CHAPTER 390: CHAPTER 358: I CAN HELP YOU DEAL WITH THE LU FAMILY

All along, Su Yaoqi was not only Duke Su’s beloved son but also his insurmountable weakness.

Whenever anything involved this son, Duke Su could never remain calm.

Earlier, when Su Yu was pushed and sent back to her room, and the doctor declared a miscarriage, Aunt Qiu came to him immediately. It seemed she was provoked by her daughter’s plight; a woman who was usually timid and prone to tears actually summoned the courage to recount Hao Yun’s crimes from that night in detail.

Through Aunt Qiu, Duke Su realized he had wrongly accused his favored concubine, the Third Aunt. The real culprit was Hao Yun; even if it wasn’t intentional, the harm done to Little Four was an undeniable fact.

Duke Su did not plan to report the matter to the authorities, nor did he think of killing the person directly, as that would not be enough to appease his anger.

He wanted an eye for an eye.

Thus, Hao Yun was not expelled from the Su Family but was instead bound tightly and taken in front of the large stove in the back kitchen.

Housekeeper Jin, holding a pair of tongs, extracted a piece of red-hot burning coal from the stove. Following the Duke’s instructions, since Fourth Young Master’s right face was injured, he was to burn Hao Yun’s right cheek.

The freshly heated coal was so hot that one could feel its heat from a distance. Hao Yun forced his eyes open, seeing the piece of coal in Housekeeper Jin’s hand getting closer to him. His heart tightened, and as he struggled, he turned his face to the side, breathing heavily, "Housekeeper Jin, let me go. Whatever you want, I can give it to you."

Housekeeper Jin smiled slightly, "Young Master, I’m just a servant. Whatever the masters instruct, I carry out. You’re a wrongdoer now, so it’s best to accept your punishment and atone. Otherwise, what’s waiting for you will be more than just physical pain."

"No, Housekeeper Jin, I know you want Miss Sun from the second gate as your match. As long as you let me go, I will definitely help you get her."

Housekeeper Jin remained unfazed, "What a coincidence, the master just matched us up last night."

"So, you are determined to kill me, aren’t you?"

"Young Master guessed wrong again." Housekeeper Jin moved the red-hot coal closer, "The master never thought of taking your life."

After saying this, he bent down.

The house servants pressed Hao Yun’s head onto the bench, turning his face to one side.

Housekeeper Jin, without blinking, pressed the piece of coal onto Hao Yun’s right cheek.

Instantly, the sizzling sound of flesh being seared and Hao Yun’s piercing screams echoed in the back kitchen.

The cooks, who had been sent out earlier, were outside, listening with terrified, pale faces.

Like sweeping the ground, Housekeeper Jin brushed the burning coal up and down Hao Yun’s right cheek to ensure that every bit was scorched before tossing the coal back into the stove. He then took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped his hands, his voice unchanged from before, "The master’s intention was only to let the Young Master personally taste the suffering that Fourth Young Master endured. How could he bear to take your life? After all, it was the master himself who agreed to let you into the Su Family."

With the wounds on his back torn open from the violent struggle, blood seeped out again, and his right cheek, charred and deformed, had bits of hot coal embedded in the raw flesh.

Hao Yun was on his last legs, barely conscious, hearing Housekeeper Jin order someone to send him back to the courtyard before he passed out completely.

...

Aunt Qiu was still in Su Yu’s room. Hearing commotion outside, she got up to check and saw Hao Yun, who had been tortured to near death. Her eyes flickered slightly as she covered her mouth in shock, "What’s happened to the Young Master?"

The house servant responsible for bringing Hao Yun back replied, "The Young Master made a mistake and was punished. The master told us to bring him back. Since Aunt Qiu is here, we’ll leave him to you."

After saying that, he relinquished his hold, called his comrades, and left without a backward glance.

Hao Yun fell flat on the ground, having passed out long ago, devoid of any awareness.

Aunt Qiu summoned two rough maids to help bring Hao Yun back to the adjacent east room.

In the main house, Su Yu was still mourning the loss of her child. Seeing Hao Yun, she would undoubtedly be agitated.

Aunt Qiu instructed to move the soft couch from the main room, saying that in the coming days, it would be used for the Young Master to recuperate.

Hao Yun’s back was severely injured, preventing him from lying on it, only allowing him to lie face down.

Such an arrangement exposed all the wounds.

Jade, standing nearby, trembled slightly, "Aunt, Aunt Qiu, we’d better hurry and get the household doctor!"

Aunt Qiu sighed, "I would love to, but the house servants said the Young Master was punished for making a mistake. I don’t know if the master will allow us to call the household doctor."

Jade dared not look at Hao Yun’s battered and bruised body, whispering, "If we don’t get a doctor, I’m afraid the Young Master won’t last long."

"Let’s do this; you go to the main courtyard and ask the master whether the household doctor can be summoned. If allowed, bring the household doctor along," Aunt Qiu instructed.

Upon hearing this, Jade quickly went to the main courtyard.

The two rough maids had already left, leaving only Aunt Qiu and the unconscious Hao Yun in the adjacent east room.

Aunt Qiu sat down by the soft couch, pinched Hao Yun’s philtrum hard, then pulled out a small porcelain bottle, opened it, and placed it under his nose.

In the blink of an eye, Hao Yun, stimulated by the scent of the medicine, slowly opened his eyes from his slumber.

Upon seeing the woman in front of him clearly, his pupils gradually widened, revealing the visible bloodshot veins within.

"It’s you, you harmed me, you venomous woman!"

Hao Yun was very emotional, but the excruciating wound couldn’t sustain his excessive reaction. After shouting briefly as if in a flash of brilliance, he collapsed again, looking weak and pitiful. However, the eyes staring at Aunt Qiu were filled with unabashed anger and hatred.

Aunt Qiu smiled gently at him, "You are mistaken. It is not me who harmed you, but yourself."

Completely ignoring Hao Yun’s venomous gaze, Aunt Qiu continued, "From the beginning, you shouldn’t have meddled in the Su Family’s affairs. It was you who first wronged my daughter, used her to enter the Su Family, trying to climb high, but you forgot to guard against me, her mother. Your current predicament is entirely self-inflicted and you have only yourself to blame."

Hao Yun growled, "What is your purpose in scheming against me?"

"Can’t you see? Motherly strength. Your current outcome is the price you should pay for the trap you set to ruin my daughter back then."

"You’re lying!" Hao Yun, who was a petty person himself, was particularly adept at understanding the psychology of similar individuals. Aunt Qiu had hidden so deeply; she definitely wouldn’t act solely to protect Su Yu. There must be another motive.

Looking at Aunt Qiu again, Hao Yun’s eyes questioned, "Who are you, who are you really?"

"Who can I be? Just an unwelcomed concubine in the Duke Mansion." Aunt Qiu responded smoothly.

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose you in front of my father-in-law?"

"Afraid!" Aunt Qiu spoke, then pulled out a red pill from somewhere and waved it before his eyes. "Precisely because I’m afraid, I prepared this for you."

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

"Don’t worry, it won’t take your life."

Hao Yun lacked the strength to escape; Aunt Qiu easily pried open his mouth and stuffed the pill in, then picked up the teapot and forcefully poured water into him.

Hao Yun choked and swallowed the pill.

Immediately after, he felt his throat burn fiercely, as if smoking.

"You..."

He found he couldn’t speak; no matter how hard he tried to scream, his voice seemed completely shut off with no response.

"Stop wasting your effort." Aunt Qiu looked at him calmly, "It’s poison from the Western Regions, making someone forever mute, incurable."

Hao Yun’s hand loosened its grip on his throat, despair rising in his heart.

He never thought that one day he would become mute.

Aunt Qiu glanced at him with sympathy, "Every debt has its debtor; since things have come to this point, I might as well tell you something you don’t know.

The person you offended the night of the fire is the one who is ruining your reputation today, silencing you; I’m just helping along. The one truly targeting you is not me."

Hao Yun was shaken.

The night Little Four got burned, Third Aunt was the accused. At that time, the Duke was furious and had Third Aunt tied up and taken to the Shuntian Prefecture Government. Later, with Hao Yun’s instigation, Third Aunt died in the government office prison, creating the appearance of a suicide out of fear of punishment.

Although Third Aunt died, she left behind a daughter, Su Dai.

This Sixth Miss from the Su Family married into the Lu Family last year as a concubine.

Originally thought to be just ginger, turned out ginger can be fiery too.

Hao Yun regretted deeply.

He should have rooted out Su Dai along with Third Aunt back then, preventing her from finding such a backing as the Lu Family to act with impunity.

"Want revenge?" Aunt Qiu suddenly asked him with a smile.

Hao Yun couldn’t speak, just closed his eyes, he didn’t trust Aunt Qiu.

This woman was too terrifying.

"I can help you deal with the Lu Family." Aunt Qiu said, "But I have a prerequisite condition."