Chapter 776: Drowning in the Pond

Mrs. Min looked at Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong immediately got Mrs. Min’s hint.

The drama had unfolded, the Lu family aunt and niece had lost face, while Su Chengmin remained unscathed, and it was time for the ladies to leave.

Tong Huaqiong coughed twice and said to Mrs. Min, "Aunt Min, it’s getting late. We should head back."

The ladies, hearing Tong Huaqiong say this, knew they were no longer needed as witnesses and could take their leave.

So they all bid farewell.

Some of the ladies even thanked Old Mrs. Su for the banquet.

Old Mrs. Su’s face was gloomy, for the Su Mansion had lost face big time today.

This birthday banquet had left a shadow in her heart.

The thanks were purely sarcastic.

"Cousin Yiner."

"Cousin Yiner."

Su Chengji, upon hearing that Lu Yiner and a rascal were trapped in the room, hurried over anxiously.

The ladies had not yet left, and seeing Su Chengji rush in, their eyes almost popped out; the turmoil just never seemed to end.

The Su family’s scandals never seemed to run out.

Su Chengji pushed through the crowd and saw Lu Yiner, disheveled, sitting on the ground. He asked, "Cousin, why is it you? Didn’t Mother say Grandmother was trying to break up Brother’s engagement and match him with the second daughter of the Lin family?"

"Wait, who is this man?"

The moment these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

Both Lu family and Old Mrs. Su wished they could drown Su Chengji.

Su Chengji’s words confirmed that this plot was targeted at Su Chengmin and implicated Miss Lin.

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

Su Shihang could no longer treat this as an internal family affair and slapped Lu family hard across the face.

He angrily yelled, "Look what you’ve done."

Faced with her enraged son, Old Mrs. Su’s eyes shifted evasively.

She shouted at Su Chengji, "Chengji, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Su Chengji said, "Grandmother, I am not making things up. You said that a merchant’s daughter isn’t worthy of Brother and that only a girl from an aristocratic family would suit him. You also said that Miss Lin is gentle, and that if she married into the Su family, she would surely encourage Brother to be close to the family and filial to Grandmother."

Su Chengji revealed Old Mrs. Su’s scheme to break up Su Chengmin and Gu Taohua’s engagement by bringing Miss Lin into the fold, but that didn’t mean he was being kind-hearted.

He disliked Su Chengmin and resented how Grandmother overlooked him, the grandson raised by her side, while always praising Su Chengmin, who grew up in the Min family, as successful.

He wanted to trample on Old Mrs. Su’s dignity.

To show her that all her schemes for her eldest grandson weren’t appreciated by him either.

Looking at Su Chengmin’s disappointed gaze towards Old Mrs. Su, Su Chengji felt a surge of satisfaction in his heart.

Old Mrs. Su’s malicious intentions were exposed by her grandson in front of everyone, and she couldn’t maintain her facade, so she took off her shoe and beat Su Chengji over the head with it.

Lu family, feeling protective of Su Chengji, stepped forward to block her but was also beaten by Old Mrs. Su with the shoe sole.

Old Mrs. Su didn’t think there was anything wrong with scheming against Miss Lin. She was only considering the Su family’s future.

The Su family barely clawed its way up from being farmers to aristocracy thanks to Su Shihang, but in Shengjing, they were still belittled by the real noble families. Yet both her grandsons—one was willing to disgrace himself by marrying a merchant’s daughter, and the other was incompetent—leaving her to wonder how the Su family’s reputation would hold up in the future.

She didn’t want her descendants to slip down in social class, so she had to find a way to marry her most promising grandson into an aristocratic family like the Lin family.

Mrs. Lin’s face turned livid.

How outrageous! The Su family dared to involve the Lin family in their schemes.

"Lord Su, you’re a second-rank official at the court, is this how your family schemes against my daughter? What curse did my daughter suffer to have you target her?"

"In the future, there’s no need for the Lin family to associate with the Su family anymore."

The Su family had completely offended the Lin family.

Su Shihang kept apologizing to Mrs. Lin, but she refused to accept any apology and, infuriated, commanded her servants to find her daughters. Without even a farewell, she left with her two daughters.

After Mrs. Lin left, the other ladies also dispersed.

The Su family’s actions had completely lost them public trust in Shengjing.

Which of the guests who came to the banquet didn’t have a daughter of marriageable age? If the Su family could plot against Miss Lin today, they could plot against other ladies tomorrow.

If Lu family could scheme against Su Chengmin this time, she might scheme against someone else’s daughter next.

Just because Su Chengmin managed to escape, it didn’t mean others could.

Once the ladies got home, they exaggerated the Su Mansion’s disgusting affair in front of their husbands.

Some of them, who were political rivals to Su Shihang, had already rolled up their sleeves, preparing to bring him down over this incident.

After seeing Tong Huaqiong, Gu Taohua, and others off at the Su Mansion’s gate, Su Chengmin turned around and went back to the Su Mansion.

The situation hadn’t been fully dealt with; Gao Ming and Mrs. Min were still at the Su Mansion.

Su Chengmin headed to Min Baozhen’s courtyard, where Old Mrs. Su was hitting Lu family.

Su Shihang acted as if he saw nothing.

Su Chengmin shouted in anger, and Old Mrs. Su dropped the shoe in her hand, grabbed Su Chengmin’s hand, and cried, "Chengmin, I did it all for your good. The Lin family has been an aristocratic family for generations; only a girl from such a family is worthy of you."

"If you marry a girl from the Lin family, your mother in heaven would be happy for you. While alive, Lu family always wanted to compete with your mother. If your engagement is better than Chengji’s, it indirectly avenges your mother."

Su Chengmin stared coldly at Old Mrs. Su and said with a sneer, "Don’t mention my mother. The grievance my mother suffered was not just from Lu family. The greatest grievance came from Lord Su and you. Stop pretending to play dumb. Why did Lu family dare to bully my mother if not for your and Lord Su’s indulgence?"

Mentioning Min Baozhen, Su Chengmin was unwilling to even call Su Shihang father, and directly referred to him as Lord Su.

Su Shihang’s breath became labored.

"I’ll say it one more time, I will only marry Gu Taohua. If you dare scheme against me again, you know the consequences."

Su Chengmin cast a glance at Lu Yiner.

Lu Yiner shivered all over.

"Gao Ming, you’re the victim in this matter, what do you want to do?"

Su Chengmin turned to Gao Ming, starting to resolve the matter between Lu Yiner and Gao Ming.

Wanting to speak but facing Su Chengmin’s intimidating attitude like that of King Yan, Lu family dared not open her mouth.

Gao Ming said, "Though I’m a victim of this plot, I can’t guarantee what outsiders will say. My reputation is somewhat damaged, and the Su Mansion must compensate me."

Su Chengmin nodded and said, "Of course, how do you want the Su Mansion to compensate you?"

Su Shihang gritted his teeth and said, "Since your reputation is tied to Lu Yiner, you need the one who caused it to resolve it. Publicly, it will be said that Lu Yiner intentionally seduced you, and I’ll take the responsibility to drown her."

Drowning Lu Yiner will somewhat restore the Su Mansion’s reputation.

It also accounts for both his son and Gao Ming.

Lu Yiner’s breathing stalled.

She knew her uncle was ruthless but didn’t expect him to be ruthless enough to take her life.

Gao Ming was stunned; people always said Lord Su was ruthless, but this level of ruthlessness was beyond his understanding.

Su Chengmin was not surprised at all. When Su Shihang had made the honor roll, he had abandoned his wife, and during the Crown Prince incident, he had cut off their father-son relationship. What else wouldn’t he dare to do?

Lu family’s heart pounded like a drum. Even though Lu Yiner had become a useless pawn, she still didn’t want Lu Yiner to die, but if Lu Yiner didn’t die, Su Shihang would see to it that she did.