The open space in front of the main hall of the Su family mansion in Suiyang County.
Su Heng, Yang Shi, Su Yue'e, and Yang Yaozu knelt in a row on the cold ground.
After they returned, Zhao Fu arranged for them to stay in the woodshed. Although the room was cold, dusty, and the food was poor, it was much better than the fear they had endured on the road. Upon learning that Su Wan was coming back, the four of them obediently knelt down in the open courtyard, anxiously awaiting Su Wan's judgment.
The maids of the Su family stood in the corridor, watching curiously and whispering among themselves.
The man asked, "Is that Su Heng... the original owner of this house?"
The man said, "Don't talk nonsense. I heard from Sister Xiao Zhao that they squandered the property left by the mistress's parents to buy the house. The mistress is just taking back the property that originally belonged to her."
"I heard that their family treated the mistress very badly. They not only mistreated her for three years, but also changed her marriage."
"Exactly! They still have the nerve to come back. The mistress must punish these heartless bastards severely."
The maids chattered incessantly, and Lu Zhao grew impatient, shouting down the corridor, "Have you no manners? Shut up! When the mistress returns, you'll all be punished by sweeping the roof!"
Granny Cui glanced at Su Heng and his wife with disdain, then walked into the corridor and called out, "Go get to work, stop gossiping here."
She remembered clearly how Su Heng and Madam Yang treated her on the day of her marriage. She had originally thought that it would be satisfying for her to reclaim the mansion and drive them away, but she never expected that this family would dare to come back.
Since they've delivered themselves to our doorstep, they can't blame the mistress for being ruthless.
That so-called "divine water for the legitimate wife" should be splashed on the faces of all four of them.
"The mistress is back! The mistress is back!" Lu Lin shouted as he ran into the courtyard. "The carriage is already parked at the gate."
Upon hearing Lu Lin's call, Zhao Fu walked out of the hall with a joyful expression and said to Lu Zhao and Granny Cui, "Quickly, let's go out and greet him together."
They hurried to the main entrance, where Su Wan and Meng Ruliu had already walked in together.
Zhao Fu stepped forward and bowed to Su Wanshen, saying, "Miss, you're back."
Unlike Cui Mama and the Lu siblings, who addressed Su Wan as "Mistress," he had watched Su Wan grow up and had a deeper affection for her, always calling her "Miss Su Wan" out of habit.
Su Wan stopped and looked at his foot. Zhao Fu's ankle had almost healed, and he no longer needed crutches.
She was very satisfied and smiled, "Uncle Zhao, you can walk normally now."
“It’s all thanks to your excellent medical skills, Miss,” Zhao Fu said gratefully. “I never thought I would be able to live without crutches in this lifetime.”
“It’s what I should do. Remember not to carry heavy things and eat more nutritious food,” Su Wan said as she walked inside. “It will be completely healed in a while.”
Lu Zhao followed beside her and said, "Mistress, they are waiting for your judgment in the courtyard."
Su Wan nodded and said to Meng Ruliu, "Sister-in-law, you go and rest in the living room first. I'll go deal with these heartless bastards and come right back."
Meng Ruliu said, "Sister-in-law, you're too weak. Why don't I fight for you?"
Su Wan shook her head and said, "If you fight them, they'll just die. Let me do it."
Su Heng and the others trembled with fear upon hearing her voice, but dared not turn around for fear that any action might provoke Su Wan to anger even more.
Su Wan walked up to Su Heng first and said coldly, "Su Heng, what did you say at my father's bedside?"
Su Heng knelt there shirtless, with several brambles beside him. His face was blue from the cold of the dead of winter, and his teeth were chattering. He picked up a bramble with both hands and said, “Niece, I know I treated you badly back then. I broke my promise. You can hit and scold me as you please, as long as it makes you feel better.”
Without a word, Su Wan picked up a thorny branch and lashed it hard across Su Heng's back. Su Heng screamed in pain, and a bloody welt immediately appeared on his back.
"Hit me, keep hitting me," Su Heng said, lying on the ground. "I am guilty of a grave sin and am willing to accept the punishment."
Su Wan gritted her teeth and lashed out again, adding another bloody gash to Su Heng's back. This time, the thorns on the brambles tore through his skin, and blood flowed down his back.
Su Heng's lips turned white, but he still tried to speak. Su Wan whipped him on the back several times with a thorny branch, breaking the branch in the process.
Lu Zhao picked up another bramble and handed it to Su Wan.
Su Wan took the whip and continued to whip him. She whipped him dozens more times, breaking several of the thorns, leaving Su Heng's back covered in crisscrossing bloody welts. Unable to bear the pain any longer, he collapsed to the ground, howling, tears and snot streaming down his face, a truly wretched sight.
The maids watching from the sidelines were all dumbfounded.
Don't let the mistress's frail appearance fool you; she can be quite ruthless when she whips someone. Su Heng, a grown man, was whipped into this state.
Only Meng Ruliu shook her head, saying, "Sister-in-law, it's definitely better if I do it."
Su Wan dropped the brambles, stretched her aching arms, and went to stand before Madam Yang.
When Yang saw Su Heng rolling on the ground, covered in blood, she was so frightened that her voice changed. She clasped her hands together and pleaded, "Niece, I am still your aunt, please spare me. It was Su Heng who first brought up the idea of a marriage exchange."
Upon hearing this, Su Heng's face turned red with anger, and he pointed at Yang Shi, trembling all over: "You...you woman, you're still trying to shirk responsibility! It was clearly you who brought it up! If you don't admit your mistake, do you want to go out and die?"
Su Wan said to Madam Yang, "Not only did you change the marriage arrangements, but you also used despicable means to harm me because I refused to obey you."
In the days leading up to her wedding, fearing she would run away, Yang gave her medicine every day. Later, she even allowed Yang Yaozu to come and attempt to humiliate her; these debts must be settled. Taking back the house is merely taking back her father's property; the subsequent punishment is true retribution for Yang's evil deeds.
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