Chapter Thirteen: Protection

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Su Zhiyi watched Yu Shengsheng and Shen Zhiyuan embracing, her face expressionless.

Behind her, Rujian gnashed her teeth in anger. “Commandery Princess, how dare she seduce Young Master Shen? I’ll teach her a lesson.”

Su Zhiyi replied calmly, “What’s the hurry?”

She gently stroked the jade bracelet around her wrist. It was one of the betrothal gifts from the Shen family, personally fastened around her wrist by Madam Shen.

Even if she did not like Shen Zhiyuan, things should not have turned out this way.

What she did not want, she certainly could not allow someone else to pick up for free.

Yu Shengsheng… It seemed the lesson she had received was still far too mild.

“Let’s return to the courtyard.” She withdrew her gaze indifferently.

Rujian was unwilling to let the matter go. “Commandery Princess, what does she have? Nothing but that seductive face! Does she think that being pretty means she can do whatever she pleases—”

Su Zhiyi raised her eyes to look at her. The instant their gazes met, Rujian realized she had misspoken. She lowered her head and bit her lips tightly, not daring to say another word.

Pretty…

Su Zhiyi’s nails dug into the armrest of the wheelchair. She wished she could claw Yu Shengsheng’s face.

Ever since Yu Shengsheng had returned, Su Zhiyi had heard the words countless times:

“Beautiful.”

“Fair as a celestial maiden.”

“She looks exactly like Madam Su.”

Each word was a knife, stabbing into her heart.

Yu Shengsheng, just wait. I will make you regret ever coming to the Su family.

Shen Zhiyuan steadied Yu Shengsheng, but her entire attention was focused on the dog in his arms. She dared not come into contact with him and regarded him as though he were a flood or a savage beast.

She bit the tip of her tongue, forced herself to remain standing, then shoved him away with all her strength and stumbled off.

Run!

Only by running fast enough could she escape the dog cage—and the demon in her heart.

Shen Zhiyuan’s face darkened. “As expected, you have no place in polite society and know nothing of etiquette.”

“Yu Shengsheng, stay far away from me from now on. Your marriage has already been arranged. Stop clinging to me!”

With that, he carried the dog away.

Yu Shengsheng’s mind was in turmoil. She felt that she had run quite fast, but in truth, she had not gone very far.

By the time she returned to the courtyard, she was drenched in sweat, her clothes thoroughly soaked through.

Old Madam Zhou was startled and hurried to support her. “Miss, what happened to you—”

Yu Shengsheng gave her a bitter smile, then fainted.

…

After leaving the palace gates following the morning court, Su Dingqin found himself somewhat troubled as he recalled what he had seen of Yu Shengsheng before departing.

He could not understand how a perfectly good young girl had become what she was in the space of only one year. Even if she had suffered some injustice, she should not have become so willful.

Perhaps they had wronged her back then, but for the sake of the greater good, it had been the best choice.

What could a young girl like her possibly understand about how difficult it was to live in the capital?

Su Dingqin sighed. Still, what else could he do? He was her elder brother, after all.

He had heard that the Golden Thread Pavilion had received some new fabrics. He would buy several bolts and have clothes made for Shengsheng and Ayi.

Opposite the Golden Thread Pavilion stood a teahouse. Its windows had been thrown open for the summer, and many patrons had come to drink iced tea.

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Su Dingqin had just reined in his horse and had not yet dismounted when he heard someone by the window laugh.

“You should have seen the young lady from the Su family. The cousin they brought home—she’s truly beautiful.”

“And the Empress personally taught her proper conduct. She certainly looks every inch a daughter of a noble family.”

“Why would the Empress teach her? Because she tried to shoot Commandery Princess Rongyang. When she failed, she frightened the princess’s horse and left her crippled.”

Su Dingqin’s brows furrowed. They were talking about Shengsheng, weren’t they?

A quiet laugh rang out.

“You actually believe such nonsense? She’s just a country girl. Do you really think she could shoot and injure Commandery Princess Rongyang? That title was earned through military merit. If a stray arrow was enough to frighten her from her horse and break her legs, then perhaps we should think carefully about how she earned that military merit in the first place.”

“Third Young Master, do you mean…”

“What I mean is that the General’s Residence took all the credit for the good deeds and sent a little girl out to bear the bad reputation. And she was only a relative by marriage, at that. They really have no shame…”

Before he could finish, a fierce gust of wind struck him, followed by a sharp slap across his face.

The crack rang out, and half the teahouse fell silent.

Blood welled at the corner of Lu Xingzhan’s mouth. He pressed his tongue against one side of his face and glared. “Su Dingqin? How dare you hit me?”

Su Dingqin said nothing. He snatched up a teacup and hurled it at him.

Lu Xingzhan hurriedly dodged. The teacup smashed against a pillar and shattered into pieces.

He drew a sharp breath. Fortunately, he had moved quickly. If it had struck him, it would have split his head open.

“Su Dingqin, have you gone mad?” Lu Xingzhan spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. “Do you truly think I’m someone you can provoke?”

Su Dingqin vaulted through the window like a walking keg of gunpowder.

“I don’t care who you are. With a mouth as foul as yours, you deserve to be beaten!”

…

After lunch, the Old Madam grew increasingly irritated by the incessant chirping of the cicadas.

Nanny Zhao replaced the ice beside her and said softly, “Old Madam, you should take your afternoon nap.”

“I feel so restless.” The Old Madam exhaled. “What is she doing?”

Nanny Zhao knew exactly whom she meant. “She is staying in the courtyard and doing nothing. Please rest assured—we have people watching her.”

As soon as she finished speaking, hurried footsteps sounded, and Madam Su burst in.

“Mother, something terrible has happened.”

“Dingqin got into a dispute with someone and has been taken to the Metropolitan Prefecture prison.”

The Old Madam was both shocked and furious. “What? When did this happen?”

Madam Su was filled with regret. “After court, I assumed he had business at noon and would not be coming home for lunch. That sort of thing happens often, so I didn’t think much of it. I only just found out…”

The Old Madam coughed several times in anger. “How dare the Metropolitan Prefecture take him away? Don’t they know who Dingqin is?”

“I heard it was two newly appointed constables who didn’t recognize him. And besides… the person he struck was the Grand Secretary’s youngest grandson.”

The Old Madam’s vision went black. “The third son of the Lu family? That little devil who causes trouble everywhere? Why on earth did Dingqin provoke him?”

Madam Su wiped away her tears. “Because that young man was speaking ill of Shengsheng. Dingqin couldn’t bear it.”

The Old Madam smashed her teacup onto the table. “That girl is a menace to this family! Ever since she returned, there hasn’t been a single peaceful day. Go and bring her here!”

Yu Shengsheng had slept through the entire morning, and her mind had finally cleared somewhat. The terror in her heart had eased as well.

She recalled what Shen Zhiyuan had said. His contemptuous remarks did not matter much; what mattered were the final words he had shouted at her.

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Your marriage has already been arranged.

Arranged with whom? She had no idea. No one in the Su family had ever mentioned it to her.

Could it be…?

Her thoughts turned rapidly. Was her release from the estate connected to the marriage arrangement?

A thin sheen of sweat gathered in Yu Shengsheng’s palms. She could not allow the Su family to arrange a marriage for her.

There was no room in her heart for anyone else.

She was still lost in thought when Nanny Zhao entered with several older servants, all of them looking fierce and imposing.

“Miss Sheng, come with us.”

By the time Yu Shengsheng was brought before the Old Madam, she still had no idea what had happened. Madam Su was there as well, her eyes swollen and red from crying, while Su Zhiyi sat nearby with an anxious expression.

“Kneel,” the Old Madam ordered in a deep voice.

Yu Shengsheng obediently knelt.

“Do you know what you did wrong?”

“I beg the Old Madam to enlighten me.”

“Enlighten you?” The Old Madam gave a cold laugh. “If you had not attracted so much attention when you returned from the estate, how could you have become the object of everyone’s gossip and ridicule?”

Yu Shengsheng lowered her eyes and listened in silence.

Attracted attention? When had she ever sought the limelight? And even if people were talking about her, could it truly have been because of that one occasion?

It had begun the moment she returned to the capital.

Mocked, discussed, belittled.

Not one of those noble people—including the Su family—had ever spared her.

Yet she had been the one switched at birth.

She had been the one abused as she grew up.

She had been the one wrongly taken away to be taught proper conduct.

And she had done nothing at all.

Yet somehow, she had aroused everyone’s anger and offended them all.

“If your elder brother had not been arrested and taken to the Metropolitan Prefecture for standing up for you, would any of this have happened? Tell me, what are you going to do about it?”

Yu Shengsheng was completely bewildered. What had Su Dingqin done?

What did his arrest have to do with her?

She had not wanted to say anything, but then she caught sight of Granny Wu beneath the covered walkway, standing in the heat and tending the stove as she boiled water.

Granny Wu’s injuries had not yet healed.

Yu Shengsheng’s throat tightened. She swallowed and said, “Please tell me what you wish me to do, Old Madam.”

Madam Su gave a soft sob. “Shengsheng, Mother has thought of a solution for you.”