The Royal’s Little Lady

When Xiao Heng walked out of the room, the sky had already turned dark.

It was late autumn so the wind was stronger than in the past few days. As it blew, the bamboo leaves fell down gently on the ground.

Gu Sui’er lay on the bed with closed eyes, feeling as if she could sense the thin bamboo leaf that dropped on the window sill.

The bamboo leaf was shaped like a knife, just like the shape of his brows.

His eyebrows, his eyes, his mouth, his…

It didn’t matter if her eyes were closed or open, all she could think of was him.

Even when she tried to fall asleep now, she felt that someone was in front of her, holding the peach in hand softly.

She hadn’t expected him to be fond of such a thing.

Acting like a child, he lay on top of them while nibbling on them slowly, gently, and sometimes even teasing the tip with his fingertips as if he were strumming the strings of a lute.

Thinking of the aforementioned scene, she blushed and her heartbeat accelerated.

When he strum the lute, she really became one. High and low sounds left her mouth, rising and falling in succession, continuous and unending.

“Young Mistress, you must be starving by now. Do you want to eat something?” Nanny An opened the door slightly. She stuck her head in and looked around before asking in a low voice.

Earlier, Xiao Heng told her that she should not let the Young Mistress stay hungry. However, he also ordered her not to disturb the Young Mistress’ slumber.

After some time of being stuck between a rock and a hard place, Nanny An finally decided to come in and find out. If Gu Sui’er was sleeping, she would retreat without delay, if she wasn’t, she would speak.

Hearing Nanny An’s voice, Gu Sui’er’s abruptly awakened from her pleasant and touching fantasy. Her ears reddened with shame as she hurriedly spoke up in a bashful tone: “Nanny, come in. I am awake.”

Nanny An walked in. Wanting to pour some soup for Gu Sui’er, she came towards the bed. 

When she looked across the delicately embroidered bed canopy, she noticed that the pointed chin of the person lying inside was hidden under the quilt. The eyes exposed outside the quilt were adorably timid and bashful, containing a sliver of embarrassment.

A glance at this pair of fresh and pure yet timid and bashful eyes would inevitably make one’s heart itchy.

Nanny An was slightly amazed. She secretly mumbled in her heart, no wonder someone as grim and cold-faced as the third Master has been captivated by this pure and simple Young Mistress. Even an old lady like herself felt that the Young Mistress lying inside the bed canopy right now was incredibly beautiful.

If she was a man, she would be fond of her too.

Men did not love those women who were arrogant and despotic. In fact, although they said that they liked those serious and well-learned women, they were not fond of them. As long as it was a man, which one of them didn’t truly like to see a beauty in the bed?

She had seen the Young Mistress’ figure. One shouldn’t be fooled by the fact that she had a big belly. Her figure was still very nice and her flushed snowy white skin was soft and tender. This kind of a supple beauty laying on his bed could drive any man crazy!

Hence, she couldn’t help but smile: “Nowadays I only hope for the Young Mistress to give birth to this child without a hitch. If you give birth to a big fat boy, then the Young Mistress can have a happy and comfortable life and we servants can also bask in your light.”

Hearing this, Gu Sui’er suddenly recalled Xiao Heng’s words.

He said that he preferred daughters and that he hoped she could give to a baby girl. Yet, he also said that if it was a baby boy, it would be wonderful.

What did this mean?

Was he looking forward to the child being a boy like Nanny An?

Gu Sui’er stroked her belly. She always felt that her little tadpole was a boy. It was so energetic; it didn’t feel like a girl at all.

“Third Master also hopes for the child to be a boy.” She muttered softly as she felt the movements of the little tadpole inside her belly.

“Of course, he would. That’s how it should be!” Nanny An said with an all-knowing and as-it-should-be smile: “All men prefer sons without a doubt. They all hope for a son. If it’s a boy, then it’s Young Mistress’ good fortune!”

Nanny An’s thoughts were more profound than Gu Sui’er’s.

One must know although the current Emperor doted on Xiao Heng and relied upon him heavily, he was but the third son; not the eldest son. As such, his wife, the future third Madam, did not need to be in charge of the Mansion.

Due to this, the matter of selection of the third Young Master’s marriage candidate was much wider and relaxed than with the elder two Young Masters. His wife didn’t necessarily need to be chosen from amongst the eldest daughter of the main wife1 of the other noble families.

In this YanJing City, there were some daughters of minor officials who had become the main wives of a Young Master from a Marquis family. As for the daughters of common people, there were barely one or two.

Her Young Mistress had an exceptional appearance, a lovable, gentle and agreeable temperament. The Old Madam and the Madam liked her and the third master doted on her very much. In the future, if the Young Mistress gave birth to a Little Young Master, it was not impossible to not raise her position from that of a concubine to that of a main wife.

For a while, Nanny An thought about many things, and then asked about the situation of Gu Sui’er’s maiden family carefully. After a long while, she couldn’t help but sigh: “If the Young Mistress’ maiden family’s condition was a bit better, then everything would’ve been good! Third Master would have promoted you to be his main wife without any difficulty, and the Young Mistress would have become the third Young Madam of this Marquis Mansion. It would have been so wonderful ah!”

Unfortunately, her origin was too humble.

Even an ordinary small official or just a rich family in YanJing City would be better than this ah!

On the contrary, Gu Sui’er had never speculated about such a possibility. She shook her head when she heard this, “Young Madam? Is it the same as the eldest and the second Young Madam? That absolutely can’t be.”

What kind of identity did she have? When compared to the eldest and the second Young Madam, she didn’t know how big the difference in their identity there was. But she knew one thing, that is, she could never be the same as the two of them.

“I will be content as long as I can settle down and live quietly in this mansion without being bullied.” At this time, Gu Sui’er remembered her time in the countryside.

It was much better now than it was then.

Looking at Gu Sui’er’s lack of ambition, Nanny An hated the iron for not becoming steel2 and said: “Young Mistress, you have no ambition. Could it be that you have not even thought of fighting for the position of the third Young Madam?”

Gu Sui’er looked at her blankly. Unable to fully comprehend her words, she asked with a slight frown: “If I do vie for the position, would I get it?”

Nanny An choked.

Right, this was an issue.

Even if she fought for it, Gu Sui’er might not necessarily achieve it.

After all, the final decision for the position of the main wife was not entirely taken by the third Master. The Old Madam and the Lord Marquis needed to agree. The other family members also needed to give their consent.

Suddenly, Nanny An felt somewhat disheartened. She realized that her Young Mistress might remain a concubine all her life and not become the main wife.

As she looked at the soft and charming young woman lying on the bed, she couldn’t help but say: “Even if Young Mistress doesn’t think of doing it for yourself, what about the Little Young Master in your womb? After all, a child borne by a concubine is different from a child borne by the main wife!”

“Ah… Right, it is ah.” After being reminded, Gu Sui’er also pondered over this problem.

As the child of a concubine, she was afraid that her little tadpole would be bullied in the future.

If it can become the legitimate son, then that’s naturally for the best.

But how could her, a concubine’s child, become the child born of the main wife?

She couldn’t possibly become a Young Madam…

Gu Sui’er lay there thinking for a long while. It was not until Nanny An brought over a bowl of chicken soup to serve her that she spoke.

“Nanny An, if the third Master finds a wife who is like the two Young Madams, will she bully me? Will she bully my little tadpole?”

Nanny An already knew that the ‘little tadpole’ in her words was their future Little Young Master.

She didn’t have the heart to see Gu Sui’er frown in worry so she comforted her, “Of course not. The two Young Madams are both good people. How can they bully other people wantonly?”

“You see, although the second Young Miss and the fourth Young Master are not much pampered in the residence, no one bullies them ah!”

It’s just that their opportunities were not as good as the others in all aspects, especially when it came to marriage. The other noble families regard them with disdain for being concubine-born.

When Gu Sui’er heard this, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and her brows relaxed.

“That’s good! If the third Master can marry a Young Madam with a temperament like the eldest and the second Young Madams’, I can also live peacefully.”

As an observer, Nanny An could only shake her head.

She really is unambitious!