The gate of the West Courtyard remained tightly shut, unmoving no matter who knocked.
Yet those who ultimately led the charge to forcibly break down the door were none other than the guards under Pingyang Hou Xiao Lin.
Two quarters of an hour later, all decent furniture from every courtyard of the third branch had been carried into the yard, including trunks filled with clothing… Even Liu Lingyi’s Langfeng Courtyard was not spared.
Liu Lingyi was so enraged that she fainted on the spot, while Su Mingyue, to her dismay, simply stood by and watched, refusing to lift a finger to help.
Langfeng Courtyard instantly descended into chaos. Maids and matrons were as frantic as ants on a hot pan, utterly unable to handle the overwhelming force of what felt like a full-scale confiscation.
An hour later…
Xiao Hongyi and Xiao Yunhe, having received the news, hurried back to the estate and happened to run into each other at a crossroads.
Walking side by side at a brisk pace, they were nearing the Pingyang Marquisate when they spotted a long line of cargo carts parked outside the main gate from afar. A quick count revealed at least a dozen or even twenty of them!
Onlookers crowded shoulder to shoulder, completely blocking the streets and alleys. Voices rose and fell in a cacophony, with all sorts of rumors flying about.
Just as Xiao Hongyi was about to order a servant to investigate, he saw a figure in a light pink dress, closely following a matron, struggling to squeeze through the wall of people.
Xiao Yanning was strikingly beautiful, especially her eyes and brows. Her dark eyes sparkled brightly, and her slightly arched eyebrows added a touch of spirited charm to her appearance.
Her demeanor and bearing made it clear at a glance that she was not someone to be trifled with!
“Father!” Her voice trembled with tears, as if she had seen a savior. She clung tightly to Xiao Hongyi’s arm, as if grasping a lifeline.
“Someone barged into my in-laws’ home with your visiting card! Without any explanation, they took away the huanghuali mirror stand, mica screen, and many vases and ornaments that Su Mingyue had gifted me… They even snatched away many of my cosmetics and jewelry!”
“What?!” Xiao Hongyi gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening instantly. “How dare Madam Su go this far?!”
Suppressing his anger, he patted his daughter’s hand and was about to console her when Xiao Yanning continued tearfully:
“I’ve been utterly humiliated at my in-laws’ home, laughed at by everyone… When I returned, I saw so many unfamiliar faces barging into our third branch’s courtyards… The scene, the sheer scale of it, was like a full-blown confiscation!”
“Besides the silver from the West Courtyard’s treasury, they even dismantled and took away the spears, swords, and halberds from your courtyard, along with the pearl curtains from Mother’s room!”
Her voice quivered as she asked in confusion, “Father, they also said… Su Mingyue won’t be my sister-in-law anymore but will become my grandaunt instead? What… What does that mean?”
“Our estate only has Pingyang Hou who remains unmarried… But hasn’t he always refused to discuss marriage, not even keeping a single concubine?”
“How could he possibly agree to such an absurd arrangement??”
Boom—!!
Xiao Hongyi felt a surge of hot blood rush to his head, his vision suddenly darkening.
He hastily steadied himself against the carriage shaft, his nails nearly digging into the wood.
His treasured weapons were one thing… but the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in the treasury were the very foundation of their third branch’s livelihood!
Without this wealth, how could he possibly sustain their household once they divided the family estate?!
Xiao Hongyi couldn’t understand. Everything had been fine just moments ago—how had things taken such a sudden and drastic turn, ending up in this dire situation?
How had his once meek and obedient “daughter-in-law” vanished overnight, transforming into a living demon intent on taking their lives?
Xiao Yunhe, standing nearby, listened for a long while without hearing Xiao Yanning mention anything missing from his courtyard. His brows relaxed slightly, and he secretly rejoiced, “Indeed, Yue’er still cares for me deep down…”
But just as this thought arose, the steward from his courtyard came stumbling and scrambling over, “thud” kneeling at his feet, face ashen: “Young Master! Our courtyard… has been completely emptied by the people Miss Su sent!”
“They… they even took your clothing chests, saying… saying the things inside were filthy and unworthy of keeping, and on the spot… they set them all on fire!”
“What did you say?!” Xiao Yunhe’s temples bulged with veins, his fists clenching tightly.
The steward stole a glance at his livid face, not daring to tell Xiao Yunhe: Young Master, I’m afraid you don’t even have a spare pair of undergarments left now!
Not far away, Su Mingyue, with her almond-shaped eyes, peach-blossom cheeks, and exquisite features, wore a faint smile as she leisurely admired the frantic, stomping figures of the third branch’s father and daughter.
Xiao Yunhe, like a ghost, suddenly appeared before her, his bloodshot eyes wide open.
“Outrageous!” Two maidservants rushed forward, shielding Su Mingyue securely behind them, glaring warily at the intruder.
Separated by the two meddlesome maids, Xiao Yunhe, his face flushed with rage, fixed his gaze intently on Su Mingyue.
After a moment, he squeezed out a low roar through gritted teeth: “Su Mingyue! Have you had enough of this?!”
“Hah…” Su Mingyue was almost amused by his anger.
She shot him a disdainful glare and turned to leave.
Enraged, Xiao Yunhe reached out to grab her sleeve, but Su Mingyue spun around and delivered a fierce kick squarely to his lower abdomen!
“Ugh—!”
He instantly doubled over in pain, looking up at her in utter disarray, his eyes filled with disbelief: “Su Mingyue! You’re being reckless… there must be limits to your recklessness!”
Enduring the intense pain, his voice hoarse, he said: “You… return everything you took from the third branch exactly as it was…”
“Then go… go before the Emperor and break off your engagement with Xiao Lin… I, I will forgive you, as if nothing ever happened!”
“When the time comes, I will explain clearly to Ying’er… you will still be, will be my wife! I will bring you into my household with great fanfare!”
Su Mingyue frowned, coldly eyeing the man before her whose face was thicker than a city wall. She truly couldn’t understand why her past self had ever been drawn to such a self-righteous waste?
Could it be… that she had been cursed back then?
“My marriage to Pingyang Hou is already settled; in this lifetime, I will marry no one but him,” she said coolly, each word clear and distinct. “Two months from now, if you call out ‘Grandaunt’ nicely, I might not mind giving you a generous red envelope.”
Xiao Yunhe’s pupils contracted sharply, as if struck by lightning, and he fell to his knees with a “thud.”
He stared up at her, his voice trembling: “You want to force me to acknowledge you as my elder… so that I will give up completely and sever all ties with you?”
“Su Mingyue! You’re dreaming—!!”
He would never change that way of addressing her in this lifetime! Even if he died, he would never acknowledge her as some damn elder!!
Su Mingyue could no longer be bothered to argue with him. She turned and walked away resolutely.
Watching her retreating figure, which held no trace of hesitation, gradually disappear into the crowd, Xiao Yunhe slumped onto the cold ground, feeling a suffocating ache in his chest…
It was as if something of utmost importance was desperately slipping through the gaps of his tightly clenched fingers, never to be grasped again…
But just before Mid-Autumn Festival… they had been so close, and she had still been looking forward to marrying him!?