Concubine Li was so eager to skin Su Hele alive that she sneered when she heard this.
"Commit suicide? Fine. That'll save me the trouble. Why aren't you moving?"
It was unclear who this order was directed at, but the old women exchanged glances and slowly approached.
Su Hele bit her lips until they bled, and her hand holding the jade hairpin trembled slightly.
Concubine Li scoffed softly. She knew Su Hele didn't have the guts.
Seeing this, Su Hele gritted her teeth and exerted force. Blood trickled down her neck.
"A gentleman would rather be killed than humiliated. Concubine Li, I'll say it one more time. I'm the wife that He Jin married through proper formalities. You have no right to impose private punishment on me!"
Concubine Li slammed the teacup down and stood up, intending to order her servants to act.
"She has no such right, but I do!"
Chen Wanrong stood outside the door with a gloomy face. Behind her was Su Nansheng with a submissive expression.
Su Hele immediately threw away the hairpin and sobbed.
"Mother, save me. Concubine Li has set up a private court. She wants to beat me to death."
Chen Wanrong stared at her coldly, her face stern.
"Commit suicide? You really know how to bring disgrace to our Anshun Marquis Mansion."
If the newlywed wife were to commit suicide, who knew how many people would use this as a topic of gossip? It was like pushing their Anshun Marquis Mansion onto the tip of a knife.
Chen Wanrong walked towards the main seat. As she passed by, the servants all lowered their heads.
"Someone, take off her jewelry!"
Hearing this, some old nannies immediately stepped forward to remove Su Hele's earrings and bracelets. Even the broken jade hairpin on the ground was taken away.
Su Hele was confused. She stood up and wanted to follow Chen Wanrong, but was sternly stopped by her.
"Kneel down!"
As soon as the words were spoken, two old women grabbed Su Hele's arms and kicked the back of her knees. Su Hele immediately knelt on the ground.
Chen Wanrong walked up to Concubine Li, who immediately gave up her seat.
Chen Wanrong sat down, her face as cold as frost.
"Su Hele, did I tell you not to rush to touch that garden?"
"Mother said it was okay..."
Su Hele tried to defend herself, but was interrupted by Chen Wanrong's stern voice. "Did I or not!"
"Yes."
"You've defied the mistress, acted recklessly, and caused gossip. You've committed two of the seven grounds for divorce. Su Hele, it seems this mansion can no longer tolerate you."
Chen Wanrong's voice wasn't loud, but it made Su Hele's ears ring.
"Nanny Zhao, go find the second young master and ask him to write the divorce letter."
"Yes."
Su Hele's eyes widened in disbelief. Was it really just for such a trivial matter?
"He... he won't agree."
Su Hele's throat was so dry that she could hardly speak.
Chen Wanrong sneered at Su Hele.
"Disagree? Maybe. You can take a gamble."
Su Hele stared blankly as Nanny Zhao walked towards the door. Her heart was filled with panic.
Just as Nanny Zhao stepped out of the door, Su Hele's straight back suddenly slumped.
"Mother, your daughter-in-law knows her mistake. Please forgive me."
Su Hele crawled forward on her knees, her face pleading. All her former arrogance was gone.
Chen Wanrong ignored her and just lowered her head to drink tea.
Seeing this, Su Hele turned to Su Nansheng.
"A Sheng, please plead for me. Your sister really knows her mistake."
Su Nansheng was enjoying the show, but she didn't expect to be involved.
She avoided Su Hele's gaze and lowered her head to drink tea.
But unexpectedly, Su Hele crawled straight towards her.
"A Sheng, I'm your older sister. How could you..."
"Enough. Come and apologize to Concubine Li!" Chen Wanrong interrupted her, frowning tightly.
This Su Hele really knew how to take advantage of the situation!
She could ignore Su Hele's pleading, but she didn't want Su Nansheng to be criticized.
It was obvious that Su Nansheng didn't want to pay attention to Su Hele, but if she really ignored her, people might say that she was heartless and didn't care about sisterly affection.
After Su Hele served tea to Concubine Li and apologized, Chen Wanrong continued.
"The divorce letter can be postponed for now, but the punishment is inevitable. You go to the front yard and kneel there until dawn tomorrow. We'll discuss the rest later."
Su Hele, who thought she had escaped this disaster, suddenly looked up.
Kneeling all night in the front yard, where there were servants coming and going, how could she ever establish her authority in the future?
Chen Wanrong glanced at her. "What? You're not willing?"
"Your daughter-in-law is willing."
Su Hele lowered her head, looking pitiful.
Chen Wanrong rolled her eyes and stood up to leave. But when she reached the door, she suddenly stopped.
"If you can't bear it and faint, you'll have to start over and kneel until the end of the night. If He Jin is dissatisfied with this punishment, he can come to me directly."
...
Su Nansheng and Bitao found a shady spot to watch Su Hele kneeling as punishment. It wasn't that they liked to watch the excitement, but if everyone else was watching and they didn't, they'd feel they were missing out.
"Mistress, even that young servant who broke his leg has come with his crutch."
Bitao pointed in a direction and whispered.
Su Nansheng looked over and saw a young servant sitting in the corner with a smug look on his face. He even brought some tea.
In another corner next to that young servant, there was a little maid peeping out.
Su Nansheng couldn't help but smile. Su Hele had offended quite a few people.
She thought that with so many people watching, Su Hele would feel at least a little ashamed. But Su Hele's back straightened again, and her chin was slightly raised.
Seeing this, Su Nansheng was too lazy to watch anymore. She took Bitao and walked back.
After leaving everyone's sight, Bitao couldn't help but praise.
"Mistress, our mistress is really amazing. She didn't even shout or threaten, but she managed to subdue the second young mistress. That second young mistress has such a hard mouth. She never knew how to admit her mistakes. Now she's admitted her mistake and apologized. It's really not easy."
Although Bitao only waited at the second gate, she didn't miss a single thing that happened inside.
Su Nansheng smiled but didn't say a word. Su Hele didn't really admit her mistake. She was just afraid. Afraid that she'd lose He Jin, her only reliance, if she lost the gamble.
But at least she had lost face. It was quite a gain. It's just...
She had been impulsive this time. She shouldn't have sat in the front row to watch the excitement.
The mistress and the maid chatted and arrived at the Listening to the Wind Courtyard. Su Nansheng pushed open the door and went in.
Just as Bitao was about to follow, Feiyu suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked her with his sword.
"You can't go in."
Bitao tilted her head. This sounded so familiar.
...
Su Nansheng entered the inner room and saw He Xun reclining on the beauty's couch, loosely holding a book in his hand.
Su Nansheng was stunned. "Why are you here?"
He Xun didn't say a word. He just raised his eyebrows and looked at her.
"Didn't you say you were going to sleep in the study for a few days?" Su Nansheng realized she had said something wrong and quickly tried to make up for it.
He Xun threw the book on the low table and bent his knees.
"I'm already married. Why should I still sleep in the study?"
It had been said that the bed in the study was small and hard, and someone didn't even invite him back.
"Didn't you say you were busy with official business?"
Su Nansheng looked helpless. He was the one who said he was going to sleep in the study.
He Xun sighed and patted the beauty's couch. "I'm not busy now."
Actually, he hadn't been busy in the past few days either. He just wanted to give Su Nansheng a few days to think about their relationship.
Seeing He Xun's action, before he could say anything else, Su Nansheng automatically sat down beside him, still thinking about what He Xun had just said.
He wasn't busy now, so...
He Xun turned to look at Su Nansheng and casually picked up the belt that was hanging on the couch and wrapped it around his finger. "Have you thought it through these two days?"