Soon, three burly men with lecherous expressions appeared before Su Nuan.
The leader, who had a scar on his face, grinned and said, “Be a good girl and serve us well. If you do, we’ll take you to enjoy the finest food and drink.”
Su Nuan crooked her finger and beckoned, “Come here, big guys.”
Scarface immediately felt a surge of heat and lunged forward.
Su Nuan raised her foot and delivered a solid kick, then swung her arm in a wide arc and slapped him.
Scarface doubled over in pain, his face perfectly positioned to catch Su Nuan’s slap. The force sent him crashing headfirst into the wall, knocking him unconscious.
The other two men froze for a moment before snarling and charging at her.
Su Nuan reached into her sack, pulled out the pot she had just bought, and slammed it against the head of the first man. She then kicked out at the other.
The man nimbly dodged and reached for Su Nuan’s calf.
Su Nuan chuckled, quickly retracting her leg and swinging the pot at him.
It struck the left side of his forehead. Though not fatal, it was enough to leave him dazed and disoriented.
All three men lay on the ground, moaning in agony. Who would have thought such a delicate-looking girl could be so formidable?
Su Nuan put the pot away and quickly searched the three men, unexpectedly finding something she hadn’t anticipated.
Clutching the money pouch, she demanded sharply, “Who gave this to you?”
Using the sack as cover, she retrieved a kitchen knife from her Space and pressed it against Scarface’s neck.
Scarface, who had just regained consciousness, broke into a cold sweat at the sight of the knife.
Trembling, he stammered, “A maid gave it to us. She told us to wait here for the exiled convoy and for you.”
Su Nuan sneered, “For me? And then what?”
Scarface continued, “To do whatever it takes to sell you to a brothel.”
Su Nuan already had her answer but pressed further, “What did the maid look like?”
Scarface thought for a moment. “She wore a veil, but I remember she had on a pair of Ruby Lilac Earrings. She must have been a maid from a wealthy household.”
Only the maids serving Su Zhen in the estate had Ruby Lilac Earrings. It seemed Su Zhen wanted her to suffer humiliation and die in disgrace.
She smirked, her eyes glinting as she took two Warming Pills made of Spicy Knotweed and Ginger from her Space and forced one into each of their mouths.
“This is a deadly poison. In six months, it will take effect and kill you.”
Scarface, being shrewd, quickly asked, “What do you want us to do, miss?”
Su Nuan smiled. “There’s a young lady in the Minister’s estate named Su Zhen.”
Scarface immediately understood and replied, “We’ll take care of her.”
Su Nuan shook her head. “Fool, she’s the daughter of the Minister. If you lay a hand on her, you’ll be signing your own death warrant.”
Scarface was stumped, unsure what to do.
Su Nuan curled her red lips. “All you need to do is ruin her reputation as much as possible. Spreading rumors—surely I don’t need to teach you how to do that?”
Scarface breathed a sigh of relief. That was easy. “No, no, we know how. But how do we get the antidote?”
Su Nuan felt frustrated. She had no way of knowing what happened in the capital or whether they would follow her instructions.
Finally, she said, “Once you’ve done what I asked, come find me.”
“If your work satisfies me, I’ll not only give you the antidote but also a hundred taels each.”
She paused, then added, “If you’re caught and questioned about why you’re ruining her reputation, tell them the maid paid you to do it.”
Scarface wanted to nod, but with a knife pressed against his neck, he could only stiffen his neck and say, “Yes, yes… we’ll definitely follow your orders. But what if the young lady can’t bear the ruined reputation and kills herself?”
Su Nuan sneered, “Her skin is as thick as a city wall—she would never commit suicide.”
“Because she stole my fiancé. How could I just watch them fly off together happily?”
As a man who roamed the martial world, Scarface immediately understood the underlying twists and turns.
“Deal. We’ll return to the capital right away to get it done.”
Su Nuan released him, playfully tossing the kitchen knife up and down in her hand.
Scarface shrank his neck and muttered under his breath, “Wasn’t she supposed to be a delicate young lady? How is she more like a she-devil?”
Su Nuan shot him a sidelong glance, making him tremble with fear.
“Alright, get going and do what you need to do.”
With that, she tossed the money pouch back to him and then picked up the sack to head back.
Scarface rubbed his chin and glanced at the money pouch in his hand. “Let’s go back to the capital. That little wench set us up—we can’t let her off easy.”
Su Nuan was in high spirits now. Although Su Zhen had schemed against her, it had also handed her an opportunity to retaliate.
And as for that maid Haitang, even if she didn’t end up dead, she would surely be sold off.
Most importantly, when these three went to find her, she could learn the fate of the Su family—whether they had been executed or not.
Su Nuan returned to the posthouse, but before she could enter her room, a man crouching by the roadside grabbed her sack.
A plump woman also blocked her path, her features squeezed into tiny dots by layers of fat.
Raising a hand that resembled a pig’s trotter, she demanded arrogantly, “Little widow, hand over what you’re carrying.”
Su Nuan had to admire her courage—having witnessed her beating people up, this woman still dared to confront her so boldly.
Xue Shi heard the commotion and stepped out of the room. Catching Su Nuan’s signal, she stopped at the doorway without advancing.
Su Nuan asked, “Who is this aunt? If you’re related to me, Su Nuan, I might spare you something.”
The plump woman snorted, “I’m your ninth aunt.”
Su Nuan glanced at Xue Shi. “Mother, is she your sister?”
Xue Shi sneered, “I don’t have a sister who was reincarnated from a pig.”
Su Nuan shot her mother-in-law an appreciative look—her tongue was sharp indeed.
The plump woman fumed, “I’m your maternal aunt! I’m hungry—hurry up and show some respect by giving me food.”
The scrawny man holding the sack had a sharp, rat-like face. He yelled, “That sack is full of stuff—there must be plenty of food inside. Yet she refuses to share with everyone. How heartless!”
Su Nuan kicked the man away and glared coldly at him. “Did I eat your family’s rice? Why should I share my belongings with you?”
Her gaze then shifted to the plump woman. “And you—don’t even mention being a maternal aunt. Even if you were my own aunt, if you dare try to take what’s mine, be prepared to get beaten.”
With that, she stepped closer to the plump woman, one deliberate step at a time.
The woman panicked, feeling as though the figure approaching her wasn’t a delicate young girl but a ruthless, murderous demon.
She stumbled backward, her legs giving way after just two steps, and she collapsed onto the ground with a thud.
Su Nuan walked over to Xue Shi’s side, then turned to face the people in the courtyard.
Her gaze was sharp as a blade, her eyes seeming to gather a storm, striking fear into all who met them.
“Don’t try to claim kinship with me, Su Nuan. Aside from my husband’s family, I acknowledge no one else.”
“If any fool still dares to come looking for trouble in front of me, then after nightfall…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, instead pulling out a kitchen knife from the sack.
She had taken the kitchen knife from her Space in the earlier emergency, and after using it, had casually tossed it into the sack. Now it came in handy again.
The frail man who had been kicked aside immediately cried out, “Officers, officers! This young widow is secretly hiding a weapon! She’s planning a rebellion!”