into the river. They floated away with the current.”  

 

  

 

Yue Wan’s face paled. “That man was so ruthless. Didn’t he try to hurt you?”  

 

  

 

“I saved his life. Why would he harm me?” Su Rong replied matter-of-factly. “He asked what I wanted as a reward, and I said I liked the dagger on his waist. So, he gave it to me.”  

 

  

 

“But that’s a murder weapon! What if the authorities find the bodies and trace it back to you?” Yue Wan looked ready to panic.  

 

  

 

Su Rong seemed unconcerned. “People kill and dump bodies every year. Father’s study is full of unsolved cases. The waters behind Chenghuang Temple flow into the Songlin River, which has no shallow banks for a hundred miles. By the time the bodies reach the broader sections, they’ll probably end up in a completely different county. If anyone finds them, they’ll just become another unsolved case.”  

 

  

 

Yue Wan stared at her in stunned silence. Having a mistress like Su Rong was an ongoing exercise in surviving daily heart attacks.  

 

  

 

She asked weakly, “And that man?”  

 

  

 

“He left.”  

 

  

 

“Do you think he left Jiangning?”  

 

  

 

“I don’t know.” Su Rong twirled the dagger in her hand. “He can go wherever he likes. All that matters is that the dagger is mine now.”  

 

  

 

Yue Wan sighed, her nerves frayed.  

 

  

 

Meanwhile, Wang Ma returned with Su Rong’s letter and handed it to The matriarch. The matriarch read the scattered, rambling words with a growing headache. It felt like Su Rong had written it just to fill space. Even the family dog, Da Huang, had been mentioned at length.  

 

  

 

The matriarch slapped the letter onto the table in frustration. “What kind of nonsense is this? She can’t even write properly about herself!”  

 

  

 

The letter rambled about trivial matters: how their father might be off gallivanting under the guise of official duties, how their mother seemed increasingly irritable, how the eldest sister feared becoming an old maid, and how the second sister, only two months younger, was desperate to marry. There was mention of borrowing a sharp hairpin from the third sister and being refused, hiding from the fourth sister after borrowing two taels of silver without returning them, the fifth sister secretly reading The Romance of Mandarin Ducks, the sixth sister’s maid fancying a family servant, and even their fat cat growing fatter.  

 

  

 

Nowhere in the letter was there any mention of Su Rong’s recent escapades or troubles. The only serious line was a passing remark to Su Xingze, urging him not to return home unless he achieved top marks in the imperial examinations.  

 

  

 

The matriarch didn’t even have the energy to be angry anymore. “Over the years, we’ve spent more money on Su Xingze’s studies than on Su Rong’s fights and medical bills combined.”  

 

  

 

Wang Ma chuckled. “Should I write a proper reply for you to send along with the letter?”  

 

  

 

“No need. He’ll come back within a month. He wouldn’t miss someone else’s coming-of-age ceremony, let alone Su Rong’s.” The matriarch’s face darkened. “I need to send a letter to the Protector Duke’s household. We need to know if the marriage agreement still stands. If it does, we’ll proceed. If not…”  

 

  

 

She didn’t finish the sentence, but Wang Ma understood.  

 

  

 

“Should I send both letters together?”  

 

  

 

The matriarch nodded, carefully sealing her letter with wax. “This is an important matter. Don’t send it through the postal service. We’ll need someone reliable to deliver it personally. Who should go?”  

 

  

 

After some thought, Wang Ma suggested, “How about Li Steward’s son, Li Yan? He’s meticulous and dependable, just like his father.”  

 

  

 

The matriarch nodded. “Alright, then send him.”  

 

  

 

She called for Li Yan, handed him the letter, and gave him some instructions.  

 

  

 

Li Yan solemnly assured her, “Madam, rest assured, I will deliver this letter safely to the Old Duke Protector.”  

 

  

 

The matriarch nodded, confident in Li Yan’s reliability, and waved for him to depart quickly.  

 

  

 

After Li Yan left, the first wife thought for a moment and then instructed Wang Ma, “For the next half month, keep the seventh daughter confined and have her properly rest and heal in the estate. In half a month, the Protector Duke’s residence should have sent a reply. If they keep their word and send someone to discuss the engagement, how can she face them if the wound on her forehead isn’t healed? It would be embarrassing.”  

 

  

 

Wang Ma nodded. “Madam, don’t worry. I will make sure to keep a close eye on Seventh daughter. If necessary, I’ll move into the small courtyard myself today.”  

 

  

 

The matriarch thought this was a good idea. “Fine, move in and stay with her. Thankfully, she still has something she fears. She used to fear Xingze, and now she fears you. Otherwise, she would have caused chaos by now.”  

 

  

 

Wang Ma chuckled. “To put it bluntly, seventh daughter is only afraid of the young master. Without the young master, she wouldn’t be afraid of an old servant like me.”  

 

  

 

The matriarch’s expression grew complicated. “What’s the use of fear? Xingze can’t keep an eye on her all the time.”  

 

  

 

She sighed. “What a little troublemaker!”  

 

  

 

And so, that day, two letters were sent out: one to Yunshan Academy and the other to the capital.  

 

  

 

That evening, Wang Ma moved into Su Rong’s small courtyard.  

 

  

 

Su Rong watched curiously as Wang Ma moved her belongings into the small room called Moonbend. “Wang Ma, what are you doing? Coming to visit me?”  

 

  

 

“Yes, Madam said I should keep an eye on you for the next half month. You’re not allowed to go anywhere. She’s even ordered the courtyard walls to be raised another three feet.”  

 

  

 

  

 

Su Rong twitched the corner of her mouth. “If the walls keep getting higher, won’t they eventually collapse and hurt someone?”  

 

  

 

“Don’t worry, they won’t. We hired the best masons in Jiangning. Even if they built a wall as high as a fortress, it wouldn’t collapse.”  

 

  

 

Su Rong: “…”  

 

  

 

She wanted to say that even if it were a fortress wall, she could climb over it. Her mother was too naïve.  

 

  

 

Wang Ma noticed Su Rong’s expression and seemed to guess what she was thinking. Her face stiffened as she said helplessly, “Which family’s mother is like ours, with no authority at all in front of her daughter? Don’t upset her anymore. If she falls ill from anger, how will you explain it to the young master?”  

 

  

 

Su Rong rubbed her shoe sole and muttered, “It’s not my fault. Mother punished me to kneel in the ancestral hall, and Big Brother stopped her. She punished me to copy scriptures, and Father stopped her. The first time I hit someone, she said I did the right thing because the brat deserved it for bullying a little girl.”  

 

  

 

Wang Ma: “…”  

 

  

 

Indeed, it was all someone else’s fault.  

 

  

 

Who told you to be so adorable as a child? Chubby and fair, like a little dumpling, who could bear to punish you? The matriarch only ever pretended to be strict. Who could have expected you to grow up like this year after year? The matriarch must regret it deeply, the Lord must regret it even more, and the young master… well, he probably doesn’t mind. To him, you can do no wrong.  

 

  

 

“Fine, if I can’t go out, I won’t. It’s scorching hot outside anyway. It’s cooler at home,” Su Rong quickly accepted Wang Ma moving in.  

 

  

 

Yue Wan was delighted. “Wang Ma, it’s wonderful that you’re moving in. With you watching over Miss, she won’t sneak out anymore. Every time she leaves me behind to go out, I get so bored I can only talk to Ah.”  

 

  

 

Wang Ma snorted. “You and Ah have both gotten fat from eating all the food Seventh Miss brings back.”  

 

  

 

Yue Wan touched her face in horror, then her belly. “I’m not… not as fat as Ah, am I?”  

 

At most, her face was a little rounder. Her weight was only… a few pounds more than the Miss’s?  

 

  

 

Wang Ma gave her a look that said, You know the answer. She then turned and efficiently began making the bed.  

 

  

 

Yue Wan was so startled by her expression that she hurried to look in the mirror. A moment later, she threw it aside and ran to Su Rong. “Miss, am I as fat as Ah?”  

 

  

 

Su Rong glanced at her round face. “Fatness is a sign of prosperity.”  

 

  

 

“I don’t want that!” Yue Wan shook her head. “Miss, I’ll never eat the food you bring back again. You’re too devious, fattening up Ah and me just to make yourself look thinner and more elegant!”  

 

  

 

Su Rong was speechless. “Do you think I’d go to that trouble? The food I bring back, except for the fish I catch myself, costs money, you know?”  

 

  

 

Yue Wan nodded. “True.” She tapped her head, suddenly puzzled. “But why is it that even though you eat with us, you never gain weight?”  

 

  

 

“Because I exercise every day,” Su Rong snapped, rolling her eyes. “Unlike you and Ah, who are both lazy. One spends the whole day reading picture books, and the other sunbathes all day without even bothering to catch mice.”  

 

  

 

“Ah is so lazy that even if a mouse pulled its whiskers, it wouldn’t bother to raise a paw,” Yue Wan admitted. “But do you think I could still slim down if I started exercising now?”  

 

  

 

“You can, if you eat less and run more every day,” Su Rong replied as she lay on her bed, playing with a dagger. “Run for a year, and you’ll be so thin that a gust of wind could blow you over.”  

 

  

 

Yue Wan: “…”  

 

  

 

She wasn’t sure she wanted to be that thin.