Knowing she was in the wrong, Yang cried and said, "I confess. Those ideas were indeed mine. Niece, come and hit me."
Su Wan crossed her arms over her chest: "I'm tired of hitting you. Slap yourself. I won't stop until you tell me to."
Yang was initially worried that Su Wan would also make her take off her clothes and whip her with a thorn stick. Seeing that Su Wan had given her face, she quickly raised her hand and began to slap herself. With each slap, she didn't forget to curse herself.
"I'm not human, I deserve to be beaten."
Afraid that she hadn't hit hard enough, Su Wan would use other tricks, so she slapped with all her might. After only a dozen or so slaps, both cheeks were red and swollen.
Su Wan watched indifferently until Yang slapped her so hard she fainted.
Upon seeing this, Su Yue'e rushed over to support Yang Shi, crying, "Cousin, please let us go. My parents did indeed change your marriage, but we didn't get any benefits. Do you know what kind of life I've been living for the past six months?"
Su Wan looked at Su Yue'e, who was pale and thin with disheveled hair, and remained silent.
“Zhao Rongzhang was having a good time outside and contracted syphilis. He asked me to help him get money for treatment… but the dowry chest was full of stones.” Su Yue’e cried and wailed. “He locked me in the woodshed, made me eat cold food and drink cold water, and made me chop wood and start a fire. I also had to wash clothes in ice water… Look at my hands.”
Su Yue'e opened her hands, which were covered in chilblains and had rough skin: "Look at my hands, are these the hands that are supposed to be blessed? What did I get after marrying him? That's not all, he took all our family's money, and we have nothing left."
Meng Ruliu wiped away her tears, stepped forward to help Su Yue'e up, and said to Su Wan, "Sister-in-law, please don't hit her. She's a pitiful person too, she was harmed by that beast Zhao Rongzhang."
She too had been deceived by Zhao Rongzhang's sweet talk and almost fell for it. Seeing Su Yue'e so pitiful, she couldn't help but feel pity for her.
Su Wan nodded: "Sister Yi, help her inside."
She then called over several servants to help Su Heng and Madam Yang up and bring them inside.
Su Yue'e was right. Although she was remarried into the Zhao family of the Marquis's mansion, she didn't enjoy any happiness; instead, she suffered a lot of torment. If everything had gone as planned, she should have been the one to endure this torment. On her wedding day, the Zhao family replaced her dowry with stones, which really put Su Yue'e in a difficult position.
As Su Yue'e's daughter, she wasn't heavily involved in the property dispute between Su Heng and his wife. There was no reason to treat her the same way they treated Su Heng and his wife.
Only one person remained kneeling on the ground in the courtyard.
Yang Yaozu.
Su Wan approached Yang Yaozu and said with a forced smile, "Cousin, why did you give up being a proper eunuch and come back to this poor place, Suiyang County?"
Unlike Su Heng and Yang Shi, who were crying and wailing, Yang Yaozu looked up at her.
“Cousin, after I led my uncle and aunt’s family out of the capital, I planned to pick up my parents on the way. But the Imperial Guard beat me to it and dragged my whole family away and beheaded them. Now, arrest warrants have been posted in every prefecture and county to capture me.”
Su Wan asked in surprise, "What did you do?"
She didn't care that Yang Yaozu was wanted by the authorities. Firstly, Wei Jingzhuo was fighting against the imperial army, which was a much more serious matter. Secondly, the magistrate of Suiyang County was originally sent by Wei Jingzhuo and wouldn't cause trouble at the Su residence.
She was curious as to why Yang Yaozu and his entire family were executed.
Yang Yaozu seemed not to hear her question, muttering, "I'm at my wit's end. My family has been killed, and I can't have any more children. Do you still think my punishment is too lenient, cousin?"
Su Wan frowned, squatted down to face Yang Yaozu, and asked, "Cousin, tell me right now, what exactly happened?"
“The emperor is dead,” Yang Yaozu said in a low voice, “killed by Bai Zhiyi.”
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