Chapter Seventy-Four: A Graceful Maiden (Part One)

Yao Pianpian clung to the window, eyes bright with excitement as she watched the flower carriage pass through the palace gates. “Nanxing must be on his way!” she exclaimed.

Yao Ruifeng echoed her anticipation. “He knows we're here; he should be coming.”

Pianpian kept her gaze fixed on the crowd as it gradually moved in their direction, but Su Nanxing was nowhere to be seen. Gazing again, she noticed he still stood at the palace gate. Dissatisfied, she muttered, “Why is Nanxing still standing there? Shouldn't he be eager to see me?”

The three men in the room exchanged a collective silence.

Before meeting Tao Ming, Yao Ruifeng had always been supremely confident in his sister's beauty, believing that no woman in all of Weishui could compare. Yet now, he could not, in good conscience, continue to flatter her with empty reassurances.

Meanwhile, Su Nanxing, deep in conversation with Su Ze, walked toward Dongchang Tower. As they drew near, Liu Ange waved and called out, “Nanxing! Nanxing!”

Seeing the childlike Liu Ange, Su Nanxing smiled and waved back.

Upon reaching the third floor, Su Nanxing turned to Su Ze. “Twelfth Brother, go rest. I’ll go see my friends.”

Su Ze smiled and agreed, ascending the stairs. As Su Nanxing turned, he spotted Liu Ange waiting at the entrance to Xuanshuang Pavilion and strode over.

Liu Ange promptly grabbed Su Nanxing by the sleeve and tugged him inside, shutting the door behind him to prevent any escape.

Inside, all eyes turned to Su Nanxing, who laughed, “So, I've been summoned for questioning?”

Yao Pianpian, her eyes brimming with bashful affection, called softly, “Brother Su.”

Su Nanxing looked at her, recalling what Tao Ming had said earlier in the flower carriage. His brow furrowed unconsciously. “And who might this be?”

Yao Ruifeng, embarrassed, replied, “This is my sixth sister, Pianpian. You’ve met her before.”

Dong Yuxuan thought to himself, Thank goodness I didn't bring my eighth and ninth sisters, or I’d be equally mortified right now.

Liu Ange, delighted, could sense the drama brewing.

Hearing Su Nanxing claim not to know her, Yao Pianpian’s eyes filled with tears as she trembled, “Brother Su, last time you praised me for my grace and poise, for being elegant and dignified.”

Su Nanxing recognized the flattery immediately—clearly, he’d offered perfunctory compliments out of courtesy. Who could have predicted she’d take them to heart? He resolved never again to praise a woman so carelessly.

Determined to quash her hopes, he said, “I was merely being polite.”

Pianpian persisted, “Brother Su, we’ve known each other for so long…”

Su Nanxing’s patience wore thin. “I have no recollection of who you are. How could we have known each other for long?”

Yao Ruifeng intervened, “Nanxing, there were a few times you came to see me and met Pianpian in the courtyard. And last time at Lining Mountain, when we went bird hunting, Pianpian was at your side.”

Su Nanxing wracked his brain but could not recall her. Turning to Yao Ruifeng, he said flatly, “Please send her away quickly. If my wife returns and sees this, we won’t even be able to remain friends.”

Yao Pianpian, tears streaming, choked out, “Brother Su, if you had no feelings for me, why would you praise me?”

Nanxing silently berated himself—serves you right for your loose tongue and idle chatter with women!

Ruthlessly, he said, “That was just courtesy. If I truly meant it, my compliments would not have been so perfunctory.”

Dong Yuxuan, enjoying the spectacle, chimed in, “Nanxing, what about praising your wife?”

Without hesitation, Su Nanxing replied, “Her beauty is natural, unparalleled in charm; her looks could topple kingdoms, each glance a masterpiece. As radiant as the autumn moon, her loveliness is a feast for the eyes. Like peach blossoms in full bloom, her splendor is unrivaled. In all the world, she has no equal; through the ages, she stands alone.”

Liu Ange teased, “You were always skipping lessons, yet you remember such fine phrases?”

Su Nanxing’s eyes softened. “Even these words cannot do her justice.”

Praising another woman so lavishly in front of one who adored him, Su Nanxing finally drove Yao Pianpian to tears—she rushed out the door, unable to bear it any longer.

Yao Ruifeng hurried after her, instructing Lvdie to follow as well. After a moment’s hesitation, he went, too.

Watching her finally leave, Su Nanxing breathed a deep sigh of relief, sternly reminding himself to speak less with women in future.

Weishui was not Earth; women seldom ventured out, and those they met were few. It took little for a young woman to lose her heart to a man she found agreeable.

Liu Ange waggled his eyebrows. “Nanxing, not the least bit tender toward the fairer sex!”

Su Nanxing retorted, “You’re welcome to show all the tenderness you like.”

Then he called out, “Come with me to Zhaixing Pavilion. I need to keep an eye on my wife, so she won’t worry if she can’t find me.”

...

When Yao Pianpian had first left, she harbored fantasies that Su Nanxing would come running after her. But as she reached the staircase, only Lvdie and Yao Ruifeng followed behind.

Slowing her steps on the descent in case Su Nanxing might appear, she realized he would not. Yao Ruifeng sighed and followed her out of Dongchang Tower.

He truly wished to see Yao Pianpian married to Su Nanxing; indeed, this had been his chief reason for cultivating a friendship with him. The Su family’s legacy was ancient, their wealth rivaling that of the nation. Though Su Nanxing could be a touch mischievous, he was steadfast and loyal. If Pianpian married into the Su family, their lives would be harmonious and secure, and the Yao family might rise in status.

That was why, whenever Su Nanxing visited, Yao Ruifeng had deliberately arranged for Pianpian to appear in the courtyard. Even their recent hunting trip to Lining Mountain had been orchestrated in hopes the two would grow close.

Yet, while Pianpian had given her heart to Su Nanxing long ago, he had never shown the slightest interest in her.

Before meeting Tao Ming, Yao Ruifeng believed Nanxing simply hadn’t considered matters of the heart. Now he understood: Nanxing had never spared a thought for Pianpian at all.

They walked in silence until almost reaching the Yao residence, when Pianpian suddenly stamped her foot and turned back.

Ruifeng called out, “Pianpian, why don’t you go home?”

Her face clouded, she bit her lip and said, “I want to see that woman again.”

Ruifeng, not wishing to antagonize Su Nanxing, tried to reason with her. “After today, surely you know how Nanxing feels…”

She cut him off angrily. “That’s only because he doesn’t know how wonderful I am!”

He tried to speak again, but she hurried away, calling back, “Second Brother, I just want one last look!”

So be it, he thought. Perhaps it’s best she gives up hope altogether.

The three of them returned, this time not to Dongchang Tower but to the Anhua Building directly opposite. They ordered a pot of tea by a window overlooking the street and sat watching, waiting for Tao Ming.

Yao Pianpian kept her eyes fixed across the way, afraid to miss her chance.

Before long, Su Nanxing came out in a rush, gazing intently toward the palace. Liu Ange and Dong Yuxuan were nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, a radiant smile lit Nanxing’s face as a carriage drew up before Dongchang Tower. He opened the door and peered inside, then lifted the Saintess down from the carriage. Tao Ming was about to jump down herself when Su Nanxing caught her in his arms.

He whispered something, and Tao Ming shot him a playful, reproachful glare.

Pianpian, unable to sit still once the carriage arrived, was torn. Should she seize this moment? Even if she could not be the main wife, she would gladly be a concubine if it meant seeing Su Nanxing day and night. Besides, Tao Ming looked so young—how could she compare to herself in experience and understanding? If only she could enter the household, she could win Su Nanxing’s heart and be far better off than she was now.

With her mind made up, Yao Pianpian stood and strode toward the carriage, calling loudly as she went, “Nanxing, I bear your child!”