Upon seeing Su Heng, Su Wan felt a surge of anger.
When her father was seriously ill, on his deathbed he entrusted her, then thirteen years old, and her five-year-old son, Su Yuze, to his younger brother, Su Heng. At that time, Su Heng showed great responsibility, patting his chest and saying, "Brother, don't worry, as long as I'm here, I won't let my niece and nephew suffer."
Su Heng's wife, Madam Yang, was even more eloquent. She said to her father, "Brother, please take good care of yourself. We'll help you take care of Wan'er and Yuze for now, until you recover..."
The couple had said all the nice things they could think of. But when the father fell seriously ill, they didn't contribute a single tael of silver.
No wonder the steward Zhao Fu always treated Su Heng and his wife coldly; perhaps he had already seen what kind of people they were back then.
Unfortunately, she was only thirteen at the time, and having lived a secluded life, she knew little of the treacherous nature of the outside world, naively believing that Zhao Fu was simply rejecting outsiders. Looking back now, anyone can say nice things. His own brother was sick, and the younger brother didn't contribute a single penny—what kind of person was he?
She once stood by her father's bedside, holding his hand and weeping, saying, "Father, Mother has already passed away. If you leave too, what will my brother and I do?"
Her father no longer had the strength to open his eyes, but could only touch her little face by touch, and said intermittently, "Your second uncle's family will take care of you... He also has the surname Su, he is your family."
Looking back now, I realize my father really misjudged him.
This was probably her father's weakness—he was bad at judging people. Whether it was judging Su Heng and his wife, or choosing a husband for her, he made the wrong choice.
She didn't blame her father; after all, no one is perfect. On the day of her father's funeral, she and her younger brother cried their eyes out. Su Heng and his wife feigned tears, hurriedly finished the funeral arrangements, and rushed back to their room to count money.
Su Heng and Yang Shi were originally doing quite poorly. Su Heng was just a waiter, and he always wanted to use his father's position as the governor of Youzhou to seek personal gain. However, his father was upright and incorruptible, and never agreed to their request. Sometimes, seeing that the couple was poor and destitute, his father would help them out.
After her father passed away, Su Heng and her husband seized all of the Su family's property, ostensibly to take care of her and Su Yuze. Only Zhao Fu refused to relinquish his control over Baohe Hall, and since Su Heng and her husband couldn't obtain the land deeds, they had no choice but to let Zhao Fu have his way.
Think about it, it seems that Su Heng and Yang chose Suiyang County as their home, just in order to seize Baohetang.
She and her younger brother, Su Yuze, followed Su Heng and his wife to Suiyang County. At first, the treatment was decent, and she once thought that Su Heng and his wife would take care of them as promised.
Later on, the fox's true colors were gradually revealed. The comparison was seen through Su Heng's daughter, Su Yue'e.
Su Yuze was only five years old then and didn't understand much, but she could see it. She noticed that Su Yue'e's clothes were better than hers, her food was better, and her belongings were better. During holidays, Su Yue'e received gifts, but she didn't, and neither did Su Yuze.
If Su Heng and his wife used their own money to support Su Yue'e, she wouldn't have any objections. However, after Su Heng received his father's estate, he had no additional income. In other words, Su Heng and Yang Shi had been using their father's assets to support their family's extravagant spending.
Later, her treatment worsened. Sometimes they would even forget to feed her and Su Yuze. In winter, if she didn't ask for a charcoal brazier, Su Heng and his wife wouldn't even remember to give her one. In summer, Su Yue'e could drink iced juice, but she had to fetch water from the well herself.
She had considered resisting, but she was a weak woman, and her younger brother was so young. She could only swallow her anger and live under the tyranny of Su Heng and his wife.
This went on for three years. When the Zhao family in the capital learned that she had come of age, they came to discuss marriage arrangements. She thought she could finally escape her misery, but to her surprise, Su Heng and his wife came up with the idea of a marriage exchange.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they're rotten to the core.
As Su Wan recalled the past, she couldn't help but clench her fists, her eyes filled with hatred.
Chu Yi glanced sideways and saw her staring at the sedan chair, her gaze filled with hatred. Somewhat puzzled, he looked in the direction of the sedan chair and whispered, "Are you angry?"
Su Wan shook her head and hid behind Chu Yi.
She had already said she would play the mute, so naturally she had to see it through. Besides, Su Heng was coming over soon, and she was worried that if she opened her mouth, Su Heng would find out.
She was disguised as a man, so people who didn't know her wouldn't recognize her. Su Heng, however, might recognize her, so she had to be careful to hide.
Seeing that she hid behind him, and considering her expression just now, Chu Yi roughly understood what was going on and looked at the approaching sedan chair.
As the sedan chair came to a stop in the distance, Ge Fanghai, the magistrate of Suiyang County, stepped down from the chair before the bearers could lift the curtain. He clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to Chu Yi from afar, saying, "Your Highness has arrived. I am truly sorry for failing to greet you properly."
Su Heng, with a fawning smile, bowed before Ge Fanghai and greeted Chu Yi with a deep bow: "This humble servant greets Your Highness."
Chu Yi said with a stern face, "Kneel down."
Ge Fanghai was taken aback at first, then immediately realized that Chu Yi was angry.
He didn't think the fault lay with him. Chu Yi was supposed to arrive tomorrow morning as agreed. However, he only obtained this county magistrate position through the secret support of the Southern Chu royal family. Chu Yi was the most outstanding among the Southern Chu princes, and becoming the next emperor was almost a certainty; he couldn't afford to offend him.
As soon as Chu Yi finished speaking, he knelt down in the most standard posture, placed his hands on the ground, and touched his forehead to the ground, saying, "This humble official has failed to greet you properly. Please calm your anger, Your Highness."
Su Heng wasn't stupid either. Seeing that Ge Fanghai had knelt down, he followed suit and knelt down with a thud. The sedan chair bearers and yamen runners also knelt down in a rush.
Seeing Su Heng kneel down, Su Wan suddenly felt a surge of courage and stepped out from behind Chu Yi. She went up to Su Heng, bent down, raised her hand, and slapped Su Heng across the face.
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