The Royal’s Little Lady

The whole episode of Xiao Xu causing a scene and blocking Gu Sui’er’s way naturally reached Xiao Heng’s ears quickly.

He didn’t say anything but merely invited Xiao Xu to TingZhu Courtyard.

Xiao Xu was unaware of the circumstances so she could only ask him in confusion: “Third Brother, do you want to say something?”

Xiao Heng glanced at her faintly without saying anything.

Xiao Xu shuddered.

She had always been a little afraid of her third Brother. Now that she was summoned without a reason, she really failed to comprehend the situation.

Could it be because of that incident between her and his little Concubine that day? But its unlikely for him to do this because of that…

Xiao Heng ordered Xiao Xu to stand outside the room, behind the heavy curtain.

Inside, a doctor was invited to check Gu Sui’er’s pulse.

This doctor from the Imperial Palace was highly-skilled in the area of gynecology. He would come to Marquis RuiDing’s Mansion every five or six days to check Gu Sui’er’s pulse and prescribe medications to nourish her body and child.

There was silence in the room. None of the people outside spoke as they respectfully stood in their place. Except for the slight rustling sound made by the bamboo leaves as they moved in the wind, nothing else could be heard.

As Xiao Xu stood there, she grew suspicious.

She started becoming restless.

Xiao Xu’s position in Marquis RuiDing’s Mansion was incomparable to Xiao Heng’s.

Furthermore, the Emperor doted on him and appreciated him.

The Emperor personally established the Long Qi Guards and they worked solely for him. Apart from him, nobody could command them.

Xiao Heng was the Leader of Long Qi Guards.

At this time, Nanny An walked out of the room and glanced at her with a smile: “Doctor Hua came from the Palace. His Majesty passed the decree directing Doctor Hua to come over and check Young Mistress’ pulse on time. His Majesty greatly appreciates the third Master, so he also shows special favor to our Young Mistress!”

Love the house and its crow.1Love the house and its crow [爱屋及乌] – It means that when someone is involved (in any kind of relationship) with a person, they have to take into account everything about that person. Like if the Emperor appreciates Xiao Heng, he has to show atleast the tiniest bit of favor to his (Xiao Heng’s) pregnant concubine too. All the rewards that His Majesty bestowed on the Young Mistress are piled up in the house.

Xiao Xu felt a little uneasy when she heard this.

Usually Xiao Xu did not pay any attention to these minions like Nanny An. However, now she knew that the one behind Nanny An was Gu Sui’er and her third Brother was Gu Sui’er’s backer.

Third Brother is really good to his little Concubine…

Yao Guang, who was standing beside her, asked in a low voice: “Nanny An, is the Young Mistress alright? Just now, the third Young Master asked about her. He said that she got a little bit of a scare recently and the child in her belly moved.”

Of course this was not something Xiao Heng would ask. It was nothing more than deliberately mentioning this in front of Xiao Xu.

As expected, when Xiao Xu heard this, she felt her heart hanging.

She was also afraid that if something happened to Gu Sui’er, her third Brother would definitely try to find faults with her.

Nanny An glanced at Xiao Xu and deliberately sighed: “God knows… This time, Young Mistress must have really felt wronged. I saw Dr. Hua feel her pulse to examine her for a long time. Hopefully nothing should be wrong.”

Xiao Xu suddenly trembled.

She couldn’t help feeling nervous and afraid. She remembered the cold and indifferent face of her third Brother and then recalled what the Concubine2Concubine [yí niáng] [姨娘] – This is a term (the pinyin one) used to refer to a person’s father’s concubine. Technically, even though Xiao Xu is the said concubine’s daughter, she could not call her mother. She had to call her father’s legal wife mother and address her birth mother as concubine or aunt. had told her before.

She said that it didn’t matter whom she offended in the family as long as it was not the third Young Master.

At that time, she didn’t understand those words and wanted to clarify, but the Concubine didn’t anything about it. She just asked Xiao Xu not to tell these words to others.

At first, she didn’t care about it, but now she was beginning to feel afraid. She stood there while regretting it. She had previously believed that she had chosen a gentle and tender person to vent so as to display her authority and might in front of others. How could she have known that she had just picked up a pole and stabbed her own self?

Blame third Brother for being too good to his little Concubine.

After she suffered for a full half an hour, Doctor Hua’s pulse diagnosis was finally completed.

She looked at the doctor, and then at the maids who came in and out of the room. She wanted to stop someone and inquire about the situation, but no one paid any attention to her.

If it were at normal times, she would have thought that others were looking down on her for being a Concubine’s daughter. However, her heart was full of fear now.

But if Gu Sui’er was alright, will third Brother still be angry? It’s unlikely that he will complain about her in front of His Majesty in one breath, right? Will the Old Madam scold her? Will she punish her?

As she was thinking about all sorts of possibilities, Xiao Heng finally ordered someone to call her and let her go to his study.

Xiao Xu was stunned. She walked to the study with heavy legs and feet like a wooden figurine, experiencing the feeling of getting closer to death with every step she took.

After she entered the study, Xiao Heng didn’t even bother to lift his head and look at her.

Xiao Xu cautiously greeted: “Third Brother.”

Xiao Heng still did not look up, and continued to read the book in his hands.

Xiao Xu’s heart jumped to her throat. Feeling aggrieved, she spoke again: “Third Brother, I was wrong.”

Xiao Heng still didn’t speak but his slender fingers turned the page of the book.

All of a sudden, Xiao Xu covered her face and started crying: “Third Brother, I bullied little Sister-in-law but I didn’t do it on purpose. I just thought that instead of me, the Madam gave her the eggs.”

Xiao Heng finally put the book aside and picked up the brush and dipped it into the grinded ink.

Xiao Xu’s cheeks were streaming with tears of shame and worry: “Third Brother, if something happens to little Sister-in-law, I will pay for it with my life! I made a mistake… I will never dare to do it anymore!”

This time, Xiao Heng raised his head and glanced at her lightly.

Xiao Xu only felt as if was a cold wind blew by her, chilling her to the bone.

She suddenly understood what the Concubine meant when she told her that she, Xiao Xu, could provoke anyone in the residence except Xiao Heng.

She stammered: “Th-Third Brother…I was wrong.”

Xiao Heng put down the brush from his hand, and said lightly: “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just that her body’s foundation is not good. After she conceived the child, some things happened which caused her pregnancy to become unstable. It is absolutely necessary that she recuperates well. It’s not suitable for her to get into disputes or argue with someone.”

Xiao Xu said while crying, “Third Brother, I got it. I’m the one who should be blamed. Little Sister-in-law must have felt annoyed because of me. If something happens to her, I will be damned! I won’t dare to do this anymore!”

Xiao Heng’s words were still light: “We are siblings. We should take care of each other however, harmony is the most important. What does my Sister think?”

Xiao Xu nodded her head like a chicken pecking rice: “Exactly exactly, third Brother is right! Peace and harmony should be the most important thing. I will get along well with little Sister-in-law in the future! I will never let her be angry anymore! I’ll go and apologize to her!”

Xiao Heng: “It’s okay, you can go out now. Remember to ask Nanny An to pick out some black-feathered Silkie Chicken eggs for you. Those should a good supplement for you since you are going to take the admission test for the girls’ school soon.”

Xiao Xu: “En en en. Thank you, third Brother! Thank you!”

As she ran out of Xiao Heng’s study, Xiao felt like she had successfully fled with her life.

She didn’t know why she felt so. In reality, Xiao Heng was not fierce to her at all. He didn’t even say any harsh words to her. Nevertheless, she was scared of him without any reason.

Xiao Heng, who seldom spoke, had a highly dignified aura which could easily suffocate someone.

She looked toward Gu Sui’er’s room. In her heart, she wondered how to make up with Gu Sui’er and befriend her as soon as possible.

********************

Gu Sui’er didn’t know what happened outside her room. She only knew that Xiao Xu suddenly came over to apologize to herself. It was completely different from arrogant behaviour from before. Gu Sui’er felt as if the person before her was not Xiao Xu anymore.

Since she had apologized, Gu Sui’er naturally chose to forgive and forget. After talking with Xiao Xu for a while, she let Nanny An bring some eggs and other supplements for Xiao Xu.

Xiao Xu was overjoyed at the turn of events. She couldn’t thank her enough so she held Gu Sui’er’s hands, addressed her by little Sister-in-law quite affectionately and talked for a long time without any stop. She even said that she would send some presents for her later.

After sending Xiao Xu away, Gu Sui’er let out a rueful sigh. In this residence, there were some things and people she could understand but there were also some things and people she absolutely couldn’t understand.

She knew that the people here have their own careful thinking. Some had a good mind while some had bad but regretfully, she couldn’t tell the difference. All she thought about was to be a responsible person, to be benevolent, and to take good care of herself so that she could safely give birth to her little tadpole and bring him up till he became an adult.

As for other things, she didn’t want to deal with that.

If people treated her well, she would treat them well.

She didn’t care who was right and who was wrong.

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1Love the house and its crow [爱屋及乌] – It means that when someone is involved (in any kind of relationship) with a person, they have to take into account everything about that person. Like if the Emperor appreciates Xiao Heng, he has to show atleast the tiniest bit of favor to his (Xiao Heng’s) pregnant concubine too.2Concubine [yí niáng] [姨娘] – This is a term (the pinyin one) used to refer to a person’s father’s concubine. Technically, even though Xiao Xu is the said concubine’s daughter, she could not call her mother. She had to call her father’s legal wife mother and address her birth mother as concubine or aunt.