Seeing Su Weili’s reaction, Su Liuyue could hardly fail to understand. Her lips curved in a faint, mocking smile. She still couldn’t fully gauge Su Weili’s abilities, but his heart was certainly ruthless enough. What she had said earlier was no lie. On the night the original mistress supposedly hanged herself, she had in fact fallen into a deep sleep!
From the moment Su Liuyue arrived here, she knew there was something suspicious about that “suicide.” She simply hadn’t known who the killer was.
Now, piecing together Su Weili’s and Su Rou’s words and reactions, the truth was almost clear. The one who killed the original mistress was most likely her own father. And her half‑sister Su Rou had been the chief instigator.
After the incident, Su Weili, desperate not to lose the Zheng family’s protection, sacrificed his daughter—making her “suicide” a way to atone to the Zhengs.
With a life lost, even the gravest offense could be offset.
Su Rou’s scheme had originally been aimed at breaking off the engagement with Zheng Jiulang. But she wasn’t entirely brainless—she had clearly prepared beforehand. Recently, she had been currying favor with the Zheng family’s Thirteenth Miss, the legitimate daughter of Madam Tao. The Zhengs adored her, and her words carried weight in the household. And beyond that, Su Rou likely held an even stronger card.
In Su Weili’s earlier remarks, his evasive expression betrayed that he was hiding something.
Most of what he said was true: Su Liuxue was indeed not yet of age, and Su Rou had indeed grown close to the Thirteenth Miss.
The only falsehood was his claim that Madam Tao was fond of Su Rou.
In the original mistress’s memories, there was no recollection of Su Rou ever meeting Madam Tao. Therefore, the one who favored Su Rou was likely someone else. Most probably, it was the other party to the marriage contract—Zheng Jiulang himself.
That was hardly a glorious matter. The Zhengs must have been eager to quell the scandal. If Zheng Jiulang had spoken up at this moment, asking to marry Su Rou instead, it would have seemed perfectly natural.
From Su Weili’s panicked attitude after the incident, it seemed he hadn’t initially realized Su Rou was involved. Whether he knows now is uncertain.
Judging by Su Rou’s reaction just now, she likely didn’t know that Su Weili had gone so far as to kill his own daughter over this matter.
But none of that mattered anymore. What mattered was that the true original mistress had been killed—by the combined hands of these two.
A father who murdered his own daughter, then turned around to scold her—how laughable.
Su Liuyue kept watching Su Weili with a faint, mocking smile. That look made him inexplicably uneasy.
After berating her, Su Weili flung his sleeve and strode away.
Madam Guo did not follow. Instead, she gave Su Liuyue a probing glance and then said coldly: “I know after such an ordeal, your heart cannot be at ease. But this was trouble you brought upon yourself—you cannot blame others. The new emperor has only just ascended the throne, and your father worries daily over court affairs. If you truly care for the Su family, then stop troubling him. Stay quietly in your room and reflect! You caused such a disaster, yet your father only confined you for half a month. That is already proof of his deep affection for you.”
Su Liuyue’s lips curved faintly. Affection? Wasn’t that word itself ironic?
Madam Guo had always been indifferent toward her husband’s former daughter. For her to deliberately stay behind now and even speak words that sounded almost like comfort—this was suspicious indeed.
Su Liuyue gave her a thoughtful look, then lowered her head slightly and said: “Mother is right. I thought that after causing such a calamity and damaging the Su family’s reputation, Father would at least punish me by sending me to live at the estate for a time. It seems Father still cares for me.”
For daughters of noble families, being sent away to a country estate was a common punishment for mistakes.
When she had first awakened, Ersi and Er’an had worried constantly that she might be sent away. In their eyes, their young mistress was already sixteen, with no one in the household truly looking out for her. If she were exiled to the estate, she might not return for a year or more, and her marriage prospects would certainly be delayed.
Thinking about it, the future seemed utterly bleak.
Later, when they heard from the servants sent by Su Weili that their young mistress was only being punished with half a month of confinement, Ersi and Er’an were both shocked and relieved.
As soon as Su Liuyue finished speaking, a fleeting sneer passed through Madam Guo’s eyes, though her face remained stern. She said: “No matter what, you are still the legitimate eldest daughter of the Su family. Your father and I could never truly abandon you. Although it is now Rou’er who will marry into the Zheng family, you are still her elder sister. There is no reason for a younger sister to marry before her elder. Fortunately, the Zhengs are very reasonable. They agreed to set Rou’er’s marriage to Zheng Jiulang at the end of the year, so that you will have time to find a good match. Since the Zhengs are so considerate, we cannot let them down. Therefore, I will help you choose a suitable husband in the coming months. You need only wait for marriage as usual.”
Ersi and Er’an were stunned, staring at Madam Guo in surprise. They had thought that after such a scandal, their mistress’s marriage prospects would surely be delayed. They never expected Madam Guo to still keep her in mind! Even Su Rou looked astonished.
But Su Liuyue was not so easily deceived. Her heart gave a jolt, though her face remained calm. “By the end of the year? It is already June—barely half a year away. And after such an incident, my reputation is inevitably damaged. Mother, are you truly confident you can find me a good match before then?”
Madam Guo looked at her with some surprise. Since her awakening, this was the first time they had spoken face to face. Earlier, when she had spoken with her husband, she had already sensed that Su Liuyue seemed different. Now, seeing her like this, she was certain—she had indeed changed! She could even think about such matters. It seemed that dying once had given her some growth. But what use was that?
Madam Guo’s lips curved faintly, though she tried to hide the gloating and disdain in her eyes. “It’s good you know you are no longer as you once were. I don’t mind telling you the truth: with your current reputation, it’s impossible to expect a truly good match. But as the legitimate eldest daughter of the Su family, for the sake of our name, you cannot marry too poorly either. Though we are not mother and daughter by blood, you know how I have treated you all these years. Rest assured, I will do my utmost to find you a suitable husband.”
Every subtle emotion in Madam Guo’s words betrayed her guilty conscience. What were this couple plotting now? Before, they had been willing to kill the original mistress just to please the Zhengs. Now, they were clearly targeting her marriage. They intended to squeeze every last drop of value out of their daughter.
Su Liuyue’s brows furrowed ever so slightly. She had originally planned to keep a low profile, conserve her strength, and find a way to leave this household. But now, it seemed the situation no longer allowed her to take things slowly.
She lowered her eyes slightly, hiding the sharpness in them, and put on a look of disappointment. “I know Mother has already treated me very well. Even after I caused such a huge scandal, Mother is still willing to worry about my marriage. I am truly grateful…”
Madam Guo raised her brows and said: “Seeing you so sensible now makes me happy too. Your voice still sounds a bit hoarse today. The physician said it’s because the wound on your neck hasn’t fully healed. Go back to your room and rest well. I won’t disturb you further. Rou’er, let’s go.”
Su Rou clearly hadn’t expected that even now, Madam Guo would still speak kindly to Su Liuyue. She bit her lip hard.
She and Su Liuyue were only two months apart in age. Since childhood, she had always believed herself superior in every way—appearance, temperament, talent. Yet simply because Su Liuyue was the legitimate eldest daughter, she had always overshadowed her. She had long despised her elder sister. How could such a useless person, by virtue of one title, so easily obtain everything? And now, even after causing such a catastrophe, their mother was still willing to carefully arrange her marriage. Why?!
But since Madam Guo had spoken, even if she crushed her handkerchief to pieces, Su Rou could only bow her head and answer softly.
Just as Madam Guo and Su Rou were about to turn and leave, Su Liuyue’s eyes flickered. She suddenly spoke: “Mother, wait a moment. Your daughter has something she wishes to ask for your permission.”