Su Yun was stunned. Her fingers trembling, she pointed at Sikong Jing and shrieked, "You bastard! You sickly weakling—when did you get your strength back? And you dare hit my people?"
With a cold expression, Sikong Jing stepped forward. "That's not all. I dare hit you, too."
But just as Sikong Jing was about to slap Su Yun, Su Yuexi, who had come to her senses, cried, "Wait! Don't hit her!"
Feeling a hand tug at his, Sikong Jing frowned, looking puzzled.
At that moment, the frightened Su Yun shouted again, "Fine, fine! You miserable pair of wretches! You're done for! I'm going to report you to the Su Clan Enforcement Hall right now. Just wait for your punishment!"
With that, Su Yun spun around and ran off.
Her maid and the hired thugs immediately followed, leaving behind a few threats as they fled after her.
Sikong Jing didn't chase them, for Su Yuexi was still clutching his hand tightly. He asked in confusion, "Su... Yuexi, that woman was clearly targeting you on purpose. We should have taught her a harsh lesson."
He had been born a commoner and struggled to survive from childhood. He had always despised the bullying of the weak.
After joining the Great Shang army, Sikong Jing had never hesitated to step in whenever he saw someone being bullied. And the person in front of him was his wife, who had cared for him attentively for several days.
Su Yuexi shook her head hard. "We can't teach her a lesson. Su Yun is my second uncle's daughter. We can make things right by beating her maid and servants, but if you hit her, this will become a huge mess."
That explanation only left Sikong Jing more confused.
"If she's your second uncle's daughter, why does she treat you like this?"
Shouldn't relatives look after one another? Especially close relatives like them.
At the question, sorrow clouded Su Yuexi's eyes. She lowered her head and replied, "Because I'm so ugly that I've brought shame on the Su Clan."
So just because she was ugly, even her own family despised her?
Suddenly, Sikong Jing glanced at their surroundings. His whole body trembled as he asked, "From Su Yun's clothes, your Su Clan doesn't seem poor. So why are you living somewhere like this?"
The air reeked, and the thatched hut looked ready to collapse; a gust of wind might have been enough to blow it down.
How could this be the home of a young lady from a wealthy family?
Sikong Jing had initially thought Su Yuexi came from a humble background. But Su Yun was her second uncle's daughter, and she had a maid and hired thugs. The Su Clan was clearly no ordinary family—in fact, they must have been quite wealthy.
Su Yuexi's gaze grew even dimmer. In a soft voice, she replied, "Our Su Clan is one of the four great clans in Yunye City, Yun Province. We're certainly not poor... I only moved here five days ago."
Sikong Jing's whole body shuddered. "Five days ago... was it because of me?"
Five days ago, he had been exiled to Yun Province and assigned as Su Yuexi's husband.
Five days ago, Su Yuexi had been thrown into this place. The two events had to be connected.
Su Yuexi nodded, then quickly shook her head. "It wasn't entirely because of you. The place I lived before wasn't very good either. After I married you, I brought shame on the Su Clan once again, so they ordered me to live here."
Sikong Jing understood. He was a criminal in exile. For the young lady of one of Yunye City's four great clans to marry a criminal would bring shame on her throughout the entire city, no matter how ugly she was.
So this was the Su Clan's punishment for Su Yuexi.
But how could they do that? Marrying him hadn't been Su Yuexi's choice. It had been the order of the Great Shang Emperor, Yan Tianmo.
"In the end, it's because I'm too ugly." Su Yuexi lowered her head, her eyes full of inferiority.
Seeing her like this, Sikong Jing couldn't help asking, "What about your parents?"
No matter how ugly she was, she was still their daughter. They couldn't possibly let her suffer such abuse.
"They..."
Su Yuexi was about to answer when a shriek cut her off. It came from the shrew lying on the ground.
"Miss Su Yun, I'm crippled! Help me kill that pair of wretches, Su Yuexi and her man!"
The shrew had regained consciousness, but she didn't know that Su Yun had already left.
She shouted again, "Especially that sickly weakling! He chopped off my hands and feet. I'm going to crush him to death by sitting on him!"
At those words, Su Yuexi's expression changed dramatically, and her eyes flickered.
Suddenly, a fierce, resolute glint flashed through her eyes. She rushed to the shrew, pulled a dagger from her clothes, and plunged it viciously toward the woman lying on the ground.
But it seemed she had never killed anyone before. Both hands were shaking violently.
"Ugly freak, what are you doing?"
The shrew cried out in terror and struggled wildly. "You're trying to kill me? You wretch! Miss Su Yun won't let you off. She'll make sure you and your stinking man are dead!"
At those words, Su Yuexi instinctively looked toward Sikong Jing, her gaze growing more resolute.
Her trembling hands stopped shaking. She drove the dagger deep into the shrew's heart.
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