Stepping into the room, a sweet smell lingered at his nose. He was stunned to see the cloud of smoke all over the place, making him unable to see clearly. He spoke anxiously, “Beauty, where are you?”
"Eldest Young Master Li, you’re scaring Su’er." A gentle voice echoed in his ear.
Li Yang’s heart was shaken. Jiang Su Su’s beautiful face floated before his eyes. He was so giddy with joy that he promptly embraced her. "Su’er’s being so proactive, it’s really making me feel moved."
The girl in red regarded him calmly. Li Yang strived to open his eyes wider, but her face was still fuzzy. Yet, he didn’t care. He just wanted to get close to her and kiss her fiercely. Unexpectedly, the girl suddenly laughed. “Eldest Young Master Li, Su’er has a gift for you."
When Li Yang heard this, he felt that even though he had met countless people, he had never encountered such an interesting woman. Obviously, she looked like a fairy, but took the initiative to act like a slut. His interest was piqued. “What kind of gift?”
The girl whispered, “The gift is — go to hell.” As soon as she said this, she ruthlessly smashed him with a flower vase that was tucked behind her back. Li Yang did not expect the beauty to suddenly become a life-stealing Asura. Thus, taken by surprise, he was heavily wounded with blood gushing out immediately from his head. His body swayed and fell down.
Jiang Ruan looked at Li Yang lying sprawled on the ground with a cold smile on her lips. She crouched down, fiddled with the broken china pieces, and suddenly softly smiled .
Li Dong and Li Yang were the most disgusting people. This father and son pair committed inappropriate and illicit acts in the Grand Councillor’s fu. This was widely known to everyone of all ranks in society. Reputation was not the most important thing in dealing with such a brazen person.
Before she died in her last life, she only knew that Li Dong had violated Pei’er, but she had no idea if Li Yang also had a share in it. Even if it was not so, the father’s debt must be repaid by the son. It was not too much.
She slapped the piece of china on Li Yang’s face. “Young Master Li, I gave you a gift. Isn’t it your turn to return the favour?”
A short time later, Jiang Ruan left the room. Just as she reached Su Xin Yuan’s gate, she heard a young manservant’s voice. “Young Master! Where are you, Young Master?”
It was the manservant at Li Yang’s side. Jiang Ruan paused. It was too late to hide. Her mind kept turning, but she still couldn’t come up with a solution. Then, all of a sudden she heard the young manservant screaming in shock, and then there was nothing. After hesitating for a few moments, Jiang Ruan walked out of the gate and saw the young manservant lying face down a few steps away from the gate. It seemed as though he had fallen down and fainted.
Jiang Ruan frowned. She looked around. Seeing no one, she went around the unconscious manservant and left in a perfectly composed manner.
Up in a tree, a young man in black played with the stones in his hand. His long eyelashes drooped, covering his contemplative eyes. He had come to the Jiang fu to investigate Xuan Li’s matters but came across an unexpected scene. It seemed that the Eldest Young Miss of the Jiang fu and the Eldest Young Master Li had old scores to settle. It was very shocking to see the ruthless way she acted against her enemy.
Shu Xiang had been waiting in the garden but then walked towards Su Xin Yuan. While still halfway, she saw Lu Zhu running over in a panic. Shu Xiang asked hurriedly, “What’s going on? You look so anxious, did something happen?”
"No, nothing." Lu Zhu masked her expression. "Go back to Ruan Ju first. I still have some things to do." After saying this, she left in haste. Seeing this, Shu Xiang’s heart was set. After some thought, she went in the other direction.
Jiang Quan and Li Dong had finished talking about the official matters, so they casually strolled around the Jiang fu, talking about the marriage between the two families. Although Li Dong was lecherous, he was also cunning like an old fox. He was being vague with his words. Xia Yan, keeping them company, sneaked in a few words, but Li Dong’s attitude was obscure, saying it depended on Li Yang’s wishes.
As they walked, they got closer and closer to Su Xin Yuan. At this exact moment, suddenly a pretty servant girl rushed out from the other direction, looking frightened. When she caught sight of Xia Yan, it was as if she had seen her saviour. She knelt down and cried, “Please help, Furen! Please help my Eldest Miss!” After she spoke, she looked up and was stunned as if just now realizing that Li Dong was present.
Xia Yan looked at the servant girl in surprise, her brows knitted. “What does this mean? What happened to Ruan‘er?”
The servant girl seemed frightened, looking submissive and not daring to speak. Xia Yan was more and more impatient. "What on earth has happened?”
As soon as these words were uttered, a woman’s scream from within Su Xin Yuan was heard. The cry was so shrill that everyone present couldn’t help but shiver. Xia Yan was stunned. She didn’t speak anymore and rushed quickly to Su Xin Yuan.
Lin Lang followed her closely. When they reached Su Xin Yuan, it was extremely quiet; there was no one in the courtyard. Xia Yan went to the small guest room first. The room was tranquil, the teapot and the teacups on the table were in the same position as before, undisturbed.
Both Lin Lang and Xia Yan stared blankly, only to hear another scream. This time, it was loud and clear, coming from Jiang Su Su’s bedroom.
For a second, Xia Yan could not help wonder why the location had changed to Jiang Su Su’s room. But then, a foreboding feeling rose inside her heart. She pushed Lin Lang, who stood in front of her, away and rushed into Jiang Su Su’s room.
As soon as she entered the room, she smelled the strong and nauseating stench of blood. Xia Yan’s eyes jumped at the startling sight of blood on the ground. A sound of weeping reached Xia Yan’s ears, making her feel as if struck by lightning. She took a few steps forward. Wasn’t the one standing in the room crying Jiang Su Su?
Li Yang’s head was covered with blood at Jiang Su Su’s feet. His former appearance couldn’t be seen at all. Meanwhile her eyes were tightly shut, dreading the imminent disaster; knowing that there was no silver lining in the clouds that could save her.
"No -” Xia Yan’s eyes widened. The sound of footsteps came from behind the door. It was already too late to stop them. She heard Jiang Quan’s voice, “What happened?”
The voice stopped abruptly, and then there was a scream. “My son!”
Li Dong stared with wide eyes as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He rushed to Li Yang’s side and shook him. "Son, wake up!"
Li Yang seemed to be unconscious. Li Dong lowered his head and looked down at Li Yang’s lower body. The fine silk robe was bloodstained from his waist down. His gaze was fixed on the badly mangled thing nearby, then he let out a torturous howl.
Whoever saw his own son castrated wouldn’t be indifferent.
Li Dong looked up again, his eyes were scarlet. “Jiang Quan, I want you to pay with a life!”
"Not me, not me.” Jiang Su Su was trembling with fear and tears were all over her face. "He was already like this when I entered the room. Not me, it really wasn’t me. “
But no one could believe her words as the scene in front of their eyes unfolded. The most powerful hypothesis being that Li Yang was overcome with lust and wanted to commit an immoral act against Jiang Su Su, who then broke his head with a vase and castrated him in anger.
Xia Yan defended her, “No, it couldn’t be Su‘er. She is timid and wouldn’t treat Eldest Young Master Li like this. Minister Li, don’t panic. The assassin must still be hiding inside the courtyard. Where is Ruan’er? Su’er, you are not with Ruan‘er. Where is Ruan‘er?” She thought it must have been Jiang Ruan’s act of shifting the blame and Jiang Ruan probably hadn’t left the courtyard yet.
Li Dong raised his head. However, before he could speak, he heard a soft female voice outside. “Father, Mother, what has happened? Why is everyone in Second Sister’s room?”
Xia Yan’s whole body immediately stiffened when she saw Jiang Ruan standing at the gate of the courtyard. She was wearing red from head to toe, sultry like fire. Today, she’d even put on some powder. She looked extremely beautiful. By comparison, Jiang Su Su Su, who was in a teary mess, cut a sorry figure.
“Ruan‘er, weren’t you picking bolts of satin with Su’er in the room. Why did you go out?” Xia Yan asked eagerly.
“I waited for Second Sister but she was late. I thought it would be better to take the initiative to find her. But unexpectedly, I couldn’t.” Jiang Ruan explained, “So I asked Lu Zhu to pick some red plum flowers in the garden with me, thinking that they would look good in the vase.” As she spoke, in her raised hands, there were indeed a few branches of plum flowers.
Xia Yan was paralyzed on the ground. Jiang Quan’s forehead throbbed painfully. Looking at Li Yang unconscious on the ground, a trace of cruelty flashed across Li Dong’s face. He yelled, “Slut, pay back my son with your life!" Before people could see his movements clearly, a sharp piece of broken china was already in his hand. Jiang Su Su jumped back in fear. Li Dong was fat and not particularly nimble. Jiang Su Su was able to dodge, but she felt a scorching pain on her right cheek. When she reached out to touch it, her hand was soaked with blood.
Jian Quan shouted, "Impudent!"
The courtyard’s guard made every effort to pull Li Dong away. Jiang Su Su collapsed while covering her face and burst into tears. Looking at Jiang Su Su’s bloody face, Xia Yan’s heart was in pain and she immediately fainted.
“Call the doctor!” Jiang Quan said worriedly.
Li Dong also dispatched people to carry Li Yang. “Go back to the fu immediately.” Before leaving, he looked at Jiang Quan maliciously. "I will not give up this matter. Jiang Quan, I will make you pay the price!”
After Li Dong’s party left, Jiang Quan rubbed his forehead. Because of concerns and worries about Jiang Su Su and Xia Yan, he left for Yan Hua Yuan in a hurry. For a while, Su Xin Yuan was restored to its former desolation.
Lu Zhu stood silently at Jiang Ruan’s side. Amid the bloodstained ground, Jiang Ruan smiled and said softly, “Shu Xiang, won’t you come in?”
Shu Xiang’s face was deathly pale. She seemed to have sensed the devil incarnate in Jiang Ruan. Earlier, she thought that the matter was finished when Lu Zhu had that look of worry, so she hurriedly reported back to Xia Yan. Who could have known that it would be Jiang Su Su who fell into the trap? It was too much to call all of this a coincidence.
“You’ll remember the road to Su Xin Yuan now and never forget it in your lifetime.” Jiang Ruan smiled at her. “Right?”
Lu Zhu had a hard to conceal look of contempt in her eyes. Shu Xiang’s back was covered with cold sweat. She knew that Xia Yan would not let her off lightly this time. The girl in red, however, seemed to be in harmony with the blood-stained ground. Her expression showed no signs of panic. With an indifferent smile, she turned around and left.
This day was bound to be a momentous one for the capital’s Jiang family. In a few short days, Jiang Chao’s finger was cut off, Jiang Su Su was disfigured, Xia Yan fainted from anger, and Old Jiang Madame was bedridden.