Su Xiaoqi reacted this way because Shen Yun’s words sounded a little perverted to her.
Fortunately, she was about to visit the Duke’s mansion again and didn’t have time to bicker with him over such trivial matters.
The Old Madam’s health had improved significantly.
When Su Xiaoqi arrived, she was practicing martial arts in the courtyard, specifically the Eight Brocades.
Despite her advanced age, the Old Madam had been a battlefield veteran in her youth.
She performed the Eight Brocades with fluid grace and elegant movements, resembling a dance.
Su Xiaoqi stood by and admired her for a moment. Then, she stepped forward to take the handkerchief from the young maidservant. After the Old Madam finished practicing, she proactively served her, wiping her sweat and offering her tea.
“Ah, my girl, you’re here. Yiyi just sent someone to ask if you were coming,” the Old Madam said, her face lighting up with joy at seeing Su Xiaoqi.
A hint of happiness appeared on her aged face.
Su Xiaoqi smiled gently. She had arranged with Du Yiyi the day before to visit the Old Madam today.
She hadn’t expected Yiyi to be asking about her so early, which made her feel as if she had arrived late.
However, this was a testament to their good friendship, and she wouldn’t be foolish enough to take offense.
“How is your arm, Old Madam? Are there any abnormalities?”
The Old Madam lightly waved her arm, a smile on her face. “It’s much better, greatly improved.”
Previously, any strenuous movement would cause pain like being pricked by needles. Now, she could rotate and swing it without any issues.
Xiaoqi is such a good child; she has relieved her greatest pain.
“By the way, I heard you agreed to accompany the Grand Princess to the Gan Quan Temple for the Bathing of the Buddha Festival on her birthday?” the Old Madam inquired.
Su Xiaoqi nodded obediently. “The Grand Princess extended a gracious invitation, and I couldn’t refuse.”
“The Grand Princess can be a bit impetuous, but she is a good person. Your steady nature is likely to suit her temperament very well.
You saved her precious darling last time, and now you’re standing up for her daughter. With you accompanying her, I can rest assured.”
“Aren’t you going, Old Madam?” Su Xiaoqi asked, thinking the Old Madam might accompany them when she brought up the matter.
She had even considered that this would allow her to not stay with the Grand Princess.
“I am old and will not join the fun. Your aunt originally intended to go, but her younger sister had some issues, and she needs to travel south to visit her.
From south to north, it’s a long journey, involving carriages and boats. She won’t be back for at least two months.”
Therefore, Madam Wen would definitely not be able to go.
However, Du Yiyi and her mother were going.
They could look after each other.
Su Xiaoqi was already very happy to hear that Du Yiyi was going. When Du Yiyi arrived, she eagerly asked about the matter.
Du Yiyi said that her mother was devoutly Buddhist and never missed any Buddhist events.
As for herself, she loved excitement. She heard that on the Buddha’s birthday, many people would travel from all over to Gan Quan Temple for pilgrimage.
Below the mountain, there would be a temple fair, which was extremely lively. One could also buy local specialties from various places.
After envisioning the scene, Du Yiyi told Su Xiaoqi that she had already informed the Old Madam about yesterday’s incident.
Su Xiaoqi already knew; otherwise, the Old Madam’s earlier words wouldn’t have mentioned her saving the Grand Princess’s daughter.
“Does the Old Madam think we did anything inappropriate in this matter?”
The Old Madam shook her head with a smile. “Not at all. You did the right thing. The people from the Ning Prince’s mansion are indeed troublesome, but what Shen Qionghua did was truly immoral.”
The Old Madam was not one to gossip about others behind their backs.
Although her words were somewhat severe, they were not overly harsh.
In any case, the information Su Xiaoqi gathered was that she highly approved of their saving Princess Hui’an, and the fact that they hadn’t immediately confronted Princess Qionghua put her mind at ease.
“Indeed, my eldest daughter has foresight. At the time, no one fancied the Gu family’s young man, yet she only took one look from afar and returned to tell me she wanted to marry him.
I disagreed, but it was the Old Duke himself who agreed and officiated the marriage.
Not even a few years after she married, he achieved top honors in three imperial examinations, became the Imperial Tutor, and a great scholar of the nation.” The Old Madam reminisced with a smile.
Her eldest daughter’s deeds back then were far more than just this one.
In fact, all three daughters possessed their father’s demeanor and were entirely different from the daughters of prominent families near the capital.
Speaking of this, she couldn’t help but think of her third daughter, Yu Jing.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have listened solely to the Old Duke’s words and indulged her third daughter too much, allowing her to catch that person’s eye and be forced to leave Daliang, staying away for over ten years.
As a result, now that she was nearing old age, she still couldn't see her.
A slight pang of sorrow touched the Old Madam’s heart, and her gaze involuntarily fell on Su Xiaoqi.
Indeed, her daughter-in-law was right. Although this girl, Xiaoqi, didn’t resemble her own daughter much, her demeanor was strikingly similar.
Through her, she seemed to see the spirited and talented young girl who had once been in the capital.
That was her most cherished third daughter.
“Grandmother, are you thinking of Little Aunt again?” Du Yiyi, who had been doted on by the Old Madam since childhood, understood her thoughts very well.
“Yes, your Little Aunt, along with your mother and your eldest aunt, they all seemed like children to me yesterday, but today they have all grown old.”
“Grandmother, you’re not old at all; you’re always young.”
“Don’t talk nonsense, child. You girls have all grown up, so of course, Grandmother has aged.”
Although the Old Madam had always been resistant to admitting her age and had many hidden ailments, she had always persisted in exercising, not wanting to suffer too much from illness in her later years.
She would rather die on the battlefield like the Old Duke than endure the torment of illness like other old ladies in the mansions, suffering until death.
After chatting for a while, Su Xiaoqi made pearl milk tea for the Old Madam.
The Old Madam greatly enjoyed it.
However, the pearls were made of tapioca and were difficult to digest. Su Xiaoqi, concerned about her health, didn’t want her to eat too much.
The old and young ones were playfully interacting.
Madam Wen entered with a gift list in hand and saw the old woman and the two young girls all smiling happily.
The slight gloom on her face gradually vanished.
She stood there, forcing a smile, and then slowly walked in.
“Mother, Xiaoqi, Yiyi, what are you all so happy about?”
“Hahaha, nothing much, just reminiscing about old times.
These two girls are pestering me to tell them about my younger days on the battlefield. Xiaoqi here insists they were glorious years.”
“Xiaoqi, you two finally know how to coax the Old Madam.” Madam Wen knew that although the Old Madam complained about the two juniors pestering her to talk about those things,
She actually enjoyed recounting them.
After all, who doesn’t love to talk about their glorious years when they were young?
Especially for the Old Madam, her youth was full of rich experiences, completely different from ordinary young ladies from sheltered families.
“Mother, look, this is the gift list I prepared. Please take a look.” Madam Wen teased a little before respectfully handing over the gift list.
This time, she had received instructions from her maternal family to travel south to Jiangnan to visit her sister, Wen Rulan, who was married into the Jiang family, a prominent weaving family in Jiangning Prefecture.
She was only two years younger than Madam Wen and had married into the Jiang family twenty years ago.
For twenty years, the sisters had never met, but they maintained frequent correspondence, having grown up together.
They exchanged gifts during festivals, and the relationship between the two families was quite good.
However, not long ago, she had received a letter from her sister seeking help.