“Do you feel no shame saying that, Uncle?”
Su Jinyuan was weak, and the exertion just now had drained what little strength she had left. Yet not a trace of it showed on her face. She merely said coldly,
“How much property did my father leave behind when he died? My mother’s dowry, the farmland and estates belonging to our family—which of those things did you not take? Let alone supporting me, you couldn’t possibly spend it all even if you supported ten or a hundred more people.”
“Wasn’t it only right for you to look after me?”
Su Wanquan’s face turned livid.
“As for your claim that she never mistreated me, do you know what she’s done?”
With a cold laugh, Su Jinyuan lifted Yu Shi slightly and tightened her grip around her neck.
“She found a man to seduce me, used news of my younger brother to trick me into leaving the city, and tried to help Su Xinyue obtain a marriage alliance with the Xiao Family. She joined forces with someone else to abduct me to Qu’an on the day of my wedding into the Xiao Family and ruin my virtue. And you’re telling me she never mistreated me?”
Su Wanquan stared at her in disbelief. “How could your Aunt do such a thing?”
He knew his wife was narrow-minded and greedy, but as far as he was concerned, Yu Shi had at most deprived Su Jinyuan a little when it came to food and clothing, or caused her some minor trouble from time to time.
But how could she have dared to do something so vicious?
Su Jinyuan let out a mocking laugh. She flicked the hairpin in her hand upward, and Yu Shi cried out in agony.
“Why don’t you tell him yourself what you did?”
Two of Yu Shi’s teeth had been knocked out, and blood covered her forehead and face. The pain in her neck made it spasm uncontrollably.
“I—I didn’t do it on purpose. Lu Zhuo came looking for me himself. He was the one greedy for your beauty… A-Yuan, please spare me…”
“Master, save me! Save me…”
Su Wanquan’s face instantly went deathly pale.
Su Jinyuan looked up at him. “Coveting his niece’s marriage, conspiring with a villain to lure her away and forcibly abduct her to flee her wedding.”
“Uncle, if the things Aunt has done were to spread, I wonder whether you would still be able to hold on to your position as Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel.”
Su Wanquan clenched his teeth. “What exactly do you want?”
Su Jinyuan smiled. “I ask that you convert everything my parents left behind into Silver Notes and give it to me.”
She had to have money if she wanted to save the Xiao Family.
She had no connections she could rely on now. All she possessed was the little bit of knowledge from her memories. Saving everyone in the Xiao Family would be extraordinarily difficult. But sometimes, Money Can Move the Gods. Even if the Xiao Family truly could not escape its fate, with money in hand, she could at least find a way to protect the women of the family.
“I’m not asking for much. Fifty thousand Silver Notes. Give them to me, and everything between the Su Family and me will be settled.”
“You’re dreaming!”
Su Xinyue was trembling with pain, but she could not help shouting when she heard Su Jinyuan’s words.
“Do you have no shame? Your food, clothing, and daily expenses all came from our household, and now you still want money from us?”
Fifty thousand taels—why didn’t she just rob them?!
Su Xinyue hurriedly said, “Father, don’t listen to her. Even if you give her the money, she still won’t let us go. Besides, she ran away from her wedding with someone else. Who knows where she went? We might as well capture her and beat her to death…”
“Shut up!”
Su Wanquan had never intended to kill Su Jinyuan. After all, she was his elder brother’s only child. But capturing her was not out of the question. Only by locking her up could they have complete peace.
As though she had seen through his intentions, Su Jinyuan tightened her grip around Yu Shi’s neck.
“Uncle, surely you don’t actually think I dared to barge in here today without making any preparations?”
“If you dare make a move, I’ll kill Aunt first, then take my own life right here.”
“When I came in just now, quite a few people outside saw me. I also gave orders long ago for someone to preserve evidence of everything Aunt has done.”
“Lu Zhuo is still in my hands. The moment I die, someone will send him to the Jingzhao Prefectural Office tomorrow. By then, everyone in the Capital will know that you seized your elder brother’s family property and forced your niece to her death. As for the things Aunt and Su Xinyue have done, I’ll make sure that every single person in the Capital knows about them.”
Su Wanquan’s expression darkened as he listened.
Putting aside the fact that forcing Su Jinyuan to her death would utterly destroy his reputation as an official, not one of the things Yu Shi had done could withstand the light of day.
If the truth got out, not only would Su Xinyue never be able to marry, but no one in the Su Family would be able to show their faces again.
Seeing his expression shift repeatedly, Su Jinyuan held onto Yu Shi and said, “I’m not asking for much, and I believe the things my parents left behind were worth far more than fifty thousand taels.”
“As long as you give me this money, I won’t touch any of the gold, silver, paintings, or antiques in the secret chamber of your room. I also guarantee that as long as they don’t come bother me again, I will never mention the matter of Lu Zhuo again.”
Su Wanquan’s eyes widened. How did she know about the secret chamber…
“Someone come. Go get the Silver Notes!”
“Father!”
Su Xinyue was aghast. “You can’t give them to her! That’s so much money—why should we give it to this vile woman…”
“Because this residence belongs to my father,” Su Jinyuan said coldly. “Uncle, considering what Aunt and Su Xinyue have done, I would not be in the wrong even if I killed them. I’ve already done my best to restrain my temper and avoid quarreling with them. But if she calls me a vile woman again, don’t blame me for what happens next.”
“You…”
“Shut up!”
Su Wanquan raised his hand and slapped Su Xinyue across the face.
“You’re a young lady of a respectable family, yet every other word out of your mouth is ‘vile woman.’ Who taught you that?”
Su Xinyue’s face went pale, and she was thoroughly frightened.
Su Wanquan kicked the person standing beside him.
“What are you standing there for? Didn’t you hear me? Go get the Silver Notes!”
“M-Master, the residence doesn’t have that many Silver Notes…”
Fifty thousand taels was no small sum.
Su Jinyuan spoke up. “Bring the Silver Notes first. If there aren’t enough, make up the difference with Gold Leaves and Gold Beads. I want all fifty thousand taels immediately!”
Su Wanquan had originally intended to stall for time, but Su Jinyuan shattered that wish in an instant. With a dark expression, he ordered someone to do as she said, while Su Jinyuan held Yu Shi hostage and waited.
Before long, someone brought up a box containing Silver Notes, Gold Beads, and Gold Leaves.
Su Jinyuan lifted her chin. “Count it.”
Su Wanquan did so with a grim expression. Only after confirming that the contents of the box were indeed worth the amount she demanded did she have someone bring it over. Then, holding onto Yu Shi, she headed outside.
“Please have Aunt see me out.”
“Jinyuan!”
Su Wanquan called out anxiously. “Where can a young woman like you go with so much money?”
“Anywhere is better than staying here.”
Su Jinyuan was no longer the ignorant little girl she had once been. She understood how unwillingly the Su Family had handed over this money.
If she stayed here, she would have to keep Yu Shi hostage the entire time. Otherwise, the moment she released her, Su Wanquan would certainly have his people capture her. By then, escaping would be difficult.
With her arm locked around Yu Shi’s neck, Su Jinyuan escorted her all the way to the main gate before turning to Su Wanquan.
“This fifty thousand taels is payment to sever our relationship. I have already married into the Duke Protector General’s Residence, and from now on, I am a member of the Xiao Family. Once I leave the Su Family’s gate, I will go to the Xiao Family. Uncle, you need not come looking for me again.”
“You’re crazy!”
Su Wanquan’s eyes were filled with shock.
“Do you know what sort of situation the Xiao Family is in right now?”
“Xiao Jin is already dead, and even Xiao Yunxi and the others died in Linchuan. You’re going there at a time like this? Do you have a death wish?!”
Su Jinyuan gave a bitter laugh. Yes, going there at a time like this was practically a death wish. But what choice did she have?
She owed the Xiao Family. And she had given her word to Xie Yunyan.
She was vile and cruel, but there was one thing she valued above all else: keeping her promises.
Those few pieces of flatbread and cured meat, Xie Yunyan letting her go at the end, and the Engagement-Annulment Letter Xiao Yunxi had given her—all of them made it impossible for her to abandon the Xiao Family.
“My life has always been a meager one. If I die, then I die. If you don’t want to be dragged into the Xiao Family’s troubles, just consider me dead somewhere outside. Take care of yourself from now on.”