Seeing Sui An stumble, she was bound to knock over that glazed tile screen.
However, the next moment, as if she had a premonition, Sui An suddenly dodged, moving like a slippery noodle, and threw herself into Su Jinhan's arms.
"Mother, I want a hug~"
"Ah!" Ping'er's foot caught on nothing, and she lost her balance for a moment.
After staggering two steps, she still couldn't steady herself and instead fell right into the glazed screen!
After a sound of shattering, everyone present was stunned and looked at her all at once.
Old Master Shen's vision went dark, and he nearly crushed his teacup.
When Ping'er stood up again, the screen bestowed by the Emperor was already shattered into pieces.
Ping'er's face turned deathly pale in an instant!
She looked at Sui An in disbelief and hurriedly knelt to beg for mercy.
"This maidservant didn't mean to; I truly... just lost my footing... I beg Old Master to forgive me."
Old Master Shen was furious, but since the guests did not yet know the item was an imperial gift, he wanted to cover up the matter first and scolded her to leave immediately.
However, at this moment, Sui An deliberately said loudly, "Oh? Why is it all broken? What a pity. Wasn't this given to Grandfather by the Emperor?"
"Mother, if something the Emperor bestowed is broken, what kind of crime is that? Does it count as Grandfather failing to take care of it? Will Grandfather be beheaded? I'm so worried." She held her little face and asked with a "naive" expression.
Su Jinhan was startled for a moment, then immediately replied, "This item is not only an imperial gift, but it is also a tribute from a Foreign Country."
Hearing this, the people present could not help but be stunned, and they all looked at Old Master Shen all at once.
How could an imperial tribute be damaged...
Old Master Shen's expression stiffened, and he could only stand up and shout angrily.
"Useless, base servant! How many lives do you have to dare to damage imperial grace? Someone, drag her out and give her one hundred strikes with the board!"
"Find a human trafficker and sell her off!"
Ping'er collapsed to the ground, her tears falling like rain.
"Old Master, spare me! This maidservant has served you since I was young. I beg you to show mercy; I will never dare to do it again."
Not to mention being sold, just those one hundred heavy board strikes would leave her dead or severely crippled.
Old Master Shen frowned deeply without relenting and called two servants to drag her away for punishment.
Seeing that Ping'er was about to cry until she fainted, Sui An suddenly leaned into her ear, whispered a few words, and pointed in the direction of Zhou Yuncai.
Ping'er's teary eyes widened, as if she had realized something.
She hurriedly crawled to Zhou Yuncai's feet and kept kowtowing and begging, "I beg the Madam to plead for me! I don't want to die! I beg you, Madam."
Zhou Yuncai was startled and dodged away in disgust, "You! You shameless maid, you still don't want to accept your punishment? You brought this trouble upon yourself; begging anyone is useless!"
After Ping'er's repeated pleas failed, her gaze turned spiteful. She suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Zhou Yuncai's clothes tightly.
"Since you won't save me, don't blame me for dragging you down with me!"
"Today's matter was just me following your orders. That imperial screen was clearly placed there by you on purpose. To frame the Little Miss and drive her out, you deliberately tampered with it so it wouldn't be stable!" Ping'er's eyes were red as she spilled everything out.
Once these words were spoken, the guests present were in an uproar.
Zhou Yuncai panicked and rushed to slap Ping'er's mouth, "You bitch, what nonsense are you spouting? How could I do such a base thing? If you dare to bite back at me again, I'll have someone beat you to death!"
Ping'er gritted her teeth and sneered, having nothing left to lose, "This maidservant dares to swear to the heavens that there is not a single word of falsehood, or I shall suffer divine retribution."
"Bullshit, anyone can make a vow!" Zhou Yuncai shouted in anger, "Then I can also say, if I did this, I would... I would be despised by the world and covered in filth! Father, Sister-in-law, you must believe me."
However, no sooner had she finished speaking than a shadow suddenly gathered in the air.
Sui An looked up with satisfaction and nodded her little head as a signal.
Attack!
Immediately after, hundreds of sparrows flew over, circled around Zhou Yuncai, and let out a flurry of droppings.
"Ah... what is this? Help me... it stinks!" The next moment, Zhou Yuncai's eyes, nose, and even her mouth were covered in gray-white, runny bird droppings.
By the end, she couldn't even open her mouth, becoming a "bird-poop person."
Such a sight was truly breathtaking.
The guests were all shocked.
At this time, someone shouted.
"Isn't this truly being covered in filth? It seems the vow was fulfilled; she must have done it!"
Zhou Yuncai was scared to death, her vision went dark, and she fainted directly.
Su Jinhan's expression turned cold, inch by inch, amidst the astonishment.
Only then did she realize that they had set up such a vicious trap today.
Su Jinhan clenched her fists and said sternly, "This concerns imperial grace and cannot be treated as a family matter. Someone, take the Zhou woman and this maid Ping'er to the Dali Temple to be interrogated; the law will decide their fate!"
Old Master Shen stood up, intending to stop her.
But Su Jinhan turned back with a cold face, "Even if Father dares to shield them, my Marquis's Estate does not dare to bear the crime of disrespecting imperial grace. You should save your breath!"
Having said that, she took Sui An and Jing Zhao back to the Yingyue Courtyard.
Leaving behind an annoyed Old Master Shen and Shen Ruohai.
After entering the room, Su Jinhan hugged Sui An tightly, her heart aching as if being cut by a knife.
"These rotten-hearted people, if they have a grudge, they should just come at me. How could they use such methods on a child?" Su Jinhan's voice trembled, her eyes turning red.
Sui An hurriedly hugged her face and kissed her, saying, "Mother, don't be angry. They can't hurt me."
"But if today..."
"There is no 'if'!" Sui An shook her head seriously, "Mother, don't worry. As long as anyone dares to bully us, I promise that the ones who will be unlucky are themselves."
Looking at this determined little round face, Su Jinhan inexplicably felt a great sense of reassurance.
What virtue did she have to be blessed with such a wonderful daughter?
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. After all that commotion, you haven't eaten much." Su Jinhan wiped her face, wanting only to comfort her Guai Bao.
"Chaoyan, quickly have the small kitchen make some Dongpo pork, almond-braised mutton, and fried wild pigeon. Don't let Sui An go hungry."
Sui An's eyes lit up.
That's right, that's right; she loved meat the most, and it would be best if they brought it all out.
Soon, the aroma drifted from the small kitchen.
At this time, someone came to report at the door of the Yingyue Courtyard that Su Jinhan's Eldest Sister had come to visit.
Su Jinhan finally remembered something and hurried out to welcome her.
"It was too chaotic just now, I almost forgot. Eldest Sister, come in quickly! I still want to show you my little Sui An!"
Seeing her own sister, Su Jinhan finally forgot her worries and was as happy as a child.
Sui An, who had just sat down, jumped off the dining table and ran over to meet her.
As the beaded curtain was lifted, a woman who looked seventy percent like Su Jinhan, but with more heroic features, stepped inside.
Sui An's eyes lit up; she immediately recognized this as the woman who had shouted that Zhou Yuncai's vow had been fulfilled in the crowd earlier.
"Aunt! Aunt!" the little one said very familiarly.
Su Jin Ying lowered her head, picked up Sui An by the waist, looked at her carefully, weighed her twice, and then smiled brightly.
"Haha, not bad! One look and you can tell she's a clever girl. Sister, you are truly blessed."
The sisters teased her for a while, then placed Sui An at the table to eat, and went into the inner room to talk privately.
Su Jin Ying had come this time not only to visit her sister but also to pour out the bitterness in her heart.
The Su family had two daughters.
After Su Jinhan married into the Marquis's Estate, Su Jin Ying took in a husband to look after the family's salt-trading business and uphold the ancestral instruction that the Su family bloodline must not be broken.
It was just that, for some reason, it had been over eight or nine years since they married.
Su Jin Ying had never been able to conceive.
This had become her heart's burden.
On the bed, after the sisters chatted for a while, Su Jin Ying held her sister's hand and said, "I didn't want to tell you, fearing you would be troubled, but I have truly taken many folk remedies and medicines, and nothing has improved."
"Your brother-in-law is terrified of failing our father, so this time he is going west with a merchant caravan again, hoping to find some prescriptions that help with fertility."
"But I'm afraid..." Su Jin Ying said halfway, smiling bitterly and shaking her head, "Forget it, if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. I'll just take it as fate."
Su Jinhan didn't know how to comfort her, only stroking her back with pity, "Eldest Sister, don't worry."
At this moment, Sui An, who was outside, blinked her eyes. She dropped her fried pigeon leg and trotted inside.
"Aunt, hug~"
Su Jin Ying hurriedly cheered up and raised her arms to pull Sui An into her embrace.
Sui An leaned against her stomach, thought for a moment, and suddenly sat up straight!
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