Su Yunmo frowned, sighing inwardly.
Her father was indeed not easy to fool.
Su Yunmo wanted to find an excuse, but suddenly remembered the frightened look on his face when he pulled her out of the cage. She paused, swallowed her words, and shook her head slightly.
For some reason, she didn't want to lie to him.
Even if he had already guessed that today's events were manipulated by her.
Su Qingtian frowned. Seeing her head bowed, her hands unconsciously twisting the corner of her clothes, he finally sighed.
She always had this expression when she made a mistake; she was truly just a child.
He reached out, pulled the child into his arms, and rubbed her small hand, instructing.
"If anyone offends you in the future, just fight back directly. There's no need for a bitter trick. Father and Mother will protect you."
As the child of a General's mansion, even if she poked a hole in the sky, he could still handle it.
Su Yunmo was stunned for a moment, looking up in surprise.
Su Qingtian did what he had wanted to do for days, and with a mixture of tenderness and anger, he bit her left cheek.
Su Yunmo let out a wail, looking aggrieved.
Su Qingtian then glared and reprimanded, "Don't get happy yet, this matter today isn't over! If you dare to disobey adults again, I'll lock you in the dark room! Do you hear me?"
If You'er wanted to be a gentle mother, he had to be a strict father, lest this little girl be spoiled.
Su Yunmo's face immediately fell, "Yes~"
The carriage arrived at the mansion gate.
Su Yunmo was carried down from the carriage, and Xi Tian took the child with a tooth mark on her face back to her room.
Zi Yuan saw her and chuckled.
Su Yunmo glanced at the subordinate who showed no respect to her mistress, "Haven't we had enough of the Blood Mark incidents these past two days?"
Zi Yuan immediately straightened her posture, "Not at all, not at all. Your subordinate naturally completes the tasks you assign with diligence. The news has already been released."
Starting from this afternoon, a stream of 'guests' would enter and exit various restaurants, spreading what they had seen and heard in the alley today.
The news that 'Colonel Qin Zheng cruelly attacked the General's mansion's legitimate youngest daughter due to past grievances, and was caught by General Su on the spot and had a tooth knocked out' would quickly spread throughout the capital.
"Very good," Su Yunmo stretched. "There's nothing more for us to do. Wash up and eat."
Zi Yuan suppressed a smile, "Mistress, the General said he would starve you tonight and not give you any food."
Su Yunmo's eyelids twitched.
Zi Yuan paused, then added, "A Cai has already spoken to Madam about pleading for you."
She coughed, imitating Su Qingtian: "At such a young age, you don't learn well. Starving you for a meal will help you remember. Let's see if you dare to run around again!"
"Madam also said this is a rare father-daughter time for you and the General, so she won't interfere."
Su Yunmo: "..."
Fine.
General Su kept his word. If he said he would starve her, he meant it.
That night, Su Yunmo went to bed on an empty stomach, tossing and turning.
The next morning, she woke up and drank a bowl of porridge, ate three steamed buns, four chicken legs, and a plate of side dishes.
After she was full, she sent someone to prepare a carriage to go out and play.
As she was leaving the mansion, she saw Su Siyuan and Xie Hongfei squatting by the wall, plotting something.
She found it a bit strange; she hadn't seen them much lately due to being busy.
It was fine for her eldest and second brothers, but her third brother hadn't bothered her for a while.
"Third Brother," Su Yunmo called out, waving her hand.
Su Siyuan turned and saw her, immediately hiding something behind his back, "Oh, oh, Mo Mo, you're going out, right? Well... have a good trip and come back soon!"
He dropped the sentence and turned to run, all the while tightly concealing what was in his hand, afraid she would see it.
Su Yunmo: "??"
"Mistress, the carriage is waiting at the gate," Zi Yuan called out.
Su Yunmo nodded, watching Su Siyuan's retreating back, and couldn't help but ask, "Is there anything happening in the mansion recently?"
Zi Yuan smiled mysteriously, "Perhaps, but your subordinate doesn't know."
Su Yunmo always felt that Zi Yuan was hiding something from her; it was strange.
However, since Zi Yuan wouldn't say, she was too lazy to ask and got into the carriage outside the mansion.
The carriage headed towards the outskirts.
As soon as they left the city gate, Su Yunmo felt someone following them.
"Mistress, they've arrived," Zi Yuan said from outside, driving the carriage.
Su Yunmo hummed, "Drive a bit further away. It's too close to the city gate, they won't dare to make a move."
In addition to the rumors about the alley that Zi Yuan had spread yesterday, another piece of news had reached the Qin Manor this morning.
'The Su family's willful young lady, dissatisfied with her punishment, ran away from home.'
This news was dismissed by others with a laugh, but it might not be the same for Qin Aoxue.
The carriage swayed for a while longer. Suddenly, the horse let out a startled neigh.
Then, there was the sound of a dull thud.
The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a sallow, sharp-faced man.
Zi Yuan lay unconscious on the ground; clearly, she was the one who had been hit with the dull object.
Su Yunmo saw the object in the man's hand and sighed, "I'll go with you. Can you not use a sack... *cough*!"
Before she could finish speaking, a sack was thrown over her head.
The carriage began to move again. After a long period of bumping, Su Yunmo felt someone pick her up and throw her onto the ground.
The force was considerable, making even Su Yunmo frown.
There seemed to be crying sounds nearby, and quite a few of them.
"Eldest Miss, is it really okay to bring her here? Master specifically instructed that no one except him can come here. What if the authorities..."
"Stop the nonsense! Open the sack!"
It was Qin Aoxue's voice.
The sack was opened, and Su Yunmo could finally see her surroundings clearly.
This was likely a secluded courtyard in the outskirts. There were no other noises nearby, except for the group of people around her.
These women and children, about twenty or so, were crowded in a corner, confined within a large iron cage.
Su Yunmo narrowed her eyes.
This must be their hideout.
"You little slut, you've finally fallen into my hands. Prince Yu isn't here, so don't expect anyone to rescue you today!" Qin Aoxue stared at her hatefully.
"You should be grateful he's not here. If he knew your father was doing something like this to scheme against him, the Qin family would have been finished long ago." Su Yunmo moved her wrists.
The bindings were very tight.
"Bah, what is Prince Yu? It's his honor to marry me. A disfavored and disfigured prince forming a marital alliance with our Qin family, he's the one who climbed to a higher branch!"
Su Yunmo raised an eyebrow.
She really wanted Ye Jingyu to hear these words.
"But you're not much better. A bastard born of a lowly woman, daring to fight with me for things, you truly are tired of living!" Qin Aoxue held a whip in her hand.
She raised it high and whipped it fiercely at Su Yunmo, "Yesterday, Su Qingtian made my father suffer. Today, I'll let you taste the same!"
'Crack!' The whip fell, but it didn't touch Su Yunmo.
Zi Yuan steadily caught the whip and yanked it over.
Qin Aoxue stumbled a couple of steps, almost falling to the ground, and stared at Zi Yuan in disbelief, "How are you here? Weren't you knocked unconscious?"
Zi Yuan raised her hand and whipped back, "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have found this place."
Qin Aoxue let out a scream and fell to the ground, then suddenly remembered something and looked at Su Yunmo, "You let yourself be captured on purpose!"
Su Yunmo tilted her head, smiling cutely, "Guess what's going to happen next?"
"Miss, it's not good! People from the Capital Prefecture are here!" a scream sounded from outside the door.