Chapter 2: Forcing her to shut up, you slut!
A chill ran down her neck, and Su Xiaotang's face turned deathly pale. She quickly covered her Adam's apple with her hands, crying out, "No, please, please..."
"Second brother, are you shouting so loudly to attract everyone's attention so they can see how shameless you are in seducing your own sister?"
The familiar voice made Su Xiaotang freeze.
He turned around in a daze and saw a furious face grinning as it reached out towards his chest.
With a tearing sound, Su Xiaotang's outer garment was ripped, revealing a light red bodice underneath, and two pointed nipples protruding from the thin fabric.
Su Yutang's eyes widened at the sight of her fair, smooth skin. He was about to touch and fondle her when he heard Su Xiaotang crying incessantly. Excited but also afraid of attracting attention, he slapped her hard across the face. "You slut, shut up!"
She showed no mercy whatsoever, slapping Su Xiaotang with all her might, causing her head to tilt to the side, her fair cheek to swell up high, and her lips to slap her pearly teeth, leaving a bloody cut that looked as bright as if it had been painted with rouge.
Su Xiaotang saw stars from the slap, writhing in pain, and her whimpers instantly subsided. Looking down at the pitiful state of the person beneath him, Su Yutang felt even more excited and was about to pull down his underpants—
Smash!
A crisp sound of porcelain breaking.
Su Xiaotang laboriously pushed over the small table beside the bed, and the glass lamp on it fell to the ground and shattered. The servant sweeping the courtyard heard the noise, pushed open the door, and asked in confusion, "Second Master—"
Before he could finish speaking, he stopped in surprise—the servant stared blankly at the two people intertwined in the room.
"Save me!" Su Xiaotang cried out in anguish, her eyes filled with tears.
"Eunuch Li!" The servant was so frightened that he turned and ran away, shouting.
Upon hearing the commotion, Eunuch Li rushed over and, together with the servant, pulled Su Yutang away. He then draped an outer garment over the trembling Su Xiaotang before glaring at her and scolding, "Third Miss, how can you face the Master and Young Master Han with such an immoral act?!"
Seeing the prize slip away, Su Yutang was already burning with rage and unsatisfied. However, since Eunuch Li was his mother's wet nurse, he had to give him face. So he had no choice but to suppress his desire and said nonchalantly, "Then Eunuch, please report to Mother the truth."
Anyway, she is her mother's only daughter. Not to mention a mere Su Xiaotang, the entire Su family will be hers in the future. What does she have to be afraid of?
Fifteen minutes later, everyone gathered in the hall.
Upon seeing Su Xiaotang's swollen and shiny face, Su Aoshuang, sitting at the head of the table, couldn't bear it and looked away, sternly glaring at Su Yutang—"Did you do this?"
Although Su Yutang had mentally prepared herself, Su Aoshuang had been navigating the treacherous waters of officialdom for years, rising to the rank of third grade, and serving the emperor for a long time. Her power and influence were far beyond what Su Yutang could withstand. A single glance from her sent shivers down her spine, and she hastily knelt down, pleading, "Mother, please understand! It was my second brother who undressed in front of me, and I had a small drink at noon, so I couldn't recognize him and mistook him for one of my servants..."
Seeing this, Han Hui hurriedly knelt down and said, "You know Yu'er's character all too well, how could she do such an immoral thing! It must be that Su Xiaotang is shameless and, having failed to seduce her, is now trying to ruin Yu'er's reputation..."
"You're talking nonsense!" Su Xiaotang trembled with anger. "Third sister, when have I ever undressed in front of you? It's you who came to my courtyard in broad daylight and... you know..."
When he recalled being pinned to the bed by the strong and powerful Su Yutang, crying out to heaven and earth in vain, the gauze covering his Adam's apple torn to shreds, and his body exposed to her, he felt despair and cried out in fear.
"Shut up, all of you!"
Su Yutang glanced at his mother's face and, seeing that things were not going well, tried to argue, but was stunned by Su Aoshuang's heavy slap on the armrest.
Su Aoshuang said in a deep voice, "Su Yutang, go to the ancestral hall right now and kneel down so that our ancestors can hear what you have done!"
"Mother!" Su Yutang exclaimed in disbelief, "How could you—"
Snap!
Su Aoshuang strode forward and slapped Su Yutang to the ground. Looking down at him, she glared angrily and said, "Why aren't you going yet?"
"My lady! Yu'er is still young; she's just temporarily bewitched—ah!"
Han Hui quickly crawled forward to take Su Aoshuang's hand, which was hanging by her side, but Su Aoshuang shook her off fiercely. "You have not disciplined your son properly. You are confined for three months. You don't need to take your allowance for those three months."
Upon hearing this, Han Hui collapsed to the ground, her face ashen, and she couldn't help but sob.
Su Yiyi and Xin Yaning watched the whole thing without saying a word. Now that the dust had settled, seeing Su Yutang being dragged out by several old women and Han Hui crying incessantly, the two remained outwardly calm, but inwardly they were secretly anticipating a good show.
When people in the capital talk about men, they always compare brothers from the same family. If the news spread that Su Xiaotang seduced her younger sister and lost her virginity, wouldn't that make Su Yiyi seem even more pure and innocent?
What a brilliant idea to kill two birds with one stone! Xin Yaning thought it was perfect, but then she heard Su Aoshuang, who was about to leave, say coldly to her, "We are all in this together, sharing both glory and ruin. Don't let a word of what happened today leak out. If I hear even the slightest whisper of it outside, you'll be kneeling in the ancestral hall too."
Xin Yaning hurriedly curtsied, "This servant understands."
...
Back in the courtyard, Eunuch Li first had someone prepare hot water for Su Xiaotang to bathe. While changing his clothes, his gaze seemingly casually brushed over his smooth, flat abdomen, and seeing that the bright red mark of virginity was still perfectly preserved on his skin, he was finally relieved.
Alas, what a poor child, her father died young, and her mother doesn't love her. Although the head of the family has sought justice for her today, the Third Miss has committed such a grave mistake, yet in the end she is only punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall. The difference in severity is obvious.
He could only hope that the head of the family would find him a good family to marry into, so that he could escape this dangerous place as soon as possible.
In the past, Su Xiaotang disliked having servants serve her when she bathed, but today she was terrified and had a servant named Xiao Lü wipe her body.
Steam rose and water gurgled. Xiao Lü held a handkerchief and gently wiped the palm-shaped bruise on Su Xiaotang's waist, saying with heartache, "Young Master's skin is so fair, yet even the slightest mark is so obvious. It looks quite frightening."
Family scandals should not be aired in public, but Xiao Lü was the servant who was drawn there by the sound of shattering glass. As a servant, he dared not speak ill of his master, but it was understandable that he felt sorry for his master.
Su Xiaotang looked listless, slumped over the edge of the bathtub, and said only, "I'll apply some medicine in a bit."
Despite his usual naivety, when the time comes to see the light, he understands perfectly well that his mother's punishment of his third sister is merely a matter of raising the issue high and then letting it go lightly.
Both born out of wedlock, yet they suffer so much humiliation simply because they bore an extra child…
He misses his father.
Su Xiaotang's eyes stung, her lips trembled, and she felt like crying again.
...
In late spring, March, the palace held a flower-viewing banquet as usual.
It was ostensibly a flower appreciation event, but in reality, it was an appreciation of the beautiful, wealthy men from noble families.
As a son born out of wedlock, Su Xiaotang was naturally not qualified to go; her mother always only brought her legal father and eldest brother.
Fortunately, Eunuch Li had also gone to the palace, and Han Langjun and his third sister were under house arrest. Su Xiaotang considered herself the eldest son of the household and that no one would bother her, so she stuffed two steamed buns into her chest, dressed up as a woman, and went out happily.
There is a restaurant in the capital called "Wanqian" – look at that name, it clearly says "I want to make money" on its face!
However, despite its audacious name, the food here truly deserves the description "a plate of delicacies worth ten thousand coins."
So Su Xiaotang used her savings from half a year's salary as tuition to become an apprentice to a head chef in the restaurant.
He has a well-thought-out plan for his future: since he's going to open a food stall, he must have culinary skills to rely on!
But the head cook, who knew his true identity, didn't think so—"You come from a wealthy family. Although you are born out of wedlock, your mother holds such a high-ranking position that she will definitely arrange a good marriage for you in the future. With a wife to support you, why bother suffering in the smoke and fire?"
Upon hearing the words "wife master," Su Xiaotang blushed. He lowered his head, his slender white fingers twisting the hem of his clothes, and stammered, "That's still just a pipe dream... I wanted to learn it myself."
His voice was barely audible, so the head cook had to lean close, bend down, and put her ear right next to his mouth to hear what he was saying. Upon hearing this, she smiled knowingly and said, "That's true. To win a woman's heart, you must first win her stomach. You may not seem very clever, but you have a long-term vision. It's this old woman who's so short-sighted."
One sentence made Su Xiaotang's face turn even redder, her delicate, porcelain-white face appearing as if it had been painted with pink.
He returned home at dusk that day, and as he passed the main courtyard, he heard a sharp, piercing cry coming from inside: "I don't want to marry him! Mother, Father, how can you bear to see me enter that den of wolves and tigers! His Highness Prince Rui is cruel by nature; who knows when I will be beheaded..."
A note from the author:
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Today's second update is a [firework] update!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
