The mistress who remarried has returned.

Su Yunxi thought to herself that she had indeed disrespected the powerful and had offended Qin Huai. If he wanted to establish his authority, he would beat her with a board, and she wouldn't care. She would rather be beaten than kneel. If they forced her to kneel by holding her shoulders, she would let them do it. She wasn't willingly and willingly submitting anyway. In any case, she only had less than a hundred pounds of flesh and blood, so she was at their mercy.

Liu Shun grew anxious. Su Liangdi's stubbornness was driving him crazy. What was the situation now? The General loathed her utterly, yet he still thought she was the one who doted on her so much back then. Couldn't he have let her be as willful as she wanted? How could things have gotten so out of control? Was it so hard for her to soften her stance and bow?

Su Yunze said, "Stop hitting my sister. You've already hit her once..."

Before Su Yunze could finish speaking, Su Yunxi pressed down on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. That person was indeed not his brother-in-law; his careless words would only bring trouble to his sister. He vaguely understood that his sister had done something wrong, but he believed she was innocent. His sister was the most reasonable person; she wouldn't do anything wrong.

Upon hearing Madam Xue's words, Qin Huai didn't hesitate for long before softly saying, "You don't need to worry. That's just how she is. If she doesn't want to do something, even the Emperor himself can't change her mind. The only thing to do is to put your mind at ease. If you force her, she'll only become more resentful. The Qin family doesn't force people to do things."

Madam Xue was taken aback and looked at Su Yunxi thoughtfully. The general was much more insightful. Why would he hit someone over such a thing? That was a despicable tactic that would not tarnish the reputation of the Qin family. At worst, she would just stop associating with that girl in the future. She hurriedly said to Qin Huai, "I was too anxious. You are indeed much more magnanimous."

Qin Huai paused slightly as he spoke, "As long as Su Miao's matter is resolved, all other formalities are unnecessary."

Xue Wenying felt a pang of sadness, and her lips twitched uncomfortably. Although the general hadn't said anything particularly noteworthy, she was still dissatisfied with his attitude of not pursuing the matter. While it wasn't gentlemanly to argue with a woman in such a predicament, she still hoped that the general would hold Liangdi accountable. After all, she cared too much about the general and couldn't tolerate him treating any woman differently.

Seeing that Qin Huai was indeed a well-mannered young man who didn't waste time arguing with her, a mere young woman, Su Yunxi breathed a sigh of relief. Being forced to kneel would have been like adding insult to injury.

Su Yunxi reached out and tugged at Su Yunze's sleeve. "What are you doing here? Come home with your older sister."

Su Yunze looked at his sister's hand resting on his shoulder, thought seriously for a moment, and remembered that where his sister's incense-making tools used to be, only traces of the tools remained on her table, but the actual objects were gone. Whenever his sister reached out and touched the traces of the incense-making tools in a daze, he would wish he could do something to help her.

Thinking of this, Su Yunze shook his head and pushed his sister's hand away from his shoulder. He thought, maybe he should just drop out of school. If he didn't go to school, there would be less expense, and his sister would be more relaxed.

"Sister, I'm not leaving."

Su Yunxi knew her brother wanted to help her retrieve her incense-making tools, probably also to save her money. But taking the blame would not only mean apologizing and damaging her reputation, but also getting beaten up, and even dropping out of school, ruining her future for life. It was utterly absurd. She reached out and took Su Yunze's hand, pulling him up. "Listen to me. Otherwise, your older sister will never speak to you again for the rest of her life, starting from this moment."

Su Yunze knew his sister meant what she said. He couldn't bear the thought of her ignoring him for the rest of her life. He couldn't bear even a moment of her ignoring him. So he lowered his head, realizing that he had disappointed and angered his sister, and obediently said, "Sister, don't ignore me. I'll go with you."

After saying that, he stood up.

Su Yunxi thought that if she just pulled her younger brother away like this, she would subconsciously have unrealistic fantasies. Maybe Qin Huai would just let them go. Who knows?

After all, Qin Huai especially liked this child. Once, when the child rode on his shoulders and peed on his back, he wouldn't get angry. Not only was he not angry, but he also smiled and told her to grow up quickly so that she could give him one or two children.

Looking back now, it was just him being stubborn with Suzhou. He didn't really want her to bear him children; he couldn't control his own marriage.

When Madam Xue and the others saw Su Yunxi pulling the young man in the hall and about to leave, they all looked at each other in bewilderment.

Xue Cheng frowned, looking at Wang Guirong with displeasure. "Madam Su, what's going on? Why is your young lady trying to pull Young Master Su away? What kind of apology is this? Didn't you discuss this beforehand?"

Xue Cheng had no good feelings towards Su Yunxi. During the years her younger sister was married off to Suzhou, General Qin secretly kept a mistress, which was only exposed four years ago, shocking the court. This was tantamount to filling the void left by her sister's absence from the capital. As a high-ranking general, it was understandable that he would have a lover to warm his bed. However, she was simply too beautiful, and her beauty could not overshadow his sister. Although her sister's makeup was exquisite and appropriate, it still showed some signs of artificiality.

Wang Guirong smiled awkwardly, looking rather reserved.

Xue Wenying looked at Su Yunxi and said, "Liangdi, I know you're eager to protect your brother, but a mistake is a mistake. Blindly protecting him will only make him an accomplice. He might make a big mistake when he grows up. It's better to teach him a lesson now and guide him onto the right path. By going your own way, you're actually harming him."

Su Yunxi stared directly at Xue Wenying's face. She didn't care if Xue Wenying was Qin Huai's favorite, or if Qin Huai was a powerful general or held a high position. In short, she couldn't allow her brother to be wronged. She shielded her brother behind her, her slender frame standing ramrod straight, her chin slightly raised, and raised her voice:

"Everyone should mind their own business. I don't need Miss Xue to teach me how to discipline my brothers. I know my brothers very well. You and Madam Wang can handle today's matter yourselves; we don't intend to accompany you!"

After saying this, he turned around and prepared to leave with his brothers.

Wang Guirong followed closely behind Su Yunxi, intending to stop her, and scolded, "Look at the state you've left behind! We came here to apologize, but you've made such a scene. You came and then went back on your word. Does Su Yuanzhou still have a place in the court? When he gets home and finds out what you did at the Xue residence, he'll be furious. You'll be turning our house upside down every day. Daughter, you should listen to me. Why do you always prevent us from living a peaceful life?"

Su Yunxi led Yunze away relentlessly. Who was her daughter? Su Xinxin was her daughter. Why wouldn't she let them live a peaceful life? What had she done wrong?

Wang Guirong followed them out, and they were about to cross the threshold of the reception hall.

"You beat a perfectly healthy person until they're covered in bruises, not a single patch of skin unscathed, and you just want to leave like that?" Qin Huai stared at Wang Guirong, speaking slowly.

His voice was even very soft.

Yet it resonated deeply.

Everyone present was watching his every move closely, and they responded very carefully to every word he uttered.

Su Yunxi's arm trembled slightly. She had overestimated Qin Huai's affection for Yunze. She was now a woman who had betrayed Qin Huai and climbed the social ladder, a woman whose improper behavior had brought him shame. How could he easily forgive her?

For Xue Wenying's nephew, he finally decided to take action against her.