Liu Yiran was so angry that he blurted out loud the fact that Su Pingping had bribed him to seduce Su Anan into eloping with him.
He also vengefully confessed that Su Pingping promised him all of Su Anan's money, including 500 taels of silver and the woman herself. They would all belong to him in the future, and he could do anything he wanted with them in the future. She had even said the harsher he treated her, the better.
Su Pingping instantly fell to the ground.
When Master Su heard this, he was so angry that he almost exploded. 'So she wanted to harm Anan?'
If Anan really was deceived and eloped, then could he face Mrs Liu when she came to pursue the matter? Don't get deceived by her smiling demeanor, Mrs Liu was a very narrow-minded woman. If something like that really happened, it would definitely implicate the Su Family negatively, ruining the career he had worked so hard to build.
He had almost been destroyed by this rebellious girl.
"All of you, shut up!"
Master Su was so angry that his fingers were visibly trembling. "Men, take the Second Miss to the Ancestral Hall. Then privately hand this shameless thing over to Constable Li."
He gave Su Pingping a look before continuing, "Tell him that the Su Family wants to never hear from him ever again."
He thought that he shouldn't send such a person directly to the Yamen as he was afraid that he'd really tarnish his daughter's reputation with that mouth of his. So, he could only privately hand him over to Constable Li to be tortured.
Constable Li had received a lot of favors from Master Su, so he should be very happy to help him with this kind of thing. In fact, when the person was brought to him, he immediately told him that he could rest assured.
When Su Pingping was dragged to the Ancestral Hall, her father brought out a ruler that was as wide as a palm and was a meter long. She got so scared that she immediately crawled over and hugged his leg, begging, "Father, Father, I'm innocent. That man must have colluded with Su Anan to frame me! I don't know him, really! It's Su Anan who was close to him."
At that time, she had stopped feigning and call her sister "sister" and went straight to calling her full name, "Su Anan".
"Hehe!" Master Su laughed in anger. "Fine. Keep saying you are innocent. Then tell me, why did you bribe the servants to deliberately clear the area around the back door for a moment? Explain to me why you were there in the middle of the night? And tell me why you didn't shout for help when a man you didn't know forcefully pulled you away?! Tell me!"
Su Pingping was speechless. She said it was Su Anan who wanted to elope, but it was her who was there.
And she knew that she didn't shout for help because she was afraid that Liu Yiran would be found out and then he and Su Anan wouldn't be able to successfully run away.
She had no way to explain herself.
Master Su's expression was dark. He swung the ruler and it streaked across the air, making a loud sound. "Do you really think that I'm too old and muddle-headed?"
It didn't matter if his daughter schemed to win his favor, but if their thoughts somehow touched upon the Su Family's reputation or business, then that was simply unacceptable.
And since Su Pingping's plan was especially vicious, it made him even angrier.
She really had a pig's brain, only thinking of her own benefits and completely ignoring the family's interests. He had raised her for nothing.
In his fit of anger, Su Sheng didn't even lock the door. He hit Su Pingping until her skin split open and her body was covered in blood. She had already fainted. He then ordered her to be put on house arrest. Without his permission, no one was allowed to visit her. She was also not allowed to leave the Ancestral Hall.
Su Pingping's mother was wailing outside the door as she was disallowed from entering. Still enraged, Su Sheng proceeded to scold her too. In the end, it was his mistress who managed to defuse the situation. He now considered her a fool. Since she couldn't even teach her daughter well, it was better for them to be confined to reflect upon their actions.
As soon as he walked out to the garden, he glanced in the direction of the Zhilan Courtyard. He paused and asked the butler to secretly assign more servants to guard Su Anan's bedroom. Her wedding was tomorrow, so nothing could go wrong.
He knew that his Anan wasn't willing to marry the groom, but so what? Her parents' orders were absolute. After raising her for so long, it was time for her to repay the family.
Even though the light in the master bedroom of the Zhilan Courtyard was not lit, Su Anan was disturbed by the noise outside and woke up.
Her sigh echoed into the cool night.
After the farce in the middle of the night had ended, a shadowy figure on the willow tree in the courtyard that blended in with the night, quietly left.
Yuxiu Village, Shen Residence.
There was a knock on the door.
"Enter."
The door was pushed open and a shadowy figure of a woman walked in.
Shen Juncheng was flipping through a book leisurely and asked without looking up, "Did she run away?"
"Young Master, Su Anan didn't run away. Instead, she plotted against her second sister who was trying to help her escape." Chao Sheng reported.
The tide revealed the conclusion of the night's events.
Shen Juncheng raised his eyebrows. He was a little surprised. He knew she wasn't stupid and that she would definitely run away because she wasn't willing to go through with their marriage.
But after a moment, he waved his hand and said, "I understand. You may leave."
The woman paused. She wanted to ask their Young Master if he was really willing to marry that woman. However, seeing her Young Master's indifference, she didn't ask. After being dismissed, she just left.
Shen Juncheng slowly put down his book after the door was closed. As he looked up to the Moon outside the window, an inexplicable light blossomed in his eyes, a light that could make people feel a little cold. The corner of his eyes were long and narrow, and his eyelashes were dense. There was no denying that it was a very beautiful pair of eyes.
But soon, a playful, unruly, and uncertain look also appeared.
The next day.
The Su Residence was decorated with lanterns and streamers. It was a jubilant scene with none mentioning the happenings of the previous night.
The Shen Family's wedding sedan had arrived. Su Anan had already changed into a Phoenix Coronet and a red wedding robe. She went to the front of the hall to bid farewell to her father as a filial bride should.
Su Pingping and Lu Shi weren't in the hall at all, but Su Anan wasn't surprised nor even deigned to ask. She simply gave her goodbyes to her father gently.
Father Su had thoroughly suppressed the incident yesterday. He also kept everything secret, but how could Su Anan not know about it?
Su Anan understood everything when she heard the extra guards at her door.
"Miss, listen. Old Master must have come to know that the Second Miss was out to harm you so he avenged you." Cui Yan said, obviously pleased.
After all, Su Pingping's cries were heard all the way to the Zhilan Courtyard.
Su Anan only lowered her eyes without showing any joy on her face. Did her father really beat Su Pingping so hard for her sake?
She knew that it was not the case.
It was only because Su Pingping had committed a huge taboo.
Her father didn't mind his daughters' little tricks, but he only cared if they had consequences. If it involved his reputation, even getting beaten up could be considered a light punishment.
In her father's eyes, benefits and his reputation were more important than his daughters.
Just like in her previous life, when she ended up homeless. Having thought that she would always be her father's daughter, she tried her best to seek out and return to the Su Family, owning her mistakes and begging for forgiveness. She was even full of anticipation for their reunion.
In the end, she was thrown out the door by the servants, with her father coldly announcing that they had cut off all ties with her and that her name would be removed from the family tree. "Su Anan" would no longer exist in the family.
Su Anan fell to the floor and remained by the door of the Su Residence for a long time. She laughed out loud when she witnessed her father doting on the well-behaved Su Pingping.
It turned out that her father, who had always spoiled her, only wanted obedient daughters, not ones who'd stain his reputation.
Once stained, the first person who'd abandon her would be her father.
No wonder her father didn't send anyone to look for her when she ran away in her previous life. It was because that "Su Anan" had lost all her value the moment she had chosen to leave. The Su Family would never need her again.
She stumbled to her feet and left. She never returned to the Su Residence, even until she froze to death on the streets.