The setting sun, unobserved, cast its last rays directly into Su Xiaoqi's eyes, making her squint.
She tilted her head, a sudden smile gracing her lips. To Su Yurou, it held a sinister aura.
Su Yurou hesitated between pushing Su Xiaoqi into the fish pond or pushing Xiao Qi into it.
Of course, there wasn't much to hesitate about.
Xiao Qi was a bound servant. As long as the master had a valid reason, they could do as they pleased with her, even to the point of life and death.
Thus, Su Yurou’s hesitation lasted only a few breaths. Without even bothering with a pretense, she turned and looked coldly at Xiao Qi.
She rebuked her for not showing Su Xiaoqi respect at Xishan Lake last time.
Furthermore, for disrespecting her superiors and pushing her into the lake, an unforgivable offense.
"Miss, she... she didn't die, did she? Constable Xing let me go," Xiao Qi mumbled.
She had heard every word spoken between Su Yurou and Su Xiaoqi clearly.
She felt wronged.
It was clearly at her mistress's instruction that she had pushed Su Xiaoqi into the lake.
Yet now, all the blame was being thrust upon her.
"Xiao Qi, you pushed her into the water once. Today, you jump in once, and we'll call it even," Su Yurou coaxed Xiao Qi, trying to prevent her from ruining her plans.
She would compensate her later.
Xiao Qi was considering Su Yurou's words, unsure whether to agree or to seize this opportunity to make a demand.
However, in the span of a single breath, she was pushed into the water by her own mistress.
With a "plop," Xiao Qi shrieked as she plunged into the water.
The splashing water startled the grass carp foraging nearby, scattering them in a panic.
Su Xiaoqi's rosy lips curved upwards, forming a wide smile.
Su Yurou glanced at Xiao Qi, noticing that the water had not yet reached her shoulders where she had fallen. She had already managed to stand.
However, she was covered in mud and water, looking extremely disheveled.
As long as there was no danger to her life, Su Yurou felt relieved and looked at Su Xiaoqi with a cold expression:
"Now, can you return what you took from me?"
Su Xiaoqi covered her mouth and laughed, "What? What did I say I would give you? I can't remember at all.
Did you push Xiao Qi into the water because you care for me, your sister, and wanted her to get her comeuppance?
This way, we are even."
"You, Su-Xiao-Qi. You've gone too far!" Su Yurou was truly angered this time.
She looked at Su Xiaoqi's bright and beautiful face, which now carried a hint of roguishness.
It made her grind her teeth in hatred.
She had been flustered earlier. Su Xiaoqi had never promised to return anything to her from beginning to end.
She had been overthinking.
"Sorry, my husband seems to be looking for me, so I'll be going now." The smile never left Su Xiaoqi's lips.
Let alone that she didn't know what the original host had taken from the Su family.
Even if she did, she wouldn't return it.
Think of it as her dowry!
Su Yurou looked up and indeed saw Shen Yun approaching.
His tall and upright figure, silhouetted against the setting sun, drew closer to her.
Her heart pounded with a rising panic, and she quickly lowered her head to adjust her clothes and hair.
But she soon realized all her efforts were in vain.
For after Shen Yun had found Su Xiaoqi, he took her hand and turned back without hesitation, not even sparing her a second glance.
"Su Xiaoqi, Su Xiaoqi..." Su Yurou stomped her feet in anger.
Just then, Xiao Qi was climbing out of the fish pond.
However, the edge of the pond where she was located was very steep and slippery.
She had no leverage and couldn't climb out.
She could only remain in the murky, muddy water, enduring the cold and dirt.
After a while, she cried out to Su Yurou for help.
Seeing her in such a miserable state, Su Yurou had no intention of helping her.
She casually pointed to a submerged step in the pond, telling her to swim there and climb out herself.
She, meanwhile, stood on the bank, sulking by herself.
She also pondered how to successfully reclaim what belonged to their Su family.
Meanwhile, Su Xiaoqi, led away by Shen Yun, couldn't help but stifle her laughter several times.
Shen Yun raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"
Su Xiaoqi happily recounted the recent events.
However, she wasn't so honest as to tell Shen Yun the whole truth.
Instead, she spun a tale half true and half false, employing a more subtle approach.
She omitted the part where Su Yurou had asked her for something.
She only said that Su Yurou was kind and considerate, and knowing that her maid had pushed her into the lake last time, she made Xiao Qi jump in herself as a form of punishment.
Shen Yun suddenly stopped, placed his hands on her shoulders, and his voice deepened slightly:
"Is that true?"
Su Xiaoqi's peach blossom eyes flickered, and she thought, "True? What a load of nonsense. Given Su Yurou's character, she never acts without benefit. She has no conscience."
She replied with a smile, "Of course, we are good sisters after all."
"Heh, good sisters." Shen Yun scoffed.
Su Xiaoqi lowered her head, her gaze falling. She said nothing more.
Sometimes, saying too much leads to mistakes.
Shen Yun had come to find her because he had something to tell her.
"Let's go watch some excitement."
Su Xiaoqi asked curiously, "What excitement?"
Shen Yun said nothing, leading her past their newly built house and towards the center of the village.
Before they reached their destination, they heard sharp cries from afar.
"I won't marry, I won't marry..."
Su Xiaoqi's ears twitched in pain, and she instinctively covered them. She looked at Shen Yun and said,
"Is that Zhao Hai'e?"
She was familiar with her voice; it was sharp, thin, and fierce.
Shen Yun nodded and said faintly, "Old Li's household is about to celebrate a wedding."
Su Xiaoqi thought for a moment and suddenly realized, "Is Zhao Hai'e marrying Zhao Guanggun or..."
Her heart fluttered. Shen Yun looked at her and nodded.
As they spoke, they arrived in front of Zhao Baoren's house.
Because of the commotion earlier, many villagers who had come to watch the spectacle had gathered.
They dared not approach directly and hid in the old Zhao family house, separated from Zhao Baoren's by a wall, listening to the events inside.
Zhao Hai'e was very agitated. Besides that one cry, she kept shouting.
However, her tongue wasn't very agile.
She kept repeating the same phrase, "I won't marry, I won't marry," and nothing else.
Later, someone slapped her.
"Slap..." The crisp sound startled those eavesdropping.
"Shut up! Look at the mess you've made! You, you... Now I'll give you two choices.
One is to immediately go back to the county office with your eldest sister.
The other is to drown."
"No, no, Father, Father, I'm your biological daughter, you can't drown me." Zhao Hai'e was terrified.
She hadn't expected her own father to fly into such a rage.
Su Xiaoqi listened for a moment and suddenly understood.
It seemed Shen Yun's threat had worked.
Zhao Haihua had finally taken action against her own sister.
It seemed that in her heart, she and her lover were the most important, at least more important than her own sister and the family's reputation.
Su Xiaoqi understood what was happening and felt it was no longer interesting.
She tugged on Shen Yun's sleeve, and the two of them quietly came and quietly left.
Returning to their own home.
Zhao Shi, Old Yu Shi, Zhao Liushun, Zhao Xiaozhu, and Shen Xiaomei, the whole group, had also returned from the new house.
Zhao Ye guarded the courtyard and coincidentally sorted through the herbs Su Xiaoqi had dried on the rack.
Seeing the young couple return, everyone's faces were filled with worry, and they eagerly began to ask questions.