Su Qingtian was so angry his face turned red and his neck thick, but he couldn't bring himself to scold the young girl who had just suffered a blow.
Zhou Wanyou, however, remained calm, as if she had anticipated this. She simply instructed the two brothers, "Take Siyuan back to his room."
The two brothers nodded and, pulling Su Siyuan along, headed out.
Su Siyuan struggled, tears streaming down his face, filled with grief and indignation. "I didn't, Mother, believe me, I didn't!! She's lying!"
His heart-wrenching cries were soon drowned out as the two brothers led him away.
The hall fell silent once more.
Dou Ying, as if she had won a victory, lifted her head. "Since the matter has been clarified, you should quickly find someone to rescue Xingzhe from prison."
"And also..." Dou Ying patted Su Yinyin's shoulder with satisfaction. "My Yinyin has already suffered a loss; she can't be made to live with her head down for her entire life. You must have your third son marry her."
Su Yunmo frowned.
Mother would never agree to that. If their third brother were to marry Su Yinyin, then their third brother would live in pain and shame for the rest of his life.
Su Qingtian, unable to resolve this matter, instinctively looked to his wife.
Zhou Wanyou pondered for a moment. "Rescuing Su Xingzhe and having the two children betrothed are mutually exclusive choices."
Dou Ying was taken aback and frowned. "Are you trying to bargain with me? Don't forget..."
Zhou Wanyou continued, "If the two children are betrothed, then today's matter is resolved."
"If two betrothed children sleep together, even if it's not proper, the General's Estate has the means to suppress this matter."
In other words, since today's incident could be resolved by 'betrothal,' why bother with the additional trouble of Su Xingzhe?
Dou Ying pursed her lips, conflicted.
"Mother..." Su Yinyin tugged at Dou Ying's sleeve, a flicker of hope appearing in her despairing eyes.
This was her only chance to turn the tables.
Dou Ying glanced at her daughter, then, with a hint of reluctance, brushed her hand away. "You should find a way to rescue Xingzhe as soon as possible."
Yinyin, for your second brother, I can only apologize.
Su Yinyin's hand slowly drooped, the light in her eyes instantly extinguished.
Zhou Wanyou agreed to rescue the person from prison, but on the condition that Dou Ying publicly declare the day's events a misunderstanding. Dou Ying still wanted to force the marriage, but was refused. For her son, she would betray her daughter again, and Su Yinyin was disheartened.
"Alright, we will handle this matter. However, in return, you must publicly state that today's events were a misunderstanding. I don't want Siyuan to suffer any further grievances because of this."
Zhou Wanyou did not want her son to be wronged, so this grievance would have to be borne by Su Yinyin.
But Dou Ying clearly had no objections. "Fine, I will say it."
This agreement meant Su Yinyin was completely cast aside as a pawn, with no regard for her thoughts or future.
Su Qingtian admired his wife's clear thinking and, no longer wishing to be in the same room as Dou Ying, said, "If Second Aunt has nothing else, you may leave."
"Of course, of course, we're leaving now." Dou Ying, beaming as if she had gained a great advantage, took Su Yinyin's hand and walked towards the exit.
Su Yinyin instinctively tried to pull away, but couldn't, so she let herself be led out.
As they reached the doorway, Su Yinyin glanced back at Su Yunmo.
Su Yunmo stood beside Zhou Wanyou, her hand not held, but Zhou Wanyou had one arm around her, a gesture of great care.
Su Yinyin concealed the tears in her eyes and left with Dou Ying.
After the mother and daughter had gone, Su Qingtian slammed the table and cursed, "What a disgrace!"
Zhou Wanyou sent Xi Tian to escort the doctor away. "Brother Yi, please don't be angry yet. Although I agreed with Second Sister-in-law, the matter of Su Xingzhe still requires Brother Yi's opinion." xxs壹贰
After all, Su Xingzhe was facing a death sentence. If there was truly no chance of clemency, then Siyuan would have to endure the grievance.
She herself came from a martial family and understood what loyalty and righteousness meant to military men.
Therefore, even if Siyuan was wronged, the family name could not be stained with disloyalty or injustice.
Su Qingtian didn't find the matter difficult, just unpleasant. "You don't need to worry, You'er. In fact, I already knew about Su Xingzhe's situation."
"The family of the deceased daughter is also not good people. They've sent people to the Jingzhao Prefecture several times, hoping to settle it privately. I rejected them the previous few times, and the second branch doesn't know about it."
The case had been dragging on without a verdict precisely because of that family's attitude. They didn't want blood for blood; they only wanted money.
Initially, he had insisted on adhering to that family's wishes, wanting to seek justice for the deceased girl. Now, it seemed he had to wrong the girl.
What a sin!
Seeing them begin to discuss the details of the matter, Su Yunmo whispered, "Father, Mother, I want to go see Third Brother."
Zhou Wanyou rubbed her face. "Go, spend more time with your Third Brother. He must have been frightened by all this."
"Okay~" The little dumpling nodded obediently and walked away.
She left the hall and headed towards the courtyard where Su Siyuan was staying, but was stopped before she could enter.
The servant guarding the courtyard sighed. "Fourth Miss, it would be better if you came back in a couple of days. Third Young Master is very upset, and even Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master have been sent away."
From inside the room came suppressed groans and sobs.
Su Yunmo peered into the courtyard. The doors and windows were tightly shut, making it impossible to see inside.
"Alright, then I'll come back in a couple of days." Su Yunmo gave up on entering for now.
Third Brother needed time to calm down, so it was best to let him have some quiet time alone.
She shook her head and turned to leave.
Su Siyuan did need quiet, but unfortunately, no matter how the household tried to create a peaceful atmosphere, the noise from outside inevitably filtered in.
Although Dou Ying had agreed to label the incident a 'misunderstanding' as promised, the events of that day still spread.
Good deeds don't travel far, but bad deeds spread like wildfire. For several days, many people discussed the matter as casual conversation.
Even the academy heard about it.
Feeling that it had a negative impact, they sent a letter.
Su Siyuan was expelled from the academy.
When the notice reached Su Siyuan, he said nothing, merely accepting the notice and locking it away in a box.
Su Siyuan was not yet of the age to leave the academy.
Zhou Wanyou tried speaking to the academy several times without success. Even Su Siqi went to plead with the dean.
However, the dean had not been at the academy for many years, and the academy had its own set of regulations that he could not change.
Su Qingtian was not one to sit idly by. He waved his hand and immediately arranged for someone to enroll Su Siyuan in a martial arts school.
Even if he couldn't study a hundred schools of thought, he could still strengthen his body and cultivate. For a young master from a military family, practicing martial arts was the proper path.
Su Yunmo came to deliver the message on behalf of Su Qingtian.
Su Siyuan heard this but showed no particular reaction, only saying that he would obey his father's arrangements.
Such words were not typical of Su Siyuan, and Su Yunmo knew he was struggling to overcome this hurdle.
"I've never been to a martial arts school before. I'm usually free at home anyway, so could Third Brother take Momo along?"
Su Yunmo was a little worried and decided to accompany him for a day.
Su Siyuan had no objections and took her to the martial arts school.
Most of the people at the martial arts school were children of Su Siyuan's age.
Moreover, more than half of them were children of officials in the court, practicing martial arts here with the hope of achieving success in the future.
When Su Siyuan arrived, the martial arts instructor was not present.
He then took Su Yunmo's hand and waited by the side.
"Oh, who do I see? Isn't this the third young master from the Marquis's estate? Why are you here at our martial arts school instead of staying home to hug a little girl?"
The bustling martial arts school fell into a dead silence because of this remark.