Su Lian supported her mother, following closely behind Jiang Wan and Su Shi.
All the way, Su Lian felt her eyes weren't enough.
She came from a farming family, and the Su family was as poor as could be. The most luxurious place she had ever seen was the front yard of the landlord's house in the village.
This was the residence of an official appointed by the imperial court, with a distinct Jiangnan style. Every step was a scene, with carved beams and painted rafters, pavilions and towers. She could barely bear to blink, for fear of missing even a single detail.
The maid leading the way noticed their appearances and snorted dismissively.
Madam Cheng was already waiting in the garden. She was in a good mood today, so she brought out her zither, had a maid light incense, and sat in the garden playing.
Hearing the music, Jiang Wan found it incredibly pleasant and applauded enthusiastically.
Madam Cheng stopped playing and turned to look, smiling, "Wan Wan, do you understand it?"
Jiang Wan ran forward with a smile, "Of course, I don't understand it, but I can tell if it sounds good."
Madam Cheng smiled and asked, "Do you want to learn? Auntie will teach you."
Jiang Wan quickly shook her head, "With my clumsy hands, I'm afraid the strings would break if I touched them."
She never lacked self-awareness.
Madam Cheng covered her mouth and chuckled, "You always say amusing things."
At this moment, Su Lian suddenly spoke, "Clumsy as Wan Wan is, she can't learn. If Madam wants to teach someone, I can come every day to keep Madam company."
Madam Cheng's brow furrowed, "Who are you?"
Su Lian quickly stepped forward and performed an awkward bow, "This humble girl is Su Lian, greetings to Madam."
Madam Cheng's face immediately turned cold, "Where did this stray cat or dog come from, daring to speak out of turn in front of me! Come here, throw her to the yamen and tell the official that this woman trespassed on private property!"
After Cheng Sinian returned and passed on the message last night, she had no good feelings for the Su family. Seeing them today, they were indeed clueless! They had the audacity to ask her to teach them!
It was simply ridiculous!
Immediately, a young servant rushed over and dragged Su Lian away.
Su Lian's face turned deathly pale with fright, "Madam, spare me, Madam, spare me! I didn't trespass, I came with my sister and Wan Wan."
Su Mu also hurriedly knelt on the ground to beg for mercy.
But Madam Cheng didn't even look at them.
Jiang Wan said, "Auntie, she is my sister-in-law's younger sister. She doesn't understand the rules. Please don't be angry, Auntie."
Only then did Madam Cheng wave her hand, letting the servant go.
Su Lian, terrified, collapsed onto the ground and cried, "Shut up!" the maids of the Cheng residence whispered harshly. "You're disturbing Madam! And kneel properly!"
Su Lian quickly covered her mouth and knelt on the ground, not daring to make another sound.
Madam Cheng pulled Jiang Wan over, had a maid bring water, personally washed Jiang Wan's hands, and then put a delicate pastry into her hand.
"Sinian has been pestering me to find you in the small mountain village. I thought your family must be very busy these past few days, so I've been keeping him here. I was planning to send someone to pick you up to stay for a while, but you came yourself, which saved me the trouble."
Jiang Wan took a bite of the pastry and said, "I was also pushed into it today. Aunt Su said she had something to ask Auntie for help with and insisted I come."
Madam Cheng glanced at Su Mu, "Ask me for help? A country bumpkin who appeared from nowhere has the nerve to order me around? What audacity!"
Although her tone was calm, Su Mu broke out in a cold sweat.
Fearing that her trip would be in vain, she quickly gave Su Shi a look, urging her to speak.
Su Shi had no choice but to lower her head and say softly, "Madam Cheng, my mother came today to ask Madam Cheng for help in allocating a piece of land for my maternal family so they could register their household."
Madam Cheng said "Oh," "It's just for this? You don't need to ask me for this. Just take the silver to the yamen, and after paying, someone will take you to choose the land. There have been many people registering their households lately, and the land price has increased significantly, reaching almost five taels of silver per mu."
"However, since you've come, I can't just ignore it. How about this, how much silver did you bring? I'll have someone help you run to the yamen and pick out the best location for you."
Su Shi lowered her head even further, "No... no silver."
Madam Cheng's face immediately turned cold, "No silver and you want to buy land? What kind of joke are you playing?"
Su Shi dared not speak further.
Su Mu forced herself to say, "Madam Cheng, your husband is the county magistrate. Allocating a piece of land shouldn't be difficult. My family doesn't need much, just twenty mu. We're not asking for it for free; when our family saves enough money later, we will definitely repay it."
Madam Cheng was amused by Su Mu's words, "What a big statement! Twenty mu is also a small place? With no money at all, you want such a large area, where do you get the nerve?!"
"And you want my husband to allocate it to you first, and you'll repay it when you have money? So if your family never has money, you'll never repay it?"
"That's imperial land! My husband is merely a seventh-rank county magistrate, upright and incorruptible, never daring to have any selfish motives. You people, who appeared from nowhere, dare to ask us to do such things! What immense audacity! Come here! Take them to the yamen and tell the official that these people have improper intentions and want him to use his public office for private gain!"
The same servants rushed forward again, dragging the Su mother and daughter away.
Su Mu was driven mad with fear and hurriedly begged for mercy, "Madam, I was wrong, I won't dare again, please spare me, please spare me! A'Luo, quickly save me!"
Su Shi was also startled and quickly knelt before Madam Cheng, "Madam Cheng, my mother is muddled and doesn't know what's important. Please spare her this once."
Madam Cheng looked at Su Shi coldly, "Whether she's muddled or not, I don't know, but you are truly muddled! You dare to agree to such a thing! I don't know where you got the courage!"
"Su Shi, you need to understand one thing: my friendship with the Jiang family has nothing to do with you."
"The ones who saved us, mother and son, were Wan Wan. The ones who took care of us, mother and son, all the way were the Jiang family. You are merely someone who, like me, enjoys the care of the Jiang family. Why do you think you can ask for favors from me?"
Su Shi was so ashamed she couldn't lift her head.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Wan felt a pang of sympathy and wanted to ask Madam Cheng to stop.
However, Madam Cheng gave her a look, signaling her not to interfere.
"Su Shi, since you are married into the Jiang family, you should prioritize the Jiang family's interests in everything. If you have the ability yourself, helping your maternal family won't be criticized. But if you can't even support yourself and have to rely on the Jiang family to live, why do you think you can take on your maternal family's mess?!"
In her opinion, this whole situation was entirely Su Shi's own fault!
Someone who can't even take care of herself, yet gets involved in her maternal family's affairs, is simply not thinking clearly!
Some things the Jiang family couldn't bear to say, but she had no reservations.
"Your in-laws are kind and don't want to make things difficult for you, but you yourself don't understand the gravity of the situation. If this continues, the Jiang family will eventually be dragged down by you!"
"Go back and think carefully, what exactly has the Jiang family done to you that they should clean up these messes for you!"
"If you continue to be so unable to distinguish right from wrong, I don't mind asking your father-in-law to divorce you and find you a suitable match that is more appropriate!"