Chapter 17 Birthmark 2 She wants these people to pay with blood
That day, Xie Wuhen did not return home all night.
But he sent Wu Sheng back to report: "The chief has taken people out of the city to arrest the suspect. He may not be back for a while, so he asked me to tell the young lady."
Su He replied: "No problem, just ask the adults to pay attention to safety."
The next day, Xie Wuhen did not come back either.
Without him coming back, Su He had some peace and quiet, basking in the sun and reading storybooks in Chunhua Courtyard.
During this period, Su He also went to the main courtyard to pay his respects to Xu Nanzhi.
At that time, Xu Nanzhi had just gotten up and was leaning against the couch to wash up. She looked depressed and sick, and there was a faint smell of medicine lingering in the room.
After paying her respects, Su He asked about her health.
Xu Nanzhi sighed: "My body has been up and down for many years. It's no big deal."
He added, "We are family, so there's no need to be so formal. From now on, you won't have to come here every day to pay your respects. If you have that time, you'd better get more sleep and spend more time with Ziyu."
Nanny Han next to her continued the conversation: "Old Madam, are you looking forward to having a grandson soon?"
Xu Nanzhi glanced at her sideways: "You are old, but you are still so outspoken."
Nanny Han smiled so hard that her teeth showed, "It seems that I guessed it right."
Su He felt embarrassed and could only smile along.
Xu Nanzhi then brought up the tea ceremony in the main hall: "Don't take it to heart. Every family has its ups and downs, but life goes on as usual, doesn't it?"
Then he called out "Mei Zi" again.
The girl named Meizi came into the room and asked, "What do you want, old lady?"
"From today on, you will go to Chunhua Court to serve. The young mistress has just arrived and is unfamiliar with the people and things in the mansion. You can help her out more so that she can save some of her energy."
Mei Zi replied respectfully, "Yes."
Xu Nanzhi then said to Su He, "Meizi is Nanny Han's niece. She was raised by Nanny Han and is well-behaved. You can ask her for anything you need."
Su He also responded respectfully, "Yes."
But she was wondering in her heart, does this old lady want to give her a helper, or does she want to place a spy around her?
Having been a slave for many years, she was accustomed to seeing the women in the inner house planting servants to spy on each other and gossip about each other.
Even the deceased Li Shuli had found out the spies planted by He Manyun in Yixiangyuan.
But now she couldn't refuse, so she had to take Mei Zi back to Chunhuayuan.
The third day after the marriage is the day when the woman returns home.
The Xie family had already prepared the return gifts, just waiting for Xie Wuhen to come back.
Su He thought that if Xie Wuhen didn't come back, she would be too lazy to go back.
It is better to have less trouble than more. If I don’t go back, I won’t have to face Li Jianye.
But Xie Wuhen still came back at dawn.
Su He was still sleeping at that time. When he woke up, he found someone lying on the soft couch in the room.
She hurriedly sat up and asked, "Why don't you come to sleep on the bed, my husband?"
Xie Wuhen also sat up when he heard the sound: "I was afraid of waking my wife, but I didn't expect that my wife would wake up anyway."
Su He got out of bed, put on his clothes, and lit the candle.
Under the orange firelight, he was dressed in a black suit, overflowing with a murderous aura, but his face was gentle and there was fatigue in his brows, obviously he had rushed back in a hurry.
Su He said, "It's still early, my husband, please go to bed and rest for a while."
He glanced at the sky outside the window and said, "Okay, I'll go wash up first." Then he lifted his long legs and turned to go into the bathroom.
When he came out after washing, he had changed into a set of middle-length clothes. His face was as handsome as jade and his eyes were as bright as stars. It was obvious that he had washed away all his fatigue.
Su He was about to put out the candle, but he held her back: "I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep for a while, my lady, there's no need to turn off the light."
Then he pulled her onto the bed and said, "I'll hold you and lie down for a while."
His tone was gentle and his eyes were especially gentle.
Su He obeyed him and lay in his arms.
This was their second physical contact since their wedding night. She felt his hot breath and his changed body.
This man is really "on the verge of exploding"!
She wanted to avoid him, but she couldn't. "Husband... this moment is really..."
He lowered his eyes to look at her, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "Don't worry, my lady, I can bear it."
Since he knew he had to endure it, why did he still hold her like this? She couldn't understand.
Su He made small talk: "Is your husband's official business going smoothly?"
"No matter whether it goes well or not, I can't delay my wife's return home."
He let go of her, got up from the bed, and took out a glass bottle. "This is a gift for my wife."
Su He took the glass bottle and shook it: "What's in it?"
He smiled slightly, a beautiful slant at the corner of his mouth: "This time when I went out of the city and saw a peony garden, I specially asked someone to collect this bottle of flower dew."
Su He paused: "Flower dew?"
"My lady, don't you like to use flower dew to make tea? Remember when we first met in the plum forest outside the city, you fell while trying to collect flower dew?" He said, stroking her hair gently. "From now on, let me handle such tedious tasks for you."
Su He's mind suddenly flashed back to the rainy night several months ago - the rainy night when he buried Li Shuli's body, and the lie she told him.
She couldn't help but feel her chest sink, and was speechless for a moment.
He asked, "Why, my lady doesn't like it?"
She paused, then quickly replied, "I like it. Thank you, husband."
Seeing her happy, he was also happy, and his smiling eyes seemed to be filled with deep affection.
She didn't know whether the affection was real or not, perhaps it was just because of a responsibility - a promise to "treat her well".
If he knew that the wife he married was just his wife's maid, and was the murderer of his wife, would he still rush back to accompany her to her parents' home in such a hurry? Would he still take such great pains to collect flower dew for her?
Definitely not, Su He thought!
Then, she would become a suspect for him to catch, and perhaps even die at his hands.
Thinking of this, she felt a chill on her back, and her mood, which had been relaxed for two days, couldn't help but become tense!
At this time, Xie Wuhen had already placed the flower dew on the antique shelf and turned back to the bed.
When I looked up, I accidentally caught a glimpse of a booklet on the bedside. The word "Slave" was written on the blue cover.
He took it and flipped through it, "What kind of book is this?"
She replied: "It's just an ordinary book."
"What's in it?"
"A slave's story."
He paused, "My lady is now the distinguished young lady of the Xie family. Why do you want to read the story of a servant?"
She answered calmly: "We are all born as human beings, why can't we see?"
He thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense."
She said casually, "If my husband is interested, he can take a look at it in his spare time."
He put the storybook back to its original place and said, "I won't read the stories that girls like."
After all, he came from a prominent family, so naturally he wouldn't be interested in the story of a slave, she thought.
She replied lightly, "Oh."
The two of them snuggled in bed until dawn, and then the servants helped them wash and eat. After everything was ready, they got on the carriage and went to Li's house.
Today happens to be the Shangsi Festival, and the streets are crowded with people.
The carriage squeezed in and out of the crowd and could not travel more than a mile in half an hour.
Xie Wuhen ordered the driver Wu Sheng, "Change the route and go around from Chengnan Street."
Wu Sheng replied "yes", turned the car around quickly, drove through a long and narrow alley, and turned onto the intersection of Chengnan Street.
Compared with Jinling Street just now, Chengnan Street is indeed much quieter.
Wu Sheng waved the whip and drove at full speed.
But before they had gone a hundred meters, the horse suddenly neighed and the carriage came to an abrupt stop.
Su He in the carriage couldn't withstand the force of the vehicle's inertia, and her body suddenly jumped forward. Seeing that she was about to be thrown out of the carriage, Xie Wuhen hurriedly stood up and hugged her.
The two of them managed to stand firmly at the door of the carriage, it was a close call.
He asked, "Are you okay?"
She was still in shock and shook her head and said "It's okay".
He helped her back into the car, then lifted the curtain and asked, "What happened?"
Wu Sheng replied, "Boss, someone scared our horses."
The person who frightened the horse was a boy about ten years old. He was in tattered clothes and covered with wounds. He was lying on the open space in front of the car, shivering.
He was not injured by the horse, but seemed to have been severely beaten by someone.
Wu Sheng jumped out of the carriage and stepped forward, shouting, "How can you walk like that, little kid? Are you trying to save your life? Didn't you see the Xie Mansion's carriage?"
The boy's face was filled with fear and he didn't know what to do. He could only prostrate himself and kowtow.
At this moment, a burly man came running from the other side of the road, holding a wooden stick, cursing as he ran: "You little bastard, if you have the guts, don't run away. If you have the guts, I'll stick you a few more times."
When the boy saw the big man appear, he quickly knelt down and hid behind Wu Sheng, begging in a low voice: "Brother, save me, save me."
At this time, Xie Wuhen and Su He also got off the carriage.
As soon as he got off the car, Su He saw the imposing mansion across the street. The gate was towering, the stone lions at the door were lifelike, and the words "Du Mansion" were written above the lintel.
Her breath hitched, and her fists clenched tightly between her sleeves.
This was where she had lived, and it was also where her father and mother had died.
Childhood memories suddenly came flooding back like a flood.
At this time, Zhang Xiuhua, who was sitting on the side of the car, also got off the car. After seeing the words "Du Mansion", she walked to Su He's side and called her "Miss" with concern.
Su He replied: "I'm fine."
Obviously, after so many years, the Du Mansion is no longer what it used to be.
Zhang Xiuhua murmured helplessly, "God is truly blind. The Du family, who aided and abetted the evil, is now prospering even more."
Su He tried to calm himself down.
Then he whispered, "Don't worry, auntie, they will be in trouble soon."
At this time, Xie Wuhen was checking the boy's injuries. After checking, he asked the big man: "Did you beat him up?"
The large man looked at the imposing man in black before him, then caught a glimpse of the Xie family crest on the carriage. He was certain this man was the renowned Shaoqing, and his arrogance instantly subsided. "Your Excellency, I beat him up. I beat him up because... he stole money from the Du family master."
The boy immediately retorted: "Sir, I didn't steal. It was the master of the Du family who framed my father for stealing the Du family's money. He beat my father half to death and dragged him back home. The next day, my father died from his injuries. I wanted to go to the master of the Du family to seek justice, but I was beaten out by these people." After he said that, he began to cry.
The big man got anxious when he heard this: "You little bastard, if you keep talking nonsense, I will cut off your tongue right now."
"Whether it's nonsense or not will be known once we investigate." Xie Wuhen said in a deep voice: "Also, if you dare to cut off someone's tongue wantonly, according to the Liang Law Commentary, you will be punished with flogging or a year in prison."
When the big man heard that he was going to be sentenced, he knew that this matter could not be made a big deal, so he cursed, "Today, I will let it go for the sake of this gentleman. You little bastard, remember this, don't let me see you again." After that, he turned around and walked back with the wooden stick. When he reached the gate of the Du Mansion, he arrogantly spat in this side, and then walked into the gate.
Su He stepped forward, walked to the boy's side, squatted down and asked, "What's your name?"
The boy choked up and replied, "Madam, my name is Chen Ah Si."
"What is the relationship between your father and the master of the Du family?"
"My father is the accountant of the Du family."
It turned out to be another servant of the Du family!
So many years have passed, and the Du family is still the Du family that takes lives!
Su He felt an indescribable pain in his chest. After a moment, he asked again, "Has your father been buried now?"
Ah Si nodded: "The neighbors helped with the burial."
"Where's your mother?"
"My mother...died shortly after giving birth to me."
"So where are you going now?"
Ah Si started to cry, "I have nowhere to go."
At a young age, both his parents died, he was left with little food and clothing, and no place to go.
This is so similar to Soho in my childhood.
She thought for a moment, then stood up and walked to Xie Wuhen's side, hesitantly speaking, "Husband, I... have an idea."
He looked at her meaningfully and guessed correctly, "Want to take in this Chen Ah Si?"
She asked, "What do you think, my husband?"
He smiled, and when he smiled, the corners of his mouth formed a beautiful slant line, and his eyes were full of warmth: "My wife is kind and righteous, and I support your decision."
She felt relieved and said solemnly, "Thank you, husband."
Afterwards, Wu Sheng asked someone to send Ah Si back to Xie's house.
Several people continued to get on the carriage and head to Li's house.
In the carriage, Su He asked tentatively, "The master of the Du family killed Ah Si's father. Your husband is the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple. Can you seek justice for Ah Si?"
If she could use Xie Wuhen's power to sentence Du Yuting to death, she would have avenged her great hatred.
Xie Wuhen refused flatly, "No."
"Why?"
Xie Wuhen said solemnly, "You just heard it. Ah Si's father was a servant of the Du family. According to the Liang Dynasty Law Commentary, if a master accidentally kills a slave, he is not guilty. Even if a master kills a slave intentionally, he will only be punished with 100 strokes of the cane. Given the Du family's financial resources, they can afford this '100 strokes of the cane' with a few dozen taels of silver. But on the other hand, if the master is not guilty of the ten heinous crimes, the slave will only die if he sues him. So, not only will Ah Si fail to bring the case against the Du family master, he may even lose his life."
The scene of his mother being murdered suddenly emerged in Su He's mind.
The murderer stood on the platform, knife in hand, and shouted, "Slave, I will die if I tell my master."
The word "die" was like a sharp knife piercing her chest.
She murmured softly, "Are slaves no longer human beings?"
"In the Liang Code, slaves did not have personal rights, property rights, or the right to sue."
She looked up at him and said, "Husband, don't you think there's something wrong with this law?"
He asked in return: "So what if there are problems?"
“If there’s a problem, it needs to be corrected.”
“Who will change it?”
"Can't my husband change it?"
He smiled helplessly, "You think your husband is too capable."
Finally, he sighed deeply, "Changes to a nation's laws can't be decided by just one or two people. They must be discussed, drafted, and approved by multiple departments. More importantly, they must be approved by the Emperor. Everyone involved is of noble status and prominent position, and they have a large number of slaves serving them. Do you think they would fight for their slaves' right to revolt?"
Su He lowered his head and fell silent, but his hands in his sleeves clenched again.
Sure enough, there is no justice in this world.
The life of a slave is as worthless as a dog!
Since there is no justice, then she will be the King of Hell.
Since there is no judge, she will become a sharp blade!
She wanted to make these people pay for their blood debt with blood, and everything would start with the Du family.
At the Li family's front door, Li Jianye was already waiting at the gate...
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