"It's alright." Pei Yuan pulled the covers up and sat up. "You can sleep a little longer."
Qiu Su sat up, supporting her aching lower back and frowning.
"Miss," Huang Tao whispered from outside, "Someone from the neighboring courtyard has come and said that something bad has happened to Miss Zhuyuan."
Qiu Su paused, her hand on her waist twitching, and said with lowered eyelids, "Go and take a look."
Pei Yuan stared at Qiu Su, but the room was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything clearly. Pei Yuan lit a candle, but Qiu Su had already put on a cotton-padded coat and was leaning against the headboard, showing no intention of lying down again.
"Your eyes are a little swollen." Pei Yuan walked over and tried to stroke her cheek, but Qiu Su turned her head away.
Pei Yuan smiled and asked, "Didn't you sleep well? Was the baby fussy?"
"Go quickly, don't waste time."
Pei Yuan frowned and stared at Qiu Su for a while, but ultimately said nothing. He got dressed and left the room. Xiao Qing looked very unwell, and upon seeing Pei Yuan come out, she knelt down with a "plop."
“I was wrong before, but it was all for my young lady’s good. My young lady has a heart full of love for the young master, but she never says it. She only hopes to hear a word from the young master before she dies. I said something I shouldn’t have said last night and offended the young lady… Waaah, if the young master goes to see her, I’m afraid it’s not good.”
Pei Yuan glanced back at the dim candlelight in the inner room, frowned, and stepped out of the courtyard. Huang Tao waited until Xiao Qing disappeared behind Pei Yuan before kicking a snowball and entering the room.
Huang Tao lifted the curtain and went into the inner room, bringing in a slight breeze. Qiu Su frowned, "It's still snowing."
"Yes, it hasn't stopped." Huang Tao glanced outside suspiciously and whispered, "Miss, with this weather, and the neighbor's health isn't good again, is he going to make it through the year?"
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Qiu Su glared at her angrily. "Don't let me hear you say that again!"
Huang Tao pouted and let out a long sigh, saying, "Miss, I just think that green snake is something else; I just can't stand the sight of it." Huang Tao gestured with her chin toward the mountain lord who was lying on the ground, "Oh, mountain lord?"
The mountain lord grunted, and Huang Tao smiled and said, "The mountain lord thinks so too. If I hadn't locked Dou Dou in the room just now, she would definitely be barking. Speaking of barking, Miss, Dou Dou doesn't seem to bark."
Qiu Su frowned and said, "It seems so. Xue'er doesn't seem to know how to call either."
"Xue'er isn't incapable of barking, she just likes to howl in the middle of the night, and in a soft, delicate voice, like a pampered young lady. Actually, animals often resemble whoever they are. Look at the Mountain Lord, he always puts on airs..." Huang Tao touched her nose, glanced at Qiu Su, and continued, "Xue'er is just like Ling Girl, so sweet. Dou Dou is just like me, so rough and boorish. Sigh."
Qiu Su glared at Huang Tao, then suddenly heard some noise outside the courtyard and whispered, "Is something really wrong? Let's go take a look."
"It's so cold, Miss, you should stay indoors. Once we enter the first month of the lunar calendar, it will be nine months pregnant, so you must be careful."
"Alright." Qiu Su put on her cotton coat and scolded lightly, "With your little tricks, sigh, I promise I won't be angry when I get back."
Huang Tao pouted, thinking to herself, "A petty person like me can't be changed so easily. I'll just have to keep it to myself again."
When Qiu Su, supporting Huang Tao's arm, walked to the neighboring courtyard, it was already brightly lit. Mother Pei had also come over and frowned slightly when Qiu Su entered. Qiu Su didn't want to think about anything else, so she glanced into the inner room and whispered, "Greetings, Mother-in-law. How is Sister Zhu Yuan?"
"It's not good." Madam Pei pursed her lips and frowned. "Susu, you're a sensible child. If I let Yuan'er marry Zhuyuan..."
Pei's mother didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was already clear. Qiu Su's smile didn't reach her eyes, and she sighed inwardly, "Let's see what Ziqing thinks. If he says he'll marry you, then let's marry you."
Madam Pei reached out and grasped Qiu Su's hand, smiling as she said, "He kept delaying because he cared about your opinion, but seeing Zhu Yuan's health deteriorating, I couldn't bear to see her like this... In short, you've always been a daughter-in-law of the Pei family, someone who will spend your life with Yuan'er."
Qiu Su's smile was a little stiff. She turned her gaze to Huang Tao and said, "You can go out now."
Huang Tao had been frowning ever since Pei's mother said those words, and now seeing Qiu Su kicking her out, she was even angrier, but she didn't want to show it in front of the Pei family elders. She clenched her fists tightly, slammed the door shut, and stormed out.
Prime Minister Pei sat at the table, observing Qiu Su. In his view, Pei Yuan's marriage to Zhu Yuan was perhaps a way to force Qiu Su to go to the battlefield. Although it was somewhat cruel, it was a shortcut for the overall situation. Pei Yuan was certainly capable of ensuring her safety, but she had to be forced to summon General Ji's tens of thousands of troops.
Mother Pei patted Qiu Su's hand and said with a smile, "Su Su, you shouldn't go in. It might contaminate the child."
"It's alright."
Qiu Su lifted the cotton curtain and went into the inner room. She knew in her heart that this was to find herself a reason to give up, the last reason to never fight for it again.
Pei Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, holding Zhu Yuan. Zhu Yuan's bare arms and neck were covered with silver needles, but her lips remained bluish-purple. Qiu Su stood at the door watching them, as if observing someone else's affairs, feeling neither joy nor sorrow.
"Brother Yuan, am I going to die?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Pei Yuan said with a smile, "Isn't it much better than before? If the doctor says it's nothing, then it's definitely nothing."
Perhaps because she felt she truly wouldn't survive the year, or perhaps because she had endured for too long and couldn't bear it any longer, Zhu Yuan trembled and whispered, "Brother Yuan, my dream is simply to one day marry you... I know that in your heart, right now, there is only Qiu... But you are still greedy..."
Zhu Yuan spoke haltingly, her emotions somewhat unstable. Qi Xiu glanced at Qiu Su, who was tilting her head slightly as she looked at the two people on the bed, and coughed, saying, "The patient shouldn't get too agitated or talk too much. Saving energy will help her recover."
Pei Yuan quickly said, "Don't say anymore, I know everything."
"You don't know, you don't know..." A tear fell from Zhu Yuan's eye, and Pei Yuan reached out to catch it as if possessed, only to find it burning his palm.
“Even if I marry you, I can’t bear your children… I once thought that just being by your side would be enough… but I was too greedy… Brother Yuan…” Zhu Yuan gasped for breath before finally saying, “If I were healthy, Brother Yuan… would you marry me?”
Pei Yuan pursed his lips and remained silent, while the glimmer of hope in Zhu Yuan's eyes slowly faded. Xiao Qing glanced at Qiu Su at the door, walked over, knelt down crying, and begged, "Please, young mistress, spare my young lady's life! I will serve you like a slave from now on! Please let my young lady marry the young master. She has loved him for five years, and it seems that this is the last vestige of her hope."
Qiu Su glanced at Xiao Qing, who was kneeling and kowtowing, then at the servants standing in the room, weeping, and at Pei Yuan, who was holding Zhu Yuan and hadn't looked up. She suddenly felt a strange sense of irony.
Perhaps in their eyes, she was the villain. Not only did she steal someone else's destiny, but she was also a jealous and vicious woman, monopolizing the Prime Minister's eldest son and preventing him from marrying the person he loved. Yes, the Prime Minister's son, what difference does it make how many women he marries? It's just a matter of time!
Qiu Su chuckled softly and stepped back, saying, "Get up. I never stopped you. This is a good thing. Start preparing in the next few days."
Xiaoqing kowtowed again, this time with genuine sincerity. It was clear that although she was a bit sharp-tongued, she was truly devoted to her master. Qiu Su thought of Huang Tao, wondering if bringing her to the capital had been a mistake. If she were to leave in the future, would she be able to safely take her with her?
"Xiaoqing thanks the young mistress on behalf of Miss."
Xiaoqing got up and knelt down by the bed again, clinging to Zhuyuan's hand and saying, "Miss, you must pull through. The young mistress said that the wedding will be held for you in the next few days. Hasn't Miss been looking forward to this day? Young master, please tell Miss that you will marry my young lady in the next few days, right?"
Pei Yuan looked up at Qiu Su, their eyes met, and both eyes were filled with sorrow. Pei Yuan didn't know for whom Qiu Su was grieving, and Qiu Su didn't understand the source of the sorrow in Pei Yuan's eyes. The two were only a few feet apart, yet they felt as if they were at opposite ends of the earth. Sometimes, so close, yet so far.
Qiu Su had no intention of probing the emotions in his eyes, and stiffly forced a smile as she looked at him. Pei Yuan glanced at Zhu Yuan, whose complexion was growing worse, gritted his teeth, looked at Qiu Su, and whispered, "I've always wanted to marry you. If you can get through this, after the New Year, we'll move to a different courtyard."
Qiu Su smiled, a smile that carried a self-deprecating yet liberating quality, a smile that was both radiant and heartbreaking. She turned and lifted the curtain to leave, the laughter of Xiao Qing and the barely audible sobs of Zhu Yuan behind her seeming to fade into the distance, no longer reaching her ears.
Qi Xiu hurriedly followed, and seeing that Pei's mother was holding Qiu Su's hand, he could only stand aside and wait. Pei's mother looked very relieved and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "It's rare to see Su Su with such a broad mind. I thank Su Su on behalf of Zhu Yuan."
Qiu Su shook her head. "Mother, please handle the wedding arrangements. I'm afraid it's inconvenient for me."
"Of course. Su Su, take good care of yourself." Pei's mother looked at Qiu Su's waist and said with a smile, "You're about to give birth, so don't worry about these things. Just sleep and eat well."
Sleeping well and eating well—these are two simple things, yet they are also the two hardest things to do.
Qiu Su nodded and went out, with Qi Xiu following behind.
Even at night, the snow was still blindingly white. Qiu Su looked up at the sky, and a snowflake landed on her eyelashes, so cold that she involuntarily closed her eyes.
"Miss?" Huang Tao called out softly, holding her arm with concern.
Qiu Su opened her eyes, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Let's go."
"Young Miss." Qi Xiu followed and said in a low voice, "Young Miss, please don't worry. The young master only said those things to comfort the girl. Besides, her body won't last more than two years."