Volume One, Chapter Three: Entanglement with the Northern Guardian Duke

Heh, the villain got to complain first.

Su Yi’an silently gave a thumbs-up to Concubine Li’s performance: Just look at you, crying so pitifully—if I weren’t the victim myself, I’d have believed you.

“Nonsense!” Su Yi’an declared loudly, striding in with great steps.

Her father, Su Huairen, was shocked at the sight of his eldest daughter’s veiled, blood-stained face. He immediately rose from his grand chair. He hadn’t expected her injuries to be this grave! Losing her chastity was something that could perhaps be concealed, but a ruined face—how could he possibly explain that to Prince Chu?

Su Huairen’s voice trembled with anxiety. “Steward Wu! Quickly! Go fetch a doctor! Bring back the best one!”

Su Yi’an spoke in a low, steady voice, “Father, my face was slashed by Li and her daughter. Yesterday, it wasn’t some villain who entered my courtyard—it was the Lord of the North.”

“What?! The Lord of the North!” Su Huairen’s voice rose even higher, more astonished than when he saw his daughter’s disfigurement.

Su Yi’an was stunned herself. Wasn’t she supposed to implicate her own fiancé, Prince Chu, so he would support her? Then, seeing her disfigured face, he would conveniently break off the engagement. How did she end up saying the Lord of the North instead?

What nonsense was this Lord of the North? Who were his parents, after all? Good heavens, was she being affected by the original host’s foolishness, making her unable to control her tongue?

Concubine Li, Li Pianran, wiped her tears and rose from the ground, walking over with a look full of concern. “Yi’an, your mind’s even more muddled today, isn’t it? The Lord of the North is stationed at the northern frontier all year round; he’s not even in the capital. And he’s famous for being a cold-blooded god of war, never close to women. Rumor has it that even the flies in his residence are all male.”

Su Yi’an, unfazed, decided to go along with her own mistake. She lied without missing a beat, “I don’t know who he really was. Anyway, he told me he was the Lord of the North. He especially rushed back from the frontier before my wedding to pour out his feelings for me, claiming he admires me and will marry no one but me. He begged me not to marry Prince Chu, but to wed him instead. He even left a token of his affection.”

As she spoke, Su Yi’an displayed the jade pendant she had snatched last night.

Su Huairen glanced at the pendant and was so startled his heart skipped a beat.

It really was the Lord of the North’s jade pendant! He had seen it countless times since the prince’s youth—he couldn’t possibly be mistaken. Moreover, rumors said that the Lord of the North had been gravely wounded recently and had returned to the capital in secret to recuperate.

Four years ago, when the emperor arranged a marriage between the Lord of the North and Yi’an, he had refused, since he was always stationed at the frontier and had never seen Yi’an’s face. Now that he’d returned and seen her unmatched beauty, it was only natural he might regret his earlier refusal.

At this moment, Li Pianran, unaware of the truth, walked up and took hold of Su Yi’an’s arm, looking at her with a face full of distress. “Poor child, your illness is getting worse. Let your aunt take you back to your room to rest.”

Su Yi’an shot her a look full of disgust, then raised her hand and pushed her down to the ground with a thud. “Stop pretending! You’re all smiles in front but plot behind my back! Father, yesterday it was Li and her daughter, jealous that both princes admired me—they slashed my face with a hairpin and stuffed me into a pig basket to drown in the pond. All the servants in the back courtyard saw it! And for the record, I climbed out myself—they didn’t rescue me at all. In fact, I dragged them into the water with me; neither of them can swim.”

Listening to Su Yi’an’s rapid-fire accusations, Li Pianran’s features twisted in shock. How could this fool suddenly speak so eloquently today? In the past, no matter how she was tormented, she never made a sound—a punch to her would barely bring a grunt.

Li Pianran, frowning, forced a look of deep anguish and turned to Su Huairen. “Master, listen to the nonsense she’s spouting! Perhaps it’s best not to let her out anymore. If she keeps talking like this, it’ll ruin the Su family’s reputation, not to mention the names of both princes—something terrible could happen.”

Su Yi’an looked straight at Su Huairen, her gaze unwavering. “Father, every word I’ve spoken is the truth. If you don’t believe me, investigate and see for yourself! Lies can’t become truth, and truth can never be false. I trust, for the sake of both princes, you’ll give your daughter justice.”

At the mention of the two princes, Su Huairen immediately tensed. “Bring all the servants from the back courtyard here!”

Li Pianran was uneasy. The master had never taken the fool’s words seriously before—why was he so earnest today? Yet she quickly swallowed her anxiety, striving to remain calm. For more than ten years, she had ruled the rear courtyard with an iron hand; none of the servants would dare defy her. There was no way anything could be found out!

Su Huairen cast a glance at the twenty or so servants gathered from the back courtyard.

“Are they all here?” he asked.

Li Pianran forced a flattering smile. “Yes, they’re all here, Master. Let’s just play along with Yi’an—she’s not in her right mind, so please don’t be angry with her.”

“There’s one missing!” Su Yi’an suddenly spoke up. “An old woman from the kitchen isn’t here!”

Li Pianran kept up her forced smile. “Master, that old woman, Rong, is ill and bedridden. I didn’t want her to come and risk passing her illness to you.”

Su Yi’an smiled coldly, “Father, Rong isn’t sick. Yesterday, she fed me slop from a bowl used for the cats. I broke that bowl over her head. Bring her here and ask her yourself.”

Would a kitchen maid really dare to feed the future Princess Chu kitchen slop? Su Huairen was inclined to believe that Yi’an was having one of her spells, talking nonsense again. Yet, if she repeated this story to the princes—saying the servants fed her slop and her father did nothing—wouldn’t that spell disaster for him?

“Someone! Bring Old Rong here!”

Rong was brought to the front courtyard and insisted she had simply fallen and hit her head by accident—it had nothing to do with the young lady.

Su Yi’an remained calm. “Father, use the family rod. Only under the rod will the servants speak the truth.”

“Beat her!” Su Huairen ordered without hesitation. “Twenty heavy strokes!”

Old Rong was pressed onto the bench, but the servant wielding the rod pretended to hit hard, yet barely touched her—the force was all in his own arm. Each blow looked fierce but couldn’t so much as break a block of tofu.

Such petty tricks of the inner courtyard were child’s play to Su Yi’an. Without a change in expression, she picked up a small stone and flicked it onto the servant’s funny bone. Instantly, his arm could no longer hold back, and the rod came down with full force. Old Rong’s screams were bloodcurdling.

After a few strokes, her skin was split and blood flowed freely.

Unable to bear the pain, Old Rong sobbed and wailed, “Master, please stop! It’s not my fault! It was all Madam Li who told me to feed the young lady slop!”