Unsure if it was intentional or accidental, Su Xiaoqi led them to a fish pond near Yuanbao Mountain.
The lotus flowers were still in bloom, their leaves swaying in the breeze, complementing the lush greenery of the mountain forest, creating a rather picturesque scene.
Su Xiaoqi withdrew her gaze from the distant mountains and looked at Su Yurou.
She felt she had no need for pleasantries with Su Yurou and stated directly, "Speak, what is it you want from me?"
Su Yurou was momentarily taken aback by her directness. She had originally intended to play the sentimental card, but seeing Su Xiaoqi, who was neither yielding nor stubborn, she lost patience and said coldly,
"When you married out of the Su family, you took something you shouldn't have."
Su Xiaoqi blinked. If she were the original owner, she might know what it was.
But she wasn't, so she had no idea what the original owner had taken from the Su family.
Moreover, after searching through the original owner's memories, she couldn't recall what she had taken.
"Yes, what is it?" she asked, somewhat confused.
Su Yurou, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, said impatiently,
"The night before your wedding, you coaxed my second brother to take you to my father's study. You should know that it didn't belong to you."
The night before her wedding. Su Xiaoqi patted her forehead. What was the original owner doing then?
She truly couldn't remember.
Her integration with the original owner wasn't very smooth, so she remembered some things about her and others not so much.
And the novel didn't dwell much on the events before the original owner married Shen Yun.
"To be honest, I really can't remember," Su Xiaoqi said with a sincerity she hadn't felt before.
But Su Yurou didn't believe her at all.
"Liar, because Mr. Shen wouldn't paint for me, you found someone else's paintings and passed them off as his, cheating me out of a hundred taels of silver.
I can overlook that—as long as you return what you took. Father is waiting for it," Su Yurou said patiently, trying to coax Su Xiaoqi in a gentle tone.
Her father had said that the item taken by Su Xiaoqi was very important, so important that it could determine whether their entire Su clan could return to the capital.
Su Yurou didn't say this out loud, but Su Xiaoqi understood.
It seemed the original owner wasn't stupid either. If she didn't act, she would strike at the Su family's critical weakness, truly cunning.
Unfortunately, she still hadn't recalled what exactly this item Su Yurou kept mentioning was.
However, this didn't prevent her from using it to seek some justice for herself.
She smiled slightly and asked, "Do you really want it back?"
Upon hearing this, Su Yurou thought there was hope and quickly nodded, saying that if she returned it, she could agree to one condition.
"Oh, what kind of condition?" Su Xiaoqi deliberately added a slight local accent.
"I'll have my father officially acknowledge you as a daughter of the Su family and supplement your dowry."
"Oh, you're not coming to snatch Shen Yun anymore?" Su Xiaoqi said with a playful smile, as if joking.
Su Yurou's expression stiffened. She looked at Su Xiaoqi, her lips moving as if she wanted to ask why she would say that.
But she seemed to reconsider and suppressed the question.
She had never intended to marry Shen Yun before.
But now, she hadn't given up on marrying Shen Yun.
In her heart, Su Xiaoqi, who came from the common folk, was an orphan, a wild seed, unworthy of the brilliant and virtuous Shen Yun.
He possessed outstanding literary talent, while she was crude.
He had exquisite beauty, while she was gaudy.
Su Xiaoqi saw the disdain and contempt hidden beneath Su Yurou's exceptionally beautiful face.
She let out a "tsk": "Fate truly plays tricks. You know, before, you looked down on him, cast him aside like worn-out shoes.
If you had humbled yourself and glanced at him back then,
wouldn't all these messy affairs have been avoided?
Oh, wait, wait, even if Shen Yun's face was handsome, the Su family probably wouldn't have approved back then.
After all, he was old and couldn't even pass the xiucai exam."
Su Xiaoqi, seeing that Su Yurou clearly needed something from her but still insisted on putting on airs, felt a surge of discomfort and couldn't help but retort.
"You, Sister..." Su Yurou's expression soured as Su Xiaoqi exposed her thoughts.
But for some reason, she kept tolerating Su Xiaoqi.
This made Su Xiaoqi feel that if this continued, Su Yurou would cease to be herself.
However, she had no intention of letting her off the hook and continued,
"Heh, calling me 'Sister'? Who is older and who is younger, don't you know?"
Speaking of which, Su Yurou had already turned sixteen, while she wouldn't reach sixteen until the ninth day of the ninth month.
"Have you considered what I just said?" Su Yurou was focused on one goal and didn't want Su Xiaoqi to derail the conversation with rambling.
Su Xiaoqi smiled and pointed to the fish pond, not even five steps away, saying, "Do you know how many fish are in here?"
Su Yurou looked down, feeling a bit uneasy, and didn't know what Su Xiaoqi meant by this.
But now that she was the one asking for something, she moved closer and asked, "How many fish are in here?"
Xiao Qi, perhaps sensing something, didn't come forward actively.
Su Xiaoqi glanced back at her and then, leaning closer to Su Yurou, whispered, "Aren't you afraid I'll shove you in, out of spite?"
Su Yurou's heart trembled. She beckoned Xiao Qi over.
She had heard from her second brother that Su Xiaoqi was a madwoman.
If she got violent, she would even kill people.
She shrank her neck, looked at Xiao Qi, and thought that the two of them together were better than her alone.
Su Xiaoqi looked at the two people standing on the pond embankment, her smile widening.
She deliberately mentioned the incident at Xishan Lake when Xiao Qi had pushed her into the lake.
Su Yurou wasn't foolish.
Hearing her veiled threats, she immediately understood.
Su Xiaoqi wanted revenge.
She hesitated for a moment and then asked, "I'll ask you one more time, where is the thing you took?"
Su Xiaoqi looked at her with a smile, "I knew it originally, but the water at Xishan Lake that day was too cold. After soaking in it, I forgot.
I was very angry then. I thought, don't let me find an opportunity, otherwise, I'll definitely make the person who pushed me feel what it's like to be pushed into a lake."
Su Yurou's face turned cold. Indeed, her guess was correct.
Su Xiaoqi, coming from a beggar's den, was nothing more than a petty, vengeful woman.
It was just an accidental push into the lake, and she wasn't injured. Why bother getting into a squabble with a maidservant.
Su Yurou wanted to persuade Su Xiaoqi to be more magnanimous, but seeing Su Xiaoqi's fierce gaze fixed on Xiao Qi beside her, like a wolf ready to pounce,
she suddenly understood.
She reached out and blocked Xiao Qi, pleading, "Xiao Qi didn't do it on purpose before, and you weren't actually harmed. Please be generous and forgive her this once."
Su Xiaoqi's eyes crinkled into a smile. She spoke in a deep voice,
"Miss Su, which eye of yours saw that I am a generous person?
Yes, she accidentally pushed me into the water.
How about I also 'accidentally' do something..." As Su Xiaoqi spoke, she reached out towards Su Yurou.
Catching her off guard, she grabbed her shoulders and forcefully pushed her towards the fish pond.
"Ah..." Su Yurou, her face ashen with fear, quickly clutched Su Xiaoqi's sleeve. She was furious.
Half her body had gone limp, her legs trembling, and she dared not move.
Su Xiaoqi pulled her back, gently tidied the wrinkled fabric on her shoulders, and said,
"You choose. Either I accidentally push you into the water, or you accidentally push her into the water..."
If Su Xiaoqi had said this before her feigned push, Su Yurou might not have paid her any mind.
But now, Su Yurou dared not ignore Su Xiaoqi's demands.
With the preceding experience, Su Yurou believed that Su Xiaoqi was truly capable of "accidentally" pushing her into the water.