Chapter 2 Under the Dragon's Might
Ningyu and Qingning left without being stopped, leaving Xuwan and Tingwan behind, full of surprise and confusion.
Su Shengsheng raised her head slightly. The sky was clear just now, but in an instant it was covered with dark clouds.
She collected her thoughts and looked directly at the two of them. "Grandmother, did you give us poison so that we could choose for ourselves?"
The two of them looked away, their avoidance obvious.
Holding the hands of her two aunts, Su Shengsheng sighed, "Grandma is old, how can you two bear to leave her alone to face the wind and rain?"
The old lady is nearly 70 years old, and the Su family is in turmoil. Xu Wan and Ting Wan are moved, but still hesitant.
Su Shengsheng was well aware of their loyalty to their grandmother and took the Hedinghong from Tingwan's hand. "Grandma, I understand your deep meaning. But when the Su family is in danger, filial piety should come first. Grandma still needs care, so you two should let go."
Xu Wan's face sternened, and after meeting Su Shengsheng's eyes, she stood up resolutely and made way.
Su Shengsheng exhaled lightly, turned around and held her mother's trembling hand, "Mom, let's go."
Li held back her tears and nodded, and the mother and daughter walked quickly towards the front yard.
…
In the hall, my grandmother, father and fourth uncle sat opposite each other in a heavy atmosphere.
My eldest uncle has not returned, my second uncle died early, and although my father is the principal of the Imperial College, he is actually just a pawn in the court's power struggles.
My fourth uncle Su Deyong was born out of wedlock and usually does nothing, but today he is rarely at home.
"Why are you here?" Their eyes met, and the father spoke first, "Didn't mother tell you to stay in the room?"
My father appears easygoing, but in fact he lacks independent thinking. When the Su family was in danger, he just sat there doing nothing.
Su Shengsheng glanced at it, bowed to her mother, and spoke frankly.
"Grandmother, has there been any decree?"
Grandmother's cloudy eyes rippled slightly before finally returning to calm: "Not yet."
Then there is still room...
Su Shengsheng felt more at ease: "Sheng'er understands that grandma wants to preserve the reputation of the Su family, but this method is not the best."
"oh?"
Grandma's eyes were as calm as an ancient pond, but there was a deep undercurrent of meaning within them. In her low voice, there was a hint of imperceptible annoyance.
Just as her father was about to interrupt, Su Shengsheng quickly said, "Under Nanling law, a woman cannot be convicted of a crime beyond her marriage. Why not arrange Fourth Sister's marriage to the Pei family today? It wouldn't be inappropriate for Seventh Sister to marry a few months earlier."
When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned.
Fourth uncle's eyes, which had been vacant, immediately focused, and my father felt uneasy and hesitated to speak.
However, everyone knows that this may be the only way out.
Grandmother was silent and pondering, as if weighing the pros and cons.
Fourth Uncle, however, shrank back, "If so many people were to marry at the same time, it might attract the attention of the imperial court..."
"That's why we need to clarify the truth so we can respond." Su Shengsheng bowed respectfully, "Grandma, please tell me the details."
As my grandmother's chest rose and fell, the depressing atmosphere grew thicker, making it suffocating.
"Your grandfather's students risked their lives to deliver a message saying that your grandfather has offended the Dragon and has been imprisoned."
Su Shengsheng's heart trembled. It seemed that the situation was more serious than she thought.
My grandfather was the emperor's teacher, but he was sentenced to death in prison without any imperial edict. The most likely reason for this was that he violated the imperial power.
Given my grandfather's loyal and upright character, I'm afraid it will endanger the new emperor's administration.
My mother couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed in the chair.
"The situation is unclear, and we need to make a decision immediately." Su Shengsheng bowed and said, "Grandma, please make plans early!"
The hall was silent, with only the sobbing of the women in the courtyard, drowning out the chirping of cicadas.
The old lady slowly stood up with the help of Xu Wan and the other two.
"Tingwan, go to the fourth young lady's place. Xuwan, go to the seventh young lady's place and do it in secret." Grandmother finally spoke, and Su Shengsheng's expression eased a little.
The two men took the order and left, and everyone in the hall had different expressions.
Li collapsed and covered her face and cried.
Su Shengsheng understood that her mother did this for her.
The Ji family's son-in-law is in mourning and has not returned home. Although she has a solution, she can't save herself.
Here, the imperial power is supreme. If the emperor wants his subjects to die, they have to die.
The woman's fate is unfortunate, and what's worse, she will enter that dark place.
This is also the reason why my grandmother gave the poison without waiting for the imperial edict.
Su Shengsheng held the porcelain bottle tightly, unwilling to think too much.
She raised her eyes to look at her grandmother: "My eldest sister-in-law is pregnant and should not be implicated. It is better to let her go home."
Grandmother's eyes moved slightly, and she sighed, "Bring me some pen and ink."
At this moment, all the maids around my grandmother were sent out. Su Shengsheng stepped forward, rolled up her sleeves and started grinding ink.
The calm and composed demeanor made the old lady slightly stunned. After a while, she said regretfully, "It's hard for you."
"With one more person in the Su family, Brother Heng will have one more person to take care of." Su Shengsheng did not hide it.
Grandma shook her head and sighed, without saying anything, but wrote quickly with her hands.
After her grandmother finished writing, Su Shengsheng bowed again and said, "Grandma, the servants in our house have been with us for many years. It would be better to send them away as well."
Fourth Uncle jumped up and said, "No, what if we make such a commotion and anger the current emperor?"
Su Shengsheng took the divorce letter, handed it to Yunxiang, and signaled her to leave quickly.
"Servants are just servants who change families. There's no difference." After Yunxiang left, she replied, "One more person out means one more guarantee."
It is a serious crime that offends the emperor and brings disaster to the whole family. Even a four-year-old child may be implicated.
It is still unknown which of the women in the family will be able to get out.
"Mother, no! Besides, this will involve the messenger for no reason."
Unable to persuade his grandmother and fearing being implicated, Su Deyong's voice became increasingly sharp.
The noise in the yard had faded away, but the struggle in my grandmother's eyes was still there, my father still had a confused look on his face, and I didn't know when my mother had stopped crying.
Su Shengsheng knew very well that if the new emperor established his authority, his grandfather would suffer if he stepped forward.
At this moment, every decision concerns the survival of the Su family.
Not to mention, several important officials and generals were recently beheaded, and their female relatives were all forced to become prostitutes in music halls.
Far away, there was the Queen Mother and Princess who were held as compensation, which was an indelible shame for the Nanling Kingdom, not to mention the two saints who were captured by the enemy.
Each of them is far more noble than the servants in this mansion, yet she still cares about the safety of the servants at this critical moment.
Even my grandmother looked at me with an unfathomable gaze, "Sheng girl, why don't you find a way out for yourself?"
Su Shengsheng's face was calm. "If possible, I would also pray for the safety of my grandmother and mother."
My grandfather was banished to this place because of the anger of the old emperor, and was lucky enough to escape the fall of the old capital. This time he was directly imprisoned. In the end, living with the emperor is like living with a tiger.
The hall was silent for a moment, and suddenly there was a sound of footsteps coming from the outer courtyard.
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs has been ordered to conduct a search and confiscation. Madam Su and the descendants of the Su family are here to receive the order!"
The voice was high and penetrating, and the mansion suddenly became quiet.
They looked at each other solemnly, trying their best to remain calm.
Later, Su Shengsheng and her mother stood on either side of her grandmother, and her father and fourth uncle followed, going together to receive the imperial edict.
Soldiers in distinctive armor surrounded the courtyard, and a eunuch stood in the center with an expressionless face, holding an imperial edict.
After the initial panic, everyone quickly walked to the courtyard in an orderly manner under the guidance of the servants arranged by the old lady.
The eunuch looked around and showed some approval.
Just as the eunuch was about to read the imperial edict, Li suddenly lost control and rushed towards the eunuch.
"mother……"
This scene caught Su Shengsheng off guard. Shocked, she rushed forward to hold her mother, but was suddenly pushed away by her mother.
"I'm not your mother, and you're not a member of the Su family." There was a look of determination in her words.
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