She pushed open the bathroom door and walked out. She then went down the hallway to a small activity room on the second floor.
The maid who brought her clothes earlier was waiting there. She helped her sit down and served her a bowl of ginger soup. "I saw that yours and the Young Master's clothes were wet, so they must have been drenched in the rain. As such, I prepared some ginger soup. Young Madam, see if this suits your taste. If there's anything wrong, I'll cook it again."
Su Xingyu was a little flattered. Ever since her mother died, the servants in the house had never treated her nicely.
Actually, what other flavors could ginger soup have? It was just the difference between the heat intensity. But then, the maid in front of her took care of even this slight difference. She lowered her head and took a sip. A stream of heat spread from the tip of her tongue and flowed into her stomach. It was very warm and comfortable. She looked up and smiled. "Very good, you've worked hard."
The maid also smiled. "As long as Young Madam likes it. If there's anything in the future, just let me know."
Su Xingyu nodded and asked, "Where's your Young Master?" Her throat was slightly hoarse. That man always made her nervous.
The maid was stunned by her choice of words. "Your Young Master"? This Young Madam was treating him like an outsider. However, she wasn't familiar with this Young Madam yet, so she didn't say much and only replied, "Young Master went out. He's very busy every day."
Su Xingyu finally relaxed a little. It was great that he was not around.
After she had finished drinking the ginger soup, the butler brought the family doctor to treat her injuries. Her calf was fine. She was just bleeding profusely, but did not suffer any severe injuries. The family doctor re-wrapped her wound up with gauze. Her body temperature was a little high since she was soaked under the storm, and she had an ongoing inflammation. The doctor prescribed anti-inflammatory medicine for her and carefully reminded her to control her diet. Then, he said, "Young Madam, you have to rest well. Don't go anywhere for the next few days. Please stay at home and rest until your fever subsides."
Su Xingyu felt weak all over and knew that she could not act rashly anymore. Hence, she listened obediently.
After sending the doctor off, the maid helped her make the bed and asked, "Young Madam, Young Master is used to sleeping on the right side of the bed. Can you sleep on the left side?"
She shuddered and remembered that she was already married. It turned out that these words were more than just a sentence or a certificate. It seeped into every aspect of her life and constantly reminded her that she was already a married woman. It was normal for her to have skin-to-skin contact with another man, but she was afraid of him, a stranger.
"Young Madam?" the maid asked when she saw that she was silent.
She came back to her senses. "Is there a guest room? I want to sleep in the guest room."
The maid was stunned. "Aren't… aren't you married to the Young Master?"
Su Xingyu shook her head. "Your Young Master… he… we got married for a reason." She did not know how to explain it to the maid. "We agreed that he would not… not… for the time being…"
Her face was burning, and she couldn't say those shy words anymore. But the maid already understood what she meant. "Alright, Young Madam." The maid still had a kind smile on her face as she suppressed her curiosity. "Is the guest room next to the Young Master's bedroom okay? It's facing south, and there's an enormous terrace where you can see the sun and moon. They are very beautiful in this season."
"Is there any place that is further away from him?"
"Young Master likes peace and quiet. He doesn't have many guests in the house throughout the year, so there aren't many guest rooms. Besides this one, there's another one at the other end of the corridor, but that one is reserved for Madam—Young Master's mother. She comes over to stay occasionally."
Su Xingyu sighed. "Alright then."
She was already feeling very uneasy about moving into this mansion. She couldn't possibly snatch another person's mother's territory.
She threw herself into the guest room that the maid had tidied up. The bed was soft, and there was indeed soft moonlight outside the slightly opened window.
Soon, she fell asleep.
She dreamed about that wild night two years ago. The man in a suit pinned her down and lifted her chin roughly. "Su Xingyu, this is retribution. You can't escape from marrying me."
She woke with a scream, realizing that she had slipped back into a new nightmare—this marriage. Settled in bed, she curled herself into a tiny ball, wondering when such a day would end. Perhaps it would never end.
That man was right. She had to adapt quickly.
"A month…" she murmured.
One month later, she had to hand over her body. She tried her best not to think about it, but she could not stop thinking about it.
"In that case, let's start with being a tenant," she muttered to herself. "Su Xingyu, you chose this path yourself. You could only sleep in such a spacious and luxurious room because you got married to him. Only then could you be taken care of in peace. He may be a demon, but…"
She bit her lower lip so hard that it almost bled. But… what?
She could not find any words to comfort herself.
For the next few days, she did not see Lu Shifeng at all. The maid said that he was very busy and it was common for him not to be home for half a month. This made Su Xingyu heave a sigh of relief. She did not want to face that scary and overbearing man.
Her injuries healed day by day.
The maid came to ask for her opinion. "Young Madam, the dress you wore the other day was torn in several places, but I've already cleaned it. Do you want to have it sewn or thrown away?" The servants in this mansion knew their limits. Even if it were a torn piece of clothing, as long as the owner didn't say to throw it away, they wouldn't dare to touch it. However, this kind of request was just a formality. For wealthy families, they would throw away the dress if it was torn.
Unexpectedly, Su Xingyu said, "Let me take a look."
The maid brought the dress over. As expected, it had already been washed clean. The hemline of the dress was severely torn, and the knee-length dress had been torn down to the middle of one's thighs. Su Xingyu frowned. Her stepmother, Liu Meizhi, lent the dress to her, and she promised to return it. How could she return it now?
"How far can it be stitched?" she asked.
The maid didn't expect her to want it sewn up, but she still said dutifully, "The hem of the dress won't do. The best way is to let the tailor cut the hem a little shorter and make it into a short dress."
Short?
Liu Meizhi would kill her.
Seeing her frown, the maid suggested, "Why don't we buy a new one?"
This was a good idea, but she did not have money. She could not possibly use Lu Shifeng's money. Now that she had to rely on him for food and accommodation, she would feel like selling herself if she took more money.
She sighed. "Let's sew it up."
No matter how much she could mend it, she had tried her best. Liu Meizhi's daughter had snatched her fiancé, but she had only ruined one of their dresses. It paled into insignificance by comparison.