Chapter 139: Lies and the Truth
"Huh? Didn't I hear that it was the Sixth Miss of the Su family who was defiled? How come it's the Fourth Miss of the Su family now?"
"No way, it was the Fourth Miss who was defiled, and the Sixth Miss was rescued by King Xuanming himself."
"Hey, keep your voices down. Didn't you see? Honglou and Xiaolou have both been sealed off by King Xuanming. The people inside disappeared without a trace in just one day!"
As he spoke, the man made a gesture of wiping his neck.
Seeing this, the others quickly fell silent, but they couldn't help but ask in a low voice out of curiosity: "Why did King Xuanming get involved in this?"
"Who knows? Maybe these Su family girls were all looking to climb up the social ladder and didn't fancy the second-generation heir of the Fan family. That's why they caused trouble, and the person behind it... had no choice but to help."
The person who originally told everyone not to talk nonsense couldn't help himself.
"Hey, what do you think, Miss Su Liu was almost defiled, or has she already..."
"Fan Wenchang is dead, so someone must have... done something wrong."
In the teahouse, a group of men were talking to each other.
The silk shop on Changhua Street and the Honglou Xiaolou in Chiyan City were closed down in order to quell the rumors.
But for some reason, the rumor not only did not stop, but instead aroused people's curiosity even more.
The Fan family sent Fan Wenchang's body to the court, and the troubled County Magistrate Sang had to send people to the Su Mansion.
…
"He said that Honglou's mother would also testify, so I..." Su Yuanling's face was pale and she cried intermittently.
"I just don't want to be criticized, so..."
However, before she could finish her words, Jiao slapped her hard in the face, "How dare you say that? You actually hurt your own sister!"
"Wow..." Su Yuanling collapsed instantly, covering her face and crying bitterly.
At this time, Su Shengsheng walked in with the support of Ningyu and Qingning, and saw this scene.
When her grandparents, father, and mother saw her coming back, their faces trembled, "Sheng girl."
Su Shengsheng glanced at everyone in the hall, slowly walked to Su Yuanling and knelt down.
"If you elders want to blame someone, blame Sheng'er."
Su Yuanling stopped sobbing and looked at Su Shengsheng, "You don't blame me?"
Su Shengsheng looked at her and shook his head slowly, "When I habitually lied to you, I had already lost your trust."
Su Yuanling's tears immediately rolled down her cheeks, and she sobbed into her handkerchief, "I... I..."
"I know." Su Shengsheng's voice trembled a little, "You hate me."
At that time, the fourth sister must have felt very helpless...
When I heard her lying to her family that day, her silence was to protect her.
When Su Yuanling's lips trembled and she couldn't speak, Su Shengsheng took a breath and said, "You hate me because you treat me as family. You gave me a chance, but I'm only giving you an answer now."
After saying that, Su Shengsheng looked at the elders in the hall who were shocked.
"Sheng'er did go to the Red Mansion, and did perform to make money."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces changed color in shock.
"Daughter..." Li suddenly stood up, but collapsed back weakly.
Old Master Su also stood up in astonishment, his hands trembling.
Old Madam Su was even more shocked and her face turned pale in an instant.
The whole hall was suddenly in chaos.
"Miss..." Qing Ning couldn't help but shed tears, but she knew she couldn't refute it.
Su Yuanling's eyes were dazed for a moment, but she no longer had any desire to live. "I know you feel guilty about me, so you spread the word, trying to take the stigma on my behalf. But now there's no need to lie anymore."
Su Shengsheng didn't look at her this time, but only at her grandfather who was in disbelief. "Grandfather, you have always held yourself to the teachings of the sages. The sages said that women should support their husbands and raise their children. But what if the sages are wrong?"
Su Shengsheng's eyes slowly swept over the crowd. "He doesn't see the tyranny of the emperor, the displacement of the people. He doesn't see women selling not only their own children but also themselves, yet he remains indifferent. He only demands that the women in the Red Mansion remain chaste, that those who starve to death pay taxes, and that the scholars of the world serve the emperor loyally, but he never asks the monarch to set an example. He doesn't blame the emperor for being unjust and warmongering, nor does he blame them for their greed and premeditated disputes, causing countless people to sacrifice their children for their desires. Instead, he blames the women who have fallen into prostitution for not maintaining their integrity."
"When the old capital fell, the princess and several officials' wives were captured. Everyone said they should commit suicide to preserve their honor, rather than join the enemy and bring shame to their families and country."
Su Shengsheng paused slightly when she said this, as if she was out of breath.
The whole hall was silent, and everyone looked at her in astonishment.
She let out a long breath, her words sharp as a knife, "The Northern Rong cavalry are ruthless and merciless. Even a million-strong army would be unable to stop them. Yet, those so-called sages only criticize innocent women for maintaining their chastity. How should the emperor and his generals deal with them?"
These shocking remarks shook the expressions off everyone's faces.
"If the king could uphold his integrity, how could the country be destroyed and the family ruined? How could the empress dowager, the queen, and the princesses be captured and humiliated? How could countless women be abducted and taken to brothels? The sages did not condemn the king and those dissolute men, but instead mocked the prostitutes who lived in brothels in order to survive. How 'holy' is this?"
Old Master Su widened his eyes and looked at Su Shengsheng, who was kneeling on the ground, with an unprecedented gaze, as if he had been struck by lightning.
Even Su Yuanling was so shocked that tears welled up in her eyes and she stood there in a daze.
Su Shengsheng took a deep breath and kowtowed slowly, "I am not from the Su family. Today I bid farewell to my grandparents."
He kowtowed to his father and mother again, "Sheng'er is grateful to you for raising me for so many years."
Then he turned to Su Yuanling and bowed again, "A huge mistake has been made. I will bear the consequences from now on. I don't ask for your forgiveness, but I only hope that you can take charge of the family business on my behalf and protect my family."
After the three bows, Su Shengsheng turned around and left without even glancing at the others.
In her eyes, those so-called teachings of sages were nothing but a ridiculous joke.
If a person is placed in a desperate situation, with no food to eat, no clothes to wear, or even thrown into a pirate's den, who can still maintain that "holiness"?
I'm afraid it would have collapsed in the face of cruel reality and turned into dust!
If one can survive in such an environment, he will become an extraordinary god, rather than a sage who talks about benevolence, righteousness and morality.
Everyone was shocked by Su Shengsheng's determination and couldn't recover for a long time.
Seeing that she was really going to leave, Madam Su angrily threw the teacup to the ground and said sternly, "When did grandma ever tell you to leave?"
She stood up tremblingly, her eyes piercing, "You are so determined to break away from your family, is it just to preserve the reputation of the Su family?"
Qing Ningyu had never seen Su Shengsheng so resolute before, and she just stared at her back blankly.
The Baishang Kingdom did not hold a funeral for Tuoba Ye, which means he was still alive.
Su Shengsheng never thought that one lie would require so many lies and lives to redeem it.
But if she doesn't lie, where should she go?
"Isn't it what grandparents have always hoped for, that Sheng'er change her surname back to Li and get away from all this trouble?"
Although Su Shengsheng's voice was cold, it could not hide the trembling in it.
Now that the Su family has the ability to protect themselves, she can leave with peace of mind.
"Daughter." Seeing that Su Shengsheng didn't even care about her, Li cried so hard that she almost fainted.
Her almost break-up attitude made the Su family helpless for a while, and even the housekeeper could only cry by the side, unable to do anything.
Seeing that she was determined to leave, Old Master Su hurried forward a few steps and said, "Grandfather was wrong. He shouldn't have turned a blind eye to your suffering for the sake of that empty reputation."
Just when everyone was at a loss as to what to do, Yunxiang, who had been assigned to look after Cen, suddenly rushed back, panting and shouting, "Young Madam heard the discussions outside and insisted on rushing here, but she accidentally had a miscarriage!"
When Jiao heard this, she was immediately anxious. She quickly pulled Su Yuanling up from her kneeling position and said anxiously, "Hurry, go with me and take a look!"
Su Shengsheng involuntarily followed a few steps, but suddenly stopped.
At this time, the grandmother came over from behind, with a bit of anger and dissatisfaction in her tone: "Aren't you no longer a member of the Su family? Why are you still caring about us?"
There was a hint of childish wilfulness in these words.
Upon hearing this, Su Shengsheng lowered her head silently and turned to leave.
However, before the group could take a few steps, a group of officials broke into the Su family's gate and stopped everyone.
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