In late autumn, the summer heat had completely dissipated in Shengjing. The temperature dropped suddenly, catching people off guard with the cold. A gust of autumn wind blew, and the withered yellow leaves rustled to the ground, exuding a desolate air.
In a drafty and cramped hut in the back courtyard of the Lu Mansion, Su Yuanyuan, who had caught a cold, lay weakly on the musty bed, pressing hard on her chest and coughing violently.
"Cough, cough, cough—"
The cold wind blew in through the broken window. Su Yuanyuan shivered all over and coughed even more violently.
Hong Li held her hand and choked with sobs, "Miss, I'm sorry. I hadn't even left the courtyard when I was beaten back by the people sent by Mrs. Qin."
The Mrs. Qin she mentioned was the mistress of the Lu Mansion, the legitimate wife of Grand Scholar Lu, who had been married through proper ceremonies.
It was only natural for the mistress to torment the concubines in the back courtyard. Who made concubines of a lowly status?
But she, she had once been the legitimate second daughter of the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion!
Ever since she was carried into the back courtyard of the Lu Mansion in a small sedan chair, all her gold, silver, and precious ornaments had been taken away by Mrs. Qin. Mrs. Qin said that as a concubine, she didn't deserve such expensive things and had arranged this drafty hut for them.
Su Yuanyuan had lived a life of luxury in the past. How could she withstand such hardships? She caught a cold after just half a day.
And she had no money at all. She couldn't even afford the most common medicine for colds.
Now, even when her maid tried to go out to find a way to get medicine for her, she was beaten back!
The indomitable spirit in Su Yuanyuan was aroused again. She struggled to prop up her body, got out of bed, and said through gritted teeth, "I'll go myself! I don't believe she, Mrs. Qin, really dares to stop me!"
Suddenly, the door was slammed open. Mrs. Qin barged into the room with her people. Before Su Yuanyuan could react, Mrs. Qin grabbed her hair and slapped her hard twice on the face.
"As the mistress, what wouldn't I dare? Even if I were to beat you, this shameless slut, to death right here today, no one could fault me!"
Su Yuanyuan was already weak. After the two slaps, she almost fainted. Her ears were buzzing, and she couldn't help but retch to the side.
A sharp pain shot through her fingers. Mrs. Qin shrieked and scolded,
"You even dare to feel nauseous? Do I need to remind you of the ugly things you've done?"
"I'm afraid no one in the whole of Shengjing would have thought that the second miss of the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion would actually take a fancy to Uncle Lu Chuan, who is old enough to be your father. At the Autumn Festival Banquet, you shamelessly used aphrodisiac incense to seduce him and have your fun! At that time, why didn't you find yourself disgusting and lowly? You even dared to frame your legitimate elder sister afterwards. If I were you, I would have been so ashamed that I'd have banged my head against the wall and killed myself on the spot when your true face was exposed."
"But you were willing to enter the Lu Mansion and become Lu Chuan's seventh concubine. Since that's the case, as the mistress, I naturally have to discipline you well!"
Mrs. Qin took out a jeweled hairpin from her hair and threw it on Su Yuanyuan's messy hair. She said viciously,
"Seventh Concubine stole my jeweled hairpin. According to the laws of the Great Chu, the crime of theft deserves twenty strokes of the cane."
Su Yuanyuan was thrown to one side. The next second, she felt herself being firmly held down. The force was so strong that it hurt her bones.
She was already very weak from the cold. If she were to be beaten twenty strokes, she would surely die!
Hong Li beside her shouted angrily, "Mrs. Qin, my miss is the second miss of the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion. If you dare to treat my miss like this, the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion will never let you off!"
Mrs. Qin seemed to have heard a funny joke, "Everyone in Shengjing knows that Su Yuanyuan of the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion is a well - known evil woman. Even her own father, the Marquis of Pingyang, and her elder brothers and sisters loathe her to the extreme. Do you really believe they'll help you?"
Mrs. Qin snorted coldly, "Do it!"
The thick stick as thick as an adult man's arm mercilessly fell on Su Yuanyuan's body. Her plain dress was immediately stained with blood.
Mrs. Qin had really used all her strength. After three strokes, Su Yuanyuan's consciousness was already scattered due to the severe pain, and her vision was blurred.
Su Yuanyuan thought she would lose her life here today. At this moment, someone rushed in from outside in a hurry:
"Madam! It's bad! The heir of the Marquis of Pingyang has led elite soldiers to break open the main gate of our mansion and injured the guards!"
Mrs. Qin's face changed, "Are you sure you didn't misidentify? Is it really the heir of the Marquis of Pingyang?"
"Absolutely sure!"
The force holding Su Yuanyuan down instantly disappeared. Hong Li rushed forward and helped the dying Su Yuanyuan up, "Miss, miss, do you hear that? The heir has come with his men! He must have come to save you!"
Su Yuanyuan was in excruciating pain, but because of her joy and excitement, she coughed violently.
It's big brother! Has big brother not given up on her and come to save her from this sea of bitterness?
As if in response to her thoughts, there came the sound of uniform footsteps in the distance. Su Zeqian, the heir of the Marquis of Pingyang, strode forward with the Imperial Guards in silver armor.
Su Yuanyuan's eyes were hot, and scalding tears welled up in her eyes. Regardless of the pain in her body, she struggled to get up from the ground with Hong Li's support and rushed towards her elder brother.
"Big brother, you've come to take Yuan'er home, right?"
Before she could rush up to him, the Imperial Guard beside Su Zeqian drew out his long sword and shouted coldly, "Stop! Take one more step and you'll be killed without mercy!"
Su Yuanyuan was forced to stop and fell to the ground weakly. She looked extremely miserable.
Su Zeqian in front of her didn't even look at her. There wasn't even a trace of pity on his face. He took out a roll of bright yellow silk from his bosom and said coldly,
"The Lu Mansion, listen to the imperial edict."
A sense of foreboding instantly enveloped the entire Lu Mansion. Mrs. Qin vaguely sensed something. She led all the people in the back courtyard to kneel on the ground. Their bodies were trembling slightly.
"... After a detailed investigation by the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court, Grand Scholar Lu Chuan of the Dragon - Diagram Pavilion was found to have formed cliques for selfish ends. He leaked exam questions and accepted bribes during the autumn imperial examinations in the third, tenth, and thirteenth years of the Jingde era. The evidence is conclusive. He is hereby dismissed from his position as Grand Scholar of the Dragon - Diagram Pavilion and sentenced to immediate beheading. His mansion and all his property will be confiscated and incorporated into the national treasury."
"All his family members, regardless of age or gender, will be enslaved for life. They will be branded on the face and immediately exiled to Xingzhou County. They are never allowed to return to the capital. So it is decreed!"
Su Yuanyuan felt dizzy. She couldn't believe her ears at all.
Lu Chuan was sentenced to immediate beheading for leaking exam questions for profit and forming cliques for selfish ends?
All his family members would be enslaved for life and exiled to Xingzhou County in the northern border!
How could this happen?!
After Su Zeqian finished reading the imperial edict, the Imperial Guards took out shackles and chained up everyone in the back courtyard of the Lu Mansion. Seeing an Imperial Guard walking towards Su Yuanyuan, Hong Li resolutely stood in front of her and cried to Su Zeqian,
"Heir! The second miss has caught a cold. Just now, she was secretly beaten with the cane by Mrs. Qin. Her body can't withstand the punishment of exile! Please have mercy and spare her!"
Su Yuanyuan also tried to crawl towards Su Zeqian to grab the corner of his clothes. "Elder brother..."
But Su Zeqian avoided her touch. He finally glanced at her, with a look of disgust on his face.
"Don't try to claim kinship randomly. I only have one younger sister, and the only legitimate miss of the Marquis's Mansion is Su Qingyu."
The cold shackles were fastened around Su Yuanyuan's neck. Looking at her elder brother's resolute back as he left, Su Yuanyuan was extremely grief - stricken. Her body trembled violently, and she coughed up a mouthful of thick, black blood. Then she died.