Using the cover of a corner stacked with firewood, Su Wanxing quickly approached the bedroom of Li Cuihua and Su Yuan. The door was ajar; she gently pushed it open and slipped inside. The room was sparsely furnished: an old wooden bed, a peeling wardrobe, and a square table. A faint musty smell hung in the air.
Without hesitation, Su Wanxing began searching. She checked the bedside drawer first—it contained only scraps of cloth and some needles. Then she inspected the square table’s drawer—empty, save for a thick layer of dust. “They hid things well,” she murmured, her eyes falling on a clay jar tucked in the corner.
Half-buried in clutter and covered with an old cloth, the jar seemed inconspicuous. Su Wanxing moved over, lifted the cloth, and pushed the jar aside. It was heavy. She removed the wooden stopper and, using the sunlight streaming through the window, peeked inside. She froze—the jar was filled with silver, gleaming brilliantly in the light.
She poured out all the silver and counted carefully: 632 taels. A triumphant smile crossed her face. “I never expected these two wicked old fools to hoard this much silver! It’s all money extorted from family members and inheritance from my parents. Today, it all belongs to me!” With a thought, she stored the silver in her spatial pocket.
Next, her gaze fell on the wardrobe. She pushed it aside and noticed a loose brick behind it. Excited, she pried the brick out to reveal a small palm-sized wooden box. Inside was a gourd-shaped pendant made of peachwood, carved with the character “晟” (Sheng), worn with age. There were also two silver notes of 25 taels each, totaling 50 taels. Su Wanxing pocketed everything, noting that the pendant might have some hidden use later.
Having finished with Li Cuihua and Su Yuan’s room, she moved to Su Baozhu’s room. Cleaner than the previous one, it had a dressing table with a few cheap hairpins and ribbons, and an old copper mirror. No silver was found, but she took all the hairpins and ribbons. They were worthless compared to other loot, but “every little bit helps.”
Just as she prepared to leave, a commotion erupted outside the courtyard gate—horses’ hooves, shouting, and the sound of servants. “They’re here!” Su Wanxing thought, realizing Zhang Mansion’s people had arrived. She quickly went to the door and peeked through the gap. The courtyard was filled with people: at the forefront, Zhang Mansion’s steward, followed by a dozen tall, imposing servants with clubs, exuding overwhelming authority.
The crowd included curious villagers, including Wang Ershen and Li Shen, who looked on with worry and curiosity. Inside the Su family main hall, Su Yuan sat in the central seat, frowning while his eldest and second sons complained about Zhang Mansion’s pursuit the previous day. They hadn’t even considered their mother’s safety. Hearing the noise outside, all three turned pale. Su Yuan leapt to his feet: “No good—Zhang Mansion is here!” Su Changhe and Su Changhai trembled, following him out, running directly into the steward and servants at the gate.
“Su Yuan! Finally daring to show your face!” the steward bellowed, kicking the threshold so the door trembled. “Your good-for-nothing daughter Su Baozhu hired people to kidnap a family niece to sell her to Zhang Mansion as a concubine. She grabbed the wrong girl, alarming the master! Thieves ransacked the mansion, emptying gold, silver, and rare paintings—losses over a million taels! Master Zhang is furious—he’s already sold that wretched girl Su Baozhu to the lowest brothel! And her shameless mother—today, your Su family will pay the price!”
Su Yuan’s body shook, his face pale as paper, staggering back to brace himself. “Im… impossible! Baozhu… how could she…” Though biased toward her, the truth hit him hard. Su Changhe and Su Changhai exchanged a glance, seeing despair mirrored in each other’s eyes. This was disaster threatening the entire family.
“Impossible?” the steward sneered, signaling his men with clubs scraping the ground, making the villagers recoil. “If Su Baozhu hadn’t lured wolves in, how could the thieves locate the mansion so precisely? All evidence points to her! Either you pay a million taels, or let your male heirs serve as laborers, and female family members as servants in Zhang Mansion for generations!”
The villagers gasped, whispers exploding. Wang Ershen clutched Li Shen’s arm, eyes wide: “Good heavens! They’ve ripped the sky open! Su Guangzong is studying in the county—if he’s implicated, his future is destroyed!” Li Shen nodded repeatedly, shivering.
Hearing the villagers’ chatter, Su Changhe and Su Changhai’s faces darkened. Su Changhe grabbed Su Yuan’s arm: “Father! We cannot protect that wretched Baozhu anymore! Her death wish is her own, but we can’t let her ruin our whole family or harm Guangzong!” Su Changhai echoed urgently: “Brother’s right! Father, write a disownment document! Declare Su Baozhu a traitor, evil in all ways, severing her from the Su family! All her crimes are hers alone!”
“Disown her?” Su Yuan shuddered, struggling, “She’s still my daughter…”
“Your daughter? She’s driven us to the brink!” Su Changhe cut him off sharply. “Guangzong is about to sit the imperial exams. If this drags him down, his life is ruined! Will you destroy the Su family for one wretched girl?”
Su Yuan was speechless, turning pale and then dark, thinking of his grandson studying in the county. His heart hardened.
The steward, seeing the internal strife, smirked. Just as he was about to urge action, urgent horse hooves sounded. A sweating Zhang Mansion servant rode up, yelling through the crowd: “Steward! Bad news! Master Zhang… he’s dead! Just passed away!”
“What?!” The steward’s face paled, abandoning all accusations, grabbing the reins: “What happened? He was fine yesterday!”
“The aftereffects of the drug were too much. Master couldn’t withstand it, vomited blood this morning, and passed shortly after!” the rider shouted. “Madam ordered you to return immediately—otherwise, it’s too late!”
The steward’s face turned ashen, and he dared not linger. He glared at Su Yuan: “Consider yourselves lucky! But this isn’t over! Your family will still be held responsible for Master Zhang’s death. Once I finish the funeral, I will come for revenge!” He mounted his horse and rode off with the servants, leaving only the tension behind.
With Zhang Mansion gone, the immediate pressure at Su family’s old residence eased slightly. But Su Yuan, Su Changhe, and Su Changhai were still ashen. Villagers’ whispers grew louder: “Master Zhang dead? This is huge!” “Zhang Mansion won’t forgive easily. Su family is doomed!” “It’s all that wretched Su Baozhu! She ruined the whole family and caused a death!”
At that moment, Su Lizheng (Su Xi) arrived, flanked by several clan elders, faces dark with foreboding. Having just returned from the fields, he had learned the full story from villagers: Su Baozhu kidnapped a family niece, lured thieves to Zhang Mansion, got sold to a brothel, and indirectly caused Master Zhang’s death.
Su Lizheng confronted Su Yuan, eyes cold as knives: “Su Yuan, do you know your crimes?” Su Yuan trembled and fell to his knees. “Lizheng, I…”
“You condoned your daughter’s evil acts, kidnapping kin and trafficking people, bringing disaster and causing a million-tael loss to Zhang Mansion. Now a man is dead!” Su Lizheng’s voice rang like a bell. “Your line of Su Yuan, shameless and corrupt, has endangered the entire clan! If not severely punished, no one will accept it, and Zhang Mansion’s wrath cannot be quelled!”
Su Changhe and Su Changhai immediately knelt, trying to absolve themselves: “Uncle Lizheng, we’ve made Father sever ties with Baozhu! All her crimes are hers alone, unrelated to us!”
“Unrelated?” Su Lizheng sneered. “You, as elders, didn’t stop it. For self-preservation, you urged disownment, encouraging evil. Your selfish inaction is equally culpable!”
The Su family’s ruin was now unfolding in full, internal strife amplifying the disaster.