“Yaoyao… no, Eldest Miss…” Lady Liu’s voice choked,
“I know I was wrong! Please… please spare Yun’er! She’s young and naive—it’s all my fault for not teaching her properly… If you want to punish anyone, punish me!”
Su Yaoyao quietly watched her act.
Had it been the original owner, she might have softened by now.
But unfortunately… Su Yaoyao was not a kind girl.
“What are you doing, Aunt?” she feigned surprise. “Get up! What will people think seeing you like this?”
“I won’t get up unless you agree!” Lady Liu knelt, tears streaming down her face.
“Eldest Miss, Yun’er… she’s already like this. Concubine Chen sent word saying Yun’er could enter the household as a side wife, but the Second Prince… he refuses!”
She looked up, eyes brimming with tears:
“I know you hate me for the years I treated you badly. But Yun’er is still your sister. You share the same blood! Can’t you… spare her?”
Spare her?
Su Yaoyao’s lips curved into a cold smile.
When the original owner was forced to death, did anyone think of sparing her?
“Aunt, you jest,” she said, bending down to lift Lady Liu with her own hands, her tone gentle.
“The Second Prince and my sister’s bond is as strong as gold; how could he not want her? And… it isn’t I who am holding her back either.”
Lady Liu blinked, suspicion flashing across her eyes.
“Just that…”
Su Yaoyao shifted her tone, voice light yet cutting:
“With my sister gone, you’ll have no one left by your side. I hear your brother’s been lucky at the gambling house lately? Perhaps he can visit you more often.”
Lady Liu’s expression changed.
How did she know so much?!
“And there’s my mother’s dowry,” Su Yaoyao continued, her voice as light as a feather, each word piercing:
“I mentioned it before; you’ve safeguarded it for so many years, thank you for your trouble. Now that I’ve come of age, it’s time I manage it myself. Three days from now, please deliver the account books and keys.”
Lady Liu’s fingers trembled as she forced a smile:
“Of course… though the accounts are extensive, I’ll need time to organize them…”
“No rush,” Su Yaoyao said, patting her hand, smiling brightly.
“Take your time. But…”
She leaned close to Lady Liu’s ear, whispering:
“My maternal grandfather has already sent someone to the Court of Justice to check the records of my mother’s dowry. If they don’t match… the outcome won’t be pleasant.”
Lady Liu shivered, her face turning pale.
Su Yaoyao turned away, walking a few steps before suddenly looking back, as if she had remembered something:
“Oh, Aunt. Yesterday at the palace, I received a piece of Yun brocade from the Empress, but the color is too bright for me. Chun Tao will send it to my sister to make her a new dress—she’ll look splendid for her wedding.”
She paused, the smile deepening:
“After all… the Second Prince’s side wife shouldn’t look too plain, don’t you agree?”
Lady Liu stood frozen, watching Su Yaoyao’s retreating figure. Her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood, yet she was unaware.
All that remained in her eyes was a hatred carved deep into her bones.
Three days later, Lady Liu delivered the account books and keys as promised.
The books looked impeccable, each page clean and neat, showing no hint of wrongdoing.
Su Yaoyao flipped through a few pages and smiled.
“Aunt is indeed capable.”
She closed the book and looked at the haggard Lady Liu standing below.
“This accounting… is truly flawless.”
Lady Liu forced a smile:
“Eldest Miss overpraises me. I’ve always taken careful care of your mother’s dowry…”
“Is that so?” Su Yaoyao interrupted, drawing a piece of paper from her sleeve.
“But my grandfather’s inventory shows a few items missing.”
She pushed the paper forward:
“A barrel of Eastern Sea pearls, a pair of jade screens, a set of ruby jewelry… and the deeds to the three shops in the west of the city.”
With each item she named, Lady Liu’s face paled further.
“These… these…” her lips trembled.
“Some were lost, some…”
“Some what?” Su Yaoyao looked up at her, icy-eyed.
“Were they lost to your brother gambling? Or used by you to help your family?”
“I didn’t!” Lady Liu shrieked.
“Eldest Miss, you cannot accuse me falsely!”
“Whether it’s false or not, you know in your heart,” Su Yaoyao said.
She rose and stepped closer:
“I give you three days. If these items are not returned intact…”
She leaned in, whispering into Lady Liu’s ear:
“My uncle isn’t as forgiving as Yaoyao… His methods at the Court of Justice, I’m sure you know… They say he gouged a criminal’s eyes recently and made him swallow them himself… oh, it was terrifying~”
Lady Liu’s legs gave out, and she gagged.
Su Yaoyao no longer looked at her, turning to Granny Lin:
“Escort Aunt back.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Granny Lin watched Lady Liu’s shattered figure go, whispering:
“Miss, if she truly cannot produce it…”
“I don’t expect her to produce it just yet.”
Su Yaoyao gazed at the darkening sky outside, a cold curve forming on her lips:
“We agreed on principal plus interest… not a single tael will be spared.”
“By the way,” she suddenly remembered, “Chun Tao, have the things I asked you to prepare been readied?”
Chun Tao nodded quickly:
“They’re ready! Miss, do you really—”
“Of course.” Su Yaoyao walked to the dressing table, gazing into the mirror at a face growing ever more radiant.
“The Empress entrusted me with this task, I cannot neglect it.”
The reflection’s eyes glimmered, the smile blooming like a flower—but one with hidden thorns.
“Tomorrow… to the Grand Minister’s Temple.”
“I heard… the Crown Prince goes there on the first day of each month to listen to sutras.”
Chun Tao’s eyes lit up: “Miss, are you planning to ‘coincidentally’ meet the Crown Prince?”
Su Yaoyao held the hairpin wrapped with the prayer beads, gently placing it in her hair.
The rosewood beads clicked crisply.
“No.”
She looked into the mirror, a determined smile spreading across her face:
“I’m going… to return what’s owed.”