Chapter 23: Aren’t You Afraid?

Chapter 23: Aren't You Afraid?

Lin Wanwan's expression instantly changed. "Su Youyue, how dare you! You're not allowed to come to our house!"

Who in the Imperial City wouldn't disdain the calamity-bringing Su Youyue? Who would welcome a calamity into their home?

They already felt unlucky enough when they saw her at banquets. If she were to set foot in their residence, her parents would scold her to death!

Xiao Feiyan was slightly surprised that Su Youyue only mentioned Lin Wanwan and not herself. She always had a strange feeling about Su Youyue's attitude towards her.

Why was this so? They had never had any particular friendship before.

Unable to figure it out, she could only suppress her uneasiness for now and ponder over Su Youyue's words. She didn't know that such a commotion had happened in the Su family. Concubine Liu had lost the dowry of the matriarch, and they were currently searching for the thief within the household?

It was well-known in the Imperial City that Su Youyue's biological mother, Lady Lu, had an incredibly lavish dowry. It could even be considered the most extravagant in the Great Prosperous Dynasty. It was no wonder that someone would be envious of it.

Whether it was a daring servant or Concubine Liu who had taken it was hard to determine, especially with Su Youyue's veiled implications.

Su Qian's face darkened slightly, but Su Youyue had no intention of pretending with her anymore. "Su Qian, in the past, when you spread rumors about me being a disaster, using my reputation to build up your own as a lucky star, I was too lazy to confront you. But if you dare to overstep your bounds and cause trouble like today, I'll slap your mouth raw!" The smile that had always adorned the young girl's face had vanished. Her bright, expressive eyes now glinted with sharp daggers, as if she were ready to tear someone apart! Su Qian, still trying to smooth over the situation, never expected Su Youyue to so brazenly expose her true colors. When did this idiot figure it out? The two ladies standing by, equally stunned, exchanged glances without a word. This matter had surpassed their level of intervention. Besides, the information Su Youyue had just revealed was overwhelming, requiring some time for digestion. "Second Sister, how can you say such things..." Su Qian panicked. "I have never..." "Xie Yuan! Help me slap her!" Su Youyue despised pretense. She was a straightforward person by nature. Pretending with Xie Yuan was for survival, and putting on a show for Grandmother was to save face for her. To feign affection with a hypocrite like Su Qian was beneath her dignity! There was still some distance between Su Youyue and Su Qian, making it impossible for her to reach with her whip. Without hesitation, she tossed it to Xie Yuan.

The man raised his hand to seize the whip in mid-air and lashed out, the sound of it cracking through the air with a force a thousand times greater than Su Youyue's. It held the power to shatter boulders weighing a thousand jin. The young ladies present were horrified, their faces paling as they hurriedly retreated.

Qiao'er on the ground was not so fortunate. The whip seemed to have eyes, landing with a vicious crack across her back. She let out a shrill scream before fainting, her clothes on her back quickly stained crimson with blood.

Lin Wanwan and Su Qian trembled in fear, while Xiao Feiyan, hailing from a family of warriors, appeared slightly more composed, albeit with an extremely pale complexion.

It was no secret that the Xie family's sons were exceptional, but the public knew only of Xie Yu and Xie Chuan, who were prominent in the court. In contrast, Xie Yuan rarely appeared in public, causing his reputation to pale in comparison.

To their surprise, Xie Yuan's martial arts skills were unparalleled. That single whip strike had been imbued with inner strength; if it had landed on a stone, it might have split it in two!

While the untrained eye could not discern much, Xiao Feiyan knew that Qiao'er's chances of survival were slim.

"Second Miss Su... I'm feeling a bit unwell, so I'll take my leave now," Xiao Feiyan said, eager to leave the Su residence before Qiao'er breathed her last, unwilling to return home tainted by the bad luck of a deceased person.

Without waiting for Su Qian's response, she turned and left.

Even though Lin Wanwan despised Su Youyue, she dared not stay after witnessing such a scene. That whip had nearly struck her too!

Terrified, she quickly gathered her people and fled.

Su Qian and her maid stood there, their faces pale as they gazed at the motionless Qiaoer on the ground.

Su Youyue slowly exhaled, not at all surprised by Xie Yuan's strength. She had witnessed firsthand in her previous life how he tormented criminals with an array of weapons. Her whip techniques would be nothing compared to his.

"We should go," she said, not bothering to spare another glance at Su Qian, let alone the possibly dying Qiaoer.

Back in her previous life, before Qiaoer publicly aligned herself with Concubine Kang Yun, Su Youyue had never even given her a cold shoulder. Qiaoer's living expenses were no less than those of a young miss from a family of fifth-rank officials. The monthly stipend and rewards she received were enough to make many envious.

Yet, despite Qiaoer's early allegiance to Madam Liu and her attempts to ruin Su Youyue's reputation, she ultimately assisted the Lu family in disposing of Su Youyue's whip and silver needles, leaving her utterly alone and vulnerable before her death...

Upon returning to her courtyard, Jin'er immediately scolded, "Miss, Qiaoer has gone too far, implicating Miss alongside the Second Miss! But when did she steal anything?"

It dawned on her that this was the reason for Miss's sudden neglect of Qiaoer, but she had no idea when Miss discovered Qiaoer's thievery.

Su Youyue curved her lips slightly. "Go search her room thoroughly with some people, and you'll find out."

Taking her orders, Jin'er hastily searched Qiaoer's quarters. To her astonishment, besides two thousand taels of silver, Jin'er found numerous jewels and accessories that once belonged to Miss.

Su Youyue had never lacked for such items before. Unless they were particularly cherished, she wouldn't have noticed if one or two went missing. How could Qiao'er not exploit that? Ever since Su Youyue was reborn, Qiao'er had seen that she was no longer favored. Fearing that there might be no future opportunities, the servant had taken a few inconspicuous items.

But Su Youyue was no longer the naive young lady who had never experienced poverty. Before she started doing business with the Lu family, she had lived through a time when every coin had to be stretched to its limit. Thus, it was easy for her to detect the theft.

With evidence in hand, the entire Su family soon knew how much Qiao'er had stolen. The jewels and accessories alone could fetch around three thousand taels, not to mention the two thousand taels in cash.

A mere servant had stolen five thousand taels from her master! She deserved to be beaten to death!

When news came in the evening that Qiao'er had succumbed to the whip, there were no objections from the household. Everyone cursed Qiao'er for her fate.

Su Youyue was having dinner when she heard about Qiao'er's demise. She gave Xie Yuan, who stood by her side, an extra glance.

The man sensed her gaze and lifted his eyes to meet hers. The thin paper lanterns outside swayed gently in the breeze, casting flickering yellow light that stirred something within Su Youyue. A question suddenly popped into her head: "Xie Yuan, you killed her with one lash. Aren't you afraid that others would notice you?"