Chapter 8 Family Misfortune
"This... sigh, my son has embarrassed himself..." Su Youwei said, raising his hand to cover his face.
The second young master of the Su family was brought in bound and laid on the ground, wrapped up like a worm. But he wasn't cowardly at all, constantly shouting that he wanted to go out and find Xiao Li.
"You unfilial son!" Su Youwei roared, "How dare you be so insolent before His Highness Prince Jing!"
His rebuke silenced the room for a moment.
As if realizing something, Su Ming, who was lying on the ground, moved over here while calling out "Your Highness Prince Jing".
"Your Highness Prince Jing! Please, you must seek justice for Xiaoli!"
Li Jin frowned slightly as she looked at him.
The second young master of the Su family is quite the romantic.
He remained silent, put down his teacup, and looked sharply at Su Youwei beside him, waiting to hear his explanation.
Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Su Youwei could only awkwardly say, "What a misfortune for our family! My second son is of marriageable age, and I've introduced him to so many girls, but he doesn't want any of them. He... he insists on having a..."
Su Youwei's face was contorted with wrinkles. He sighed several times before pointing at Su Ming on the ground and saying, "That unfilial son! He insists on marrying a courtesan as his wife! What a tragedy!"
Before Su Youwei could finish his sigh, Su Ming on the ground yelled at him, "So! You had someone kill her, didn't you! Didn't you!"
Jin Shu and Li Jin both saw it, and Su Youwei was momentarily stunned.
After seemingly thinking for a moment, she suddenly flew into a rage, jumping up and down to punch him: "Well, you unfilial son! Not only have you been bewitched by that witch, but now you want to frame your father as a murderer?!"
He rushed over, about to kick him.
"Su Youwei," Li Jin said, sitting there with a smile, "why are you in such a hurry?"
Su Youwei's face turned pale, his dangling foot froze for a moment, and he simply ignored Li Jin's words and kicked Su Ming.
In the blink of an eye, Zhou Zheng pulled Su Ming from the ground, and for the first time, drew the long sword he had been holding.
His knife tip pointed coldly at Su Youwei, who was terrified out of his wits.
The small living room finally quieted down.
Li Jin calmly picked up his teacup, gently blew away the foam, and glanced at Su Ming on the ground: "Why do you say that your father killed her?"
Su Ming was also taken aback by the situation before him. His mind immediately calmed down, and after a moment of silence, he pursed his lips and said, "...I was just speaking in anger, and I don't have any substantial evidence..."
After saying that, he glanced down at Su Youwei, who was being held at the brow by Zhou Zheng with the tip of a knife.
"But..." He pondered for a long time, and finally decided to stand up for justice for the woman he loved one last time.
“However, I happened to pass by when Father was in the study that day and heard everything clearly. Although Father did not intend to kill Xiaoli, but... but Father asked Steward Liu to teach Xiaoli a lesson and also arranged for Xiaoli to come to Peach Blossom Valley in my name.”
As he said this, Su Youwei staggered two steps, his face contorted in pain. His blood pressure spiked, he felt dizzy, took two steps back, and plopped down on a chair nearby.
Now that things had come to this, he knew he couldn't hide it any longer, and he beat his chest in despair, overwhelmed with grief.
"Your father really just wanted to teach that brothel girl a lesson, but who knew that Steward Liu would find such people who would actually kill her!"
After saying this, his face turned pale, he clutched his chest, and burst into tears.
Liu Cheng'an, who arrived later, searched the entire Su family compound but couldn't find any trace of the steward.
Then they split into three groups and searched the places he usually frequented.
By the time they found him, Steward Liu had already committed suicide by poisoning himself out of fear of punishment.
With that, the case is considered closed.
At this moment, Su Ming, now freed from his restraints, stood dejectedly in the Su family's courtyard. He felt ashamed to face his father, Su Youwei, who had been driven to bedridden by his anger, and he was also at a loss as to what to do next.
"I never would have guessed that the young master of the Su family is such a deeply affectionate man." Li Jin stood a meter behind him, watching the sky in the courtyard turn crimson as dusk approached.
Su Ming stared blankly for a moment, then gave a dry laugh, turned around respectfully, and bowed with his hands clasped: "Thank you, Your Highness Prince Jing..."
He bent over, his gaze fixed on the bluestone slabs on the ground, unable to utter the words, "Thank you for standing up for Xiaoli."
The eldest brother of the Su family died young, and now Su Youwei is seriously ill because of this incident. The future of the entire fish market is like a huge boulder that has fallen on Su Ming's shoulders.
“Su Ming knows that his father is doing this for my own good, and he also knows that Steward Liu is just following orders, but I can’t stand it.” He looked up blankly at the Prince Jing in front of him, whose gaze was firm and whose temperament was extraordinary. “That day I wanted to rush to Peach Blossom Valley to save her, but the steward brought a group of people and tied my hands and feet right under my father’s nose.”
At this point, Su Ming could no longer continue.
Unexpectedly, Li Jin stood on the steps, looking at the young master in the courtyard who looked dejected and confused, lowered her eyes, and said incisively, "You are still selfish after all."
After he finished speaking, he slightly raised his chin, looking at the boy in front of him with disdain and contempt.
His so-called speaking out for love is nothing more than an attempt to clear his name, even at the cost of pushing his elderly father out as a shield.
His so-called mutual affection and loving companionship were actually mixed with his relationship with another woman for such a long period of time.
To say he sacrificed his own family for the greater good? He was only thinking about his own future prospects.
Li Jin looked down on such selfish and self-serving people, despised them, and refused to associate with them.
On the way back, Jin Shu looked at Li Jin sitting opposite her in the carriage, watching him rest with his eyes closed, and hesitated to speak.
"If you have any questions, just ask." Li Jin didn't open his eyes, but as if he could see through them, he spoke first.
She paused for a moment, hesitated, and then asked cautiously, "...In my humble opinion, young masters from noble families often regard courtesans as worthless. When Your Highness Prince Jing was investigating the case, didn't you feel it was not worth it? Didn't you feel that a mere courtesan was not worth your efforts to seek justice and uncover the truth?"
Jin Shu regretted asking the question as soon as it left her mouth. In a rigidly hierarchical feudal society, asking such a question was clearly an overstepping of boundaries.
Just as she hesitated, unsure how to salvage the situation, the man before her opened his eyes, gazed at her face, and solemnly said, "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the land, all people are subjects of the king. As a prince, all those within your sight are subjects; how could there be any prostitutes? Furthermore, justice is a right that everyone should enjoy; it is not something that anyone can uphold for anyone else."
Although Steward Liu was dead, Liu Cheng'an still managed to track down all the perpetrators he had recruited and apprehend them within two days.
Behind the government office, in Liu Cheng'an's study, he shook his head and sighed, "Several men, lusting after the girl, committed indecent acts. Afterwards, fearing that the girl would complain to the young master of the Su family, they simply went all the way, bound the girl's hands and feet, threw her into the well, and drowned her."
In the study, besides Liu Cheng'an, there was also Li Jin.
And Jin Shu, who had been standing there for a long time, anxiously waiting to settle the huge bill for the meal and redeem her old family house, was like an ant on a hot pan.
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