Chapter 118: A Disagreement and a Draw of Swords
"If it weren't for Brother Ying's greed, I would be the one who was poisoned and unconscious today."
Su Cheng's voice gradually turned cold, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Auntie is very cunning. She talks and laughs with me on the surface, but she kills me behind my back."
Qian's face was grim, and a trace of guilt flashed through her eyes, but she still stiffened her neck to argue, "This concerns my son's life and my innocence. It's a serious matter. How can I listen to a lowly maid's provocation?"
After she finished speaking, she looked at Zhao Hu with a sincere look in her eyes. "Ahu, think carefully. I have always been kind-hearted. How could I do such a wicked thing as poisoning a young man? Besides, this is a matter of life and death. Even if I were to do it, I would find someone I can trust, right? Knowing how dangerous this matter is, how could I just randomly find a little maid I don't know?"
Zhao Hu lowered his eyes and said nothing, the mockery in his eyes disappeared in an instant.
"This is where Auntie's cleverness lies." Su Cheng's lips curled up with a playful smile, his tone calm and unperturbed, "I'm afraid she has already thought of this excuse to get herself out of this situation."
"Stop slandering me!" Zhao Sheng'er clutched the handkerchief tightly in her hand, her eyes revealing undisguised disgust for Su Cheng. She glanced at the maid kneeling beside her, "This slave girl looks unfamiliar to me. She's probably not from the backyard. Who knows if you've brought her here to frame my mother?"
Hearing this, Qian's eyes reddened. She picked up a handkerchief and wiped away her nonexistent tears. "Ah Cheng, I know you've always wanted to take over the housekeeper position and that you're very dissatisfied with me. You grew up in the countryside and haven't been home for over a decade. It's our Zhao family that's wronged you. I can give you anything you want as compensation."
"But you shouldn't slander the innocence of your elders and harm your own cousin!"
The mother and daughter each said something and concluded the matter.
Zhang stood aside and spoke leisurely, "Exactly. Everyone in our family knows what kind of temper our eldest sister-in-law has. How could someone who wouldn't even dare to step on an ant to death have the heart to murder a youngster?"
"It's you." Zhang glanced at Su Cheng and snorted coldly, "A girl who grew up in the countryside is really vulgar and unworthy of being worthy of being a gentleman. Who knows if you will make a move on Ying Ge'er for that little bit of power?"
"Third sister-in-law is right. Why would the head of the family bring such a girl back?"
"Isn't this bringing shame to our Zhao family?"
"Living with such a black-hearted person, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep well every night."
"If you dare to attack your cousin today, you will dare to harm us elders tomorrow!"
The Zhao family members were talking to each other, venting their dissatisfaction with Zhao Hu and their disgust for Su Cheng.
Su Cheng glanced at everyone's faces one by one, then pursed her lips and smiled softly. She slowly took out the dagger that Xie Jinyu had left for her for self-defense from her sleeve, unsheathed the knife, and quickly cut open the flesh on Zhang's arm.
"Ah!" Zhang screamed in pain as her arm exploded. Blood splashed onto the ground, blooming into red flowers.
The people in the mansion had never seen such a cruel girl. There were continuous screams and the Zhao family members all moved away from Su Cheng at the same time.
Even someone as calm as Zhao Hu couldn't help but widen his eyes and look at Su Cheng's profile with deep eyes.
"Mother..." Zhao Jue's face changed drastically. He quickly supported Zhang's shaky body and glared at the woman in front of him, "Su Cheng! How dare you——"
"Why wouldn't I dare?" Su Cheng glanced at him sideways, a smile on his lips, looking innocent and simple. "Third Aunt stirred up everyone's emotions and put such a huge blame on me for no reason. I only gave her a small cut on her hand, which was already a mercy."
"you!"
"But Third Aunt is right about one thing." Su Cheng said lightly, interrupting Zhao Jue. A cold smile played on the corner of her mouth. With her overly pretty face, she looked a bit like a crazy and vicious girl. "I was born in the countryside, so I don't obey discipline and I will take revenge for any slight. Naturally, I am different from those honest girls who keep their grievances to themselves after being bullied."
Su Cheng glanced sideways and smiled at the pale-faced Zhang. "If I hear you provoking me again, the next blow won't just land here."
"You...I'm going to sue you!" Zhang had never suffered such injustice since she was a child. Her eyes were red with anger. "I am your elder after all! You dare to show a knife to your elders? It's ridiculous!"
"If Third Aunt doesn't go to this government office, I'll look down on you." Su Cheng's face showed no fear at all. He glanced around, a playful smile on his lips. "Everyone, if there is still anyone who thinks they can have enough food and clothing without my father's protection, and can live a comfortable life on their own without taking a penny from the Zhao family, then you can leave now. My father and I will never try to stop them."
After hearing her words, the Zhao family members who had been restless just now suddenly quieted down, looked at each other, and became cowards. No one dared to run into the gun at this time.
Su Cheng dared to take action in public. He was so bold because he was sure that they were unwilling to leave the Zhao family who protected them from the wind and rain.
Scheming woman!
Unfortunately, even though the Zhao family members were unwilling, they could only grumble behind their backs.
Zhao Hu was a difficult person to deal with, and now he had a crazy daughter who came from nowhere and would draw her sword at the slightest disagreement. He was really not someone to be trifled with.
It seems that the Zhao family's fate is about to change.
Zhang's face turned pale and she shouted, "Su Cheng, you are too domineering!"
"Thank you for the compliment." Su Cheng was very pleased with her words. He smiled and looked harmless. "You are all members of the Zhao family. There is a black-hearted person among us. Today it is Brother Ying, tomorrow it might be Sister Sheng'er. If we can't catch the culprit, won't everyone in the mansion be in panic?"
After saying this, Su Cheng lowered his eyes to look at the frightened little maid, squatted down gently, looked at her at eye level, and said softly, "You are the key person. Just tell me everything you saw and heard, without missing a word. I swear on my life that I will ensure your safety and that your life is safe."
The little maid froze and subconsciously looked up at her, then looked at the head of the family with a conflicted expression.
Zhao Hu spoke slowly and calmly, his expression normal, "She is the legitimate mistress of this family. If she asks you a question, just answer it."
"Yes." The little maid stared at Qian's murderous gaze and, to save her own life, she bravely spoke, "I was just doing odd jobs in the small kitchen. The eldest lady specifically requested a lot of dishes, so I could only watch the stove and control the fire. Until most of the dishes were served, someone came to the eldest lady's room and asked for a bowl of radish and crucian carp soup for Miss Su."
"I was so busy controlling the heat that I didn't notice what she did. A quarter of an hour later, the maid in the Madam's room called me over and said she had an unbearable stomachache. She asked me to take this bowl of soup to the hall, but before I could get there, I ran into Young Master Ying."
As soon as the words fell, silence fell all around.
Su Cheng looked back at Qian, whose face was as dark as ink, and smiled, "Aunt, do you have anything else to say?"
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