But after making all the plans, he discovered that Su Fangfang had been having an affair with Butcher Zhou and was no longer a virgin.
But it doesn't matter, he told Su Fangfang to bite her finger and pretend to go up.
When Master Zeng woke up at dawn, the deed was done, and Madam had intended to sell Su Fangfang.
But Master Zeng glanced at Su Fangfang, who was kneeling on the ground trembling, and decided to let her stay.
Su Xiaoqiang glanced at Huo Yan not far away, only to see him talking to a man dressed as a constable who was not paying attention to them, so he straightened his back.
"Hmph, you didn't expect that, did you? That time in town, you and that constable stood by and did nothing to help me, but I actually benefited from the misfortune."
"But you, ever since you severed ties with the Su family, have been plagued by bad luck. Your crippled brother..."
"ah……"
Before Su Xiaoqiang could finish speaking, a whip lashed across his face.
He reached out to touch it, but his face was covered in blood.
"Brother...are you alright!" Su Fangfang shrank back as she looked at the bloodstains on Su Xiaoqiang's face.
She remembered this man; he had appeared in Su Ruanruan's room a little over a month ago.
Su Xiaoqiang shoved Su Fangfang away and said fiercely, "You dare hit me?"
Master Zeng bribed Lord Bai, but the man refused to listen to reason and even exiled the Zeng family's only son, thus creating a grudge between them.
Master Zeng is a local gentry and knows many officials. Once he's made the necessary arrangements, he'll definitely bring Bai Bai down. Then, Bai Bai will still be just a worthless constable.
Huo Yan merely gave him a cold, icy look, as chilling as the weather in the depths of winter.
With Su Ruanruan looking somewhat dazed, he hoisted her onto his shoulder and placed her on the horse's back.
He then nimbly mounted his horse and rode away.
Ziwu watched with some worry as the horse's figure receded into the distance.
Alas, my master is truly...unlucky.
A fierce wind rushed by, and Su Ruanruan recognized that it was heading towards Daohua Village. Her heart felt heavy, and she had a bad feeling.
She managed to ask with difficulty, "What happened?"
Behind him, Huo Yan looked ahead and said, "Your brother... is gone."
"Xiaoxi..."
"How could that be? You lied to me like Su Xiaoqiang did? He was perfectly fine when I left Daohua Village last time."
Huo Yan said, "It's true."
Su Ruanruan looked up in disbelief at Huo Yan's expression, trying to find any trace of his lying.
Huo Yan was tall and slightly lowered his head. When their eyes met, his hot breath sprayed onto her face.
"Your brother wandered into the deep mountains and was devoured by wild animals. By the time he was found... it was too late."
“Xiao Xi…” Sadness followed one after another, the wind blew over my whole body, and even breathing hurt.
Although she had only known Xiaoxi for a few months, she truly treated him like her younger brother.
She hadn't even given him a good life yet, and he was already gone.
Su Ruanruan dug her nails into her palms; she must be dreaming.
But the pain in her palms was undeniable. She slowly closed her eyes, her gaze trembling uncontrollably.
When they arrived at Daohua Village, the villagers on the road all stopped to look at Su Ruanruan on horseback.
A complex expression appeared in his eyes.
There was heartache, sighs, and some people secretly wiped away tears.
When Su Ruanruan knocked on her uncle's door, the house was also gloomy.
The courtyard, once filled with laughter and chatter, is now devoid of Xiao Xi's voice, and no one will ever again rush into her arms and call her "elder sister."
Everyone looked at Su Ruanruan, and even Duan Sanzhu cried as he got up from the ground.
"Cousin, my cousin is gone. Waaah..."
Su Ruanruan's eyes reddened, and tears welled up in her eyes.
As she walked into the house, she immediately spotted the brand-new memorial tablet.
Su Ruanruan's fingers trembled slightly as she gently stroked the three characters "Su Xiaoxi," and she choked out, "I'm sorry, Xiaoxi, your older sister... is late."
"Your older sister told you to study hard, so why did you run off to the mountains?"
Duan Sanzhu wiped away his tears, "That's because..."
"Sanzhu!" The newly arrived sister-in-law, Madam Wen, shook her head slightly, interrupting Sanzhu.
Sanzhu lowered his head and hid to the side, crying, "It's all my fault, I didn't take good care of Xiaoxi. Waaah... I don't have a younger brother anymore."
“The dead cannot be brought back to life, cousin, please don’t be sad anymore. I heard you came back from out of town, you must be very tired, why don’t you go inside and rest first!” said Madam Wen.
Liu also came up to help Su Ruanruan, her voice hoarse from crying, "You entrusted Xiaoxi to my care, but I didn't take good care of him. I'm so sorry."
Su Ruanruan looked up at her newly married cousin-in-law, then at Liu Shi, whose eyes were red and swollen.
"Aunt, Cousin, I want to go see Xiaoxi."
"I'm not going to see you. Xiao Xi has already been buried."
"It's too late today, you can go tomorrow. You should get some rest first."
Su Ruanruan shook her head, "How can Xiaoxi leave in peace if she can't see me..."
“I’ll take you there,” said Duan Zhuang, the uncle who had been silent until now.
"No need, I can go by myself."
Duan Zhuang glanced at the sky. "It's getting dark."
Su Ruanruan pointed to Huo Yan, who was leading a horse outside the door, and said, "Uncle, don't worry, he's here with me."
Liu said worriedly, "I heard that Scholar Mu didn't return after the autumn examination. Go to Lingzhou to find him, you two..."
Su Ruanruan's eyelashes trembled. "There's no possibility between him and me anymore."
Liu turned her head away and didn't ask any more questions. She just wiped away her tears and said, "Never mind... then you two were destined to be apart. Your grandparents won't allow Xiao Xi to be buried next to your parents, so we can only bury him with your maternal grandparents. It's a way of... a way of looking after each other."
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