The Su family’s playgirl possessed a lazy, nonchalant nature, rarely ever playing for keeps unless it piqued her interest. But once she got serious, not even a figure of Prime Minister Su’s stature would dare force her hand.
Crossing her yielded no sweet fruit. When she took things to heart, she became a force of nature, utterly reckless with her own life.
Just as she was now: her scimitar drawn, sworn not to return until her purpose was met.
Before engaging in the fight, Ning Zhou had assumed that even if he couldn’t win, he wouldn’t lose too horribly. Yet that scimitar seemed to possess a thousand eyes, driving him back until he had nowhere left to retreat.
Back in their youth when he faced Su Yu, he could still rely on a boy’s innate physical advantage to win by a hair or two. But some people were simply fed by Heaven itself—and Su Yu was precisely that kind of person. She grew far too quickly.
Half the residents of Xiushui Town would brand Su Yu a good-for-nothing loafer, the tyrant king among dandies. But if you asked Ning Zhou, the word for her was terrifying.
You never saw her break a sweat, yet year after year, she grew stronger in every conceivable way. With a mere lazy stance, she could crumble all your pride into dust.
Those who styled themselves as prodigies weren’t even worthy to hold Su Yu’s shoes.
Yet who was he? He was Ning Zhou, the sole son of the Ning family’s current generation. He refused to lose so pathetically.
“Brother, yield! You’re no match for her!” Ning Xi rushed over, her sharp shout breaking the air. Ning Zhou leaned back, narrowly dodging the scimitar thrusting toward him, and looked at his sister amidst the lantern light swaying in the wind.
He had viewed Ayu as a friend before, and he would continue to view her as one in the future. But right now, Ayu was a formidable foe. Clenching his jaw tightly, he funneled his internal energy into his sword and launched a fierce, close-quarters assault.
The move was akin to pouring oil onto a fire. Had he been willing to obediently take a beating, Su Yu would have called it a day after giving him a lesson. But he was set on fighting for the pride of Young Master Ning. Su Yu sneered at the thought. What a joke. Was Ning Zhou’s pride the only thing that mattered? Did Su Yu not care for her own dignity?
Su Yu let out a low, cold hum. The scimitar twirled with uncanny vitality in her hand, landing blows that were both vicious and stunningly graceful—much like her performance in the arena. Brutally powerful, wildly stylish, and arrogantly disregarding everyone present.
When the younger generation fought, their elders could only watch on with anxious hearts no matter how worried they felt. Seeing Su Yu completely overpower his son, General Ning stroked his beard and commended softly, “Young and promising.”
Mrs. Ning gave his waist a sharp pinch. “Are you just going to stand there and watch? What if someone gets killed?”
She wasn’t overthinking things. Su Yu had earned her formidable reputation as a playgirl throughout the border town, known to be utterly ruthless when driven to anger. Charging into their manor in the dead of night and striking without a word—if her son truly pushed her too far, Su Yu wouldn’t hold back. If they didn’t intervene now, disaster would surely strike!
A single word snapped the general back to reality. Yet even if he were to step in, as a general and an elder, General Ning couldn’t bring himself to use martial force against a child he had watched grow up. He turned his eyes to his daughter, whose face was cold as frost.
Ning Xi’s eyes were locked onto the battle, her hand resting on the golden silk whip at her waist. On one side was her younger brother; on the other was her beloved of many years. She didn’t want either of them to get hurt.
Yet Heaven rarely obliged human wishes.
Su Yu’s blade sliced through Ning Zhou’s priceless silk robe, the tip stained with blood. Mrs. Ning’s heart skipped a beat, and the surrounding guards tightened their grips on their hilts.
“Don’t move,” Ning Xi said, her heart in her throat, her tone growing heavier. “Don’t hurt her. Wait a little longer.”
With his skin pierced by the blade tip, Ning Zhou grew bolder with every setback. Blade met sword in a clash of blinding white sparks. Risking a broken bone from a kick, he thrust his sword toward Su Yu in a sudden, unexpected attack!
Blood stained her spring clothes. Ning Xi’s hand holding the whip trembled. Just as she was about to step forward to break up the fight, Su Yu, her shoulder bleeding, curled her lips into a smile, her eyes glittering with icy chill: “Zhuo, you’ve really picked up some skills.”
Under the night sky, a crisp crack of a breaking bone echoed out. Ning Zhou bore the agony, charging forward with his sword. His handsome face was deathly pale, yet his stubbornness was met only with Su Yu’s cold, relentless beatdown.
The long sword was chopped in two by the scimitar, its broken halves clattering to the ground. Seeing her son beaten black and blue, unarmed and kneeling on one knee, Mrs. Ning realized her husband was useless. Her palms twitched with urge—she was about to rush forward and thrash the Su girl herself!
A long whip ripped through the air with a snap. Ning Xi stepped in before her mother could move, intercepting Su Yu’s strike head-on.
For children born into military families, injuries were everyday occurrences, and broken bones were far from rare. Ning Zhou had done wrong and deserved a beating, but no matter how outrageous his mistake, she couldn’t stand by and watch Su Yu lay a fatal hand on him.
“Enough, Ayu!”
The long whip coiled around the scimitar, but Su Yu instantly shattered the grip with a burst of internal energy!
Ning Xi hadn’t expected Su Yu to actually turn her blade against her. As the cold edge flashed toward her, she suddenly understood: Ayu was truly enraged at her. Ayu had always despised her overbearing, domineering nature—acting first, deciding later, and leaving no room for discussion.
Having realized this, Ning Xi simply gave up on fighting back. If suffering an injury was what it took to settle the score, and if shedding a few drops of blood could evoke a tender side in Ayu’s heart, why not?
She tossed aside her long whip. The sight made Ning Zhou’s face turn pale as snow, and he roared instantly, “Ayu! That’s my sister!”
At the critical moment, Su Yu’s heart shuddered at his shout. Seeing those clear, bright eyes of Ning Xi, she hurriedly pulled back her blade. Before she could even catch her breath, she spun around, grabbed Ning Zhou, and resumed giving him a thrashing.
“Insolent! Absolutely insolent!” Mrs. Ning’s delicate brows stood on end in rage. “What are you all standing around for? Are you just going to watch your young master get beaten?”
A chill ran down the guards’ spines as they drew their blades one after another to assist.
Su Yu’s eyebrows twitched, her stubborn temper flaring up completely: “Ganging up on me? Fine! This lady is beating him up today no matter what!”
Those words sent Mrs. Ning clutching her chest, taking half a step back in sheer fury.
The scene descended into chaos. General Ning comforted his wife, and the couple dragged out two chairs to sit in the courtyard and watch the show unfold.
One moment he cursed the guards for being useless; the next, he couldn’t help but blame his eldest daughter for helping outsiders—her whip was raised long before any blade could even reach Su Yu’s neck.
The guards of the General’s Manor were all elite fighters capable of taking on ten men each. After fighting for nearly an hour, as the eastern sky gradually brightened, Su Yu sheathed her blade. She looked down imperiously at the young master, who was sprawled out like a dead dog.
Wiping a trace of blood from the corner of her lips with her thumb, she let out a light laugh: “Friends are friends, but if you cross me, you deserve every bit of this thrashing.”
Ning Zhou lay flat on the ground, so battered he didn’t even have the energy to roll his eyes.
Su Yu coughed up a bit of blood, then bowed deeply to the General and his wife: “Uncle Ning, Auntie Ning, this niece shall take her leave.” With that, she casually leaped over the manor wall using lightfoot martial skills, completely unbothered.
Ning Xi took two steps to chase after her before coming to a sudden halt. Turning her head, she stared at the small pool of blood on the ground, her brows knitting together in displeasure. She offered no kind face to the bruised and battered guards: “Who gave you permission to hurt her?”
Intimidated by the young lady’s terrifying aura, the guards dared not utter a sound. The battered Ning Zhou was shakily helped to his feet, but no sooner had he stood upright than his eyes rolled back and he passed out cold.
After checking his pulse, Mrs. Ning turned to snap at General Ning: “That wild girl is going to tear the heavens apart! Write a letter—we must send a letter straight to the Capital! We can’t control this child, she’s far too wild. Prime Minister Su must discipline her properly!”
“Yes, yes, you’re right, my dear,” General Ning agreed readily, though he shook his head in secret.
How could he not feel heartache for his son? But expecting Prime Minister Su to punish his beloved niece? You’d have better luck asking Brother Su to crawl out of his grave.
Having stayed up all night, Su Yu returned home, hastily tended to her wounds, and changed into a clean spring robe. With a pivot on her toes, she pushed open the door next door.
The young girl was sleeping soundly, her fever finally broken, which allowed Su Yu to breathe a sigh of relief. Pulling a chair over to sit beside the bed, she succumbed to exhaustion and drifted off to sleep within moments.
At daybreak, an urgent letter of complaint was dispatched on horseback toward the Capital.
In the Su Residence, sunlight filtered through the window.
Waking up, the young girl felt sticky and uncomfortable all over, sweat clinging to her skin. Weakly, she pulled back the embroidered quilt, wrapped herself in her inner garments, and used the bed for support as she slid down.
A familiar fragrance filled the air. Her hand brushed against a wooden chair. Someone was sitting there—their breathing steady, their body warm.
It’s Ayu! Lingmiao called out joyfully in her heart as memories of last night came flooding back.
So, the person who took care of her last night really was Ayu?
Not daring to wake her, she gathered the embroidered quilt—still carrying lingering warmth—and draped it gently over her fiancée.
Su Yu was awakened by a delicate, intoxicating floral scent.
Opening her eyes, an unadorned, innocent face bloomed bright and radiant right before her. She froze on the spot, stunned. But once she realized what was happening, she mischievously pulled the embroidered quilt over without a word, scooping the little girl right inside.
The posture, truth be told, looked remarkably like throwing a sack over an innocent, inexperienced kitten.
Wrapped tightly inside, the girl held her body stiff, not daring to resist: “A, Ayu? Is that you, Ayu?”
“Not Ayu,” Su Yu teased her. “It’s a bad guy.”