A week later, Su Yu had successfully shed ten jin. Her facial features were noticeably more defined, her face no longer as wide as before. With the soft flesh along her jawline gone, her slender neck was finally revealed.
“Madam, I’ve got news!” Li Hua hurried into the west wing. “The Young Master of the Sang family has returned from his studies on Planet Meishe, and the Marshal is attending a banquet at the Sang Manor tonight!”
Su Yu set down her newspaper and handed Li Hua a handkerchief. “Don’t rush. Wipe your sweat.”
Li Hua took the handkerchief and dabbed her brow. Seeing Su Yu’s nonchalant demeanor, she grew even more frantic. “Madam, the Marshal is going to the Sang Manor tonight!”
“What of it?” Su Yu asked, unperturbed. “The Marshal attends banquets every day. I’ve never seen you this worked up.”
“Oh, Madam!” Li Hua stamped her feet in distress, perspiration beading across her forehead. She bounced in place twice—thank goodness the floor was solid stone, or she would have driven a hole right through it.
“Madam, you don’t understand! How can I even say this?!” Li Hua’s face flushed a deep crimson, her pudgy fists clenched tight.
“Alright, alright, sit down. Look at you—your clothes are soaked.” Su Yu took the handkerchief back to wipe the girl’s face. “You’re only a young girl, yet you worry about so much. Take a breath and explain. What is the situation with this Sang Manor?”
Li Hua sat across from Su Yu, a small rosewood table separating them. Keeping her head lowered, she dared not meet Su Yu’s eyes. “Madam… the truth is, the Marshal already has someone in his heart. Everyone in the manor says he is in love with the Eldest Miss of the Sang family, Sang Conghan. Going to the Sang Manor tonight… he’s definitely going to see Miss Sang.”
“Do you know what Miss Sang looks like?”
Li Hua shook her head. “No, but Miss Sang is publicly recognized as Xuancheng’s top beauty and talent.”
Su Yu tugged at her clothes, which had loosened considerably. “Li Hua, look at me now. How am I supposed to compete with Miss Sang?”
“Madam has lost so much weight! You look wonderful now!”
“No matter how much better I look, I cannot compare to the woman the Marshal loves. She possesses talent and beauty, while I am merely a woman from a rural planet. Even if the Marshal truly went to the Sang Manor solely to see Miss Sang, what can I do about it? My only choice is to pay it no heed, focus entirely on slimming down, and study to improve myself. Only then can I earn the Marshal’s respect in the future.”
Li Hua nodded in vague comprehension. “Madam is right. Madam will surely become more beautiful and talented than Miss Sang.”
Su Yu could not stop Mo Chengyuan from meeting his White Moonlight, but she could seize this opportunity to negotiate terms.
Instructing Li Hua to guard Beiyuan, Su Yu traced her memory back to the Western-style villa to find Mo Chengyuan.
Entering the villa, she happened upon Butler Qian descending from the second floor.
Butler Qian looked astonished to see her. “Why has Madam come all the way here?”
“I have matters to discuss with the Marshal,” Su Yu stated mildly.
“The Marshal is in his study on the second floor. Madam, please.” Butler Qian gestured toward the stairs.
Su Yu nodded. “You may return to your duties, Butler Qian.”
Mounting the grand spiral staircase for the second time, Su Yu arrived outside the study. The door stood ajar. Mo Chengyuan sat with his head lowered, reading something, a faint smile gracing his lips. He was clearly in high spirits.
Su Yu curled her knuckles and rapped against the door. The crisp knocking instantly drew his attention.
Mo Chengyuan looked up. The moment he recognized her, his brow furrowed, and he sat upright. “Come in.”
Su Yu stepped inside and approached the desk. Before she could utter a word, Mo Chengyuan snapped in disdain, “Instead of staying in Beiyuan to lose weight, what are you bothering me for now?”
Su Yu reflected briefly. While she had made numerous requests of Butler Qian over the past few days, they were all trivial matters that hardly warranted disturbing Mo Chengyuan. What on earth is he holding against me?
“Marshal, I have already shed ten jin. I have hardly neglected my weight loss. Where does this accusation come from?”
Without the excess flesh crowding her features, her face had become far more delicate. Tall and upright, she stood before Mo Chengyuan with eyes flashing sharp and clear, her thin lips curved slightly. Her bearing carried an imposing authority that rivaled even his own.
A shiver of wariness shot through Mo Chengyuan. Instinctively, he raised his voice: “Insolent! You have no sense of decorum. Barging in here directly—do you not know how to schedule an appointment beforehand?!”
“Marshal, I know nothing of this scheduling you speak of. After all, I arrived on Planet Beiguo a mere ten days ago.”
Gazing at the woman before him, Mo Chengyuan felt his authority challenged. “If you do not know, then learn!” he barked coldly.
Su Yu nodded. “The Marshal speaks with absolute wisdom. That is precisely why I have come: I hope the Marshal will hire instructors for me. I am only twenty-five years of age. My lack of education in the past was due to family circumstances, but now that the Marshal himself commands me to learn, I cannot let my youth waste away. Marshal, I wish to pursue my studies.”
Mo Chengyuan stared at her in disbelief. “You? Study? You know full well you are already twenty-five! Wouldn’t it be an utter embarrassment to sit among teenagers in a classroom? Absolutely not. Stay in the manor and do not disgrace me in public.”
Su Yu remained composed. “What if I never disclose my relationship with you to the outside world? I lost ten jin in ten days, so twenty jin will be effortless. The Marshal is not a man to break his word; when the time comes, you would be obligated to take me to banquets. Now, I propose to trade that privilege—attending banquets by your side as your wife—in exchange for the opportunity to study. I trust the Marshal will agree.”
Su Yu was certain he would not refuse.
Mo Chengyuan glared at her darkly. After a protracted silence, he spoke in a measured, icy tone: “If you ever breathe a single word of your ties to me, whether you guarded my parents’ graves for seven years or not, I will divorce you immediately.”
“Deal,” Su Yu agreed without hesitation.
The suffocating tension in the room eased. Mo Chengyuan tapped his knuckles against the desk, asking, “Do you wish to take the university entrance examination or enroll in middle school?”
A mocking chuckle escaped him. “If you enter middle school, they’ll mistake you for a teacher—even though you are completely illiterate.”
Su Yu rolled her eyes inwardly. “My intellect is exceptional. Naturally, I will take the university entrance examination.”
“The university entrance examinations take place in June,” Mo Chengyuan declared coldly. “I will grant you a single opportunity. If you fail to pass three months from now, put all thoughts of schooling out of your mind forever.”
Had Su Yu truly been an illiterate peasant freshly arrived from a rural backwater, passing a middle school examination in three months would have been impossible, let alone gaining admittance to a university.
It laid bare just how wretchedly Mo Chengyuan treated the country wife who had guarded his parents’ graves for seven years.
123 cheered with excitement: [Host! Show him what you’re made of!]
It had known all along that the Host would embark upon the path of glorious counterattack!
