Chapter 7 I Want to Learn to Read!

“Eldest brother, second sister!!” There was a childish voice calling from outside the room. Su Erya was a little puzzled. Su Qingtan was not the only boy in the family. Su Qinghao was the fourth child in the Su family. Su Qingtan and Su Qinghao were both the Second Madam’s sons. She and Su Zipei were the First Madam’s daughters. Because of that, although the Second Madam didn’t come from high status family, she still had a lot of rights. Su Erya couldn’t help but feel strange about Su Qinghao. When she had made a mistake in her previous life, she never saw Su Qinghao again. She didn’t hear the news about him until after she married that poor young master. Su Qinghao was poisoned and died when he was 15 years old. The killer was never found. “Second sister, I knew you were wrongly accused!” Su Qinghao, who looked very much like Su Qingtan, ran in with a smile. He had a snow-white leather hat on his head, which made his handsome little face look extremely elegant. Compared with Su Qingtan, Su Qinghao was less mature but livelier. When he came over, it was as if the whole room was full of life. Su Qingtan smiled helplessly and explained, “he cried when you were kicked out of the mansion. And then he was locked up by father for two months. I’m afraid he’s really happy to be released today.” “That’s the story.” Su Erya stared at Su Qinghao with her bright eyes, which made him a little awkward. “Ok. Your second sister needs to rest. Go play outside,” Su Qingtan suggested Su Qinghao got excited and said, “I’ll go to the martial arts field and wait for you. Hurry up!” After Su Qinghao left, Su Qingtan hesitated, braced himself and then said finally, “Second sister, father wants to focus on the overall situation. He does not want to declare the truth to the public. This matter... He’ll give you some compensation... I’m useless. Do you blame me?” There was no doubt that this treatment was extremely unfair to the second sister. Su Qingtan looked at Su Erya in fidgets, expecting her to cry. Unexpectedly, Su Erya nodded, with a peaceful and simple smile on her face. “Why aren’t you angry?” Su Qingtan could not help clenching his fist. The second sister’s reaction made him feel more guilty. Su Erya shook her head. “Why should I be angry? As long as eldest brother believes me, I will be very happy. I won’t get beaten up, and I don’t have to work. And it’s all because of eldest brother. You’re so great.” Her soft voice melted Su Qingtan’s heart. He had expected her to cry, not comfort him. After all, she was the one who had suffered the most! How could he have been so blind? He had judged people by their outward appearance. Although the third sister was exquisite and amiable, she was as selfish as the first mother. How could she compare with the kind-hearted second sister? At this moment, Su Qingtan’s desire to protect Su Erya grew. He would no longer stand to see such a pure little girl being hurt at all. Su Erya grinned, and the cold light reflected off her teeth. She was not surprised by the outcome . For Su Huanli, Su Zipei was a rare commodity that could not be tarnished before it could be sold at a high price. As for the ugly Su Erya, she was just like a servant for the Su family. And a servant girl...didn’t need fame. Over the next few months, Su Erya’s condition improved under the careful care of Mammy Li. Su Zipei was locked up, and her first mother could not even get in because Su Qingtan wouldn’t allow it. Her life was quite quiet and comfortable. Su Erya, who was now able to get out of bed and walk around, came to the study and said: “Eldest brother, I want to learn to read!” Su Qingtan frowned and was shocked. Father believed that “Innocence is the virtue of women”. Few of Su’s women could read. Second sister should know this. Why would she disobey him? “Can you tell me why you want to learn to read?” Su Erya blinked her watery eyes, and said, “Because I want to be like Ms. Gu!” Su Qingtan couldn’t help laughing, “You...” “Ms. Gu”, Gu Yan, was well-known. Gu Yan was the first female general of the Dahan Dynasty. She was adept with both the pen and the sword. Her war exploits on the battlefield with her husband, Ling Jinglei, were infamous. Fifty years ago, they led their lone army went deep into the enemy camp and killed the commander-in-chief, which won the battle! A few years later, Marshal Ling Jinglei died on the battlefield, and Gu Yan went out to battle alone. The enemy army was so frightened that they dared not to set foot on the land of Dahan Dynasty. Unfortunately, though the Ling family was full of loyalty, there was a good-for-nothing person... Su Qingtan sighed. He looked at his sister and said, “If you want to learn, I’ll teach you. But you should keep it as a secret. It would be bad if father finds out about it.” After the matter about the night-luminescent pearl, he came to realize that not every word what his father said was right. The second sister wanted to learn to read? Well that was good enough for him. Su Erya immediately nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. In her previous life, under the guidance of the crippled husband, she learned a small number of words. So, she was lucky enough to learn about toxicology and practice it. It was a pity she didn’t know every word. So she didn’t know enough when she practiced Xuangong. As a result, her face was covered with terrible pustules. But at that time, she had already lost everything, and she did not care whether she was disfigured or not. But... it was different now. She closed her eyes, and every word passed on by the toxicologist came to her mind, as clearly as a sculpture. As long as she knew all the words, she could start practicing Xuangong again. Then she could protect herself.