Chapter 31

Chapter 31: She Volunteered for House Confinement Again!

That night, someone laughed away old grudges. Someone raged uselessly at home. Someone lay badly wounded in bed, hatred boiling over. And someone wrote furiously, pen flying, determined to return righteous air to the world.

Gu Nan Xi called for a few sedan carriers and had the eight freshly minted godsons sent home safely. Then she returned at an easy pace with Su Xuan Ming, Su Yun Ting, and Su Yun Yan.

The moment they reached the gates of Marquis Yong Chang Manor, Mammy Qiu—who served Old Madam—stepped forward and blocked them.

“Madam, please wait. Old Madam has something to say to you.”

Su Yun Ting shot Gu Nan Xi a worried look and leaned in to whisper, “Mother, Grandmother has never gotten along with you. She’ll definitely use this to make trouble. Later, I’ll pretend to fall ill. You handle it depending on the situation.”

Su Xuan Ming’s eyes glittered. He bit his lip, then said with sudden resolve, “Mother, don’t worry. If Grandmother punishes you, I’ll take the punishment for you!”

Before long, Jing Niang and Old Madam arrived in a hurry.

Jing Niang kept her face stiff and gave Su Xuan Ming’s back a flurry of hard pats, scolding him while clearly aiming the words elsewhere. “Su Lang, you’re a grown man, and you can’t even swallow a little grievance? You withdrew from school on your own, offended the academy, offended officials—what future will you have?”

Then she flicked her gaze toward Gu Nan Xi, her tone sharp with mock sweetness. “You don’t have a way out. Not like Madam. Even if she loses her eldest son, she’ll still have a younger son to rely on!”

Su Xuan Ming pulled Jing Niang closer and lowered his voice. “Jing Niang, you haven’t dealt with things like this before, so you don’t understand. If we let this go lightly, in the future our Marquis Manor will be a soft persimmon anyone can squeeze.”

Jing Niang’s tears spilled like snapped pearls, pattering down without pause. The grievance nearly overflowed her eyes. “I’m upset for you. They ruined your future—and someone else still got to profit.”

Su Xuan Ming only smiled, bright as sunrise. Warm light touched his face, making him look almost holy. “Why count so much between brothers? Even if Second Brother becomes the heir, he won’t abandon me. Jing Niang, don’t worry about the future. Besides, I never liked studying anyway. From now on, I can keep you company.”

His voice drifted into a soft daydream. “We’ll boat on the lake, recite poems, admire spring flowers, pick chrysanthemums in autumn. If you get tired of life in the capital, we’ll travel the world together—like a pair of immortals.”

“We’ll have one or two children. Not many—just one or two. Mother once said giving birth is like crossing the gate of ghosts. It damages a woman’s body badly. I can’t bear to make you suffer through that.”

“Best if we have a little lady like you. I’ll teach her to read and write, and you’ll teach her to run the household. Her personality should be as strong and decisive as yours, not like me—hesitant. Otherwise, after she marries, she’ll be bullied by her in-laws.”

He frowned as if the imaginary child already needed him to worry. “Forget it. Let’s save more silver. If the little lady doesn’t want to marry, then she won’t. With money at her back, she can live freely her whole life.”

“Su Lang!” Jing Niang forced a smile and cut him off. “We’ll talk about the future later. We should think about Marquis Manor’s crisis first.”

Su Xuan Ming scratched his head, grinning as if he’d done nothing wrong. “I’ll listen to Mother. Whatever Mother says, we’ll do. In this area, ten of me combined still can’t compare to Mother.”

That was the final straw.

Jing Niang spun on her heel and walked away. “Mother, Mother. Are you still not weaned? You listen to your mother about everything!”

Her voice was loud enough to draw every eye.

Su Xuan Ming bowed apologetically to the others, then jogged after her. “If Mother won’t let me marry you, I’ll definitely resist. Jing Niang, don’t be angry. When it comes to handling outside affairs, I really am not as good as Mother.”

The young couple’s chase and retreat disappeared around a corner, their voices fading.

Old Madam’s cane tapped the stone with a heavy, impatient rhythm. “Hmph. Gu Nan Xi—do you even put me, your mother-in-law, in your eyes? How many words I said did you actually listen to?”

Deep lines carved her face into hard grooves of displeasure.

Concubine Duan supported Old Madam to sit, her voice soft as cotton. “Old Madam didn’t sleep all night because she was worried about Madam, the young masters, and the young lady. Madam, Old Madam is thinking of Marquis Manor too!”

Old Madam slammed her cane down. “My son handed you a perfectly good Marquis Yong Chang Manor, and you plan to give him back ruins? He’s fighting in the borderlands, risking his life, bathing in blood—and you’re making enemies everywhere behind his back. Is that how you act as a wife? As a matriarch?”

Su Yun Yan snapped her head up. Her voice stayed small, but it carried a stubborn edge. “Grandmother, Mother’s methods are famous across the entire capital! You’ve never managed the household, so don’t talk so much. I’m like that too—when I don’t understand something, I don’t run my mouth. I just remember it and study it slowly.”

Concubine Duan shot Su Yun Yan a reproachful look, then turned her sharp sweetness on. “Little lady, are you saying Old Madam has no self-awareness? Sigh. It’s only been a few months. How have you become…” She shook her head as if the world had broken her heart.

Su Yun Yan froze, then protested in a fluster. “I didn’t! Those were your words. I never said Grandmother can’t count!”

Su Yun Ting looked like he might laugh himself sick and deliberately added fuel to the fire. “I can testify—Little Sister really didn’t say that. Besides, Mother’s ability is praised by all the noble ladies in the capital. Grandmother… could it be your opinion is uniquely different?”

In truth, the old Marchioness had never held household power when she was young. Marquis Yong Chang Manor had always been controlled by her mother-in-law. Later, when Gu Nan Xi married in, that authority skipped straight past the old Marchioness and landed in Gu Nan Xi’s hands.

So for years, the old Marchioness’s days had been filled with eating, drinking, and tea gatherings with her old sisters.

That was why she cared so much about fitting in—about being liked.

The moment Old Madam heard that those old sisters all believed Gu Nan Xi was right, her confidence wavered. Regret crept up her spine. Why had she rushed in so impulsively?

Gu Nan Xi, who had barely gotten a word in, was already anxious—because this was a perfect chance.

A perfect chance to shut herself away and “reflect.”

These sons and daughter were too quick-tongued. If she didn’t seize the opening now, they would talk Old Madam right out of it.

Shielded behind Su Yun Ting and Su Yun Yan, Gu Nan Xi fought to wedge herself into a sliver of space and stick her head out. “Old Madam is right. What I did today was improper. I request confinement for a month!”

“Mother!” Su Yun Yan and Su Yun Ting cried out together.

Old Madam, finally handed a ladder, stepped down without hesitation. “Then so be it.”

She swept out with Concubine Duan and the rest in a loud rustle of skirts and servants.

Su Yun Yan pouted the moment they were gone. “Mother, why did you volunteer to be confined? Why?”

Gu Nan Xi couldn’t exactly say she was exhausted and wanted an excuse to hide and rest.

So she only gave them a meaningful smile—and returned to her courtyard.

Su Yun Ting stared after her, thinking hard. Then his eyes suddenly lit up. “I get it!”