Su Xiaoqi had merely spouted nonsense, never expecting Madam Qian to be so timid that she scared herself.
She found it amusing inwardly but maintained a serious expression, saying,
"Seeing as we're all relatives, I can have my younger sister help sew it for her brother, so Mr. Gao won't know.
But you're forbidden from running to the Shen family like this again."
Madam Qian's face turned pale. She clutched her sleeves, sensing something was amiss.
Yet, seeing Su Xiaoqi's stern, sharp eyes, she couldn't help but tremble.
"You, you're not bluffing me," Madam Qian, though not clever, wasn't entirely foolish. She sensed Su Xiaoqi was likely playing a trick on her.
Biting her lip, her stout hand shot towards Su Xiaoqi's face.
"You little brat, you wretched woman, did that fake wife of yours tell you to trick me?
I refuse to believe this... Ah, ah, you, where did you get such strength?" Madam Qian's hand had just touched Su Xiaoqi's face when Su Xiaoqi raised her hand and caught her wrist.
She had precisely pinched her vital point, causing her such pain that her wrinkled old face looked like a crumpled tissue stuck together.
Su Xiaoqi snorted, "I tried to speak to you properly, but you wouldn't listen."
She had no choice but to use force to show her that she wasn't to be bullied.
She was tired of Madam Qian playing hide-and-seek every time their family had something good to eat.
"Ah... It hurts, it hurts, you uncivilized woman, you want to..." Madam Qian continued to curse incessantly.
This completely enraged Su Xiaoqi. She suddenly tightened her grip with two fingers, causing Madam Qian to shriek in pain and nearly fall backward.
This startled everyone else in the house.
Su Xiaoqi feigned helping her, gently patting her shoulder and saying softly,
"Eldest Aunt, the path in the courtyard isn't even. Be careful where you step.
Don't trip and fall; otherwise, what would you do with a bruised and swollen face."
"You, you..." Madam Qian opened her mouth to curse, but the needle-like pain in her wrist made her unconsciously close it.
A wise man doesn't fight present difficulties. This brat, she'd remember this grudge, Madam Qian gritted her teeth.
Su Xiaoqi paid her no mind. She glanced at the lame Zhao Liushun, who had emerged from the woodshed, greeted him with a wave, and then hurried away.
She had expected Shen Yun to still be waiting for her, but he had already vanished.
However, she could understand; after all, he wasn't carrying someone for nothing and waiting in the same spot would be tiring.
Su Xiaoqi stood on the bluestone steps at the entrance and looked around.
This was a crossroads with several turns and alleyways. Being an experienced directionally challenged person, she couldn't discern the way at all.
Thinking that Zhao Family Village wasn't that large, she figured she could wander randomly and still find her way back.
Su Xiaoqi boldly chose a path lined with jujube trees and walked in.
After walking for a short while, she heard someone call her from behind.
"Hey, Su Xiaoqi, have you lost your way back?"
Su Xiaoqi turned to see Zhao Hai'e, the village beauty, leaning against a jujube tree, looking at her with a half-smile.
"Go in that direction. If you go further, you'll reach the home of our village's bachelor, Zhao Dexing.
He's of a certain age and hasn't married yet. I hear he's quite wicked."
Su Xiaoqi had a very bad impression of her.
She still remembered the time Zhao Hai'e had led the people of Zhao Family Village to throw her into the river.
Therefore, she didn't want to engage with her and merely raised her eyelids without speaking.
"What's wrong, don't you believe me?" Zhao Hai'e said as she walked closer to Su Xiaoqi.
She sniffed her, then tilted her head to examine her closely. A flicker of jealousy crossed her eyes.
As expected, she was a young lady from the county town, so different from them village girls who grew up in the countryside.
Not only was she beautiful, but she also smelled fragrant, and even in coarse homespun clothes, she had more charm than them.
She gritted her teeth, stepped forward to pull Su Xiaoqi, and said enthusiastically,
"My home is next to Yun Gege's home. I'll take you back."
Su Xiaoqi shook off her hand and took a step back, narrowing her eyes and saying,
"No good deed goes unpunished."
"Hey, Su Xiaoqi, what are you talking about?" Zhao Hai'e hadn't expected Su Xiaoqi to be so direct.
Although she did have ulterior motives for approaching her, how could these things be said out loud?
Su Xiaoqi ignored her and turned to walk down another path.
"Hey, you're going the wrong way again. Let me guide you," Zhao Hai'e suddenly offered help.
Su Xiaoqi, with her high alertness, saw that Zhao Hai'e had a motive today and didn't want to engage.
In any case, there were people everywhere; she could ask someone and find her way.
But then she thought, there are a thousand days to be a thief but not a thousand days to guard against one.
Rather than worrying about being plotted against at some unknown time in the future, it was better to deal with her today.
With that thought, Su Xiaoqi suddenly softened and politely asked Zhao Hai'e to lead the way.
Zhao Hai'e had been worried that Su Xiaoqi might see through her intentions.
But after walking for a bit, the Shen family's house was just around the corner, and Su Xiaoqi hadn't said anything.
She was completely relieved.
So, this Su Xiaoqi, despite appearing clever, was actually quite foolish.
She couldn't help but smile smugly.
The road became more and more secluded, and the people fewer and fewer. Su Xiaoqi's heart grew cold.
What a Zhao Hai'e, truly harboring ill intentions.
However, she was curious; how did she intend to deal with her?
Zhao Hai'e suddenly said, "Hey, I feel a bit sick to my stomach. I'll go ahead and relieve myself. You wait here for me."
Su Xiaoqi's heart tightened. Her hand, which had been prepared, shot out and grabbed Zhao Hai'e's wrist. She chuckled coldly and mimicked her accent, saying,
"What's the rush? You haven't led me to the house yet."
Zhao Hai'e hadn't expected Su Xiaoqi to react so quickly and have such strength. She struggled to free her hand, shouting,
"Oh, oh, it hurts, it hurts so much. Hey, aren't you coming out? Your lover is about to kill me."
Su Xiaoqi looked towards the house with blue bricks and black tiles ahead. A person walked out from the corner.
"Sister, it's me. Let her go quickly." As soon as Su Jiamo appeared, he familiarly reached out to hug Su Xiaoqi.
Su Xiaoqi shivered all over, released Zhao Hai'e, glared at her, and said fiercely, "You plotted against me. We'll settle this later."
Zhao Hai'e's wrist hurt. Hearing this, she also said hatefully,
"Settle what? You shameless woman, married to Yun Gege, yet you're still hooking up with others..."
She stopped abruptly.
It turned out that Su Jiamo flipped his hand and threw a small silver ingot at her, earnestly requesting, "Don't forget what you promised not to say."
"Hehe, it's real silver. Oh, how kind, how kind. You two enjoy yourselves, I'll keep watch for you."
Zhao Hai'e's heart bloomed with joy. Forgetting the pain in her wrist from Su Xiaoqi's grip, she dashed away like the wind.
Su Xiaoqi stood with her arms crossed, her expression cold as she looked at the young man in brocade clothes standing before her, who wasn't bad-looking.
He was the one the original owner had always wanted to seduce to change her fate.
The original plot of the book was that the adulterous couple killed Madam Zhao and silenced Shen Erdan, then truly got together and wreaked havoc.
However, even until Su Xiaoqi's death, Su Jiamo had not married her, nor had he taken her away.
The so-called change of fate never happened; the young master was merely playing with emotions and seeking excitement.