"My lady? You're back?" Mailing rushed towards Su Lanyi as Xiaoyu gave her a chair to sit.
"Did the fifth master accept the food?" they asked, concerned, as Su Lanyi shook her head.
"No, he didn't. But go and tell Head Chef Li to prepare food for him and send it to me. I'll give it to him… and this time, I'll make sure he eats it," Su Lanyi said as she sighed. There were so many things she had to do. She had made so many mistakes in the past. She wished she had been sent back on her wedding day rather than now when she had already portrayed herself as wicked and arrogant.
Meanwhile, Mailing and Xiaoyu exchanged glances. They were both concerned about why their young lady was suddenly acting so caring towards their young master, but they dared not ask, fearing she would scold them.
"Mailing?" Su Lanyi called out.
"Mm… yes, mistress?"
"Get things ready. We are moving to the Pond Residence," she announced, taking them by surprise.
"What?" The two maids were shocked beyond words. "Why are we going there? Y-young mistress, you said it yourself that the place is stinky and below your standard. Why do you want to suddenly move there?" Mailing asked, shocked, but Su Lanyi didn't blame them for being so surprised.
Initially, being married to Jiang Wei meant she was to live in his own residence, but being the unloved son of the Jiang family, his residence was unkempt and old… Everything there was either broken or under repair.
The past Su Lanyi was someone of high prestige; she didn't even dare think of living there, so she stayed at the outer house instead of living with Jiang Wei.
Yet this time, things would be different. If she wanted to prove to Jiang Wei that she was now different and a changed person, then she had to live with him—even in that old, run-down house.
"Quickly! Don't ask unnecessary questions. Tell the maids and workers to move all my things. The kitchen should also move too… everything should be done before the end of today, understood?"
Su Lanyi stood up as the two maids nodded. "Yes, my mistress. We will get it done right away."
…
Some time later, a maid brought the new tray of food for Jiang Wei, and Su Lanyi smiled, taking the tray and heading towards the Pond Residence once more.
She only hoped that this time he wouldn't toss the food away and would accept her sincerity.
Upon arriving at the residence, Su Lanyi took a quick look at it. It was run-down and dirty—probably because she had stopped almost all the maids from coming to clean and work here.
When she moved in, she would make sure this residence was brought back to its full bloom once more.
She entered the huge empty chamber where Jiang Wei often stayed, but he was nowhere to be found.
Just then she saw Du Lan pass by and stopped him in his tracks.
Du Lan was Jiang Wei's most trusted guard. He was the only one who stood by him after his fall, and even during his rise to victory, Du Lan was still by his side.
Upon seeing Su Lanyi, Du Lan's displeasure was quite obvious since it was evident he didn't like her one bit, but he hid it as he greeted her with a small nod.
"Is there anything you need, young lady?" he asked as Su Lanyi nodded.
"Yes, actually, I'm looking for Jiang Wei. Do you know where he is?"
She asked, smiling, as Du Lan looked from the tray of food in her hands to her smiling face. The Su Lanyi he knew never smiled—unless she was up to something.
He hesitated before he then responded, "He is by the pond in the back garden."
He said, and Su Lanyi nodded. "Thanks."
With that, she turned around and went straight to the garden. She had almost forgotten how Jiang Wei had a love for nature.
She arrived at the back garden not long after as she entered. The garden was the only beautiful and colorful place in the old and gloomy residence. Surely Jiang Wei had taken care of it.
From afar, Su Lanyi saw Jiang Wei's wheelchair, and a smile appeared on her face, but upon going nearer, she found out that he wasn't alone.
Standing before him was a maid—a very familiar one.
It was Lan'er, and in her hands was a bowl as she handed it over to Jiang Wei with a shy smile.
"What is this?" Jiang Wei asked, staring at the food in her hands.
"Umm… well, thank you very much for saving me from the young mistress, master. If not for you, I would have been dead by now. To thank you, I brought this little meal. After all, it's because of me you haven't eaten for three days now."
She said as Su Lanyi stared at her, her eyes no longer filled with the smile she had a couple of seconds ago.
She remembered this scene very clearly from her past life.
She had decided to confront Jiang Wei for stopping her from beating Lan'er, so she came to his residence only to find Lan'er giving him some food.
She thought they were having an affair. She didn't listen to his explanation and tagged him as a cheater.
She then threw Lan'er out of her household, causing Jiang Wei to hate her even more.
She took a deep breath. This time, she would be wiser and listen to understand what was really going on before jumping to conclusions like in the past.
Meanwhile, hearing her words, Jiang Wei sighed. "There's no need to thank me. Instead, you should stay far from Su Lanyi's sight… She has a temper, and if you're not careful, I may not be able to save you next time."
He said, then pointed at the food in her hands. "As for this, there's no need… You can leave now if there's nothing else."
He said with a straight face, but Lan'er still didn't back down. "P-please master, this is my form of showing gratitude—"
Just then, she was suddenly interrupted.
"Since when did maids show such gratitude to their masters? It looks like you want another beating?"