Because Su Tao had confessed, she was sentenced to death and would be transferred to the municipal public security bureau for her execution.
Before the transfer, Su Tao was allowed one last visit with her family. Tian Aixiang was furious with Su Tao for ruining the Old Su Family’s reputation and potentially making it harder for Su Lihui to find a wife. But at the end of the day, Su Tao was still the child she had carried for ten months. No matter how angry she was, this would be their last ti seeing each other, so Tian Aixiang went.
Su Tao had already been broken by her impending fate. The mont she saw Tian Aixiang, she collapsed into hysterical sobs. She knew there was no escape. While she hated the Old Su Family for selling her out, the one she hated most was Su Qing.
Su Tao frantically told Tian Aixiang that Su Qing had ruined her. She claid it was Su Qing who had orchestrated the whole incident with Shitou. She was adamant that Su Qing had to be involved and desperately begged Tian Aixiang to avenge her.
Tian Aixiang was sobbing uncontrollably. Accompanying her was her sister-in-law, Tan Jinni. When Tan Jinni heard Su Tao’s words, her eyes flickered, but she said nothing.
After the visit with Su Tao, Tan Jinni began to egg on Tian Aixiang. "Now that Taotao is a lost cause, you need to think about your Lihui."
"With Taotao’s reputation, it’ll be hard for Lihui to find a wife in the future." Tian Aixiang felt a wave of dizziness as she thought about what was to co.
"That’s all the more reason you need to save up more money for your Lihui!" Tan Jinni said, her eyes darting shrewdly.
"Sister-in-law, what do you an?" Lost in her grief and confusion, Tian Aixiang didn’t grasp what Tan Jinni was getting at.
"You still don’t get it?" Tan Jinni hurriedly whispered to Tian Aixiang, "Listen to what Taotao said. That business with her and Shitou back then—she said Su Qing was behind it. Think about it. What if Su Qing really was the one pulling the strings?"
Hearing this, Tian Aixiang thought it over carefully. A seed of suspicion was planted, and she began to think it was entirely possible.
’Back then, the plan was clearly to sell Su Qing to the Sun family, but Shitou sohow ended up in Su Tao’s room. There’s no way he just walked in there on his own. I refuse to believe it. And even if he did, wouldn’t Su Tao have raised a ruckus when she found him? How could she have been discovered lying in the sa bed with him in the morning?’
’Which ans soone definitely set Su Tao up. And in the entire Old Su Family, the pri suspect is obviously Su Qing. Who else had a motive? Su Shengli and I would never harm our own daughter, and the old folks are even less likely. As for Shi’s mother... impossible. She had already negotiated the betrothal gift with the family matriarch.’
So, that incident had to be Su Qing’s doing.
Seeing the look on Tian Aixiang’s face, Tan Jinni knew she had her. "So it really was your niece! My goodness, how could she be so vicious? Aixiang, you can’t just let this go. Taotao is about to lose her life over this, and it’s even going to affect Lihui’s chances of getting married. If I were you, there’s no way I could stomach this injustice!"
Tan Jinni had successfully stoked Tian Aixiang’s anger, but the thought of Su Qing daring to pull a knife made her quail. "That damned girl is fierce. She’ll whip out a knife at the slightest provocation. Last ti, she even brandished one at the family matriarch. She’s a complete lunatic."
"That just makes it even more likely that Su Qing did it," Tan Jinni said hurriedly. "Aixiang, you can’t just take this lying down."
Seeing Tian Aixiang’s expression, she quickly added, "You silly girl, you’re not in this alone. You have your family! We’ll have your older brother and nephews go with you to confront that Su Qing and demand justice. No matter what, you have to make her pay up so compensation."
"Even if we do manage to get money out of Su Qing, it won’t end up in my hands." Tian Aixiang was filled with resentnt as she recalled not getting a single cent of Su Tao’s betrothal money.
"You’re so dense." Tan Jinni slapped Tian Aixiang on the back. "You have your own family to back you up. Just leave whatever money we get with and your brother. That way, your mother-in-law can’t demand it from you, right? Since your brother and I will be the ones sticking up for you, she won’t have any grounds to complain if we hold onto the money. When you need it, you can just get it from us."
Tian Aixiang considered the possibility. To be honest, she didn’t fully trust her brother and sister-in-law, especially with money. It would be infuriating and would damage their relationship if she couldn’t get it back later. But the thought of how Su Qing had made Su Tao suffer so terribly stoked the fire in her heart. After a mont, she said, "Alright. Let’s go get so answers from Su Qing."
And so, the villagers of Lihua Village watched as Tian Aixiang, along with her brother, sister-in-law, and nephews, began to pound nacingly on Su Qing’s front gate.
As it happened, Su Qing hadn’t gone into the mountains that day. She had gathered quite a few valuable things from Baihua Mountain recently, including wild ga and other mountain goods. She had already traded a large portion of it to Zhang Erlai, leaving the rest in her space to deal with later.
Through several trades with Zhang Erlai and selling dicinal herbs, Su Qing’s private savings had grown to nearly thirty thousand yuan. On top of the cash, she also had two hundred-year-old Purple Danshen and ginseng roots, as well as a sixty-year-old ginseng root. It was safe to say she was now a secret little heiress.
She was planning to set out for Yun Province in the next day or two. She had already obtained a letter of introduction from Zhao Youcai. Although he was worried about her traveling alone, he knew from her recent transformation that Su Qing now had a mind of her own. Once she decided sothing, she couldn’t be dissuaded. So, he had readily written her the letter. After so pestering from Su Qing, he even gave her a few blank letters of introduction to fill out with her destinations as she went. Still, he repeatedly warned her to be careful above all else while traveling.
Su Qing knew Zhao Youcai ant well, so she had smiled and agreed.
As she was at ho packing, Su Qing heard soone pounding on her courtyard gate. A shrill, unfamiliar woman’s voice pierced the air, "Su Qing, get out here right now!"
Su Qing frowned. ’Who could that be?’
She opened the gate and imdiately spotted Tian Aixiang.
"Third Aunt, what is all this?" Su Qing’s voice was cool.
Before Tian Aixiang could answer, Tan Jinni lunged forward. "What’s this all about? Don’t play dumb, Su Qing! Let tell you, what goes around cos around. Don’t think no one knows what you did. You’ve ruined soone’s life, and you’re not getting away with it!"
"Who have I ruined?" Su Qing listened, then casually crossed her arms and leaned against the doorfra, fixing her gaze on Tan Jinni. "And who might you be?"
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