Young Master Ye

I often think of Zhu Shuzhen's poems, probably because Su Mei is quite similar to Zhu Shuzhen in some ways.

Zhu Shuzhen married a cunning but unromantic official. Throughout history, most talented men have been romantic and passionate, which inevitably caused women heartache and helplessness. How many dared to emulate Yu Xuanji? Moreover, even Yu Xuanji, after leaving the Daoist temple, endured a lifetime of bitterness with nowhere to turn.

However, some talented women, especially a woman as gifted as Zhu Shuzhen, inevitably have some expectations of their husbands' understanding. They don't necessarily expect her to be a master of poetry, but at least they don't want her to lament "gulls, egrets, and mandarin ducks in one pond." She would certainly be dissatisfied with her husband.

Was Su Mei satisfied with her marriage? Liu Chang'an had no way of knowing. He only remembered that the young master of the Zhu Family was naturally taciturn and shy, and was proficient in Western science and engineering, while Su Mei preferred business management. He still remembered that one of the gifts she gave him was her favorite normal-sized gold abacus.

The Zhu Family's current prosperity is likely inseparable from Su Mei's painstaking efforts. Their decision to come to Taiwan was also a traditional practice of established families to expand their branches and diversify their businesses. Some lament that there are no longer any truly powerful and wealthy families in the country, as they have all been reduced to mediocrity by being treated as landlords. However, a little research reveals that this trend began in the late Song Dynasty and continued into the late Ming, late Qing, and Republican periods. Many prominent families kept some branches in the country and sent others overseas. In short, regardless of the situation in the country, they always made sure to leave one branch to carry on the family line.

The simplest way is to look up where those young ladies from the Republican era went.

If they're gone in China, they're gone. What's the point of having these things? China doesn't need nobles; the Chinese people have their own inherent nobility.

"Young Master Ye, it's me, Xiao Cui!"

The old man patted Liu Chang'an's hand hard, tears streaming down his face, unable to contain his emotions.

Liu Chang'an felt his hands were stiff. Beauty fades with time; could a woman over a hundred years old still retain a trace of the unparalleled beauty he remembered?

Xiao Cui? Su Mei was never called Xiao Cui; this name was generally only used by daughters of poor families or by servants.

Where could there be a Miss Su named Xiao Cui?

He went to the wrong person, and even mistook her for someone else, thinking that the woman he had crossed mountains and seas to meet was his former lover.

"Young Master Ye, I am Miss's maid Su Xiaocui." The old man helped Liu Chang'an to his feet.

Liu Chang'an helped her up and realized that she was actually in pretty good shape and could walk quite easily.

The Old Madam Su is not Su Mei, but Su Xiaocui, Su Mei's personal maid back then.

"So it was you... I thought it was Su Mei. Everyone else said that the old lady of the Su Family was Su Mei." Liu Chang'an was still somewhat happy, after all, it was an old friend meeting again after a long separation.

Old Madam Su stared blankly at Liu Chang'an, her cloudy eyes filled with unbelievable disbelief that she had expected. She reached out and touched Liu Chang'an's cheek, her fingers trembling, her lips quivering, but in the end she only opened her mouth.

I feel gratified, moved, nostalgic, and in awe.

After so many years of pampered life, even if she hasn't aged, she probably no longer bears the resemblance to a young maid.

Liu Chang'an tried hard to recall what she looked like back then, and was a little embarrassed, but eventually he remembered her, and then he showed more joy at the long-awaited reunion.

Almost every time I saw Su Mei, she was always accompanied by a well-behaved, obedient, and delicate little maid.

"How could Miss possibly want to marry Old Zhu?" Old Madam Su took Liu Chang'an's arm. "Young Master Ye, come for a walk with me. Let's talk about what happened back then."

"Good."

As she said this, Old Madam Su remained silent. After walking a short distance, she sat on a bench to rest for a while and then called over an old servant with a full head of silver hair.

"Give the order: no one is to tell anyone about what happened today."

"Yes, madam."

Old Madam Su's calm tone carried the authority of an ancestor. Despite being over a hundred years old, she still maintained this demeanor, which only aroused the respect of those below. It's no wonder that Old Madam Su holds power in the Zhu Family.

After giving her instructions, Old Madam Su continued to support Liu Chang'an's arm as they walked forward.

"A lot happened back then that you probably don't know about, right?"

"Some things happened at that time, so I left temporarily. When I came back, everything had changed."

"After you left, the Zhu Family came to propose marriage. Although Miss and Old Zhu were good friends, neither of them was willing to get married. However, Old Zhu was under pressure and would come to the Su Family to play from time to time. Over time, Old Zhu and I took a liking to each other..." At this point, Old Madam Su chuckled twice. When she talked about her youth, she didn't show much of a woman's shyness. After all, she was already at the age of waiting for the ox-headed and horse-faced demons, so she didn't care about the emotions of love and romance.

"Su Mei passed away, Su Family kept it a secret. You took Su Mei's place and married into the Zhu Family." Liu Chang'an understood something.

"Yes, Miss left the accounts, instructing me to continue managing them for you, and that's how the Zhu Family came to be today." Old Madam Su pointed, looked around, and sighed, "Miss was right, you will come back to her one day."

I can't find her anymore.

Old Madam Su rubbed her hands together and then covered her face.

"What is Young Master Ye's status now? As Miss instructed, the Zhu Family's share will remain with the Zhu Family, and your share will be returned to you."

"No need, consider it as part of your young lady's dowry."

"Young Master Ye, you were right to say that. Miss also guessed what you were thinking back then." Old Madam Su smiled. "She still understands you best."

"If she really understood me, why would she drug me?" Liu Chang'an's words no longer contained anger, but only genuine helplessness. Time cannot be reversed, beauty is gone forever, the past is all gone, and emotions have long since become a gentle breeze, unable to ripple the surface of his heart.

"That... that might be a misunderstanding..." Old Madam Su stammered, seemingly unable to explain herself clearly.

"Never mind." Liu Chang'an had already given up on the matter.

"There's something else, thank you, Young Master Ye."

"Um?"

"Back then, the young lady took your essence and fed it to me, saying that she would have plenty of opportunities in the future. Little did she know that you would never return, leaving me to eke out an existence until now."

Liu Chang'an opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. Su Mei was really willful and reckless. Why did she have to use such methods? He had originally planned to use other methods to prolong her life, but she just didn't know how she came up with such a ridiculous idea.

Moreover, her method had an extremely low success rate, while Su Xiaocui was quite lucky, as it worked immediately.

"She's feeding you, most likely with the intention of experimenting on you." Liu Chang'an knew Su Mei quite well.

"That's not important. One should be grateful when receiving kindness. If you think she had ulterior motives and therefore feel it's your due, then you're being ungrateful." Old Madam Su shook her head. Actually, she felt somewhat wronged back then, but she dared not disobey her mistress's orders and had no choice but to eat those strange things.

You're right.

Where have you been all these years?

"I've always been in mainland China."

Liu Chang'an chatted with Old Madam Su for a while until a servant reminded her to rest. Liu Chang'an accompanied her to her room to rest, and they had lunch together. Although she didn't eat much, she seemed to have a good appetite. In the afternoon, they chatted for a while about people and events from the past before Liu Chang'an left.

"Madam, it's time for your afternoon nap."

After Liu Chang'an left, Old Madam Su sat at the entrance of the mansion and watched his figure disappear into the woods. He refused her request to send him away by car.

This is probably the last time we'll see each other in this lifetime, a century has passed.

"Give me the phone."

Old Madam Su took the phone, dialed a number, and when the call connected, Old Madam Su smiled with relief, "Miss..."