Chapter 289: Chapter 289

Su Qing heard this and curled a playful smile at the corner of his lips, "Have you thought it through?"

Lin An’an nodded earnestly, her cheeks finally flushed with a shy color, "An An came to the Capital this time, and never planned to go back."

Su Qing gestured for her to sit down with a look, and also instructed the nanny to serve her tea.

Lin An’an was full of joy and obediently found a place to sit down.

After this conversation, her courage grew, and when she looked at Su Qing again, the previous nervousness was gone.

"Mr. Qi, does that mean you agree?"

Lin An’an was overly excited and did not notice the slight pause and fleeting disdain on the nanny’s face when serving her tea.

Su Qing said lightly, "If you don’t want to be a guest and want to be the master here, you’ll have to learn many rules anew."

"I will definitely learn well."

Swayed by the man’s handsome appearance, Lin An’an’s already not-so-bright mind found it even harder to turn; whatever Mr. Qi said became the golden rule for her.

Su Qing seemed very satisfied with her reaction and looked at the nanny who had just served tea to Lin An’an, "I’ll trouble Nanny Qin for the matters afterward."

Nanny Qin, Su Qing’s wet nurse, nodded upon hearing this, "Rest assured, Mr. Qi, I will teach Miss An all the necessary rules without skipping any."

There was nothing more, so Su Qing waved people away, "Then you may leave!"

Lin An’an hadn’t reacted yet when Nanny Qin had already urged her to leave.

In no time, Lin An’an was half-dragged and half-pulled out of the main courtyard by Nanny Qin.

She broke free from Nanny Qin’s hand, frowned, "I was talking to Mr. Qi, where are you taking me?"

Nanny Qin smiled slightly, "Miss An, if you want to be the master here, you can’t be as willful as before. Every rule must be learned. If you find it bothersome, you can change your mind now, and I’ll report back to Mr. Qi immediately."

Lin An’an pouted, "Isn’t it just about learning the rules, can’t I learn them?" ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✶𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲✶𝗻𝗲𝘁

Saying this, she followed behind Nanny Qin and soon returned to her room.

Nanny Qin glanced casually and pointed out several shortcomings, saying the master’s room shouldn’t be arranged .

Lin An’an quickly modified it according to Nanny Qin’s arrangements.

Moved what needed to be moved, adjusted what needed adjusting.

After finally finishing, she was worn out.

Just as she was about to say she was too tired and wanted to rest, Nanny Qin brought out a large stack of books from somewhere and placed them on the table.

Lin An’an swallowed, "This... what’s this?"

Nanny Qin said respectfully, "These are the Su Family’s rules and guidelines. I will teach them one by one. Miss An may not remember so many at once, so I simply brought the books for you. In these days, you should focus on staying in your room and learning the rules. Only when you’ve memorized all these can you see Mr. Qi again."

Lin An’an glanced at the thick pile on the table and was directly anxious, "I’m just a concubine, do I really have to learn so much?"

Nanny Qin smiled at her, "Miss An comes from a merchant family, perhaps not very familiar with great households. Our Su Family is a scholarly aristocracy and has always attached great importance to rules from our ancestors. The old master and old madam valued etiquette above all during their lives, so everyone in this back courtyard, even a concubine, must observe rules and understand etiquette. Otherwise, breaking the rules is an immense disrespect to our ancestors, and at that time, not even Mr. Qi, nor even the Prime Minister, could protect you."

Lin An’an was so frightened she trembled, "Is it really that serious?"

Nanny Qin replied, "Mr. Qi was raised by me; him wanting to take a concubine makes me, his wet nurse, happy too. Teaching you the rules is naturally for your own good, otherwise teaching you wrong would tarnish Mr. Qi’s reputation."

Lin An’an couldn’t find any words to refute in these phrases and weakly looked at the stack of books, "Do I have to learn all these?"

"Not a single word can be missed." Nanny Qin was firm, "Back then when Granny Qi first entered the house, she memorized all this thoroughly."

Lin An’an had a bitter expression.

She only could read, hadn’t studied much, and particularly hated memorizing books. To ask her to memorize so much content in a short time was simply exhausting, she wasn’t pleased. Looking at Nanny Qin, she spoke with a negotiating tone, "With my relationship with Mr. Qi, isn’t there some leeway?"

Nanny Qin asked her, "What relationship?"

Lin An’an instantly found her confidence, straightened her back, "Mr. Qi is my brother-in-law!"

Nanny Qin’s expression was full of realization but her tone was indifferent, "Since Miss An knows Mr. Qi is your brother-in-law, why are you still thinking about becoming his concubine?"

Lin An’an was angry, "I want to, can you control that?"

Nanny Qin replied, "Miss An is from Granny Qi’s family, I truly can’t control it, however, your behavior is considered shameless in the Su Family’s rules, as long as it’s related to the rules, I have some authority."

Lin An’an was almost infuriated, pointed a finger at her, "Old hag, who are you calling shameless?"

Nanny Qin smiled lightly, "Miss An, please watch your words and actions."

Thinking of Su Qing, Lin An’an had to swallow her anger temporarily, but was still so angry her face was green.

Nanny Qin looked at the table, "These books, if you want to read them, can stay, if not, I’ll take them away now."

Lin An’an was in a fit of rage at this time and didn’t want to hear Nanny Qin’s voice at all, so she told her to leave.

Nanny Qin was a wet nurse, naturally not a servant, able to speak to Lin An’an in the earlier tone was already lowering herself. Being sent away now, she neither lingered much nor persuaded more, and directly turned to leave.

Lin An’an looked at the tall stack of books on the table and angrily swept them all to the floor.

Nanny Qin returned to the main courtyard.

Su Qing was still sitting in the same place, only he was not drinking tea, instead holding a book on military strategy in his hands.

Hearing someone come in, he didn’t even raise an eyelid.

Nanny Qin reported, "Mr. Qi, the people have been sent off."

Su Qing just responded with a slight "hm" and didn’t ask how they were sent off.

He had always trusted the nursemaid’s affairs.

The three who went shopping had been out for more than an hour and returned with quite a lot of things.

Lin Xiaoyue, being pregnant, was not only tired but also felt some soreness in her calves after this outing.

Upon returning to her room, she planned to have a maid help massage her.

She spoke out loud, but the person who came in was Su Qing.

The man’s deep voice carried concern.

Lin Xiaoyue withdrew her leg from the couch and sat up a bit more straight, showing a hint of fatigue in her eyes.

Lin Xiaoyue sipped the hot tea he handed to her and suddenly said, "I just feel tired; I regret bringing them from Jizhou."

Su Qing took her hand in his palm, "If they upset you, just send them back."

"But they..." Lin Xiaoyue hesitated.

The three were arranged by the old lady, and if she sent them back rashly, the old lady would flay her alive.

Su Qing said, "No need for you to step in, in less than three days, someone will voluntarily propose to leave."

Hearing this, Lin Xiaoyue couldn’t help but wonder, "Did you do something to An An?"

"Just fulfilling her wish." The man said it offhandedly.

What wish could Lin An’an have? It could only be to stay and become Su Qing’s concubine.

As Lin Xiaoyue thought so, she didn’t ask further.

Lin Jingjing’s room was next to Lin An’an’s.

When she returned, she heard Lin An’an throwing a tantrum inside, and curious, she walked in to see about a dozen books scattered messily on the floor, looking like they had been swept off.

Lin Jingjing’s gaze shifted to the side.

Lin An’an had a dark look on her face.

"An An, what’s wrong?" Lin Jingjing asked.

"Sis, that Nanny Qin is so annoying, she doesn’t want me to get close to Mr. Qi and found an excuse, saying if I want to stay as a concubine for Mr. Qi, I must memorize everything in these books thoroughly, sending me away with a pile of useless books. Listen, in which household is a concubine treated ? I’m not even running the household, so why should I memorize this junk?"

Lin Jingjing bent down to pick up a book and flipped through it casually.

It indeed contained the Su Family’s clan rules and regulations.

She sat down next to Lin An’an, recalling what Lin Xiaoyue said during the day at the marketplace. After some silence, she asked, "An An, do you really want to become a concubine?"

"Of course I don’t!" Lin An’an exclaimed loudly, "If it weren’t for big sister hogging Mr. Qi, do you think I wouldn’t want to be a dignified main wife?"

"If you don’t want to be a concubine, then don’t." Lin Jingjing closed the book in her hand, her voice carrying a hint of determination.

"What do you mean, sis?" Lin An’an sensed something was wrong and asked.

Lin Jingjing replied, "I don’t want to stay in the Capital anymore; I’ll be leaving in a few days."

Having been here for so long, it’s been hard enough to even meet Su Qing, let alone entice him.

Moreover, even if they met, Su Qing’s attitude towards them was always cold and indifferent. Clearly, he never intended to take in his main wife’s family as concubines, so why should she stay and embarrass herself?

Besides, Lin Xiaoyue was no longer the brainless and naïve young lady she used to be. The current Granny Qi of the Su Family fought her way out of a crowd of women. Leaving aside her skills, her sharp tongue alone could choke anyone.

Under such circumstances, even if she did become Mr. Qi’s concubine, she would inevitably have to act according to Lin Xiaoyue’s temperament.

Lin Jingjing, being prouder than anyone deep down, despite her admiration for Su Qing, was unwilling to humble herself to be a minor wife.

"Sis, have you really thought it through?" Lin An’an tried to persuade her, "I saw Mr. Qi today, and he’s not as cold-hearted as we imagined. Besides, he has already agreed to let me stay."

"Agreed?" Lin Jingjing scoffed, glancing at the books on the ground, "If he truly agreed from the bottom of his heart, would he let a servant trouble you ? Making you memorize books and learn rules is clearly to discourage you."

"That’s too much!" Lin An’an said angrily, "I’m not someone who clings desperately. If he doesn’t like me, he should just say it straightforwardly; why have someone toy with me ?"

Lin Jingjing took a deep breath and told Lin An’an, "Then don’t memorize the books, pack up, and let’s choose a day to leave."

"Leave tomorrow, why wait for a day? This stupid place, even if I’m asked to stay, I’d rather not!" Lin An’an replied.

Lin Jingjing’s gaze turned cold, "It can’t be that simple; we must give Lin Xiaoyue a grand gift before leaving."