shocking change
Shen Pingchang... Why would he come after me? Does he know my identity?
But my face was completely different now. How could he know? Could it be that he had noticed that Shen Yunqiu had escaped? But the Shen family never asked about Shen Yunqiu's affairs. Even if they tracked them down, how would they know where they had gone?
For a moment, Su Xi was horrified, but she had nowhere to hide. She could only pretend to be calm and look at the person in front of her. However, she saw Shen Pingchang's gaze linger on her for a moment, and when it moved to Shen Yunqiu who was sitting next to her, the sarcastic smile on the corner of his lips suddenly disappeared, his face became gloomy, and even the aura around him became extremely cold.
Although he was shocked, Shen Yunqiu did not dare to show it at all. He met Shen Pingchang's scrutinizing gaze. He probably guessed that Shen Pingchang must have discovered Su Xi's identity. He took the girl's frightened hand and hid her and the package containing the evidence behind him.
But Suxi's identity has always been well hidden, why was it discovered by Shen Pingchang at this time? Could it be...
It’s the shopkeeper surnamed Dou.
"You rebellious son, you've really grown up! You even dared to escape! What? Are you going to sacrifice your own family for the sake of justice and denounce your own father to the emperor?"
Shen Pingchang's cold voice interrupted Shen Yunqiu's thoughts. The next moment, he glanced at the small group of soldiers following behind him, and the carriage, already skidding in the snow, was instantly overturned. It slammed down the snowy path onto towering bamboo poles, its flimsy frame instantly shattering. The immense force even sent the wheelchair flying. For a moment, the world spun, and stars shone. Shen Yunqiu tugged at Su Xi's hand, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly. Then, uncontrollably, he rolled down the long slope at the end of the snowy path, accelerating. The cold snow and rough stones rubbed against the back of his hand, soaking his clothes. His legs, unable to control the direction, were powerless. Yet, he dared not let go. Finally, when the long slope came to an end, Shen Yunqiu felt his strength drain from him. Lying on his back, he breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the girl on top of him stop trembling with fear.
After a while, the swaying feeling of weightlessness in his head finally disappeared. Su Xi opened his eyes in fear and saw Shen Yunqiu being pressed under him. He hurriedly stood up and pulled him up: "Shen Yunqiu, are you okay..."
"fine."
Shen Yunqiu hid the back of his rubbed hands in his sleeves and said, "Let's hide quickly..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw the girl squatting beside him staring blankly into the distance. Shen Yunqiu also looked over and saw that Shen Pingchang had already followed slowly on horseback. There was no one behind him, but the officers and soldiers had already surrounded the bamboo forest tightly.
In a moment, Shen Pingchang approached step by step, and the sound of horse hooves knocking on the snow made people feel depressed. The hope that had just risen gradually fell, and finally sank completely.
Shen Yunqiu knew that he couldn't leave today.
"Miss Su? Long time no see. After such a long time, do you still remember your Uncle Shen?"
As he spoke, Shen Pingchang dismounted and stopped a few feet away. In front of the horrified eyes of Su Xi and Shen Yunqiu, he untied the package he had searched from the carriage and held it high. With a flip of his wrist, the objects in the package suddenly poured down from mid-air. Eating utensils and self-defense daggers rolled down the long slope, and the papers that he had collected with great difficulty were all soaked by the snow. The words and patterns on them instantly blurred and turned into black ink balls. Only a few small plates of dye were left lying intact in the snow, as if mocking people's arrogance.
For a moment, Suxi felt a sharp pain in her heart, her knuckles nearly breaking as she clenched her fists, yet she dared not even touch the evidence. She knew that if she made any move, Shen Pingchang's knife would pierce her through.
On the side, Shen Yunqiu stared at the girl's angry eyes, feeling heavy in his heart. He carefully pried open Su Xi's tightly clenched fist and clenched it. Turning around, he saw Shen Pingchang looking at Su Xi's face with a sarcastic smile, as if he was very pleased with the girl's angry look.
"Suxi, it's such a shame for your reputation. If you had known this would happen, you would have gone to hell with your parents earlier, so as not to go through all this trouble and end up losing your life in vain."
"You bastard, you dare to mention my parents!"
Shen Yunqiu hurriedly held back the girl who was about to rush forward in anger, only to hear Shen Pingchang speak again: "But it's a good thing you were stupid enough to take the initiative to find Dou Feng and confess your identity, otherwise you wouldn't have been captured as soon as you left Qingzhou."
"What did you say?" Su Xi froze for a moment, and could hardly believe his ears.
"You said it was Uncle Dou... How is that possible? Uncle Dou would never betray the Su family!"
Hearing this, Shen Pingchang sneered;
"You're really as foolish as your father, so easily trusting and being schemed against. You can't blame anyone else. Dou Feng treasures his own daughter dearly. He used your life in exchange for me ensuring her safety, her safe passage out of the mansion, and her promise of a good marriage. He even told me about you being hidden in Youyang by Su Bingwen, so he could get his daughter into the Shen Mansion and save her from being sold into a brothel as a slave. It's a pity you escaped that time, but the Su family in Youyang is quite wealthy. They searched your name and confiscated quite a bit, so it's a good gain."
"No... no way... how could Uncle Dou..."
Suxi still couldn't believe it, but he knew that what Shen Pingchang said was probably true.
At this moment, her mind was in a mess. She couldn't figure out what her mood was, and she didn't know whether she should blame Uncle Dou.
After thinking about it, in the end, it seems that no one is wrong. Uncle Dou is not wrong. He just wants to protect his most beloved daughter. Xihe is not wrong. She knows nothing. Daddy is not wrong. He is just too honest and kind, and trusts others too easily.
After a long time, seeing the girl opposite her looking dejected and almost about to cry, Shen Pingchang finally sighed.
"Forget it, Su family girl, you don't have to regret it. Even if Dou Feng hadn't happened, do you think you could have avenged the Su family with your own strength? Do you know who wanted your family's property? It was the emperor, the supreme ruler, the emperor of a country. The emperor wanted to build an imperial mausoleum and set his sights on your family's fat piece of meat. I just helped a little bit."
"Shen Pingchang, don't get yourself so clean. Even if the emperor wanted money, if you hadn't taken the initiative to bring it up, how could you exchange the lives of the entire Su family for the future of that loser Shen Wenzhao..."
"You bastard!"
Shen Pingchang kicked Shen Yunqiu in the chest unexpectedly. Shen Yunqiu was unable to dodge and was knocked to the ground by the powerful kick. He felt a fishy smell rising in his throat and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Chen Yunqiu!"
Su Xi hurriedly supported the boy's limp body. Seeing the blood spreading little by little in the snow, he became even more furious. His eyes were instantly filled with overwhelming hatred as he looked at Shen Pingchang.
"Shen Pingchang, Uncle Dou is right, you are just a jackal that can never be fed..."
"Yes, that's right. I, Shen Pingchang, am a hypocrite, a villain, and a jackal, but so what? Suxi, I gave your father enough favors in the beginning, and repeatedly persuaded him to become an imperial merchant. It was that old fellow Su Bingwen who didn't know what was good for him, so you can't blame me! By the way, aren't you going to file a complaint with the emperor? But do you know that if you go to Jingzhao Prefecture to file a complaint with the emperor, you will first be beaten with a stick, and half your life will be taken away immediately, or even die on the spot. Who of you can bear it? You little girl, or you are a dying sickly child?"
Shen Pingchang stretched out his finger and saw that the two men’s expressions remained unchanged, but their anger was even stronger.
"Yes, you are just two brats, naive and foolish. Even if you make it through, the Jingzhao Prefecture will still have to send the case to the emperor. The emperor is personally involved in this matter. Do you think he will overturn the verdict for your Su family? Or do you want to sue the emperor for cruelty and inhumanity? I am afraid that before you even have the chance, the emperor's royal guards will arrest you, throw you into prison, and strangle you on the spot. Or are you so audacious as to dare to assassinate the emperor? Not to mention that the palace is heavily guarded. You two useless people who are completely unable to protect yourselves can't even get in. Even if you get in and kill the emperor, the world will be in chaos and disputes will break out. Then, will your Su family be the victims or the sinners who instigated the dispute?"
"It's really ridiculous." Shen Pingchang sneered, and seeing the pale faces of the two people opposite him, he continued, "You have really read too many storybooks, thinking that you can change the world at will, and that justice will not be obliterated. But how can there be such a good thing in the world? There are many oppressions by the government, heavy taxes by the court, and selling of official positions and titles. As long as you have power and money, even if you have committed an unforgivable crime, as long as you give the government more silver or find a white duck to take the blame, you can get away with it, not a single hair is lost. But you ordinary people can't see the situation clearly. What if you set up a business? What if you have a fortune? Without fame and titles, it's just a piece of fat meat, and everyone wants to take a bite. So, little girl, don't blame your uncle for being cruel. Blame it on you for being the wrong person and being born into the wrong world. Remember to think carefully in your next life..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Pingchang drew his sword and pointed it at the pale little girl sitting on the ground. The next moment, the tip of the sword was tightly grasped by a pale and slender hand. Shen Pingchang frowned and saw the young man kneeling on the ground struggling to stand up and grasp the sword with a ferocious look on his face. Drops of blood flowed through his fingers and dripped onto the white snow.
"Get out of here, and don't force me to kill you too."
Shen Pingchang was impatient, but the young man's fist gripping the sword became tighter, and he couldn't pull it away. He could only see more and more blood dripping down the sword.
"Dad," Shen Yunqiu endured the pain in his palm and almost gritted his teeth, "Please, don't kill her!"
"Oh? Beg me?" Shen Pingchang seemed to suddenly become interested after hearing this, and looked at the young man in front of him with a playful look. "You kid, you didn't beg me when you were treated coldly, you didn't beg me when your legs were broken, and you didn't beg me when you were left to fend for yourself in the Western Garden. I thought you were very arrogant, but who would have thought that today you would beg so humbly for a mere concubine. It's really quite interesting."
"Dad, I'm begging you sincerely today!" Ignoring Shen Pingchang's mocking ridicule, Shen Yunqiu clenched his teeth and said, "Since you also said that going to the capital to seek justice will not have a good result, and all the evidence has been destroyed, there is no way to stir up any more trouble, why not let her leave Qingzhou? One life for another. This life of mine was given by you, and you can take it back today. I won't say a word!"
The sound was so deep that it startled the birds into flight. Su Xi finally came back to his senses from the great sorrow and powerlessness. He stared with wide eyes in shock at the blood dripping from the tip of the sword.
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