“Nonsense!”
After Su Huanli heard what the witch said, he got furious and pounded the table. “Witch Zhao, what are you talking about? If my daughter’s life was so strong, our families would all die because of her. It’s not your turn to tell us that!”
In the central room, the witch in colorful clothes drew back her neck and seriously whispered as if what she said was true, “Master, what you said is wrong. Su Li is really a disaster to her younger brother. Her look is coquettish and she has very strong yinqi in her forehead. She will inevitably bring the risk of death to her biological brother. In such a dangerous situation, only her marriage can relieve it! The worse the marriage is, the better the child in the belly of the First Madam will become. The child may rise in the official world and may have higher title than that of the First Master!”
The witch was good at cheating others. Coupled with her sinister tone, what she said made all feel frightened.
Zhu Yan felt scared but she praised the witch inside. Witch Zhao was really good. Su Huanli who was not superstitious before was close to believe her.
When Mam. Su-Cui heard what her son had said, she immediately became unhappy. She pounded the table and screamed, “Huanli, how can you speak in that way? Your protection of Erya should have a limit. Now your son is still in Zhu Yan’s belly but you are protecting Su Li who is a disaster to her brother. Are you sure you are doing the right thing? I will start to choose a husband for Erya today. Don’t stop me!”
After Mam. Su-Cui scolded Su Huanli, she left angrily with the help of Su Zipei. She completely ignored that Su Huanli was furious.
After Mam. Su-Cui left, Witch Zhao also left. She would not ask for snub. After she said goodbye, she turned away.
At this time, Li Yin who was silent aside walked to the Master and whispered, “Master, the Dahan Country is not against the superstition. But if people know that our Su Family does such a ridiculous thing because of the words of a witch, the First Master will be ridiculed!”
“How does Zhu Yan confuse my mother? If she weren’t pregnant, I would divorce her!” Su Huanli waved his sleeves and said, “It’s none of your business. Even if my mother finds a husband, I will not agree with the marriage.”
Li Yin frowned. The attitude of the Master seemed to be very firm because Miss Su was the main income source of the Su Family, but what he said sounded insincere.
Shouldn’t the Master dispatch some guards to protect the Second Miss in case the Old Lady forced her to marry someone? Li Yin shook his head and left. “Forget it. I will dispatch Xiaojiu to secretly protect the Second Miss. Xiaojiu is not a member of the Su Family now. So, I am not against the order of the Master.” Li Yin thought.
After Li Yin left, Su Huanli was no longer angry but was helpless.
Lessons were drawn there. He knew it was his wife who was creating difficulties. He didn’t want his daughter to get married with a humble man or a man who would live in the Su Family after the marriage. After all, Li was more beautiful than Zipei. If she went to Yunjing, she would definitely get a rich husband, which was beneficial to the status of the Su Family.
Su Huanli felt ambivalent between his biological mother and the interests of the Su Family. He only hoped that Qingtan could solve the matter when he came back.
Zhu Yan had spread out the information that the Su Family was choosing a son-in-law. But no one knew which daughter would get married, and the standards for choosing a son-in-law were jaw-dropping.
“The poorer the family financial situation, the better. The worse the moral quality, the better. What does it mean? The age is not limited!”
“Is the Su Family choosing a husband for Su Zipe? But the Su Family is the richest one in the Dasu Town. The standards are too easy!”
“…”
The rascals in the South Street were excited after seeing the notice. The letters of self-recommendation flew to the Su House like snowflakes, which naturally caught Su Li’s attention.
“What the hell are Zhu Yan and Mam. Su-Cui doing?” Fang Yuan looked worried and groaned, “Do they want to find a husband for you? How vicious!”
Su Li smiled slightly and said calmly, “My mother has lots of wicked ideas but it’s easy to be solved. I am afraid that I have to trouble you and Qingning.”
Fang Yuan felt weird. He had never learned such a bad relationship between a mother and a daughter. They were completely on the opposite side. The First Madam Zhu repeatedly made Su Li in trouble.
At the same time, in the Jinyuan Court—
Su Zipei was reading the letters one by one in high spirit. She said to her grandmother sometimes, “Grandma, this one is also good. His family has been poor for three generations. He has been too poor to have any food. He is an authentic beggar and forty years old.”
Mam. Su-Cui shook her head and denied, “Although the age is proper, he is not bad enough. He is not suitable.”
At this time, Zhu Yan walked to them happily and said, “Mother, there is a candidate here. He is a member of the Zhu family in the South Street. The elder generation is all gamblers. They all beat their wives. The women marring into their family are all seriously injured and finally die. I inquired that there is a young boy who is just over 30 years old this year. No one dares to marry him. Now he is still a bachelor.”
Su Zipei clapped her hands happily and said, “Grandma, he is the most suitable person. Gamblers must be poor. What’s more, they have bad tempers and always beat their wives. After the Second Sister gets married, she must live a miserable life. Thus, it is beneficial to the brother in my mother’s belly!”
Mam. Su-Cui’s eyes also shined and she nodded, “I’ll dispatch someone to talk to them. Let them propose a marriage to us tomorrow! As it happens, Huanli will go out tomorrow. I will agree the marriage in his place.”
Hearing what Mam. Su-Cui had said, Zhu Yan and Su Zipei saw each other happily.
The efforts paid off!
***
In a stinking yard of the South Street, a mammy of the Su House pinched her nose and walked in to inform that man. Then, she immediately fled away like a deserter. The smell… was so smoky!
“Ha-ha ha-ha!! The Su Family did not deceive me. I will have a wife!”
A sallow and thin man with a bristly unshaven chin jumped up and rubbed the dirt on his body. He showed a typical smile of a gambler, “I heard that the Su Family has the dowry. After I get married with the daughter of the Su Family, I will be lucky. Then I will gamble. Hee hee!”
“Stupid son! You are called Gambler Zhu in the gambling house. Do you really think you are the God of Gamblers?”
Then the Gambler Zhu laughed. He went out with a bank note that he just robbed from the mammy of the Su House.
Suddenly, a shadow flashed in front of him!
“Ah!”
With two screams of an old man and a young man heard, the wall was stained with blood, which was strangely enchanting.
On the next morning, Zhu Yan got up to dress up and to wait for Gambler Zhu’s family to propose a marriage. Mam. Su-Cui also waited with a smile. Even the dowry was ready.
But when the sun was high in the sky, no one came. Zhu Yan and Mam. Su-Cui were a little angry. They all knew that the family of Gambler Zhu had terrible moral quality. But they didn’t expect that they would be late in proposing a marriage.
“Old Lady, something bad!”
The mammy who sent the message yesterday ran into them in a panic. She knelt down on the ground and said in a hurry, “The family of Gambler Zhu was killed yesterday in their courtyard! I heard that Gambler Zhu owed many debts. They were killed by the debtors.”
Zhu Yan and Mam. Su-Cui felt stunned. They could not believe what they had heard.
Zhu Yan became very gloomy. So coincidental! They informed them yesterday, but the Zhu family was killed today. Damn it! If they had informed the Zhu family one day earlier, Su Li might have been married and killed by the debtors. If so, they would not be worried anymore!
Although the news that the family of Gambler Zhu was killed by debtors was unexpected, Mam. Su-Cui and Zhu Yan did not think it was strange. It was normal in the South Street.
“The most suitable candidate is gone. Yan, bring other candidates’ letters to me. Let’s choose another man.” Mam. Su-Cui calmly said although she was very angry.
“OK!” Zhu Yan immediately returned to the room. There were lots of letters of self-recommendation. It didn’t matter if one was lost.
In the Baiwei Building, Su Li got the news. Hearing the familiar footsteps outside, she didn’t look back and said, “Fang Yuan, I am sorry to trouble you.”
Fang Yuan walked to her with a strange look and sighed, “I really want to accept your gratitude, but when I reached there, the Zhu family had died.”
What?
Su Li stared for a while and then she heard what Fang Yuan said, “The man who killed the Zhu family was extremely cruel. After he killed the family, the whole yard was stained with blood. It seemed that he hated them very much. However, the two men in the Zhu family were bad. If I killed them, I would whip the corpses to vent my anger!”
Fang Yuan told Su Li what he knew about the Zhu family in details.
Su Li was calm and her eyes seemed to shine.
“Did you help me secretly?”
She really wanted to ask but she…did not dare to do so.
Outside the valley, Ling Mo came coldly. He was surrounded with blood smell and murderous air.
Near the valley entrance, Ling Mo took a deep breath. His blood streaks slowly faded away. He changed from the Leader of the Xuelou Cult to a callous youngster.
“Master, I am back.”
Ling Li was struggling to have poison. When he heard the voice of Ling Mo, he immediately swallowed the remaining poison. After a while, he went downstairs and asked, “How is it going?”
Ling Mo frowned and said with anger, “Miss Su Li’s biological mother is so bad that she asks Miss Su to get married with a gambler. That family was shameless. It is a trap. Master, I killed them without your consent. Please punish me.”
The original order of Ling Li was to warn the beggars in the Dasu Town not to intervene the marriage of the Su Family. But Ling Mo was so angry that he killed them, which was against his master’s taboo.
Ling Li became silent for a moment but suddenly smiled, “You did a good job! Killing them can be a warning to others. But it is not enough. Next, you have to do…”
Ling Mo’s eyes became brighter and brighter. He hoped to see that Zhu Yan was frustrated. Now the master gave him the order, so he was very happy.
