After transmigrating into the body of a widow, I became the richest man in the capital.

Chapter 322 A New Backer
Pei Yuan walked away looking aggrieved. A little while later, he brought back a plate of fruit for Su Xiaoxiao. "Try this freshly peeled fruit, how does it taste?"

Su Xiaoxiao pretended not to see it and continued looking at her ledger.

Pei Yuan finally couldn't hold back any longer, "What's wrong with you? How can you be so indifferent to me? You don't care about me at all anymore!"

Su Xiaoxiao had no choice but to close the ledger.

What's wrong with you today? Why are you being so clingy?

"I don't care, you have to stay with me!"

Su Xiaoxiao put down the ledger she was holding when she saw it. She suddenly felt quite sorry for Pei Yuan.

"Alright, I'll stay with you, okay?"

Su Xiaoxiao said this.

She knew that she had indeed neglected Pei Yuan these past few days.

Pei Yuan said to Su Xiaoxiao, "The Duchess's birthday is in a few days. How about you come with me to attend her birthday celebration?"

Su Xiaoxiao knew that if she went to see the Duchess this time, she would be doing so as the wife of General Pei Yuan, and she absolutely could not be impolite.

Su Xiaoxiao seemed quite nervous. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could have gone to order some decent clothes!"

Pei Yuan couldn't help but laugh when he saw Su Xiaoxiao's nervous expression.

"You looked so nervous, I thought you were going to see someone. Don't be so nervous. Actually, you've met the Duchess before, and she had a pretty good impression of you."

Su Xiaoxiao certainly remembered that when the emperor came to inspect the country last time, he brought the Duchess and the Duke with him.

At the time, the Duchess had a very good impression of Su Xiaoxiao. Su Xiaoxiao gave the Duchess face cream and made delicious jam for her. All of this made the Duchess greatly admire Su Xiaoxiao.

"By the way, the Duchess seems to be feeling unwell lately; her eye condition has flared up again. I wonder if we'll be able to hold this birthday banquet smoothly."

"is it?"

Su Xiaoxiao was quite concerned when she heard about this, after all, in the court, the Duke was considered to have treated Pei Yuan quite well.

The two families have a pretty good relationship, both in business and in private, which makes Su Xiaoxiao quite worried about the Duchess.

On the day of the birthday banquet, when Su Xiaoxiao arrived at the Duke's mansion, the Duchess seemed to have known that Su Xiaoxiao would come from early in the morning, so she told the maid to wait for Su Xiaoxiao at the door.

As soon as Su Xiaoxiao arrived, she was taken to the Duchess's room, and the Duchess immediately showered her with concern and care.

Su Xiaoxiao was quite happy when the Duchess had her maid bring over a pair of jade bracelets that had been prepared in advance.

"This is a jade bracelet I prepared for you, which will serve as a wedding gift."

Su Xiaoxiao looked at the pair of jade bracelets in surprise, and found that the bracelets were really incredibly beautiful.

After thanking the Duchess, Su Xiaoxiao's eyes started to feel uncomfortable again.

What happened to your eyes?

Su Xiaoxiao hurriedly asked.

“It’s still the same as always,” the Duchess said, her smile vanishing as she spoke. “But it doesn’t matter, these are all old problems.”

Su Xiaoxiao looked at the Duchess's eyes and realized it was a stye.

Presumably, the inflammation hadn't subsided, and Su Xiaoxiao remembered a medicinal herb from her hometown that could treat it: aloe vera, which could both reduce inflammation and detoxify.

Su Xiaoxiao asked if the Duchess's residence had such a plant, and indeed the Duchess's back garden had aloe vera growing there.

Su Xiaoxiao taught the Duchess to apply aloe vera to her eyes and then take some traditional Chinese medicine to clear heat and detoxify.

In addition, you should pay attention to your diet. You must eat light foods and avoid spicy or fried foods.

The Duchess instructed her maids to remember that these foods are actually good for the eyes.

For example, eating more carrots and foods rich in vitamin A is beneficial.

The Duchess chatted with Su Xiaoxiao for a while longer. She lay on the bed with aloe vera applied to her eyes. Surprisingly, it was quite effective. After just chatting with Su Xiaoxiao for a short while, she already felt much better, and the swelling in her eyes had almost gone down by half.

The Duchess's birthday banquet wasn't a grand affair; she simply invited her closest friends. To be honest, the table was laden with delicacies, and Su Xiaoxiao was quite tempted. However, the Duchess couldn't eat; she could only look on.

The Duchess herself couldn't eat, but she kept putting food on Su Xiaoxiao's plate, which puzzled the people around her. They wondered who this woman was and why the Duchess treated her like this.

"eat more."

The Duchess said to Su Xiaoxiao, "After I left your house last time, I used the face cream you gave me, and my skin has improved a lot."

"Really? I'll bring some more for Madam in a few days."

The Duchess sighed, "Alas, I don't know what sins my husband and I have committed in our lives. We only had one daughter, and then she went missing..."

In fact, the Duchess did not treat Su Xiaoxiao as an outsider. In fact, everyone in the capital knew about this matter, which caused a sensation throughout Chang'an City back then.

It turns out that the Duchess's daughter went missing when she was eight years old, and to this day, she has neither been found alive nor dead.

Su Xiaoxiao felt sorry for the two of them after hearing this. She didn't expect that the seemingly optimistic old couple had such a past.

The Duchess said to Su Xiaoxiao, "When we see you, we old folks always think of our daughter. Where is she now? Is she doing well? Thank you for always being there for us old folks."

"this is what we are supposed to do."

Pei Yuan, who was listening to this, felt that the Duchess intended to adopt Su Xiaoxiao as her goddaughter.

So he said to the Duchess, "Xiaoxiao also lost her parents at a young age. She has been alone all these years and lacks parental love. If you two really like Xiaoxiao, why don't you adopt her as your goddaughter?"

"That sounds great! I wonder if Xiaoxiao would like it?"

Su Xiaoxiao was a little dazed at this moment, but the Duchess and the Duke were so kind to her. How could she bear to refuse these two old people? Just thinking about their pain in losing their daughter, and how they had kept their daughter's little room exactly as it was all these years, without changing a single thing.

It's clear how much they miss their daughter. Su Xiaoxiao doesn't have the love of her biological parents either. If they were to adopt Su Xiaoxiao as their goddaughter, wouldn't she have a powerful backer?

These are the Duchess and the Duke, whose positions in the court are extremely important.

Seeing that the two elderly people were very happy, Su Xiaoxiao nodded in agreement. On the day of the Duchess's birthday banquet, they had a new daughter again.

(End of this chapter)