The Lady seemed not to have expected that the injury on her forehead was so severe. She was taken aback, and before she could regain her composure, she heard Su Rong's words, suddenly becoming boiling mad. "Are you threatening me with the Duke Residence?"
"Daughter wouldn't dare. What I meant was, whether I become a legitimate wife or a concubine in the future, I can't afford to ruin my face."
The Lady was still burning with rage, pointing at her, "In this month alone, you've seen the doctor three times. If you love fighting so much, why don't you avoid getting hurt? The last time you injured your leg, the medical consultation fee alone cost us a hundred taels. And before that, when you sprained your arm, it took half a month and another hundred taels to treat with good medicine. Now that your face is injured again, if you want to prevent scars, won't you need the Nourishing Cream of Jade Brocade? You are aware of the price of that medicine, aren't you? It costs a thousand gold pieces for one bottle."
Su Rong showed her contrition, "The dowry you prepared for me…"
The Lady was now even more enraged, "The dowry I prepared for you, you have already squandered half of it, and you still have the audacity to bring it up?"
Su Rong whispered, "I could go to the wedding palanquin alone."
The Lady almost fainted in anger, "An unmarried woman going to her wedding alone is unprecedented! Are you trying to make a laughingstock out of our Governor Residence and me? Get out of here!"
Su Rong stood unmoved, "Mother, I must treat my face."
The Lady stared at her angrily, "Servants, drag her out for me!"
Su Rong turned around, looking at the maids and matrons who were about to rush in. With one look, they all stepped back involuntarily, nobody dared to come forward.
Miss Seventh could fight like there's no tomorrow. Anyone who upset her got a beating. Since she was three or five years old, she had been fighting fearlessly. Nowadays, she became more formidable, even the young master from the Du Mansion had been beaten by her in the morning. While she did injure her forehead, the young master from the Du Mansion was almost beaten into disfigurement. No one in the residence dared to provoke her, let alone the servants.
The Lady's orders were not as effective as Miss Seventh's glare, as they all nodded and dared not approach to drag her out.
Although the Lady was accustomed to this situation, her heart still hurt from anger, shaking as she pointed at Su Rong, "Go ahead, anger me! Are you happy only when I'm dead from anger?"
"How could that happen?" Su Rong turned around, shook her head, and said earnestly, "Mother, you must live to be a hundred. Without your notorious toughness, the Lady Du would not fear you, and I would not dare hit the Young Master of Du Mansion."
The Lady was on the verge of fainting in anger.
"Mother, pay for the doctor with my dowry, to take care of my face and pulse. I believe you have been a bit out of sorts recently, succumbing to rage more easily; you no longer have the composure of the past." Su Rong sat down and took control of the situation, ordering the ladies at the door, "Why are you not going to the doctor? Fetch the best one from Huichun Hall, and have him bring a bottle of Nourishing Cream of Jade Brocade."
All the maids and matrons turned to look at the Lady at the door.
With her hand over her heart, the Lady glared at them for a long time before spitting out one word angrily, "Scram!"
The maids and matrons fled, and one of them ran out of the residence straight to Huichun Hall.
Su Rong was pleased with this outcome and smiled. She reached out to hold the Lady's hand, "Mother, calm down. That rotten scoundrel from Chen Zhou harassed me. I had to teach him a lesson or he would think our Governor Residence could be easily bullied."
The Lady shook off her hand, "Over the years, how many fights have you started? I've been there to clean up after you, spending money to settle disputes and keep them hidden, to maintain your reputation. But why Chen Zhou of all people? Although he's a distant relative of the Chen family, they're a prominent clan in Capital City. News of your fight with him could easily reach Capital City. How many times have I told you: for a girl, reputation is everything. Yet, you don't listen. Do you think the Duke Residence, being such a prestigious household, would want a woman who is constantly creating trouble and loves fighting?"
"Mother, hasn't it already spread that young master Zhou and the young prince from the Rui'an King's mansion were fighting over a woman? They have their own troublemaker, so why should they reject me?" Su Rong seemed quite proud and didn't take it seriously, "Besides, I believe this marriage is doomed anyways. You should stop dreaming about climbing the social ladder, it's out of our reach."
The Lady: "..."
Such self-awareness hurt her deeply.
With a look of despair, she said, "You are truly wasting your beautiful face!"
She tried to lecture Su Rong with a frustrated tone, "The current highly beloved Imperial Concubine, she rose to that position solely because of her beauty. If you cherish your face so much, why can't you use your beauty to climb higher? If you can achieve this, we wouldn't have to suffer in this desolate place of Jiangning."
Su Rong rubbed her ears, sighed, "Despite being greatly adored, the Imperial Concubine is without a son or daughter. Isn't her life quite pitiful underneath all that adoration?"
The Lady quickly covered her mouth, "Are you suicidal? How dare you say such things? Shut your mouth. If you say that one more time, I will smack you dead."
She turned her fierce gaze to the others in the room, "I want you to forget what she just said, do you hear me? If anyone dares leak this information, I will punish you severely!"
The other daughters all nodded mechanically, "Understood, we have already forgotten."
Not that they couldn't have other expressions, it's just that over the years, their youngest sister had said too many such things. Every time following her remarks, the Lady would warn them to forget everything.
The Lady released her grip, feeling exasperated. The Imperial Concubine lived in luxury, could change the weather with a wave, and held great sway amongst the Imperial Harem. To assert that the Imperial Concubine was pitiful was incomprehensible. She pushed Su Rong away in disgust, filled with aching resentment, "Get lost."