Su Qingran deliberately put on a terrified expression and hurriedly hid behind Su Mingzhi, trembling as she muttered,
“I won’t go back. I don’t want to return to the Pei Residence.”
One look at her was enough to tell anyone that she had suffered terribly there.
Seeing her frightened state, Su Mingzhi became even more confident that he could recover Su Qingran’s dowry.
“Lord Pei, my niece has only stayed at your residence for a few days, yet you’ve already reduced her to this condition. Don’t think that just because the Marquis is gone, your Pei family can bully her. No matter what, Qingran is still my niece, and I will absolutely seek justice for her.”
Pei Xingzhou’s face darkened.
Just as he was about to speak, Li Qiuju arrived.
The moment she heard that Su Qingran had returned, she had rushed over without stopping.
Li Qiuju had a strong intuition that her missing hair was Su Qingran’s doing.
She was absolutely certain of it.
That was why she came charging over aggressively, determined to settle the score.
Su Qingran casually glanced in her direction.
The moment she got a clear look at Li Qiuju’s appearance, she nearly burst out laughing.
Fortunately, she still had enough self-control to hold it in.
She still had a role to play.
Li Qiuju was wearing a veil, and the wig on her head had obviously been made in a hurry. It fit so poorly that anyone could tell at a glance it was fake.
Combined with her aging features, the entire outfit looked absurdly mismatched.
Wasn’t it said that women in ancient times were terrified of bringing shame upon their families?
How could Li Qiuju dare show herself in public looking like this?
Very quickly, Su Qingran found the answer.
She wasn’t here to go out in public.
She was here to cause trouble.
“Su Qingran, you little slut! You shameless harlot! You’ve finally shown your face!”
Li Qiuju practically spat the words through gritted teeth.
“I’m telling you right now—I know exactly what you’ve done! I won’t let you get away with it! You dare come back? I’ll break your legs! Men! Seize this little bitch!”
Her hatred was obvious.
Pei Xingzhou didn’t even have time to stop her.
Li Qiuju’s mouth moved faster than anyone could react, unleashing a torrent of insults.
Su Qingran inwardly sneered.
Go ahead and curse.
The more satisfying it feels now, the harder you’ll cry later.
With so many people gathered around, anyone with eyes could see what was happening.
Hearing such vulgar insults, Su Mingzhi’s face turned red with anger.
At the same time, however, he was secretly delighted.
Recovering Su Qingran’s dowry was now practically guaranteed.
Pei Xingzhou glared at his mother, who had once again ruined everything.
His voice turned ice-cold.
“Shut up.”
Li Qiuju froze.
Her son had never spoken to her like that before.
Immediately, she became convinced that Su Qingran had completely bewitched him.
As a result, her hatred for Su Qingran only deepened.
The girl hadn’t even married into the family yet, and her son was already behaving like this.
“You’re still defending her?!”
Li Qiuju shrieked.
Then she added,
“I’m telling you now—I will never allow a daughter-in-law like her into the Pei family!”
Again, her mouth moved faster than Pei Xingzhou could stop.
At that moment, Su Mingzhi decided he had seen enough.
“Perfect.”
He stepped forward.
“Our Marquis Residence doesn’t wish to marry our daughter into your Pei family either. Since the engagement has already been dissolved, return the dowry so we may take it back. From this day forward, our two families owe each other nothing.”
His tone was firm and entirely justified.
Had the Pei family treated Su Qingran even slightly better, he would have had no grounds to make such demands.
But now?
They had handed him the perfect opportunity.
Upon hearing this, Li Qiuju was completely dumbfounded.
Weren’t the Marquis Residence people supposed to despise Su Qingran and consider her a curse?
Why were they suddenly standing up for her?
This wasn’t what she had heard at all.
Still, Su Qingran herself could leave.
The dowry absolutely could not.
Once something entered the Pei Residence, there was no reason to return it.
“What dowry?”
Li Qiuju lifted her chin arrogantly.
“That money was a gift from the Pingyang Marquis to my son, his student. My son is talented and successful. Naturally, his teacher would support him with a few gifts.”
Su Mingzhi was stunned.
This was the first time he had ever encountered such an unreasonable woman.
With a cold laugh, he turned to Pei Xingzhou.
“So this is how Lord Pei sees it?”
“Good. Very good.”
“If that’s the case, let’s report this to the authorities and see who the law believes the dowry belongs to.”
His voice grew sharper.
“Let’s also invite every noble family in the capital to judge this matter.”
“The Marquis sincerely treated Lord Pei as family and even betrothed his granddaughter to him.”
“And now the Pei family repays kindness with betrayal.”
“You treat the Marquis’s granddaughter worse than a servant and even intend to swallow her dowry.”
“Lord Pei truly is a skilled actor.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Or perhaps you had your eye on her dowry from the very beginning.”
“You planned this for years.”
“What impressive scheming.”
Every word struck directly at the heart of Pei Xingzhou’s carefully laid plans.
His expression became uglier and uglier.
Li Qiuju immediately exploded.
“My son is outstanding!”
She pointed proudly at Pei Xingzhou.
“The Marquis should have considered himself lucky to have a student like him!”
“Who else could become a Third-Rank Scholar like my son?”
“If anyone benefited, it was him! He was fortunate to be my son’s teacher!”
Before Pei Xingzhou had passed the imperial examinations, Li Qiuju had been nothing more than a farmer’s wife in a rural village.
She knew absolutely nothing about the customs and politics of the capital.
Her personality was reckless and blunt.
The reason Pei Xingzhou had brought her to the capital in the first place was because he wanted her to “temper” Su Qingran’s personality.
He knew exactly what his mother was like.
By constantly provoking Su Qingran through Li Qiuju, he had hoped to break her pride and train her into an obedient daughter-in-law who would quietly endure everything.
Unfortunately, his mother truly had no filter whatsoever.
Disaster followed her words wherever she went.
“Mother, what nonsense are you talking about?!”
For the first time, genuine panic appeared on Pei Xingzhou’s face.
If those words spread, his reputation would be destroyed.
People would brand him an ungrateful white-eyed wolf.
Moreover, in this era, a teacher’s status was almost equivalent to that of a father.
Publicly insulting her son’s benefactor and mentor was an enormous offense.
The moment Su Mingzhi heard her words, he knew exactly how to proceed.
“What nonsense am I talking about?”
Li Qiuju was still furious.
“That little bitch shaved my head! How am I supposed to face people now?”
In her own mind, she was the victim.
She was absolutely convinced that Su Qingran had done it.
Yet her son was still defending the girl.
“You ignorant woman.”
Su Mingzhi’s gaze became murderous.
“You call my niece a bitch over and over again. Do you think the Marquis Residence is dead?”
According to his information, before Pei Xingzhou’s success, the family had simply been ordinary farmers.
The woman standing before him was nothing more than a peasant who had followed her son to the capital after he gained status.
Li Qiuju always believed her son was an important official.
As a result, she loved putting on airs.
However, she rarely interacted with the truly powerful ladies of the capital.
She lacked both the connections and the experience.
When faced with Su Mingzhi’s terrifying glare, all her bravado instantly vanished.
She hurried behind her son for protection.
Although Pei Xingzhou hated his mother’s lack of manners, there was little he could do.
He quickly tried to smooth things over.
“My mother has always been like this.”
He forced a smile.
“She has a sharp tongue but a soft heart.”
“When Qingran disappeared, she was very worried as well.”
Su Qingran almost vomited upon hearing that.
Worried?
More like worried she hadn’t found a chance to torment her yet.
So she chose the perfect moment to speak up.
“I don’t even know what Madam is talking about.”
Her voice trembled pitifully.
“She’s always disliked me.”
“No matter what happens, she blames me.”
She lowered her eyes.
“I only want my dowry back.”
“I only want what’s rightfully mine.”
“Is that too much to ask?”
With a single sentence, Pei Xingzhou’s expression darkened even further.