Chapter 75 It wasn't easy, so it's no wonder the Empress didn't approve...
Guard Zhang smirked coldly. With a slight movement, he easily seized control of Su Xi's life, casually saying, "If you don't want to die, try moving."
Seeing that things were not going well, the other servants who were holding Su Mang and Su Zi could not contain themselves and rushed forward, hoping to join forces to stop Zhang the guard and help Su Xi escape.
However, Zhang, the guard, was extremely skilled and did not give them a chance to get close. His upper body seemed to remain imposing and still, but his legs below his waist moved like afterimages, so fast that they could not catch his attack movements at all.
Her series of Foshan Shadowless Kicks instantly knocked the others to the ground, leaving them unable to move for a long time.
They lay on the ground, pale and lifeless, when suddenly they vomited a mouthful of blood and then fainted.
Fu Yun: "..." The guards were indeed highly skilled and brave. In less than two minutes, they had all been defeated.
Su Xi's face turned deathly pale upon seeing this. Her hands clenched into fists, her knuckles cracking. It wasn't hard to imagine how furious she was, but being outmatched, she couldn't retaliate. All she could do was ask with resentment in her eyes, "Who are you? Why are you causing trouble at the Su residence?"
Zhang, the guard, was too lazy to explain to her. He simply stated indifferently, "The servant you are bullying is someone Young Master Su wants to protect. If you want to live, release him."
Upon hearing this, Su Man flew into a rage and blurted out, "Who do you think you are? What right do you have to order us around? Su Zi and Su Mang are just lowly slaves of the Su family. The head of the family can do whatever he wants with them. Why should we be asked to release them? Do you have any respect for the law? Do you think you can be above everyone else...?"
"Shut up!"
"Slap! Slap!"
The guard, quite impatiently, raised his hand and slapped Su Man twice more, delivering two slaps to her face without any politeness: "You're so noisy!"
Su Man's entire face swelled up instantly, and bright red blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.
"You bastard..."
Guard Fang looked at Su Man with an arrogant expression and coldly interrupted, "If you still can't learn to speak, then this mouth is unnecessary."
Su Man swallowed back the words she was about to say, a look of fear flashing in her eyes.
She had clearly realized that the woman in front of her was no pushover and would definitely do what she said. If she still confronted her head-on, she would only be the one who suffered.
Su Xi seemed to understand the implications of this situation. She stopped making pointless resistance and dared not speak ill of Fu Yun and the other two. She took a deep breath, clearly forcing herself to calm down.
She said coldly, "I don't care who you are, and how could you be with this disloyal, unfilial, and unjust outcast of the Su family? You must have been deceived by him. He is no longer the young master of the Su family, but a worthless bastard expelled from the family by the patriarch. You should know the Su family's status in Lingzhou City and have heard of the Su family patriarch's ruthless nature. You have offended the Su family today, but have you considered the consequences of angering the Su family patriarch? Can you bear it?"
Fu Yun snorted coldly and said sarcastically, "You really know how to flatter Su Tan. She is clearly a selfish, greedy, and shameless person who will do anything to achieve her goals, but you insist on giving her a reputation for being upright and virtuous. Have you no shame?"
Hearing this, Guard Zhang couldn't help but chuckle and chimed in, "Young Master Su is absolutely right. What is Su Tan anyway? She's nothing but a greedy, opportunistic, and treacherous scoundrel. What's with all this talk about a prestigious family? I don't even put the head of the Wang family, the richest family in the world, in my eyes. Why would I be afraid of a Su family that's already fallen on hard times?"
Fu Yun secretly gave a thumbs up in her heart, not expecting that both Guard Fang and Guard Zhang were such tough guys.
The fact that they can say such domineering lines without any hesitation proves that they have the capital and confidence to say these words.
Could it be that they are actually followers of the Empress, just in a different way than Ye Lan?
Ye Lan is in the open, serving as the Empress's personal bodyguard. Meanwhile, the others operate in the shadows, secretly training unparalleled experts to bolster her power and handle the more complex and clandestine matters that cannot be brought to the forefront.
These bodyguards will only be loyal to her and serve her alone.
Fu Yun was not surprised by this situation at all. After all, it was not uncommon for members of the imperial family and noble families in ancient times to secretly organize secret guards and cultivate their own power. In fact, it was quite common. However, the secret guards organized by the emperor were not comparable to those of ordinary powerful families.
Perhaps it was the Empress's intention for Guard Fang and Guard Zhang to disguise themselves as ordinary guards and blend into the group of guards.
After all, when the Empress was assassinated by assassins in the restaurant, she realized that there was a traitor among her, which is why she secretly sent people to infiltrate various areas.
So, it's possible that many of the soldiers following General Qian were also loyal to the Empress.
It's no wonder she doesn't trust anyone but her own judgment.
She stands at the pinnacle of power; if she were to fall carelessly, she would be shattered to pieces.
Fu Yun sighed inwardly: This country values military prowess over literature, and it's difficult for Zhilan, as the ruler of the country, to avoid a precarious situation.
It's really not easy for her, as there isn't a single civil official in the court who can open their heart to her and offer advice.
Su Man's face flushed red with anger and resentment. She said angrily, "You're talking nonsense! Our patriarch has always been an honest and upright merchant. He has never been greedy for profit or forgotten his principles for the sake of profit. Stop talking nonsense and tarnishing my patriarch's reputation."
"Tsk! So noisy!" Guard Fang chopped Su Xi on the back of the neck, knocking her unconscious and throwing her to the ground.
Seeing that Su Man had also lost the ability to resist, Su Xi's face turned ashen. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. Her gaze turned cold, and her eyes were filled with gloom. She stared at Fu Yun and said through gritted teeth, "So what if you are stronger than us? Su Zi and Su Mang are still servants of the Su family. Our laws stipulate that servants who have signed a master-servant contract have no right to leave the master during the contract period. If they insist on leaving, they will violate the master-servant contract and must return all the stipends that the master has given them over the years. Otherwise, you will be the master's person in life and in death. You will never leave the Su residence."
As she spoke, she slightly raised her chin and said viciously, "To put it bluntly, if you can come up with three hundred taels of silver, you can get out of here anytime. If you can't, then you'll have to pay with your worthless lives!"
Su Mang's face flushed red and then turned pale, she was furious: "Stop spouting nonsense. Su Zi has never thought of leaving the family head. On the contrary, you have been secretly tripping her up, making her make mistakes, which has made the family head extremely disappointed in her and eventually developed a feeling of disgust. He wanted to kill her, but recently there has been constant unrest in Lingzhou City and the whole city is on high alert. She dared not harm anyone at this critical juncture, so she had no choice but to propose that as long as Su Zi pays fifteen taels of silver, she will let her leave the Su family."
Now that things have gone your way, the head of the family has completely abandoned Su Zi, expelling her from the Su family and leaving her to fend for herself, never to be used again. But you suddenly became unhappy, obstructing her departure and repeatedly making things difficult for her, refusing to let her leave. I'd like to ask you, what are your true intentions in doing this?”
"Heh~" Su Xi sneered and said without any politeness, "Su Zi disobeyed the head of the family's wishes and secretly bought people's hearts to use for her own purposes, which is disloyal. She violated the master-servant contract, which is unjust. Such an ungrateful, disloyal and unjust person should be executed on the spot. I would not be too much to beat her to death."
"You're talking nonsense!" Su Mang's chest heaved violently, so angry she almost lost her mind. She retorted angrily, "It's clearly you who are blinded by greed, trying to take this opportunity to empty Su Zi and my pockets and make a fortune. That's why you've been obstructing us in every way, refusing to let us leave no matter what. You even tried to beat us to death and seize our meager belongings. And you have the nerve to turn around and accuse us, using the name of the Su family head to give such a high-sounding reason to distort the truth. You really have a thousand layers of soles as cheeks, and your skin is as thick as a city wall. You're utterly shameless."
Upon hearing this, Fu Yun understood the whole story. No wonder Su Mang carried so many bulging things when she went out in the morning. It turned out that her earlier guess was correct; she really did take her meager savings to the pawnshop to raise money to pay Su Zi's breach of contract penalty.
He walked over and stood beside Su Mang and Su Zi, and anyone could see that he was going to stand up for them.
Fu Yun looked at Su Xi with a calm expression: "So, Su Zi is now a free person, but you forced her to stay here to bully and abuse her just because you wanted her to be penniless and homeless. You even forced Su Mang, who came to pick her up, to stay here as well, allowing you to humiliate her at will?"
As he said this, his gaze darkened, revealing an invisible pressure: "Su Mang has long since left the Su family with me and is now an ordinary citizen. You are nothing but a lowly servant, yet you dare to beat a commoner for no reason. Do you really think the laws of our dynasty are just for show and the government is dead? Who gave you the audacity to be so arrogant in front of the government? Could it be Su Tan?"
As he spoke, his voice grew louder, and he shouted, "Is she openly challenging the imperial court and planning a rebellion?"
Su Xi was thrown into a panic by Fu Yun's barrage of questions. His sharp expression and oppressive aura made her tremble with fear, and she was so shocked that she couldn't react.
Before Su Xi could respond, Fu Yun's gaze fell on Guard Fang, and he asked meaningfully, "Sir, if someone disregards moral principles and, for their own selfish desires, plots to murder for money, attempting to forcibly seize another person's property, how should they be punished?"
The guard curled his lips into a smile, cooperating perfectly: "According to the laws of our dynasty, criminals who murder for money will face the most severe criminal penalties, including but not limited to long-term imprisonment, hanging, and corporal punishment. The most heinous criminals will be executed by slow slicing or torn apart by five horses."
Su Xi's face turned deathly pale instantly, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on her forehead, as if she had been terrified.
Fu Yun smirked, expressing his disdain for her bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Then, he deliberately asked, "What if it's disrespect for the court, an act of rebellion? How should that be punished?"
Guard Fang said, "Who doesn't know that our esteemed Empress would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free from those who plot rebellion? If you want to rebel, then be prepared to have your entire family executed?"
"No!" Su Xi cried out in despair, "The detention of Su Zi and Su Mang has nothing to do with the family head. It was us who wanted to divide the silver and were unwilling to let the fat meat in our mouths fly away, so we deliberately blocked them and wouldn't let them leave."
Guard Zhang glanced at Guard Fang and Fu Yun with interest, a faint smile flashing in his eyes. He didn't bother to waste words with Su Xi and directly reached out his hand: "Give me the contract."
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