Chapter 339

Chapter 339: A Pervert Song Shulan was demoted, and Prince Rong became a commandery prince. Upon learning of this, Cui Lingrong revealed a satisfied smile. "Jing'an Hall doesn't allow attendants to serve you. You may deal with Wang Hechun's Wife however you wish. I'll send someone along to escort Zhao Susu to Jing'an Hall." Prince Rong didn't come inside himself but sent servants in to have Lady Wu handle these matters. When Lady Wu went to see Zhao Susu, Zhao Susu's eyes were bloodshot, and a cloth strip was stuffed in her mouth. "Zhao Susu, look at you now." Lady Wu felt a surge of satisfaction. The resentment she had bottled up for so many years—she could finally breathe easy. There was one thing Cui Lingrong had guessed correctly: Lady Wu did indeed know a steward at Jing'an Hall. Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought it up in the first place. Zhao Susu was hoisted up by the matrons and thrown onto the carriage. Cui Lingrong dispatched Nanny Qiu and Er Shun to follow along, wanting to see Zhao Susu delivered to Jing'an Hall before she could feel at ease. Lady Wu personally escorted them to the city outskirts. Setting off from the city gate, the carriage would take nearly half a day to get there. After delivering the person to Jing'an Hall, she made a special point of instructing them to give Zhao Susu extra "attention." They couldn't return that night, so they stayed over and only went back the next day. And that night, Zhao Susu witnessed the true horror of Jing'an Hall. She was locked in a room with six people. The room didn't reek of filth, but it carried a lingering smell of mildew. At night, she pounded on the door and cried, but she was grabbed and beaten by her roommates. One burly woman dragged Zhao Susu over to the window. "Oh, you're not bad-looking. Which noble household did you come from?" "What do you want? I... my father is a prince!" Zhao Susu's arms and legs ached. She couldn't make out the woman's face, only smell the sweat on her body. "Oh, a member of the imperial clan? So what? Aren't you locked up here just like the rest of us? You look pretty decent—maybe in a few days, there'll be special work waiting for you. Why not let me have some fun first!" "What are you doing?" Zhao Susu felt a rough hand slip into her clothes, and goosebumps rose all over her body. "Someone help! Please, someone help me! My father is a prince—he'll definitely come rescue me!" Zhao Susu's cries pierced the silent night but stirred no ripples. The other four people in the room all huddled under their blankets. Not one even peeked out. A night passed. Zhao Susu wished she were dead. She hated Cui Lingrong to the core. If not for Cui Lingrong insisting on sending her to Jing'an Hall, her father would have already persuaded Song Shulan. Instead, she'd been sent to this place full of demons. Meanwhile, Cui Lingrong waited until Nanny Qiu and the others returned and confirmed that Zhao Susu had been locked inside before she nodded with satisfaction. "Zhao Susu has done countless evil deeds. Letting her die all at once would be too merciful. Since Lady Wu has made her arrangements, we'll just send someone once a month to make sure Zhao Susu is still inside Jing'an Hall." Nanny Qiu felt immensely gratified, having barely slept the night before. "Heaven has eyes. If not for the Crown Prince's Consort bringing it up, this old servant would never have thought of Jing'an Hall." "Since Lady Wu mentioned Jing'an Hall, she must know some people there. She hates Zhao Susu too. With her keeping watch, Zhao Susu won't have an easy time." Cui Lingrong had just finished talking about Zhao Susu when a maid came to report that the eldest young mistress of the Luo family and the others had arrived. Before You Shuyi even entered the room, Cui Lingrong heard her cheerful cry: "Lingrong, did you know? That Zhao woman and Song Shulan have gotten a mutual divorce!" Cui Lingrong saw You Shuyi dragging Yuan Mingzhu along—no need to guess that You Shuyi had forcibly pulled Yuan Mingzhu over. "Lingrong, why are you so calm?" You Shuyi slapped her forehead. "You must know the details about the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion even better. Tell us—what exactly happened?" Cui Lingrong first had someone serve tea, then said, "Zhao Susu was having an affair with Du Cheng. She kept him hidden in her room for several months and even poisoned Song Shulan." "What?" You Shuyi was shocked. Yuan Mingzhu was even more speechless for a long while. "This... is this true?" "Of course it's true. Who would've thought she'd be so bold? She figured Song Shulan couldn't perform, so he wouldn't come to her room, but she still got caught." Cui Lingrong recounted the events of yesterday in detail. You Shuyi said it was quite a coincidence. "That Du Cheng was stupid too. Couldn't he find a place to hide?" Now that she thought about it, that did seem to be the case. Cui Lingrong considered it. "Wutong Courtyard has walls, but they're not tall. Why didn't Du Cheng just find a place to hide first? How did he end up being spotted by Qiutang?" "Oh, don't overthink it. Maybe he was just bold and never thought he'd be discovered!" Yuan Mingzhu said that catching them was a good thing. "This is really something. Zhao Susu was way too arrogant. I can just imagine Song Shulan's face when he found out—it must've been hilarious." "Hmph, that profit-blinded Song Shulan actually tried to use this incident to extort a position from Prince Rong." Cui Lingrong gave a mocking smile. "Good thing I showed up, or Zhao Susu really would've gotten away." The three of them were discussing Jing'an Hall. You Shuyi and Yuan Mingzhu didn't understand the situation there, but after hearing Cui Lingrong's account, both said this was worse than death for Zhao Susu. As they were chatting and laughing, Song Shulan arrived. "Song Shulan? What is he doing here?" Yuan Mingzhu's disgust was undisguised. The maidservant who delivered the message said she didn't know either. "Marquis Song said he wants to see you, that he has some things he must say to you." "I don't want to hear it. Tell him to go back." Cui Lingrong said. "If he refuses to leave like before, just leave him waiting. Don't give him any tea or food." You Shuyi was surprised Song Shulan had come before. "He's not here to make peace, is he?" "Ah, how does he have the face to come?" Yuan Mingzhu was angry just hearing about it. "He doesn't think that just because he and Zhao Susu have had a Mutual Divorce, you'll take him back, does he? Let me tell you, if you reconcile with him, we won't acknowledge you as our sister anymore!" You Shuyi nodded vigorously. "Mm-hmm, no going back to old flames!" Cui Lingrong pressed her lips together and smiled. "What are you thinking? How could I ever fancy Song Shulan?" Even if every man in the world died, or even if she were given another life, she would rather never marry than choose Song Shulan again. "That's good then." You Shuyi and Yuan Mingzhu both let out obvious sighs of relief. Meanwhile, at Song Shulan's location, Song Yu learned her father had come and rushed over furiously. "Father, what are you doing now?" Song Yu was particularly baffled. "Before, you made us suffer for Zhao's sake. You don't actually think that now that Zhao has been sent to Jing'an Hall, Mother will reconcile with you, do you?" "Yu-jie, you're my daughter. Why are you siding with outsiders?" Song Shulan frowned. "If your mother and I reconcile, our family's life will go back to how it was before. Isn't that good?" "Do you think that's possible?" Song Yu was utterly speechless. "Oh, you say one careless sentence about going back to the beginning—can it really go back? Will the harm you did to Mother and to us in those days just disappear?" No, it wouldn't. Song Yu often dreamed of her parents arguing. At first she was terrified, but later she began to wish her parents would get a Mutual Divorce. "Yu-jie! Can't you understand me at all?" Song Shulan didn't think he was wrong. "I did everything for the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, for you and your brother's futures. Do you think I did it all for myself?" Seeing that her father still refused to repent, Song Yu was completely disappointed. She let out a cold laugh and pointed toward the door. "You know in your heart who you did it for. Yesterday, at a time like that, Zhao was about to kill you, yet you were still thinking about scheming with Prince Rong for an official position. You—this is how you're destined to be for the rest of your life!" Song Yu called for the servants. "Show him out! From now on, don't let Marquis Song in. If he has business, let him state it at the gate first, then decide whether to let him in!" Two servants flanked Song Shulan on either side. Seeing that Song Shulan wouldn't move, they grabbed his arms and carried him out. "What are you doing? What is this? Yu-jie, you've gone too far—I'm your father!" Song Shulan struggled the whole way but was still tossed out of the Cui residence. He landed on his backside, his teeth bared in pain. "You people, I'm—" Before Song Shulan could finish, a gust of wind brought dust with it, and he started coughing. Opening his eyes, he saw Xie Yunting on horseback. Song Shulan patted the dust off his trousers and didn't intend to acknowledge Xie Yunting. "Oh, if it isn't Marquis Song. You just had a Mutual Divorce yesterday, and you're already here today—don't go ruining Sister Cui's reputation, you filthy thing." Xie Yunting sneered twice and jumped down from his horse. Song Shulan gritted his teeth. Facing Xie Yunting, he was angry but dared not speak, so he could only slink away in disgrace. Xie Yunting scoffed and walked into the Cui residence, two steps at a time. Meanwhile, at Du Shinan's place, he was packing Du Cheng's luggage. "After what you've done, so shameful—once you return to the Du family, the old master will give you a piece of his mind!" Mrs. He also said, "I'm embarrassed just to speak of your affair. I don't know what you were thinking. That Zhao woman is so much older than you—how could you have the nerve?" But Du Cheng smiled. "Second Uncle, Second Aunt, why do you think the old master will punish me instead of being pleased?" "What do you mean?" Du Shinan didn't understand. "The old master wanted you to carry on my elder brother's bloodline. Now you can't even succeed in your studies, and you're a ruined man. How could the old master possibly be pleased?"