Having no choice but to let her in, Su Xinyi said, "Please come in."
Upon hearing this, Lianqiao hurriedly left the room while Su Xinyi tidied herself up and went to the outer room to meet her guest.
The courtyard she lived in was quite spacious, with a main house containing three sections and five rooms, as well as side rooms and a rear hall. In the vast Duke Mansion, only the boudoir of Su Baiwei, who is already married, could match hers in size.
It couldn't be helped—the Duke Mansion allocated courtyards according to the number of people in each household, and with a smaller family, they naturally had more space.
After she got married, the Duke Mansion wanted to reclaim her spacious courtyard for others, but her mother insisted on keeping it for her.
Her natural mother had a carefree spirit, living life one day at a time, enjoying each day to the fullest. She raised Su Xinyi somewhat crudely, which made it difficult for her to adjust to life in the capital.
She once thought that if only her mother had been more attentive in raising her, her later life might not have been so tough.
But now, looking back at her past life, she felt that her mother was the one who truly lived freely and according to her heart. So in this life, she wanted to be her true self as well.
Others had drawn a prison for her, and she had foolishly walked right in. It was not others who had confined her but her own obsession that had trapped her.
"Little sister, I heard that you had fallen into the water. Are you feeling better now? My younger sisters and I were worried, so we came to visit. I hope we're not disturbing you," said a voice even before its owner entered the room. Su Xinyi knew it was her smooth-talking sister-in-law, Mrs. Zeng.
Although Mrs. Zeng's father was the Magistrate of Huiqi, she wasn't supposed to marry into the Duke Mansion and become the eldest daughter-in-law. However, it was said that the Zeng family had some ties to the old Duke. As a result, once the marriage was finalized, Mrs. Ji was very unhappy, and she treated her daughter-in-law with indifference.
Su Xinyi couldn't say whether she liked or disliked Mrs. Zeng. All she knew was that they were both trying to survive in this world.
"Sister-in-law," Su Xinyi greeted, only to be pushed by Mrs. Zeng to sit down. "We came to visit you, not to make you tired. Sit down."
As she was pressed to sit down, Su Xinyi greeted her third, fourth, and fifth sisters, Su Chaoyan, Su Jingmo, and Su Xixian.
Su Chaoyan was born to Second Aunt Zhao, Su Xixian was born to Aunt Weng, and Su Jingmo was the legitimate daughter of Mrs. Xiang.
Su Chaoyan was gentle and quiet, barely making her presence felt as she smiled and nodded at Su Xinyi before sitting down without saying much.
Su Jingmo was a bit haughty, following Mrs. Xiang's nature to some extent. Su Xixian's mother, Aunt Weng, had both a son and a daughter, and her background was of no small consequence—born in the Weng family of Shangjing County. This placed her in a rather high position within the Duke Mansion, making Mrs. Xiang quite uneasy.
Seeing her mother favored and accomplishing so much, Mrs. Xiang grew increasingly resentful with each day, picking fights at every opportunity.
Looking at Su Xinyi, Su Jingmo said, "What role does Xu Yurong play? You should not let her bully you. Next time she dares to provoke you, slap her right back and see if the Duke An Mansion will dare to speak up for her."
Su Xinyi looked up at Su Jingmo, feeling somewhat surprised, and after thinking for a moment, said slowly, "I dare not bring trouble to my family."
Furrowing her brow slightly, Su Jingmo's exquisite face took on an air of aggression as she angrily said, "Look at how weak you are! You are a lady of the Duke Mansion now, what do you have to be afraid of? I will accompany you next time we go out, and I would like to see if Xu Yurong dares to show her true colors in front of me."