The Princess Who Marry The Crown Prince - Chapter 7

Marquis An Ning walked ahead alone, trailed by two attendants. The marquis wore a richly embroidered robe with several jade pendants hanging from his waist, and his hair was tied up with a green jade hairpin. He looked to be in his forties, his face adorned with a short mustache. Despite being middle-aged, he had not gained weight and continued to maintain a stately physique. Time had etched some wrinkles onto his once-handsome features, lending him a weathered dignity, but he still retained a trace of the charm from his younger days. At first glance, he appeared every bit the righteous and upright gentleman.

Su Qiuqiu thought to herself, with a face like this—on par with a fairy—it would be a waste not to put it to use. Time to use these looks to win herself a little favor. Unless, of course, her cheap father had a heart of stone or a broken sense of beauty…

As Marquis An Ning approached, Su Qiuqiu quickly adjusted her expression. Supported by Lingxiang, she jogged forward in small, hurried steps to meet him. She couldn’t afford to look like she had been waiting here on purpose—that would ruin the whole act. It had to seem like a chance encounter.

“Running around like that—what kind of behavior is that?” Marquis An Ning scolded with a frown as he caught sight of her.

“F-Father… Qiuqiu greets Father with respect…” Su Qiuqiu looked up at him, feigning panic in her eyes as she bowed with practiced grace.

“Oh, it’s Qiuqiu. Why are you in such a fluster?” The marquis frowned slightly; his tone was indifferent. He hadn’t interacted much with this daughter of his, and their father-daughter bond was practically nonexistent. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have so casually let the Lady Wang (Madam Wang) arrange her marriage like that.

“It’s… it’s nothing… Qiuqiu must return quickly. If I’m late, then…” Su Qiuqiu’s voice trembled as she curtsied again, biting her lip, looking like she was on the verge of tears but holding it in bravely.

“And what happens if you’re late?” the marquis asked, frowning again. He hadn’t intended to concern himself with her, but when he saw the shimmer of tears in her large, dark eyes and that pitifully beautiful face, his heart softened despite himself.

“If she’s late, Nanny Zhang will scold the Seventh Young Lady…” Lingxiang replied hesitantly when Su Qiuqiu didn’t answer right away.

“Nanny Zhang? Who is that?” the marquis asked, brows furrowing further.

“She used to serve the Madam. Now she manages affairs at Qinglan Court for the Seventh Young Lady,” Lingxiang explained.

“She’s doing it for my own good… I’ve been out too long; I really must return. I beg Father’s forgiveness for disturbing your time…” Su Qiuqiu added in a soft voice, looking up at him pleadingly.

“Go on, then…” Marquis An Ning waved a hand after a pause. Su Qiuqiu and Lingxiang quickly retreated.

“Changxing, follow them,” the marquis instructed a boy who looked like a page after Su Qiuqiu left. The boy nodded and trailed after them.

“Miss, Changxing from the marquis’s side is following us,” Lingxiang whispered to Su Qiuqiu as they walked.

“Mm.” Su Qiuqiu’s lips curled slightly in relief. Thankfully, her father wasn’t completely heartless yet. As the neglected Seventh Miss, she was treated coldly, timid by nature, and now with such an awful engagement, everyone kept their distance. Her food wasn’t as refined, and she was easily bullied. If it were revealed that the servants were abusing their mistress, it would be a scandal.

Judging by the time, Madam (Nanny) Zhang should be back by now. If she didn’t find Su Qiuqiu in the courtyard, she would definitely be furious. This woman didn’t treat herself like a servant at all—she’d long stopped seeing Su Qiuqiu as her mistress. In Qinglan Court, she held complete control and had become utterly lawless.

“Where did you go? Didn’t I tell you to stay in your room and embroider your dowry?” Sure enough, the moment Su Qiuqiu returned, Madam Zhang began scolding her.

Embroidery for the dowry had become necessary ever since the matchmaking banquet, when the families of Su Qiuqiu and the Heir to the Prince of Zhen’nan reached a verbal agreement. All that was left was to set the auspicious date and proceed with the formal six ceremonies.

“I…” Su Qiuqiu lowered her head and stayed silent.

“Lingxiang, you say it.” Madam Zhang turned her glare to the maid.

“Miss went to the lotus pond… I dragged her back…” Lingxiang answered in a low voice.

“You… do you ever think of your Fourth Mother? She still has to live in this household!” Madam Zhang’s tone darkened. When she saw the mud and dampness on Su Qiuqiu’s shoes, she assumed the girl had tried to drown herself again. “Are you trying to make more trouble?”

“Madam Zhang, no! I wasn’t trying to do that! I just felt stifled and needed some air. Don’t take it out on Fourth Mother, please…” Su Qiuqiu hurriedly stepped forward, tugging at Madam Zhang’s sleeve in pleading.

“It’s good you understand. You are not allowed to leave this courtyard for the next few days. Stay inside and focus on your embroidery. Madam has arranged for a governess to come instruct you—she’ll arrive in a few days.” With that, Madam Zhang shook off her hand. Su Qiuqiu staggered back and fell to the ground.

“Lingxiang, help the young miss inside!” Madam Zhang frowned, baffled by how weak and frail this girl always seemed. Lingxiang quickly helped her up and led her into the room.

Su Qiuqiu changed her clothes and sat down to continue her embroidery.

In reality, Su Qiuqiu lacked any significant embroidery skills. Fortunately, the original Seventh Miss had been taught by her birth mother, a professional embroideress, and was quite good. Although Su Qiuqiu had inherited some muscle memory from the past experiences of the real Su Qiuqiu, she still needed to recall the techniques carefully, resulting in slow and clumsy stitches, and she often pricked herself.

The next morning, Su Qiuqiu noticed something odd: Fourth Mother Qin hadn’t come by with breakfast like she usually did. Su Qiuqiu felt a twinge of uneasiness but couldn’t act on it—Madam Zhang was watching her, and even Lingxiang had been sent off. She could only silently focus on her embroidery.

“Miss, at this pace, when do you expect to finish? With stitching like this… do you really think it’s acceptable?” Madam  Zhang’s scorn was undisguised when she saw how little Su Qiuqiu had accomplished.

Su Qiuqiu could only remain silent. At least that part was genuine; she wasn’t faking it.

Just as Madam Zhang was about to continue her tirade, a voice came from the courtyard.

“Is the Seventh Miss in?”

“She’s here; she’s inside… oh, Mamma Li, what brings you here?” Madam Zhang hurried out to greet her.

“Tie her up and gag her,” Mamma Li ordered coldly.

From inside, Su Qiuqiu heard muffled voices and hurried to the window. She peeked out just in time to see two sturdy women restraining Madam Zhang, gagging her before she could protest. No amount of struggling could help her now.

“This is the Lord Marquis’s order. How could Qinglan Court have been left to such neglect? A servant should know her place. A mistress is still a mistress,” Mamma Li declared before having Madam Zhang taken away.

Madam Zhang had no idea what was happening. She had been acting under Lady Wang’s orders—but even if she wanted to explain now, it would only bring more trouble.

Su Qiuqiu had expected to wait a few days for the results—she hadn’t imagined it would be this fast.

“Apologies for frightening you, Miss. I am Li Zhenshu, sent by the marquis. From now on, I serve only you. Please tell me whatever you need. Mamma Li entered and bowed respectfully to the seated Su Qiuqiu.

“Where is Nanny Zhang?” Su Qiuqiu asked.

“The Lord Marquis ordered me to replace her. You don’t need to worry. But this room is so cold… the brazier is nearly out,” Mamma Li replied, calling Lingxiang back in.

Su Qiuqiu put on a startled, flustered expression, but in her heart, she was rejoicing. Finally—that woman was gone!

Mamma Li looked gentle and courteous, respectful and appropriate in every way. She handled Su Qiuqiu’s needs with consideration and never overstepped.

Most importantly, she wasn’t Madam Wang’s person. She was a born servant of the marquis’s household, loyal only to him.

Previously, Zi Rui had been sent away to the laundry room—also of Madam Wang’s doing. It was likely a move to isolate Su Qiuqiu.

Su Qiuqiu asked for Zi Rui to return, and Mamma Li agreed at once, even going in person to bring her back to Qinglan Court. Unfortunately, Zi Rui had fallen ill during her time there, so she couldn’t return immediately.

Since Su Qiuqiu’s servants weren’t fully staffed, Mamma Li was arranging to fill the roster. But this wasn’t a coveted post—now that everyone knew Su Qiuqiu was being married off to the Heir of the Prince of Zhen’nan. Only a few wanted to be associated with her, afraid of getting entangled in future troubles.

In the end, Mamma Li had to bring in some young girls from a broker and let Su Qiuqiu pick them herself.

One couldn’t tell much about personality from looks, so Su Qiuqiu naturally picked the prettiest ones. Madam Li didn’t interfere at all—she simply took the girls to a special training area in the estate for a few days of preparation.

Su Qiuqiu was quite happy to have chosen her own maids, though she couldn’t shake the feeling that all this felt a little too generous—more than she expected. It wasn’t long before she understood why.

Worried something might be wrong with Fourth Concubine Qin, Su Qiuqiu sent Lingxiang to check on her. Lingxiang came back with surprising news: the Marquis had been staying with Concubine Qin and even taking his meals there. It seemed that Mother Qin had regained the Marquis’ favor…

Su Qiuqiu was speechless. That was the last thing she’d expected. All she had done was tell Fourth Concubine Qin not to cry for a few days—crying would only bring misfortune to her daughter. She’d also advised her to keep up daily massages to reduce swelling and choose her food and tonics that would help with water retention.

The swelling on Qin’s face had indeed gone down; her eyes no longer looked so puffy, and a bit of color had returned to her cheeks. Just then, with Su Qiuqiu’s situation drawing the Marquis’s attention, he seemed to remember he had this concubine—one who had been neglected and bullied.

When the Marquis went to see her, he didn’t find the tearful and swollen woman he remembered. Instead, he saw someone more graceful and beautiful than his other concubines. Just like that, Concubine Qin was once again favored.

Su Qiuqiu wasn’t sure whether this was good or bad for Madam Qin. Could that man’s affection end up hurting her even more?

But Madam Qin herself was clearly delighted. In the following days, she often visited Su Qiuqiu with a cheerful face, full of energy and enthusiasm—such a stark contrast to her previously gloomy demeanor.

Su Qiuqiu thought it over. If she were to marry out, and Madam Qin were left behind to face bullying alone, having been favored by the Marquis would be crucial. The more favor she received, the stronger her support. Madam Qin’s days might actually get easier.

When she had time, Su Qiuqiu taught Madam Qin some modern makeup techniques. Here, the style was usually a heavy layer of white powder, with little dimension, and rouge applied without consideration for face shape or contouring.

Su Qiuqiu tailored the makeup to suit Qin’s features, making her look noticeably younger and even more delicate and charming.

The results were obvious. The Marquis had been staying with the Fourth Concubine Qin every night and even rewarded her with many gifts, which Madam Qin generously sent over to Su Qiuqiu—something that touched her deeply.

****

The day came—this was the day the Southern Prince’s household (Prince of Zhen’nan) would formally propose marriage. It was said the official matchmaker had already been invited. If the Marquis’s family agreed, they would proceed to the betrothal stage.

“Miss, I heard from one of the cleaning maids—the matchmaker has arrived at the manor!” Lingxiang reported having heard the news. She’d been quite resourceful lately, developing her own methods for gathering information.

“Hmm… keep watching closely,” Su Qiuqiu said. She still felt uneasy. Becoming the Prince of Zhen’nan’s heir’ consort wasn’t set in stone yet, and she couldn’t fully relax.

“Miss, the matchmaker… was sent by the Third Prince,” Lingxiang returned a while later with a fresh bombshell.

“What?” The words struck Su Qiuqiu unexpectedly. She stood frozen in shock.

The Third Prince? What kind of lunatic—what was wrong with him? Su Qiuqiu nearly swore aloud in that moment.