Wu Qi was startled and almost fell off his stool. "What's going on?"
"It's ruined!" Wu Yangshi turned and ran outside.
But it was too late.
The kitchen stove exploded, and the house was filled with yellow, sticky stuff that looked a lot like excrement.
All the sweet potatoes piled in the corner were gone.
Seeing them approach, Su Yunmo spread her hands and shrugged. "Sorry, it was an accident. Should I be assigned another task?"
Wu Yangshi dared not let her do any more work. "Get out, get out quickly! If you stay any longer, my house will be gone!"
How could such a little girl be so troublesome!
Su Yunmo pouted, thinking she was exaggerating.
"Poof!" The flames under the stove suddenly leaped up, igniting the roof.
Wu Qi and his wife: "!!"
Su Yunmo stayed there for the afternoon. When evening came, they begged and pleaded for Su Yunmo to leave.
Out of the eight rooms, half were burned and half were ruined.
Wu Qi explicitly stated that he didn't want a single cent from the General's Mansion. As long as she left, he would give her money.
Su Yunmo smacked her lips, acting cute. "No, Uncle. Mo Mo plans to spend my life with you."
Wu Qi and his wife felt like spitting blood!
That night, while Su Yunmo was sleeping, the couple stuffed her into a sack and carried her to the entrance of the General's Mansion.
The next morning, when Gui Sha pulled her out of the sack, Su Yunmo felt life was meaningless.
"Miss, you're finally back!" The housekeeper, Liu Zhe, almost shed tears of joy upon seeing her.
Su Yunmo handed him the letter she held in her hand.
It was written by Wu Qi, stating that the Wu family no longer wished to have any relation with Su Yunmo, and it was signed with his handprint, indicating his voluntary consent.
Su Yunmo entered the main gate, where Zhou Wanyou and her three elder brothers were waiting.
"Mother!" Su Yunmo ran over and hugged her.
Zhou Wanyou picked her up and wiped the dirt from her little nose with a handkerchief. "Did you eat well yesterday?"
Su Yunmo nodded. "I ate!"
Wu Qi and his wife had bought plenty of meat and fish and begged her to eat, with the condition that she wouldn't break any more table legs.
Zhou Wanyou patted the dirt off her, her eyes full of distress. "Look at our Mo Mo, she's become a little dirty kitten. A Cai will take you to bathe later."
Su Yunmo blinked and looked at her three elder brothers.
They all looked happy or concerned, but not worried, as if they had expected her to return today.
If they knew she was returning this morning, it must have been their eldest brother who told them.
"Where's Father?"
Su Siqi crossed his arms, looking like he was about to enjoy a good show. "You probably can't escape a beating today."
Their father had locked himself in his study since returning last night. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything, and hadn't even stepped out of the room. No one could persuade him.
As soon as he finished speaking, they saw Su Qingtian running from the direction of the study. He moved as fast as lightning, and the ground seemed to tremble when he ran.
"Where's Mo Mo! Didn't you say the little girl is back? Where is she!"
Seeing Su Qingtian's stern face, Su Yunmo's eyelids twitched, and she suddenly felt like running.
But unfortunately, it was too late.
Su Qingtian snatched her from Zhou Wanyou's arms and held her tightly.
Su Yunmo instinctively flinched her neck. "Father, don't hit me, I was wrong!"
Her backside didn't get hit.
When Su Yunmo opened her eyes, she met a pair of bloodshot, blood-filled black eyes.
Su Qingtian gritted his teeth and looked at her, as if wanting to scold her, but thousands of words were stuck in his throat, unable to come out.
The grief and sorrow in his heart seemed to transform into dark energy, enveloping Su Yunmo.
Su Yunmo could clearly feel the complex emotions emanating from his gaze: regret, joy, worry, pain, and self-blame.
Su Yunmo felt a pang of unease. "Father..."
Su Qingtian hugged her fiercely, his Adam's apple bobbing. His voice choked with emotion.
"You little brat, I've raised you for so long, and you're not grateful. The moment the Wu family arrived, you left with them! How could you do this to me?"
"You little rascal! Rascal! Ungrateful wretch, truly ungrateful..."
He cursed repeatedly, his words a constant refrain.
Su Yunmo, pressed against his chest, couldn't see his expression, only felt cold liquid hitting her face.
Su Qingtian held her tightly, his grip so strong it felt like he was crushing her to death. "Father thought he would never see you again. Mo Mo, Mo Mo..."
Su Yunmo lowered her eyes and hugged his neck. "I'm sorry, Father."
"Father forgives you. Don't leave, stay in the General's Mansion forever. You are Father's child, a member of the Su family," Su Qingtian said, stroking her hair.
For a moment, Su Yunmo felt as if he had let go of something.
"Alright, Brother Yi. Mo Mo just got back, let her go wash up and eat first." Zhou Wanyou took the child back and headed towards the bathing room.
The three elder brothers followed, wanting to talk to Su Yunmo.
Su Qingtian watched their retreating backs, a hint of determination in his eyes.
"Xitian, take ten thousand taels and personally go to the Wu family's side courtyard. Tell Wu Qi that this money is for his sister's life. From today onwards, if he ever comes before Mo Mo again, I will personally kill him!"
Wu Qi's sudden return to the capital was very strange. Someone must have instigated him. That person wanted to deepen the rift in his heart regarding Wu Qian to sow discord.
No matter who it was, if there was a first time, there would be a second. Although Wu Qi returned Mo Mo this time, it was possible he would cause trouble again in the future.
As things stood, he hadn't acted too ruthlessly. If Wu Qi took the money and remained greedy, he wouldn't be blamed for being cruel!
Meanwhile, Su Yunmo took a bath, ate, played with her three elder brothers for a while, and then returned to her room for a nap.
Closing the door, only she and Zi Yuan remained in the room.
Zi Yuan: "Mistress, the Zang Gui Tower is all prepared. Lin Yuning has invited several madams to meet this afternoon. Shall we make our move?"
Su Yunmo twisted her fingers. "Prepare the carriage."
Lin Yuning had orchestrated such a big commotion through Wu Qi. She shouldn't think she could get away with it.
Sometimes, she had to learn from Ye Jingyu's methods.
In the afternoon, Su Yunmo sneaked out of the mansion and headed towards Zang Gui Tower.
Lin Yuning was currently conversing with the madams.
Although she had only been married into the Prince of Lian's mansion for half a month, she had already gained considerable fame among the capital's noble ladies with her decisive methods and smooth handling of affairs.
At every banquet, she was the center of attention.
At this moment, she was holding a wine glass and speaking elegantly to everyone. "I entrust the matters discussed today to all of you. In the future, the Prince will have to look up to the husbands of all you madams."
The noble ladies responded with 'You're too kind' and returned her toast.
The door was suddenly kicked open, and a discordant voice was heard.
"You bitch, you lied to me! You said Su Qingtian would definitely give us money for Su Yunmo, but not only did he not give us money, I also wasted so many days and got beaten!"
Wu Qi, disheveled and acting like a ruffian, said, "I don't care, you have to compensate me for my losses today!"
A woman recognized him. "Isn't this the uncle of General Su's little lady?"
The commotion he caused at Zang Gui Tower that day, which even led to General Su being summoned to the Jingzhao Prefecture, was known to almost everyone.
Why was he saying now that this matter was related to the Princess of Lian?
The crowd was confused and began to whisper amongst themselves.