70 Chapter 70 The Water Fell
◎What are you doing?◎
"Brother, what exactly do you want to say?"
"What do I want to say?" Su Yunyan held the chopsticks in one hand, the other resting on the solid wood armrest of the chair. She tilted her head and asked suspiciously, "I thought... my sister is a smart person and should know that Yunhe is not a good match for you."
feudal.
Upon hearing this, Yuliu forced a forced smile and cursed twice in her heart for no reason.
Yunhe is not my ideal match, but is she your ideal match?
This brother who appeared out of nowhere and has only been her brother for a few days is already here to act like a brother?
Yu Liu said, "You are not a fish, so how can you know the joy of a fish?"
"Since I entered the officialdom, I've prioritized fame and fortune. Ordinary pleasures have long been irrelevant to us, the children of the Su family." Su Yunyan spoke in a relaxed tone, but he clasped the armrests of the wooden chair twice with one hand, his wide purple-gold sleeves rippling slightly. "I'm not here to lecture you today. After all, beyond our blood relationship, we don't actually have any sibling ties. I've called you here today simply to offer you a chance to strike a deal."
"I'll be frank with you."
"The Fourth Prince Xiao is seeking to purge his entourage. If you wish to escape unscathed, your only remaining option is to find a good family and marry off. Unfortunately... your eldest sister has disregarded her engagement, abandoning the interests of the nation for her own selfish desires. I'm afraid no honest family in this city would be willing to marry you."
Yuliu understood the meaning of this.
The heroine has now awakened to her own personality and is no longer willing to compromise for the hero's family and country. She pursues freedom but will be criticized by everyone.
Although the hero now regrets his decision to change his past ways and win the favor of the beauty, the first person he wants to get rid of is Su Yuliu.
Yuliu never regretted helping Su Yunyue.
Unhealthy relationships will eventually break down.
She just sped up the process.
But having talked about this, she was still somewhat surprised at how much women were exploited under patriarchy.
Bad relations between countries?
Just send a woman of noble status to marry over there!
Women want to pursue freedom? No, that would punish all the unmarried women in the family!
And men being playboys? That's their charm. Besides, they only need to calm down once to become decent gentlemen!
The tolerance rate of life is so tolerant to men, but so harsh to women.
"Don't be nervous." Su Yunyan glanced at Yuliu's face and said, "You are still a daughter of our Su family. Even if our Su family is not as strong as it used to be, we will definitely not let you become a concubine."
Yuliu: “…”
If it weren't for the mission assigned by the system, if it weren't for Su Yunyue, if it weren't for her own life, who would care about your Su family's reputation?!
But Yuliu's face remained expressionless. She just glanced at the incense burning in the distance. Wisps of green smoke floated up, and one stick had just burned out. Soon, a male servant quietly replaced it with a new stick.
Another stick of incense passed.
"So, what are your plans, brother?" Yu Liu calculated the time and began to ask tentative questions while practicing Tai Chi. "What kind of deal do you want to make with me?"
Upon hearing this, Su Yunyan suddenly curled his lips into a smile and put down his silver chopsticks. He stood up, clasped his hands together, and walked to the back of Yuliu's chair and stood still: "Su Yunyue is worried about your marriage. The Fourth Prince Xiao wants to get rid of you. Yunhe has neither money, power, nor aristocratic family behind him. He is not a good match for you. But sister, you see..."
"How am I?" Su Yunyan said as he rolled up the long sleeves of his official uniform with his cold white fingers and extended his hand towards Yuliu.
Yuliu: “……?!” Don’t come over here and act crazy!
The moment Yuliu smelled the strong incense coming from the official uniform, her spine almost exploded.
She stood up suddenly, took small steps to the side, and pretended to bow slightly, cleverly avoiding contact with the other person. She said softly, "Although I didn't grow up in the Su Mansion, I have heard that my brother passed the imperial examination at a young age, helped the Su family to a point of collapse, and rose to prominence as a close minister to the emperor. Naturally, everything is excellent."
Yuliu said flattering words while reminding them of the human relationship between brother and sister. Although she lowered her head slightly, she could feel Su Yunyan's gaze fixed on her.
Therefore, Yu Liu had to continue, "The Fourth Prince was a warrior on the battlefield when he was young. Now that he holds power, he has naturally developed a strong and arbitrary character. If he wants to reconcile with my sister, I'm afraid he would rather kill me than let me go if I made a mistake in my chess move!"
"I know that my brother has good intentions. This proposal is to protect me and to find a way out for me and the bloodline of the Su family..."
"Since you knew, why didn't you obey?" Seeing Yu Liu speak openly, Su Yunyan also spoke frankly about the benefits. "The Fourth Prince wants to silence you. Killing is the fastest way, but not necessarily the most effective. I am protecting you, and even more so, protecting Su Yunyue for him. He doesn't understand the friendship between you, but I do. Your sister values you deeply and was planning for you until the very end, and you, too, are willing to suffer incarceration to free her."
"If I kill you for Prince Xiao Si, Su Yunyue will never forgive me, let alone let Xiao Si go. Now you want to break the deadlock, I can help you fake your death and change your innocent identity. I will marry you in a formal ceremony and treat you as my legal wife. As long as you behave yourself, I will give you the maximum freedom, just like when we were kids. You just play around at home, and I'll take care of everything else." Su Yunyan tried to persuade her, but saw that Yuliu's expression was unmoved. She stared at the frail figure in front of her, and suddenly said, "If you really like him, I can also help you bring Yunhe to your courtyard and let him keep you company day and night."
"In that case, will you accept?"
"Thank you for your kindness, brother." Yu Liu took advantage of the movement of standing up and took small steps back a few inches. Standing a little distance away from Su Yunyan, he lowered his head slightly and asked softly, "But, I am confused. What exactly is the meaning of this action, brother?"
Su Yunyan smiled calmly and said, "My elder brother is like a father. I am doing this for your own good."
"Really?" Yu Liu raised his head and looked directly at Su Yunyan. "Brother didn't blame me for letting my elder sister go. I was grateful to him, so I never asked about the deal between you and the Fourth Prince. But I think, brother, the Fourth Prince probably doesn't have much time left for you, right?"
Su Yunyan felt a bit surprised by the question, and the smile on his face became more and more obvious: "Perhaps, the Fourth Prince doesn't have much time left for you?"
"If that's the case, brother, if you really care about my own good, you will naturally try your best to find a reliable husband for me. On the contrary, if you let me be used as a bargaining chip to benefit the Su family, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"
Su Yunyan stared at Yuliu quietly for a few moments before sighing with regret: "You are indeed very smart, what a pity..."
A woman who is too smart will not live long.
Yuliu was shocked and felt that there was something wrong with Su Yunyan's words. However, when she was about to say something else, she felt weak and soft all over, her hands and feet were numb, and her clear consciousness was completely withdrawn like a chaotic tide. She only had time to look at the burnt incense and candles in the distance at the last moment.
"Yes, this is a specially made incense. Originally, I didn't want to take your life out of consideration for the relationship between brother and sister." Su Yunyan casually poured a glass of wine, but instead of drinking it, he poured it down with his backhand, as if offering a memorial.
In the end, he threw the empty wine glass directly to the ground.
The secret guard outside the door heard the sound of the cup breaking, and walked in with his head lowered, kneeling on one knee and waiting for Su Yunyan's order.
Su Yunyan stood with his hands behind his back and walked out the door, leaving a calm sentence:
"Let's burn them all and make them cleaner."
---
"The fire's coming—the fire's coming!"
The usually bustling and noisy Xichang Street was now in chaos, with many people shouting in panic as they fled.
Yun He walked against the crowd, looking solemnly in the direction of the smoke. Suddenly, he felt a little uneasy. He grabbed a person and asked, "Where is the water flowing?"
The little girl who was casually grabbed by Yun He and was running for her life in a panic, was suddenly blocked by someone and subconsciously glared at him: "Who are you! What are you doing..."
However, when she saw Yun He's face, she stopped talking halfway, and the anger on her face turned into shyness: "What's the matter, sir?"
Yun He went straight to the point: "Where the fire started, was the spring breeze blowing through the railings?"
"Yes, it's the spring breeze blowing through the railings." The little girl recalled the scene when the fire first broke out. "I heard that the fire started at the back door. No one noticed it at first, but then it got so big that it even alarmed the owner of the building. Now everyone is running out. Young master, you should run too..."
"Thank you very much."
Yun He's heart skipped a beat when he heard that.
He looked at the unfamiliar faces around him that gathered like a river and ran in the same direction without any prior agreement. He recalled the way Yuliu had smiled and talked to him in the afternoon, and suddenly he felt a chill all over his body.
Yunhe had no mind to look at the little girl's surprised eyes, nor could he hear the mixed words in the crowd around him. He was thinking about Yuliu's safety and became the only person going against the flow of people.
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