The older maids in the mansion would keep the younger ones busy by giving them embroidery threads to work on during their free time. There were simply too many such items to count.
"Too many to count? Do you spend all your time embroidering?"
"…Yes." It wasn't some intricate and delicate pattern. One could finish a handkerchief in half an hour just sitting there.
A few days later, he seemed completely possessed. He stared fixedly at the handkerchief and then, in a moment of desperation, grabbed Qingcao by the shoulders.
"Can everyone use this pattern? Do all the young ladies and maids in the Su Mansion use this kind of pattern?"
"E…every person has a different pattern. Moreover, General, what are you saying? Besides our young lady, is there another young lady in the mansion? Our young lady has never been good at female handicrafts. And with me around, she doesn't need to carry a handkerchief. She thinks it's a nuisance. Whenever something gets dirty, I'll just wipe it for her…" Qingcao was so flustered that she was babbling incoherently. She had no idea what had upset him about a mere handkerchief.
Gu Jingtian remained silent. Indeed… in all these years, he didn't seem to have ever seen Su Wan'er holding a handkerchief.
But back then… when he was seriously ill, there was clearly a woman holding this kind of handkerchief and taking care of him every day. And on the day he finally woke up, she even left one behind.
After that, he asked everyone in the Su Mansion, from the master to the maids, and they all said that it was Wan'er who had been by his side those days. He had even almost returned the handkerchief to Wan'er.
Could he have been wrong all these years? Unconsciously, Gu Jingtian's mind was filled with the thought that it had always been Qingcao by his side these years.
Over the years, from being a scholar, to a provincial laureate, and finally a top scholar, it seemed that every time the results were announced, it was Qingcao who came to the Gu Mansion to inquire. He thought it was Wan'er who had sent her, and she thought that every time it was Wan'er who was as anxious as he was about the results of the palace examination.
In recent years, every time he went on an expedition, although he and the two generals of the Su family always returned from the battlefield together, Qingcao would always come alone to ask if he was injured and how serious his injuries were. She would always bring medicine with her and leave it there as soon as she heard that he was injured.
He was always touched by this kind of meticulous care and always thought that it was because Wan'er was inconvenient to come in person, so she sent Qingcao.
He had lost his parents since childhood. Whenever someone asked him what kind of woman he liked, he naturally thought that a virtuous and caring woman would be good.
But in all these years of talking with Wan'er, he increasingly found that she still seemed determined to stay on the battlefield. She was nothing like the considerate and caring person who had sent medicine to him through Qingcao.
"If General Gu has nothing else to say, this maid will take her leave." Qingcao didn't know what was going on. Seeing him clutching the handkerchief tightly in his hand, she felt a vague sense of unease. Normally, it wouldn't have mattered if she had given him the handkerchief, but these days were the most crucial. Should she ask for it back?
"Oh… Alright." Gu Jingtian came back to his senses and looked at Qingcao's face. Suddenly, he thought that perhaps Wan'er was too beautiful and too delicate. In contrast… it wasn't as comfortable. It was Qingcao's kind of face, with distinct eyebrows and eyes, that made him feel inexplicably at ease.
"Could you please return the handkerchief to this maid?" Qingcao finally spoke up. She felt it wasn't appropriate to give her personal handkerchief to him at this time.
"Could you give this to me?" Gu Jingtian asked directly. In all these decades, every word he had said to Qingcao seemed not as light yet as profound as this one.
"If, if the general…" Qingcao instinctively trembled all over. She had never heard the general speak in such a tone. "It's better not. In a few days, the general will marry the young lady. There must be countless such handkerchiefs in the general's mansion. Moreover, it's of no use to the general." Qingcao seemed to gain some courage and reached out her hand to take the handkerchief from his hand.
"No. I need it." Gu Jingtian didn't know what had come over him today. He just held on tightly and refused to let go.
Qingcao's eyes widened. She looked at him with a watery gaze. Then she finally let go. "If the general needs it, then take it." Then, with a blushing face, she ran away.
She took a few quick steps back to the Su Mansion and rushed into her room. The first thing Qingcao did was to splash some cold water on her face, but the heat seemed to linger.
What was this? What was this all about today? If it were any other man who had spoken to her in such an improper tone and taken her handkerchief, Qingcao would have thought he was a dissolute playboy who casually molested innocent girls. But… but, it happened to be Gu Jingtian, the General Gu who always adhered to the rules and etiquette.
Not to mention giving a handkerchief, in all these dozen years, she had never done anything more out of line. But precisely because he had never shown the slightest bit of affection for her in the past, today's incident seemed all the more terrifying.
What had come over her today? Qingcao asked herself and even wanted to go and ask Gu Jingtian. People are not made of wood. How could she not have feelings? She had been thinking about him day and night for these dozen years. She had even made up her mind that if he divorced his wife in a few days, she would agree to be with him. But now…
"Miss Qingcao, the third young lady is calling you. What are you doing in your room?" A maid called out to Qingcao from outside. Only then did she come back to her senses. She must have wasted at least half an hour.
"Miss? This maid is coming in." Before Qingcao could even knock on the door, Su Wan'er hurriedly pulled her in.
When she saw the picture on the table, she almost burst out laughing. Su Wan'er had actually drawn a map of the route for the wedding from the Su Mansion to the Gu Mansion.
"Look carefully. I'll still be sitting in the sedan chair that day. Father will personally help me into the sedan chair here. Brother Jingtian will be riding a horse in front. But, come to think of it, his horse is just for show. It won't take many steps before we reach the main gate of the Gu Mansion. You have to follow the sedan chair closely beside me on this stretch of the road." Su Wan'er was very worried. Although she had made Qingcao the fourth young lady of the Su Mansion, her dowry maid would be someone else. Her mother had already arranged it for her. But for the convenience of the ceremony, she still wanted Qingcao to follow beside the sedan chair.
"Miss, you're making this wedding seem like a battle. You've even drawn this map." Qingcao finally couldn't help but speak out. Seeing her pointing at the map, it really seemed like a general deploying troops on the battlefield.
"Not only that! It's even more difficult than a battle. I've been studying today's plan for an hour." Su Wan'er rubbed her sore neck and only then noticed that Qingcao seemed very different today. She was even more lively than usual.