The steward glanced at Su Dayā standing in the corner, head lowered, plain-looking and with a sturdy figure, and shook his head disdainfully.
“No! Master Zhang wants a young, beautiful girl with a good figure. This Su Dayā is unattractive and her figure is poor. She won’t catch Master Zhang’s eye at all!”
Su Baozhu’s face turned even paler. She then looked toward her second uncle’s daughter, Su Er Yā. Su Er Yā was fourteen, slightly better than Su Dayā, but still far from beautiful. Just as Su Baozhu was about to speak, the steward seemed to read her thoughts and said:
“Stop thinking about the other girls. If none of them are suitable, then you’ll have to compensate with 500 taels of silver!”
At that moment, a household guard whispered something into the steward’s ear. The steward nodded, then turned to Su Baozhu and said:
“Master Zhang says, since you hired people who kidnapped the wrong person, and since you are also a pure young maiden, why don’t you marry Master Zhang as a concubine? That would settle this matter.”
Su Baozhu screamed in terror.
“What? Marry Master Zhang as a concubine? No! Absolutely not! He’s almost fifty and ugly—I would never marry him!” She had her heart set on a high marriage, to a young, wealthy, capable man. How could she accept being a concubine to an old man nearing fifty?
“You’re unwilling?” The steward’s face darkened. “Then prepare to pay 500 taels of silver—or wait for the authorities to come for you!”
Su Baozhu was on the verge of tears. She looked at her eldest and second uncles, hoping they could help, but both kept their heads down, pretending not to see. They couldn’t come up with 500 taels of silver either and could only watch helplessly.
Driven into a corner, Su Baozhu suddenly thought of another idea. She gritted her teeth and said:
“Steward, I have a better idea! I’ll offer both Su Dayā and Su Er Yā as concubines to Master Zhang together—two for one. Would that be acceptable? That way, Master Zhang won’t lose out either!”
The moment she said this, the eldest aunt and second aunt were furious. The eldest aunt rushed forward, pointing at Su Baozhu’s nose and shouting:
“Su Baozhu! Are you crazy? Dayā and Er Yā are our precious daughters. How could we possibly give them both to Master Zhang as concubines? If you want to marry him, go ahead yourself, but don’t involve our daughters!”
“Exactly! Su Baozhu, you’re too malicious!” the second aunt joined in. “We plan to marry our daughters out for a bride price and arrange wives for our sons. How could you want them to become concubines for nothing? We absolutely won’t agree!”
Su Baozhu was scolded mercilessly and dared not argue. She knew she was in the wrong, but she didn’t want to marry Master Zhang and couldn’t pay 500 taels of silver. So her only option was to target Su Dayā and Su Er Yā.
The steward looked at the chaos in the Su family mansion, their endless bickering, and his expression grew darker. He snorted coldly.
“Stop arguing! You have one day to think. Either compensate 500 taels of silver, or give a pure young maiden, or wait for the authorities to handle it. If I return tomorrow and there’s still no answer, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” With that, he left with the household guards in a formidable display of authority.
After the steward left, the arguing in the Su mansion escalated. The eldest and second aunts surrounded Su Baozhu, berating her non-stop; the eldest and second uncles squatted on the ground, sighing; Su Yuan trembled with anger, yet could do nothing. The Su mansion had completely descended into chaos—all of which Su Wanxing watched clearly through her miniature cameras.
The arguing continued for nearly an hour after the steward departed. The aunts shouted until their mouths were dry; seeing Su Baozhu cowering silently in the corner, they lost the strength to continue. The uncles squatted, worried about the 500 taels and the authorities’ pursuit. Su Yuan sat on the main hall’s chair, face dark, hands shaking, unable to think of a solution.
Somebody finally fell silent, and the hall gradually quieted, leaving only the heavy breathing of everyone present. Strangely, no one remembered Li Cuihua, still imprisoned in Zhang Mansion—the old woman they had pushed into the fire themselves and completely forgotten. Under the pressure of 500 taels and self-preservation, familial bonds had become the least valuable thing.
“We can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Su Baozhu suddenly stood from the corner, her eyes glinting with madness. “We can’t pay 500 taels. Sending Dayā and Er Yā to Zhang Mansion is impossible—if the authorities come, our whole family is finished! The only solution is to send that cursed Su Wanxing there!”
The eldest uncle raised his head sharply. “But we’ve already kidnapped the wrong person once before. If we try again, what if something goes wrong…”
“This time it won’t fail!” Su Baozhu interrupted confidently and maliciously. “Last time Li San and the others were too stupid. This time, we won’t need to forcibly kidnap her—we’ll use a sedative! I’ll buy some knockout powder from the town pharmacy. Li San and the others will sneak into Su Wanxing’s house at night. When she’s asleep, they’ll blow the drug into her, and once she’s unconscious, we’ll tie her up. No one will know!”
She paused, then added, “Even if Su Wanxing knows some martial arts, she won’t be able to fight while unconscious! As long as she’s safely delivered to Zhang Mansion, Master Zhang’s anger will subside. We won’t have to pay 500 taels, and we’ll get the 200 taels! With that money, all problems will be solved!”
Her words were like a lifeline, reigniting hope in the desperate family. The eldest and second aunts exchanged glances and no longer opposed the plan—losing Su Wanxing clearly suited their interests better than losing their own daughters. The second uncle hurriedly said:
“This is a good plan! Use the sedative! Baozhu, go buy it from the town immediately—the sooner, the better!”
Su Yuan hesitated but finally nodded. “It has to be done this way… Be careful, don’t let anyone notice.”
Su Baozhu instantly perked up and ran toward town. She schemed that as long as she got the knockout powder tonight, she would succeed, and the 200 taels would be hers. Then she could leave this poor household and live a wealthy life. As for Li San and the others, last time they failed, this time they could redeem themselves. If they failed again, she had ways to deal with them.
In less than two hours, Su Baozhu returned from town, holding a small paper package containing the knockout powder she bought for half a tael of silver. She rushed straight to the broken temple and found Li San, Wang Wu, and the others again.
Li San and Wang Wu were anxious because of the previous kidnapping mistake, fearing Zhang Mansion’s retribution. Seeing Su Baozhu, they panicked.
“Miss Baozhu, why are you here again? What about Zhang Mansion…”