A delicate girl in plain white came out from the inner chamber. She looked up at her father and then turned to her mother, saying softly, "If daddy"s gonna buy a yard, then I can wait to have my new clothes made later!"
An Rushuang looked obedient and gentle. She kept saying, "It"s said that in the capital even a small yard could cost as high as thousands of tales of silvers. My clothes were made last year, and they were actually bigger at that time, but now they suit me well."
An Yipei was moved and warmed by her words. He touched his daughter"s hair, looking at her plain dress, "Never mind, my dear, no need to save money for us. Go pick your favorite cloth with your mummy, choose the best one and make beautiful clothes as many as you want."
Lady An smiled, "Do not spoil her!"
"She"s my daughter. I"m happy to spoil her!"
When they were talking cheerfully, Hong Yu came at the doorsteps, saying, "Miss Zhu and Miss Lu have come to visit madam. Mammy has brought them to Liuxi Pavillion."
"Got that. I"ll come."
After a short stupor, An Rushuang quickly responded. She still remembered these two girls, who used to be her besties.
"Daddy and mummy, see you." She ran away in such a hurry after saying goodbye to them, which made An Yipei laugh out.
When he couldn"t see his daughter, he turned to Lady An and asked "Darling, do we have any more..."
Thinking about the wording, he didn"t know how to put forward what he wanted to say. Although the Emperor granted this house as an award to them, all the decorations and daily necessities were bought with his previous savings and… Lady An"s dowry.
Now, how could he ask to buy another yard in the luxurious capital? It was too much to ask.
"Your lords.h.i.+p." Lady An smiled and she already knew what he was going to say. So she said to him, "Do not worry about money. I still have some jewelries. If we p.a.w.n them, we might get enough money."
"No!"
Hearing her words, An Yipei hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Let me think about this. There must be a way out."
Lowering her head, Lady An was still smiling, "I"ll leave it for you to decide."
"You did so much for our family."
He sighed deeply and held her in the arms. His eyes were filled with warmth and tenderness.
However, when she was cuddled in his arms, Lady An"s smile gradually disappeared.
Should she believe him again? Her heart was like a feather floating in the air, unable to fall onto the ground.
When An Rushuang stepped out of the main courtyard, it was already bright outside.
The sun was not hot in April, shedding golden light onto the ground warmly. It was as if the ground was paved with gold pieces.
She couldn"t help but turning around and looked at the main room with the curtain hanging, hoping that the other woman would no longer be a thorn to mum.
Almost running all the way to Liuxi Pavilion, of which the front door was open, An Rushuang heard crispy laughters coming from inside, but she couldn"t figure out who was laughing.
An Rushuang felt somewhat nervous, but tried her best to calm down.
On entering the room, she could feel the light was darker inside.
The two girls were sitting on a wooden chair, talking and laughing. When they heard footsteps, they turned around.
One of them was in a red dress, with a b.l.o.o.d.y red long whip tied around her waist. She giggled, "Xianxian, look at her. She does not recognize us."
The woman, known as Xianxian, wore a water green dress. She looked warm and soft. But her cunning eyes revealed her real character.
"Oh, I am afraid that she"s stunned at your b.l.o.o.d.y red dress, Miss Lu!"
Hearing this, An Rushuang couldn"t help laughing. Her teeth were slightly revealed, and her eyes were s.h.i.+ning. It was as if her broken heart had been healed and regained energy.
But she suddenly began to cry, and her tears fell down from her soft and fair cheeks, as if she had been wronged and mistreated. Without saying a word, An Rushuang was whimpering.
Seeing this, the two ran over to her in a panic. Frowning, Xianxian rolled up her sleeves and tried to diagnose her.
An Rushuang reached out and hugged the two. After a long time, she muttered, "Why come so late!"
She seemed to have waited for them for a lifetime.
But it was she who was busy with other girls appreciating flowers outside in the past few days and did not have time to see them!
Now, hearing An"s words, it seemed that they were to be blamed. At a time, they did not know what to say.
However, looking at her sad face, they didn"t dare to say more in case she cried even more hard.
An Rushuang didn"t want to behave like this, but she couldn"t help it. Seeing the two in front of her, she recalled the autumn rainy morning.
She got a handful of jewelleries, and she wanted to ask a eunuch to send the jewelries to them. They had already got used to the lives in the capital, how could they bear the horrible environment at the border?
But it was on that night that she received the news about their death.
But strange enough, she did not drop a tear.