Su Qingyu had always been hot-tempered.
Now, seeing his family bullied to this extent, his eyes blazed with fury, fists clenched, veins bulging, a fierce aura radiating from his entire being.
Du Qiang, the constable who had just wielded the whip, was intimidated by his imposing presence and instinctively took two steps back.
But he quickly regained his composure.
After all, Su Qingyu was now shackled and fettered, completely immobilized.
He was no longer the dashing young general who could shoot an arrow through a willow leaf at a hundred paces.
Realizing this, Du Qiang grew furious with shame.
He lashed out with his whip again, the crack echoing as it struck Su Qingyu directly.
“What are you glaring at? Daring to act tough in front of me! I’ll beat you to death!”
The constable’s whip was fitted with barbs.
With this single lash, Su Qingyu’s clothes tore, and his skin split open, flesh torn.
“Don’t hit my second brother!”
“Don’t hit my second brother!”
Two voices rang out simultaneously.
Su Qinghe and Su Qinghuai both stepped in front of Su Qingyu at the same time.
Seeing this, Du Qiang revealed an even more brutal smile.
“Heh, the three young masters of the Champion Marquis’s family are truly devoted brothers, so loving and caring!
Let’s see how long your affection lasts!”
Crack! Crack! Crack!…
Another round of whipping ensued.
The three Su brothers didn’t utter a sound, each vying to shield the other two, taking the blows themselves.
But Du Qiang, a constable long accustomed to escorting exiled prisoners, seemed to have grown psychologically twisted.
The more united the Su family appeared, the more it agitated him.
His strikes grew even more vicious.
“You… stop this!”
Su Houye couldn’t hold back any longer and roared in anger.
This only further enraged Du Qiang.
Before the three Su brothers could react, Du Qiang’s whip had already struck Su Houye.
“Daring to order me to stop? Do you still think you’re the lofty Champion Marquis?”
“Marquise!”
The Marquise, her eyes red from weeping, instinctively rushed over to shield Su Houye.
The whip struck them both, each bearing half the blow.
When the lash landed on Su Houye, he didn’t even flinch.
But when it struck the Marquise, his eyes instantly turned crimson. “My lady!”
Instinctively, he wrapped his tall frame tightly around her, shielding her in his embrace.
At the same time, the three Su brothers quickly moved to protect their parents.
Seeing this, Du Qiang whipped them even more ferociously.
Yet the unyielding integrity of the Su family remained unbent by his lashes.
It seemed Du Qiang finally realized he couldn’t break these stubborn bones.
Wiping his nose, his cruel and lecherous gaze fixed on Su Yanxi.
“Heh, your Su family’s bones may be hard, but I wonder if this delicate little lady’s bones are just as tough!”
With a sharp crack, his whip shot straight toward Su Yanxi.
“Little sister!”
“Little sister!”
“Little sister!”
“Daughter!”
“Girl!”
Three panicked voices cried out at once.
In the next instant, the three Su brothers lunged toward Su Yanxi even faster than Du Qiang’s whip.
Su Houye and the Marquise were a step slower.
They formed a human wall in front of Su Yanxi.
The whip swept across the three brothers, not touching Su Yanxi at all.
Even after the whip passed, Su Qinghe still gave her a gentle smile and softly reassured her, “Little sister, don’t be afraid. Your big brother is here.”
Su Houye also said, “With your father here, my dear, don’t be afraid.”
The Marquise struggled to hold back her tears as she grasped Su Yanxi’s hand, her face full of heartache. “Xixi, your mother is here, I’ll stay with you.”
Su Yanxi: …
Her long-frozen heart suddenly felt swollen and tight, surging with a bittersweet ache.
Although she was their biological sister, she had been separated from them since birth.
They shared no emotional bond.
Why bother?
“Fine, fine, fine! Let’s see how tough you Su Family members really are!”
Du Qiang’s whip cracked through the air again.
The five members of the Su Family formed a protective circle, firmly shielding Su Yanxi at its center.
A flash of ruthlessness crossed Su Yanxi’s eyes.
Du Qiang deserved to die!
“Du Qiang, stop right there!”
Just then, a sharp reprimand rang out.
Liu Bantou approached with a dark expression, his piercing gaze fixed on Du Qiang.
“Who gave you permission to lay hands on them? Right here in the capital, under the Emperor’s very nose, you dare abuse punishment? Have you grown tired of living?”
Scolded by Liu Bantou, Du Qiang’s mind cleared instantly.
Though the Champion Marquis’s family had fallen from grace, they still held an excellent reputation among the capital’s citizens.
If some fearless soul were to champion their cause and demand justice, it could stir public outrage.
A lowly constable like him might easily be sacrificed to quell the people’s anger.
“Bantou, they were defiant and refused to obey. I acted in the heat of the moment…” Du Qiang hastily wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained.
Liu Bantou frowned, issuing a stern warning. “Enough! From now on, be more careful within the capital’s boundaries!”
Du Qiang repeatedly acknowledged the order.
Simultaneously, his venomous, snake-like eyes shot a malicious glance at the three Su brothers and Su Yanxi.
Liu Bantou tugged the rope that bound the Su family together in a chain. “Houye, let’s go. Time to hit the road!”
Su Houye led the way, followed by the Marquise, Su Yanxi, and the three Su brothers, all bound by the rope in sequence.
As soon as they stepped out of the Marquis Family residence, they saw a troop of soldiers rushing past in panic.
They were heading in the direction of the Shen residence.
It seemed the Shen Family had already reported to the authorities.
Excellent!
Then she could calmly wait for them on the exile road.
“Heavens, damn it! My shop! My goods!”
When they passed by the Shen Family’s grain store, they saw Shen Hongxing sitting at the entrance, wailing loudly.
Shen Pengcheng, Shen Pengxing, and Shen Pengqiang, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, stared at the completely emptied shop, their faces ashen.
Shen Qingyan looked at the barren store, her complexion even paler.
How could this be?
In her previous life, she had clearly witnessed the Shen Family selling their hoarded grain at peak prices.
Only then did they leave the city, disguised as refugees, to seek refuge in their ancestral home.
Shen Yanxi had saved the severely wounded Third Prince Xiao Lingyou on the journey back to her hometown, ultimately ascending to the phoenix throne.
But now…
Where was the Shen Family’s grain?!
“Who could have emptied our entire large shop overnight?”
Shen Hongxing, amidst his wails, added even more despairingly, “Not just this one shop!
All our family’s shops have been emptied!”
“What!”
The three Shen brothers were instantly horrified.
Just then, the constables happened to be escorting Su Yanxi and the Su Family past them.
Su Yanxi glanced at the Shen Family, a mocking smile curling at the corner of her lips.
Shen Pengcheng saw that slight curl of her lips and instantly lost his composure.
He charged straight toward her, “Shen Yanxi, it’s you, isn’t it?
All the shopkeepers in our family business are your people, right? You had them steal our goods while pretending to guard them, didn’t you?
You wretched…”
He viciously raised his hand, about to slap Su Yanxi across the face…