Chapter 2: Not Punished Enough?
In the main hall.
Grandmother Mu Yan sat at the head of the table, and all the aunts and cousins from the second and third rooms were present.
He secretly looked at Su Rui, with a mixture of contempt, curiosity and suspicion in his eyes.
Su Rui acted as if she had not seen anyone step into the hall. She bowed politely, as if she was still the lady from a noble family.
"Now that you're back, you must behave properly from now on and not bring disgrace to the Marquisate." Grandmother, with a sullen face, gave a cold warning before asking the Marquis's wife, who had followed in, "Is her yard tidied?"
Madam Liang smiled and replied, "Changchun Courtyard has been cleaned up."
Changchunyuan has a nice name, but it is the worst courtyard in the mansion.
Because the night-fragrant grass and sewage flowed through the wall and spilled onto the ground, nourishing the flowers and plants, making them bloom better than those in other places, it was named Changchun Courtyard.
The land that no one wanted to go to was given to Su Rui, but no one felt it was inappropriate.
"I used to live in Chaoyang Courtyard."
That was the courtyard that Su Rui's mother specially built for her after she was born. It was large in area and had many houses, connecting east and west. It was second only to her grandmother's courtyard. The word "Chaoyang" was also carved by her mother.
It's hers.
Madam Liang approached her with a smile and said softly, "Rui'er, that was in the past. Now... you are not suitable to live there."
"I'm the daughter of the Marquis's family, so I'm not suitable? Who is?" Su Rui asked loudly in surprise, her eyes glancing at Zhou Yao behind her. "Could it be that my cousin is suitable?"
Everyone's expression froze.
cousin.
In the mansion, Zhou Yao has always been called the second lady. People have long forgotten that she is the daughter brought by the Marquis's wife Liang, and has not changed her surname to be included in the family tree. She is still the daughter of the Zhou family.
And now, Zhou Yao indeed lives in Chaoyang Courtyard.
It would be fine if Su Rui didn't come back, but after she came back, they didn't let her live with them, but instead asked an outsider to live with them. This seems really unreasonable.
The Marquis's wife sneered, "Your sister has been in poor health since she was a child. You know that Chaoyang Courtyard is a blessed place. Your sister has gotten much better since she moved in. When she gets better, then..."
"I have not been in good health in recent years. Since this is a blessed land, you should let me take care of myself." Su Rui interrupted with a smile.
The Marquis's wife had not expected that after being a slave for several years, Su Rui had become so sharp-tongued. She no longer agreed with her and could only look at the old lady in embarrassment.
A person who has been a military slave will still have a stain on her even if she regains her status as the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's mansion. Living in Chaoyang Courtyard is to make this stain public. The old lady cares most about the glory of the Marquis's mansion and will not agree to it.
But before the old lady could say anything, Su Ye rushed in like a gust of wind, pushed Su Rui aside and shouted angrily: "Mother came back for you and cleaned up the yard inside and out, just so that you could have a place to live, and you still picked it! Do you still think you are the eldest daughter you used to be? Don't forget who you are now!"
Su Ye had been holding it in for most of the day, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He came back and wanted to say something to Su Rui in private, but he didn't expect to see Su Rui forcing his mother and Yao'er.
Zhou Yao, who had been silent the whole time, reached out and grabbed Su Ye's hand, shaking her head with tears in her eyes and said, "Brother, don't talk about me like that. That yard was originally my yard. I gave it back to me... cough... cough cough."
"That's your yard, why return it?" Su Ye held Zhou Yao's cold hand, feeling even more distressed. "Besides, she was once a military slave, how could she be the same as before?"
After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.
Madam Liang exclaimed, "Ye'er! How could you poke your sister in such a sore spot!"
She was still in pain? Then what did the ridicule and contempt he suffered outside today mean? It was all brought to him by her when she came back!
"That's the truth. She was shameless in the beginning, which led her to harm others and herself. Now that she's back, she still doesn't know how to restrain herself. I don't think the punishment is enough."
Not enough punishment?
Five years of slavery, suffering torture, and dying in a foreign land is not enough punishment?
"You still haven't figured out who was shameless back then." Su Rui looked over with eyes as cold as a knife, thinking she was looking at Su Ye, but Zhou Yao, who was protected behind him, felt that it was herself he was staring at.
Before Zhou Yao could get alarmed, Su Rui raised his hand and gently patted the spot where Su Ye had just pushed him. He said, "Forget it. Since there's no place for me to stay in the Marquis' Mansion now, there are many inns in Shengjing City. I'll go find one myself. Tomorrow morning, someone from the palace will take me to the Fahua Temple. I won't talk about the past any more."
After saying that, Su Rui bowed to his grandmother who was standing in front of him and turned to leave.
Grandma's face suddenly changed.
She is going to Fahua Temple tomorrow morning?
The emperor had just restored her status as the legitimate daughter of the marquis's mansion, but she left the mansion and stayed in an inn. If this news is reported back to the palace tomorrow, wouldn't the emperor think that the marquis's mansion is dissatisfied with the emperor's order?
Mrs. Hou didn't expect that Su Rui would go to Fahua Temple tomorrow, and she had never heard about it at all.
Is she deliberately concealing it?
The chess game was just one step away. The Marquis' wife wanted to speak up to stop it, but she was still a step too late.
"Chaoyang Courtyard originally belonged to Rui'er and the old family. Tell them to vacate it as soon as possible."
"Grandma, Yao'er..."
Su Ye wanted to say something, but his grandmother didn't give him a chance and stood up and left.
Seeing the tears in Zhou Yao's eyes falling, Su Ye turned around angrily and wanted to look for Su Rui, but there was no one there.
The yard was not vacated until nightfall.
Su Ye walked out with Zhou Yao, holding the last makeup box. He stared at Su Rui at the gate and said angrily, "In just a few years, you've become so intolerant!"
"If taking back your own things is considered intolerant, then brother should go back to school and study hard." Su Rui looked forward and walked into the yard.
"You..." Su Ye was so angry that he wanted to grab Su Rui, but Zhou Yao quickly stopped him and said, "Brother, don't argue with me because of me. I'm right. This originally belonged to her. It's...I'm the one who took over."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Someone as shameless as her shouldn't have come back! She talks about serving Mr. Yunji, but isn't that just... a complete disregard for propriety, righteousness, and shame. She's no different from a prostitute in a brothel."
"Brother, stop talking." Zhou Yao pulled Su Ye and left quickly.
Su Rui heard everything clearly.
But his steps did not pause for a moment.
The next day, before dawn, Su Rui boarded a carriage and headed for Fahua Temple.
When the car was no longer visible, Zhou Yao, standing under the corridor, asked Madam Hou: "Mother, she will leave Chaoyang Court as soon as she comes back. She will go to serve Mr. Yunji and come back later. Isn't it better?"
The Marquis's wife was unimpressed. "Do you think serving is that simple? If that were the case, those who came before wouldn't have returned empty-handed."
"But she was chosen by the emperor. What if it really happened? What happened five years ago would happen again?" Zhou Yao felt uneasy when she recalled the look in Su Rui's eyes yesterday. If people knew that it was her, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor.
"Why are you panicking?" the Marquis's wife growled. "Even if it works out, will the Emperor keep her? She's a former military slave. If it doesn't, she'll be useless in three days. We can do whatever we want with her then. Just wait patiently, don't panic, and don't cause trouble."
Zhou Yao lowered her eyes guiltily.
Was her actions in the car considered causing trouble?
"What's wrong?" asked the Marquis's wife suspiciously.
Zhou Yao shook her head.
That thing was hidden and Su Rui couldn't find it. She was going to die anyway, and she was just helping her speed up. It was her own fault for ruining her own business and taking over her own yard.
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