Chapter 105 Old Lady Su’s Return
“The eldest Miss, Old Lady Su is arriving!”
Su Muge was squatting in the yard and sorting out the herbs. Hearing the words, she stood up and handed the shovel to Xinlan.
“So soon?”
Her wicked grandmother was still on her way to the capital a few days ago, but now she had already arrived.
“Yes, Miss, let me help you dress up. The eldest Madam and My Lord are already waiting outside the gate.”
Su Muge nodded and followed Xinche into her room.
After changing into a more formal dress, Su Muge led Yueru and other maids to the gate. Hardly had they reached the gate when they saw a carriage coming from afar.
After the carriage stopped, Su Lun quickly stepped forward and personally lifted the carriage curtain to help Old Lady Su get off.
“Old Lady Su, pay my respects to you.”
Su Muge took a secret look at Old Lady Su while saluting.
She appeared to be in her fifties, with dark skin and stooping back. She was wearing a dark purple robe. Although her eyes were hazy, they still looked very energetic.
Zhao stepped forward to support Old Lady Su with red eyes. “Mother…”
Old Lady Su looked up at her carefully while patting her hands. “Well, well, you’re all good. Don’t be over-courteous like this. Get up.”
“Mother, you must have been tired after such a long journey. Please go back to your room to have a good rest.” Su Lun asked the servants to give way and held Old Lady Su into the mansion with Zhao.
Just as Su Muge was about to follow up, she saw a little girl in common clothes help a woman down from the carriage.
The woman was wearing a pink dress and a lunar-white coat. She looked elder than Su Muge, but she was just around twenty.
Her skin was slightly tanned and looked very healthy; her facial features were quite normal without any distinctive features in the capital full of beauties. Her most beautiful part might be her eyes which looked clear and graceful.
Su Muge withdrew her sight and turned around into Su Mansion.
The girl who supported the woman looked at the gate of Su Mansion with joy. “Sister Haitang, the capital is so grand. It would be nice if we could stay here forever.”
Haitang glanced at Chunya. “Don’t talk nonsense. We are just accompanying Old Lady Su to the capital to serve her. How can we decide to stay or to return?”
Hearing her words, Chunya lowered her head in disappointment. “Yes, I see.”
The courtyard Zhao prepared for Old Lady Su was next to An’s courtyard. Small as it was, it was also an independent yard and enough for Old Lady Su to live in.
While walking in Su Mansion, Old Lady Su took a careful look at the mansion and nodded with satisfaction.
“Well, well, my son has been quite successful. It’s really good.”
After they entered the yard, the maids immediately brought hot tea and snack up. Su Lun accompanied Old Lady Su to sit down.
“Mother, have you suffered along the way?”
Madam Su smiled, “I’ve been sitting in the carriage all the way. How can I suffer? Hurry up! Let me see my grandson.”
Zhao hurriedly asked Meihua to hold little Wenmo into the room.
Old Lady Su looked at little Wenmo affectionately and couldn’t wait to hold him in her arms.
“Oh, my good grandson is so good-looking.”
Seeing that Old Lady Su didn’t mention Su Muge at all, Zhao pulled Su Muge in front of Old Lady Su with a smile.
“Mother, this is Muge.”
Hearing this, Madam Su looked up at Su Muge. Despite a smiley look, her expression was totally different compared with her expression while looking at little Wenmo.
Old Lady Su nodded coldly. “Well, she has grown up into a big girl. Have you arranged her marriage?”
“Mother, we haven’t yet. We are still looking for a proper family for her now.” Su Lun replied. As for the Meng family, since he had already known An’s scheme, Su Lun would certainly not allow Su Muge to marry a lame without much value in use.
“Well, women should be virtuous. After getting married, you should obediently a.s.sist your husband and bring up your children at home.”
Su Muge pretended to be well-behaved and echoed obediently, “Grandmother, you are right.”
“Well, I’m tired. You don’t have to surround me. You may retreat for a rest.”
With a faintly tired look, Old Lady Su must be really tired. Su Lun and others didn’t stay long and quickly retreated.
Zhao intended to stay and serve Old Lady Su, but Old Lady Su called for the woman Su Muge had seen at the gate.
“No need, I’ll be fine with Haitang.”
Old Lady Su might have forgotten about An or have already known that An was sent to Baiyu Temple. She had no intention to ask about Su Jingwen.
Since she didn’t ask, n.o.body would talk about it.
Su Muge took little Wenmo in the hands of Meihua and hugged him in her arms.
“Mother, I’ll take Wenmo back. You still have some affairs to handle. Don’t worry about him.”
With the help of Lu Mama, Zhao’s management of Su Mansion went quite well. Even if there were some people of An who wanted to hinder Zhao, they wouldn’t be so flagrant for fear of Lu Mama.
“Okay.” Zhao took the maids to the front hall.
Su Muge walked slowly with little Wenmo in her arms. This little boy was getting heavier day by day. His skin was fair and tender, making him even more adorable.
“Miss, Cheng Ran is here.” Yueru walked to Su Muge and whispered.
Su Muge nodded. “Okay.”
After holding little Wenmo back to Peachblossom Courtyard and handing him to the maids, she went to the backyard to see Cheng Ran.
“The eldest Miss.”
Su Muge looked up and down at him with a smile, “It has only been half a month since I last saw you, and you are getting much taller now.”
Cheng Ran was only ten years old and was in the stage of growing up.
Hearing Su Muge’s words, Cheng Ran went blushed. “Miss, don’t make fun of me.”
“Miss, this is their recent learning situation. Please have a look.”
Su Muge took a serious look at the stack of paper and found several children’s handwriting really good.
“Have they finished the learning of Qian Zi Wen?” (Thousand Character Cla.s.sic, written by thousands of characters)
“The teacher said they had finished it yesterday.”
“Okay, they should continue learning characters. From now on, you ask the teacher to teach them characters in the morning and I’ll give them cla.s.ses personally in the afternoon.”
“What?” Cheng Ran looked up at Su Muge in surprise.
“Miss, you want to teach them?”
Su Muge nodded with a smile, “Yes, I have to teach them about herbs and medicine practice.”
Having made so many preparations, she planned to establish a medical school and set up chain medical clinics all over the country!
In this era, medicine was regarded as an ancestral secret and would not be spread out easily. So there were very few people with excellent medical skills in the whole country, most of whom were from medical families. As a result, no outsiders could learn medicine.
“Miss, you are going to teach them medicine…” Cheng Ran was shocked.
“Yeah, but this goal is a bit ambitious. Let’s take it step by step.”
At the thought of her goal, Su Muge couldn’t wait to teach those children.
After sending away Cheng Ran, Yueru hesitated to speak for several times while following Su Muge.
Having heard Su Muge’s words just now, she was immediately stupefied!
Miss actually wanted to run a school! She even wanted to teach the children she bought in person!
If known by My Lord, she would certainly be locked up!
Su Muge was looking forward to her plan wholeheartedly, without paying attention to Yueru’s expression at all.
“Yueru, sort out the sketches of herbs I have drawn before. I’ll use them tomorrow.”
Yueru was stunned, “Miss, you are going out tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’ll go out and see the children. I wonder how their condition is now.”
Yueru had no choice but to prepare.
Early in the next morning, Su Muge woke up just at dawn.
Now that Old Lady Su was here, unwilling as she was, she had to greet her with Zhao.
“Mother, where is Wenmo?”
After washing and dressing, Su Muge went out of her room and saw two maids help Zhao out.
Hearing this, Zhao revealed a flicker of strange emotion in her eyes. “Last night, your grandmother said that she missed your younger brother and asked people to send him to her.”
It was obvious that Old Lady Su was very patriarchal, preferring boys to girls. It was normal to love her only grandson, but it was inappropriate indeed to take the child away from his mother at night.
Seeing Zhao’s worsened complexion, Su Muge knew that she must have been worried about little Wenmo for the whole night and must have not slept well.
“Mother, don’t worry. We can just bring my brother back now.”
Zhao nodded and went to Old Lady Su with Su Muge.
As soon as the mother and daughter arrived outside of the courtyard, they heard a hearty laugh from the room. Apart from Old Lady Su’s laughter, there was a strange female voice.
After Zhao and Su Muge walked in, they saw a woman holding little Wenmo while Old Lady Su was watching beside her.
“Good morning, grandmother.”
“Good morning, mother.”
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Su raised her head and nodded with a smile.
“You don’t have to come here early in the morning. I don’t have such rules.”
Seeing little Wenmo being held in the arms of Haitang who seemed to be holding her own son, Zhao felt a little uncomfortable but replied with a smile, “Mother, we should come to see you. I wonder who this girl is …”
Zhao’s sight fell on Haitang. Only then did Haitang realize that she should stand up and salute Zhao and Su Muge.
“Madam, the eldest Miss, pay my respects to you.”
“Well, as I said just now, there’s no such big rules here.” Old Lady Su looked towards Zhao. “This is Haitang. She has been serving me in the village for the past two years. I’ve brought her together with me to the capital this time.”
Su Muge glanced at Haitang who was still holding little Wenmo and stepped forward to take little Wenmo over from her hand. “It turns out to be a new maid bought by Grandmother.”
Upon hearing Su Muge’s words, Haitang froze the smile on her face slightly.
Old Lady Su also put on a sullen face. “What? Haitang is like my daughter. How could she be a maid?!”