The next morning, Chen Yan headed into the mountains as usual, equipped with the same tattered bow and broken sword. Although he had agreed to serve the Su family for three months, he still hoped to clear his debt as soon as possible.
Su Niao, on the other hand, was living in absolute leisure. After finishing her breakfast, she strolled out casually to digest her meal.
Though Jining County wasn’t particularly wealthy, the local customs were pleasant enough, and the residents living around Ping’an Lane were generally quite amiable.
Su Niao had woken up late to begin with, and after taking her sweet time over breakfast, it was already getting close to lunchtime. At this hour, the household breadwinners were out earning a living while the women were busy cooking, leaving the lane mostly deserted.
Even the stone bridge, where neighbors usually gathered to gossip, was completely quiet, making the scenery appear all the more refined and picturesque.
Accompanied by Lichun, Su Niao walked toward the stone bridge. Just as she reached the edge, she noticed people there: a tall youth bent over in the river below the bridge, searching for something, while a tiny kid played by the roadside on the opposite bank.
Lichun recognized them as well. Weren’t those the brother and sister from the Chen family? She recalled their names were something like Chen Xu and Chen Ning?
Curious, she spoke up, “Hey, what are you looking for?” Her tone naturally carried a hint of the same haughtiness as her mistress.
Chen Xu looked up from the river. Spotting Miss Su and her maid on the stone bridge, his face instantly flushed a slight red. “My little sister dropped her shoe down here. I’m looking for it.”
Lichun giggled. “A shoe dropped in the water has probably been washed away long ago! How could you possibly find it now?”
Pressing down the urge to gaze at Miss Su standing beside Lichun, Chen Xu pursed his lips in slight embarrassment. “I’ll give it a try. If I really can’t find it, I’ll just have to give up.”
Lichun waved her hand dismissively. “Suit yourself, then.”
Just as she was about to support her young lady forward, Lichun suddenly spotted something. “Hey, look over there in the crevice between the rocks—isn’t that your sister’s shoe?”
Chen Xu hurriedly looked over. “Where?”
Lichun leaned over the edge of the stone bridge and pointed it out. “To the front left, by that large dark blue rock! See it?”
Chen Xu couldn’t see it no matter how hard he looked, so Lichun grew anxious and scrambled down the side of the stone bridge to point it out herself. Su Niao, meanwhile, sat beside the bridge, giggling as she watched the two of them talk completely past each other. She began to suspect that the scholar had something wrong with his eyes; how could he miss a shoe so blatantly obvious?
Just then, hearing a noise, Su Niao poked her head out from behind the large boulder, only to spot a carriage pulling up on the opposite side of the stone bridge. Despite the summer heat, the carriage curtains were unusually heavy.
A plump old woman stepped down from the carriage, walked over to the tiny kid playing alone, and said something with a beaming smile.
Just as Su Niao found it strange, the old woman suddenly scooped up the frail little girl without warning, slapped a cloth over her face, and darted toward the carriage in a few quick strides.
Su Niao had vaguely heard of human traffickers who stole children before, but she had never expected them to be so brazen. She let out an angry shout: “What do you think you’re doing?!”
Lifting her skirt, Su Niao ran toward them while shouting at the top of her lungs, “Chen Xu, your sister is being stolen by human traffickers!”
Turning her head, Lichun saw it too and immediately yelled, “Help! Catch the human traffickers!”
The plump old woman hadn’t noticed anyone behind the boulder at all, assuming the little girl was completely alone. By now, she had already stuffed Chen Ning into the carriage. Normally, the moment she climbed aboard, the driver would crack the whip and the carriage would speed off—no one on foot could catch up. Yet the moment the old woman caught sight of Su Niao charging over, her gaze landed on that face, and the greed in her heart flared completely out of control. Even in her line of work, where she was accustomed to seeing all kinds of beauties, one as stunning as this was a rare sight indeed. Besides, after scouting the area for days, she had never heard of any prominent or powerful families in Ping’an Lane, leading her to believe this peerless beauty was at most the daughter of a mere wealthy family. A face like this was an absolute cash cow—the kind that rained gold coins…
Thus, the old woman held back the carriage, waiting for the beauty to rush right up to her. Reaching out, she grabbed the maiden’s hand, intending to drag her onto the carriage as well. But with a violent tug, she failed to budge her.
A sheltered young lady, especially one blessed with such delicate beauty, was supposed to be fragile and weak. Yet the very next moment after grabbing her, the old woman was caught off guard and yanked right off the carriage instead.
Hurtling face-first onto the ground, dizzy and disoriented, the old woman hadn’t even gathered her senses before she saw the precious, gem-like beauty flip over and ride straight onto her back.
Spoiled rotten and lawless since childhood, Su Niao had spent the past year and a half riding horses, playing polo, and even learning basic martial arts alongside Xie Qinglan. On top of her robust constitution and vitality, she packed a surprising punch beneath her fragile appearance. She pinned the plump woman down, grabbed her hair, and started raining punches on her.
The plump woman squealed in agony. Seeing things go south, the driver quickly scrambled down to help, but Lichun lunged forward just in time.
Lichun possessed the strength of an ox; she kicked the skinny driver flat onto the ground with a single blow, leaving him squirming and screaming in pain.
By the time Chen Xu rushed over barefoot, the Su family guards had already darted out from the corner across the bridge, swiftly subduing the two traffickers.
Panic-stricken, Chen Xu rushed forward, only to see the angelic Miss Su riding on the plump woman’s back, pulling her ear with one hand and yanking her hair with the other: “Trying to abduct your grandaunt. Let’s see how many lives you have to spare!”
She only dusted off her hands and stood up when the guards stepped in, landing a parting kick right on the woman’s face: “Damned creature.”
In mere moments, the plump woman had been beaten black and blue, her hair disheveled, nose bleeding, and eyes bruised, sobbing uncontrollably.
Chen Xu hurriedly scooped his sister into his arms and let out a long sigh of relief when he saw the tiny girl merely dazed and groggy.
Su Niao shot him a side glance and dusted off her hands. “What kind of broken shoe takes half a day to find? By the time you find it, your sister would be long gone.”
Looking at the highborn lady, whose every move remained stunning even while beating someone up, Chen Xu held his sister tight and bowed solemnly in gratitude.
Su Niao waved her hand dismissively, feeling thoroughly exhilarated, though the back of her hand was slightly scraped and burning.
Before dusk, Chen Yan returned to Ping’an Lane across the stone bridge carrying another fox, a fresh bloodstain roughly bandaged on his left arm.
Before reaching Su Garden, he spotted a figure walking ahead—none other than Miss Su. And beside her was his little sister, Chen Ning, who said something with a giggle and wrapped her arms around Su Niao’s leg.
The next moment, Chen Yan heard Su Niao shriek in utter disgust: “Get your paws off me. That’s so filthy!”
Two black handprints instantly smudged her newly changed skirt—her absolute favorite outfit these past few days.
Su Niao’s vision turned dark with fury. It took every ounce of her self-control not to kick away this filthy brat, who looked like she couldn’t even handle a single kick. She gritted her teeth: “Go back to your own house, and don’t you dare come looking for me ever again!”
Ever since she saved this little pest that morning, the little black monkey had been tailing her all afternoon, grinning at her like a fool and impossible to chase away.
Harassed to the point of madness, the sight of her ruined skirt completely set her off: “If you dare come looking for me again, I’ll sell you off to human traffickers!”
Chen Yan’s expression instantly turned icy cold. Striding forward in a few quick steps, he scooped up his sister under his injured arm. Shooting a frigid glare at Su Niao, he tossed the fox right at the entrance of Su Garden, then turned on his heel and carried his sister home.
Just as he stepped through the courtyard gate, Chen Xu rushed out. Spotting his elder brother and sister, he sighed in relief and scolded softly, “Why did you sneak out again?”
Chen Yan set the little girl down, bent over, and gently instructed her, “Play by yourself, Ah Ning, and don’t wander over to Su Garden, alright?”
He knew a spoiled, highborn young lady would naturally look down on humble commoners, but Su Niao’s threat to sell his sister off to human traffickers was far too malicious.
Being spoiled and willful was no great crime, but malice was different. For her to say such words meant she must have thought it before.
Chen Yan knew that prominent, wealthy families frequently sold off servants, but his little sister was no servant of the Su family!
Reading something in his elder brother’s expression, Chen Xu turned to Chen Ning and asked, “Did you go looking for Miss Su again?”
Chen Ning nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Chen Xu said helplessly, “Even if Miss Su is kindhearted, you shouldn’t pester her all day. That’s only going to annoy people.”
Chen Ning pursed her lips, her large eyes looking pitiful and aggrieved as she murmured, “I just really like Miss Su. I won’t go tomorrow, then. Eldest Brother, Second Brother, please don’t be mad at me.”
Chen Yan’s brow furrowed. “Pestered her all day?”
Recalling the utter annoyance on the highborn lady’s face when looking at his sister moments ago, Chen Yan asked, “Why were you pestering her?”
Chen Xu hurriedly recounted the morning’s events to his elder brother.
“If Miss Su hadn’t disregarded her own safety to charge forward and rescue Ah Ning, Ah Ning might have been carried off by those human traffickers. It’s all my fault for being so careless. Miss Su even scraped the back of her hand rescuing her.”
Only then did Chen Yan realize why Su Niao had made that threat about selling his sister to human traffickers to scare her off earlier. It was because they had encountered traffickers that very morning.
Thinking back to the dead fox he had tossed at her feet without a word, Chen Yan paused for a moment. He handed his sister over to Chen Xu, then turned and headed back toward Su Garden.
The main gates of Su Garden were tightly shut, and the fox lay where it had fallen outside.
Chen Yan picked up the fox and knocked on the gate.
Su Niao had just changed into a fresh skirt when Lichun informed her that Chen Yan had arrived.
“Let him in.”
A moment later, Chen Yan handed the fox to the guard and stepped into the parlor. The first thing that caught his eye was Su Niao dressed in a different, magnificent gown.
“Thank you, Young Lady, for stepping in to save my little sister today.”
Chen Yan knew he had misunderstood Su Niao earlier. Though his expression remained subdued, his gratitude was genuine and heartfelt.
After all, given Su Niao’s status, her willingness to risk her own safety to rescue his sister proved she was not bad at heart. For a delicate lady raised amidst gold and jade, being a little spoiled and willful was only natural.
Right at that moment, however, Su Niao’s gaze landed squarely on Chen Yan’s left arm—the bandage there still showed traces of blood. Which meant he was injured!
Suppressing her delight, Su Niao assumed a casual front. Ignoring Chen Yan’s thanks, she asked, “How did you get hurt?”
Chen Yan paused briefly before replying, “It’s nothing. I ran into a wild wolf.”
Su Niao’s heart leaped with even greater excitement.
“A wild wolf… Are there many wolves in those mountains? Is it very dangerous?”
*Is it enough to bite him to death?*
Chen Yan raised his eyes and met the young lady’s cat-like gaze, fixed intently on the wound on his left arm. The injury, which hadn’t felt like much before, suddenly seemed to throb with a faint sting. He shook his head. “Around this time of year, wild wolves rarely pack together. It isn’t too dangerous.”
Su Niao felt an initial wave of disappointment, but an idea suddenly bloomed in her mind right after.
Suppressing her excitement, she waved a hand at Chen Yan, putting on an understanding facade: “Fine then. Since you’re injured, take a couple of days to rest. You can head back into the mountains in a few days.”
Just enough time for her to prepare properly.
Chen Yan lowered his eyes. “Yes.”
Before he left Su Garden, Housekeeper Su approached him with a beaming smile and handed over a small porcelain bottle: “This is wound medicine from the Young Lady. It was formulated by imperial physicians and will do wonders for your injury.”
This bottle of medicine was likely far more valuable than that fox.
Chen Yan shook his head. “Thank you for the Young Lady’s kindness, but there is no need.”
With that, he turned and strode out of Su Garden without looking back…
That night, several guards from Su Garden received their orders. Clad in black night-patrol attire, they threw the slaughtered sheep they had purchased elsewhere into the very stretch of mountain forest Chen Yan frequented.
That night, Su Niao had a dream. In it, the Chen family wept hysterically, wailing that Chen Yan had been mauled to pieces and killed by wild wolves, coming to her to demand compensation. She generously paid them a hundred taels of silver, and she was still smiling when she woke up.
She was finally going to have her revenge!