Chapter 314

Chapter 314: Caught in the Act Those who came to Ji'en Hall were not only the homeless who had nowhere to go and stayed there long-term, but also some nearby residents. The little beggar rolled up his tattered sleeve, revealing red marks on his arm. "It was this wicked old woman! She had people chase me away and called me dirty." The little beggar's mother looked at her son's arm and said with concern, "Does it hurt? Could you have been mistaken? Marchioness Song is a kind person—she comes every five days." "I wasn't mistaken! It was this wicked old woman!" The little beggar pointed at Wang Hechun's Wife with conviction. With so many people watching, Wang Hechun's Wife couldn't save face, but she also couldn't curse outright. She shot a look at someone nearby, who stuffed two buns into the little beggar's arms. "Good child, so many people are waiting for the porridge. We were in a hurry just now and it was truly an accident. How about this—I'll take you to see a doctor?" Wang Hechun's Wife lowered her stance and used the excuse that many people were waiting. With that, the crowd's sympathy for the little beggar faded somewhat. But the little beggar fell silent. Zhao Susu, growing impatient, was about to head inside to rest when suddenly someone threw a pebble at her. The pebble wasn't large, but it made Zhao Susu fly into a rage instantly. "Which beastly bastard threw that? Someone! Catch them for me—I'll beat them to death!" "It was me!" A young man in his twenties stepped forward. "You're not truly doing good deeds! Every time you come, you hide away. Once, I even saw you deliberately have people stir dog shit into our porridge, saying we were filthy and stinking!" "What?" "Dog shit?" Hearing this, some people nearby couldn't hold it in and ran out to vomit. Then another person came forward, saying they'd also heard Zhao Susu cursing them. "That's right, I heard it too! She's not a good person—behind our backs she called us all lowborn trash and said why don't we just die!" One accusation, then two, then three—the outcry grew, and the result was that everyone charged at Zhao Susu. Zhao Susu hadn't yet realized how terrifying public outrage could be. Her first reaction was to point at the crowd. "Do you know who I am? My coming here to give you porridge is a blessing your ancestors accumulated over eight generations! You don't appreciate it—fine, I called you lowborn trash. So what?" It was the truth, after all. "Everyone heard that, didn't they? Charge! If we don't strip her clothes off today, she'll think we really are beasts who eat shit!" Zhao Susu had thoroughly enraged the crowd this time. Wang Hechun's Wife was pushed to the ground and slapped hard several times, while Zhao Susu was shielded by several household guards as they retreated. But the commoners were numerous. Seeing the guards draw their swords, they dared not approach, yet they kept throwing things. Zhao Susu was hit several times—her hair bun came loose, and her skirt was dirtied. If not for the guards' quick reflexes in shoving her inside the building, she might very well have been stripped naked. Wang Hechun's Wife wasn't so lucky—she was beaten unconscious. If not for the patrolling soldiers arriving, who knows what might have happened that day. When the commoners saw the soldiers coming, those who could run fled, and those who remained refused to admit they'd laid a hand on anyone. Zhao Susu wanted them all arrested, but the soldiers wouldn't take orders from her. Besides, Zhao Susu couldn't even identify who had attacked her. In pain and fury, she left in utter disgrace. In a nearby alley, Xie Yunting, as agreed, handed over the reward money. "Don't worry—even if Zhao Susu refuses to let this go, the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion won't allow her to cause more trouble. She was in the wrong first. If she really wants to make a scene, she'll only embarrass herself." People had long harbored resentment toward Zhao Susu's behavior but never dared to speak out. Now that someone was paying them, they were happy to come forward and testify against Zhao Susu—after all, ten taels of silver was enough to cover their expenses for a whole year. Why not? Xie Yunting merely had these people speak out about what they'd seen, exposing Zhao Susu's hypocritical facade of kindness. After dismissing them, he arranged for storytellers to spread news of what had happened at Ji'en Hall far and wide. Within two days, everyone in Bianjing knew that Zhao Susu had gone to Ji'en Hall to salvage her reputation, only to put on a show—when in truth, she was rotten to the core. In an instant, the reputations of both the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion and the Rong Prince Mansion collapsed once again, while sympathy for Cui Lingrong grew. The news reached Song Shulan through Gao Jingzhi, who told him directly. "You're truly muddled. Zhao Susu committed such a grave mistake—even if you didn't want a mutual divorce with Cui Lingrong, you should have divorced Zhao Susu. And you actually kept that scourge around? Do you have any idea that Cui Lingrong's cousin is about to be promoted again?" Gao Jingzhi had little talent for officialdom and had remained mediocre over the years, but he excelled at socializing and was extremely well-informed. Song Shulan was stunned. "Really? Is that true?" "Of course it's true—my father told me himself," Gao Jingzhi said. "You really didn't know? Then you've lost out big time. Once Zhuang Huaiming is promoted again, he'll be second rank. With his ability, he might even reach first rank someday." Prince Rong was growing increasingly powerless, while Zhuang Huaiming grew more formidable by the day. Choose one of two. Song Shulan chose Zhao Susu. "I'm telling you, even my own family now wants me to have less to do with you. They say you're not clear-headed, and Madam Zhao is even worse. If it weren't for our many years of brotherhood, I wouldn't be telling you this." Gao Jingzhi clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Let me give you some advice—women need to be coaxed. Isn't Lady Cui just angry that you favor Madam Zhao? Go beg her forgiveness, and at worst, divorce Madam Zhao." By now, there wasn't a soul in Bianjing who didn't know about the things Zhao Susu had done. One could say her reputation stank to high heaven. No wonder his colleague's son was getting married today, yet he hadn't been invited. Song Shulan felt a knot of anger in his chest as he stormed back to the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion. He charged into Wutong Courtyard, and before the young maidservant could even react, Song Shulan pushed the door straight open. Zhao Susu was lying on the bed, and something fell behind the window. Song Shulan frowned and walked over. "What was that?" Zhao Susu scrambled up in a panic and pulled at Song Shulan. "Oh, what else could it be? Either a stray cat or some little critter." Song Shulan glanced out the window but didn't look too closely. He just went back inside and noticed Zhao Susu's clothes scattered all over the floor. "How are the servants in this room attending to you?" "I didn't want to see anyone, so I didn't call anyone in," Zhao Susu said. Wang Hechun's Wife had been beaten so badly she couldn't get up, and who knew how long she'd need to recover. Zhao Susu didn't trust anyone else, so the room was a mess. Song Shulan couldn't stand it and called someone in to tidy up, then turned to Zhao Susu. "Don't go out anymore from now on. Do you know what they're saying about you all over Bianjing right now?" "Master Song, why are you taking others' side instead of mine?" Zhao Susu said angrily. "Look at my forehead—it still hasn't healed. Not only do you not care about me, but you come back and blame me. Do you not love me anymore?" Song Shulan was speechless. "I'm telling you to be more careful in what you do. Since you went to Ji'en Hall to do charity, then at least make it look decent. Instead, you stirred up a huge fuss, gained nothing, and got pelted with stones by the common folk. For days now, people have been throwing rotten vegetable leaves at the mansion gate. Is that my fault, or yours?" "Fine, fine, fine, it's all my fault. Then don't come looking for me, and I don't need your comfort!" Zhao Susu got up and shoved him. "I never should have married you. If I'd known you'd come to despise me, I'd rather not have married at all!" "You said that, not me!" "Isn't that what you mean?" Zhao Susu told Song Shulan to leave. Song Shulan couldn't reason with Zhao Susu, and he didn't want to deal with her either. "Bang!" Zhao Susu slammed the door shut and hurried to look behind the window for Du Cheng, but didn't see him. At that moment, Du Cheng was covering Qiuju's mouth. "If you don't want to die, do as I say, understand?"