Li Qianfan never expected that while he was on the phone with Su Ziyu, Su Nanyin was hiding in the shadows around the corner.
Not only had she overheard their conversation, but she had also witnessed his "possessed" demeanor and heard him muttering to himself!
Given his abilities, he should have detected Su Nanyin long ago.
Why hadn't he?
It was because Li Qianfan was so overwhelmingly excited to hear Su Ziyu say that their grandmother had found a way to curb his aging.
In this world, no one wanted to die.
Especially not a global top-tier dandy like Li Qianfan, who had almost everything he desired.
All his attention was focused on his call with Ziyu, causing him to neglect everything around him.
Su Ziyu's call had completely changed Li Qianfan's "ready to die" mindset.
Similarly.
Su Nanyin, who had been hiding in the dark, also had her mindset changed after hearing his true feelings.
Especially after she learned of Yang Xiao's resolute stance.
She didn't want Li Qianfan to die!
After seeing off Li Wujiang, Su Nanyin had been trapped in an indescribable struggle, suffering and tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Now, it was better.
After she had confessed her true feelings to Li Qianfan, she felt the heavy burden weighing on her heart instantly disappear.
This body, which had long been ravaged by "lovesickness," struggle, and pain, was instantly liberated.
No longer able to resist the rapidly approaching fatigue, she forced herself to say, "I will save you," before quickly slipping into the land of dreams.
She dreamed.
A sweet, absurd, yet candidly honest beautiful dream.
No matter how good a dream, it was still a dream, and there was always a moment of waking.
When Su Nanyin opened her eyes again, the sky outside the window was just beginning to lighten.
It was now six in the morning.
She had only fallen asleep around three in the morning.
Only three hours of sleep, yet these short three hours made Su Nanyin, who had been listless for days, clearly feel an unprecedented surge of vitality, rushing through her limbs, every nerve, and every cell with joyous shouts.
She even had the illusion of greatly increased strength—
She could kick a bull to death with a single kick!
So.
She lifted her leg and kicked out a certain rascal who was sitting on the sofa, hugging his own feet and sleeping with his head down.
With a thud.
Li Qianfan fell to the ground, then suddenly woke up, opened his mouth, and cursed, "Are you sick? Why are you kicking me for no reason!"
Su Nanyin glared and raised her leg again.
Her fair right foot dangled in front of him.
It was a warning: "If you dare curse me again, I will really kick you to death."
Li Qianfan didn't want to die—
The key was that he also realized that a few hours ago, he had intended to sit on the sofa and sort through his chaotic thoughts again, but had unknowingly fallen asleep; after falling asleep, he didn't know how, but a pair of feet had ended up in his embrace.
This meant he had slept with the great Empress Su for an entire night.
Did he deserve to be kicked?
"Xiao Fanzi, help this Empress change."
The Empress sat up lazily, her voice languid as she commanded.
Help her change?
Change whose clothes!
Li Qianfan, sitting in front of the sofa, cursed inwardly, but could only endure it as the Empress gracefully lifted her left foot, and he begrudgingly helped her put on the small cotton slippers beside her.
Wouldn't it have been easier to just say, "Help me put on my shoes"?
Why did she have to say "help me change"!
Wasn't this deliberately misleading a young person with a pure mind?
These old women really knew how to play—
Li Qianfan grumbled inwardly, when he heard her ask, "Are you cursing me in your heart?"
Li Qianfan quickly shook his head: "No."
"You'd better not lie to me. Otherwise, I will really kick you to death."
The Empress said contemptuously, then rose gracefully, stepped into her small cotton slippers, swayed her voluptuous waist, and walked towards the door.
When she reached the door, she suddenly turned back.
Li Qianfan, who had been staring at her retreating back, wondering what she was thinking, quickly looked away.
"If you dare to peek at me walking again, I will also kick you to death."
After the Empress issued her threat, she opened the door and walked out.
"How come I feel like she's acting like a little girl? Could it be that my primal 209 has some magical effect that makes older women younger?"
Li Qianfan looked down at the "weathervane" of 209, his left hand.
His left hand remained in its normal state.
It showed no reaction to Empress's extreme mature and alluring demeanor!
What did this prove?
209 steadfastly maintained that last untouchable bottom line!!
"Hoo."
Confident that his thoughts, like 209, were pure and spotless, Li Qianfan breathed a sigh of relief as if a great burden had been lifted, turned over, got up, patted his behind, and walked out of the living room in the central courtyard.
In the courtyard of the central courtyard.
As soon as Su Nanyin stepped out of the living room, she saw a figure flash at the corner and disappear around it.
"Someone is secretly peeping at me and Qianfan."
Su Nanyin immediately understood.
This peeping person was certainly not Uncle Kui and the others.
She walked past the corner and arrived at the backyard.
In the backyard.
Whose caterpillar is biting—
Mao Mao held her stomach with both hands and paced around the small pavilion.
Shen Chongchong and Du Yaoyao were practicing leg raises in the small pavilion.
The three sisters chatted and laughed, discussing how bright the sun was today.
Glancing at the east, where only rosy clouds could be seen, Su Nanyin ignored these individuals with their vulgar thoughts who were lying with their eyes open and continued towards the living room in the backyard.
"Mom."
Just as Su Nanyin reached out to push open the living room door, Mao Mao's voice came from behind her.
She stopped but did not turn around.
Only because she heard the "caterpillars biting" say in unison, "Congratulations!"
Why were the "caterpillars biting" congratulating her?
What was there to be happy about!?
Su Nanyin's eyebrows twitched slightly, and she replied faintly, "Anyone who wants to die, make another sound."
The "caterpillars biting" immediately fell silent.
Su Nanyin opened the door and entered the house. After going into the bedroom, she sat on the edge of the bed and stared blankly for a long time.
Then she muttered to herself, "What kind of brats did I give birth to? They're all determined to push me into someone's arms."
Daybreak.
Today was the sixth day of the Lunar New Year!
From last night to today, the weather had been unusually good in recent years.
The bright sun hung high in the sky at ten o'clock.
The sky was a deep blue, with scattered white clouds drifting slowly with the wind.
At the entrance of the Su family in Sijiu.
Uncle Kui, along with Shen Congdao and others, were sweeping the street for the thirty-eighth time with brooms.
"Uncle Kui, did you encounter something joyful?"
Miao Hanyu sidled over and asked cautiously in a voice that was clearly effeminate but also fawning, "I see a look of relief on your face since this morning. It's as if you've finally let go of a great worry, and something you've always longed for has finally come to fruition."
Uncle Kui looked up at him and smiled, "Oh, is that really how I look?"
Confirming that Uncle Kui's mood was indeed good, Miao Hanyu felt an increased sense of belonging, thinking, "We are one group," and nodded vigorously.
"Today marks decades since the disappearance of the Su family in Su Nan. The eldest young lady is finally rebuilding the Su family in Sijiu today. As an old servant born and raised in the Su family, how can I not be happy?"
Uncle Kui said, leaning his broom on his shoulder, and took out a cigarette to offer Miao Hanyu a puff.
Miao Hanyu was immediately flattered—
Shen Congdao also sidled over, his face full of subservience.
Under the crushing blows of a cruel reality, especially after the first day of the Lunar New Year when Shen Congdao and Miao Hanyu had joined forces to beat up the Shen family head and the Miao family members; they had come to a clearer realization that in this life, they were born as members of the Su family and would die as ghosts of the Su family.
Their minds were filled with the desire to perform well and be officially recognized by the Su family head as soon as possible.
And for them to gain the Su family head's recognition, they had to first win over their immediate superior, the Su family's butler, Uncle Kui.
"Uncle Kui, you followed the eldest young lady to Lingnan years ago when she married,"
After lighting Uncle Kui's cigarette, Shen Congdao said, "After all these years, you still haven't developed a sense of belonging to the Shen family of Lingnan? Otherwise, you wouldn't be so deeply gratified by the Su family's reconstruction today."
Shen Congdao was a former core member of the Shen family in Sijiu.
He knew more about the branch family of the Shen family in Lingnan than Miao Hanyu.
"It's not just me, but also Wang Chao (the Su family's deputy butler) and a few others. If you trace our ancestry back seven or eight generations, our ancestors have always been with the Su family."
Uncle Kui looked south and said softly, "In the Ming Dynasty, we would have been considered 'jia sheng zi' (born in the household)."
Jia Sheng Zi—
During the Ming Dynasty, they were trusted retainers of a powerful family; their descendants would also become retainers of the master's family; their status in the master's household was even higher than that of sons born to concubines; their relationship was somewhat similar to that between an emperor and a eunuch, where prosperity and ruin were shared.
"No matter who the eldest young lady marries, or what surname her children take. But in our bones, we have always believed that we belong only to the Su family."
Uncle Kui continued, "In fact, many years ago, after the master and madam of the Su family passed away and the Su family in Su Nan completely disappeared, we would hope every time we woke up in the middle of the night that the eldest young lady would lead us to rebuild the Su family! Today, this wish is finally coming true. Tell me, can I not be happy?"
Shen Congdao and the other man looked at each other and understood.
Uncle Kui looked at them and said, "You two should also think carefully. If you are determined to leave the eldest young lady's protection, then there will be no place for you in this world. In that case, you should put away all your unrealistic fantasies and consider yourselves members of the Su family."
Shen Congdao and the other man exchanged glances for a long time—
They both gave a bitter smile and said, "Uncle Kui, we are now useless people with no desires. We only wish to live peacefully, where could we possibly have any unrealistic fantasies?"
They were speaking the truth.
As Uncle Kui nodded, he saw a car slowly approaching from the west.
It stopped about fifty meters from the entrance of the Su family.
The car door opened.
A well-dressed man and woman got out one after another.
The man was holding a gift box.
Uncle Kui's eyes lit up: "The auspicious time has arrived, and guests are beginning to arrive!"
Miao Hanyu also looked at the young couple and casually asked, "Where are they from? I don't think I've seen them before."
"The Shen family."
Uncle Kui replied softly, "They are from Lingnan, the Shen family."