The constables soon rushed in.
Lord Zuo, the Prefect of Jingzhao, personally came to apprehend them.
He had received a secret letter that morning stating that the youngest daughter of the Su family had been kidnapped, and this place was the smuggling point where the kidnappers had been apprehended last time, so he hurried over with his men.
Seeing it with his own eyes now, he was even more shocked.
More than twenty people, confined like livestock in cages under the Emperor's nose – this was simply outrageous!
"Which one is the youngest daughter of the Su family?" Lord Zuo called out, searching the room.
Su Yunmo raised her bound little hands. "Here."
"Miss Su, are you alright? Quick! Untie her!" Zuo Chenming hurried forward to help Su Yunmo untie the ropes, his eyes filled with worry.
"Are you injured? Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, this prefect is here to save you."
To think that such a young child had to endure such hardship; she must have been terribly frightened.
Terrified, Su Yunmo rubbed her wrists. "My lord, you should concern yourself with the one over there first."
Hearing her words, Zuo Chenming followed her gaze and turned to look, only then noticing Qin Aoxue on the ground.
Qin Zheng had entered officialdom before him, and the Qin family's recent marriage with a prince was also common knowledge.
Zuo Chenming recognized Qin Aoxue.
It was precisely because he recognized her that he was astonished.
"Why is Miss Qin here too? Were you also captured?"
The criminals were truly audacious!
Ziyuan stepped forward and picked up her young mistress. "Lord Zuo, my mistress was kidnapped by her. She is the main culprit."
Zuo Chenming was stunned!
Miss Qin instigating human trafficking – this was unheard of!
Qin Aoxue, still lying on the ground, couldn't regain her senses. She frantically pointed at Su Yunmo, "This has nothing to do with me. This little slut framed me!"
She couldn't understand how Su Yunmo, just a child, could have arranged everything so perfectly.
And how did she know for sure that she would send people to capture her today?
Su Yunmo narrowed her eyes, stepped forward, and slapped her.
This slap stunned everyone.
Especially Qin Aoxue.
Her face was struck sideways, and she stared with shock and confusion.
Su Yunmo flicked her wrist and curled her lips. "Father taught me yesterday that if someone bullies you, you should fight back directly. I think he's absolutely right."
She wouldn't let herself be insulted for nothing.
Zuo Chenming swallowed, looking at Su Yunmo with a sense of dread.
This was not the behavior of a frightened child.
The constables dragged Qin Aoxue away.
Qin Aoxue was still screaming as she was pulled out.
Su Yunmo stretched and walked towards the exit. "Since you have official business to attend to, my lord, I won't delay you any longer."
Ziyuan followed closely behind.
Lord Zuo watched the retreating figures of the mistress and servant, his gaze gradually becoming complex.
This young lady of the Su family was no ordinary child.
Everyone in the side courtyard was taken to the Jingzhao Prefecture.
With witnesses and evidence gathered, Qin Aoxue could not deny anything.
Not only Qin Aoxue, but Qin Zheng could not escape either.
He was summoned to the palace that afternoon, and the Emperor was furious.
While the princes were working tirelessly outside the capital to implement new policies, a minister was challenging his authority right under his nose. This was something the Emperor absolutely could not tolerate.
The Qin family's assets were confiscated, and Qin Zheng was sentenced to exile.
The marriage was annulled.
The news quickly spread throughout the capital. To go from the Emperor's father-in-law to a prisoner in one day was truly a cause for much sighing.
In the General's manor, Ziyuan was reporting on the events that had transpired in the palace that day.
"I heard that after Qin Zheng was summoned by the Emperor, he tried to implicate Prince Yu, saying that the kidnapping was done on Prince Wang's orders."
Su Yunmo sneered, "Fool."
Ziyuan: "He is indeed foolish. Everyone already knew about his conflict with the General yesterday, and coupled with Qin Aoxue kidnapping you, anyone would think this was for personal revenge."
Therefore, His Majesty had convicted him without a second thought.
Su Yunmo popped a pastry into her mouth. "This Zhonglang General is finished. I imagine Ye Jingcheng will be even more enraged, and I fear he will start playing for keeps from now on."
But that was fine. If he didn't make a move, how would she get her chance?
"Su Yunmo! Come out here, you!"
Su Qingtian's voice echoed from outside the door.
Su Yunmo blinked and looked at Ziyuan.
Ziyuan gave her a look of commiseration.
"His Majesty also knows about you being taken, and specially summoned the General to the palace to comfort him. The General probably knows you ran away from home by now."
Su Yunmo's eyelids twitched, and she bolted for the door.
Oh no, oh no. General Su had been overflowing with fatherly love these past two days. She couldn't afford to provoke him.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw Su Qingtian rushing towards her, holding a shoe sole.
One of his feet was bare, his white sock smudged, and he was seething with anger.
"You little brat, I only punished you with one less meal, and you dare to run away from home? You've gone too far!"
Su Yunmo swallowed and sprinted away, shouting as she ran, "Mother! Mother, save me! Father is going to hit me! Mother!"
"You stop right there! If I don't beat some sense into you today, I'll change my surname!" Su Qingtian gave chase.
Su Yunmo's short legs churned rapidly, and she even had time to turn back and retort, "We already have the same surname."
Su Qingtian's mouth immediately twisted in anger.
Zhou Wanyou heard the commotion and came out of the room. Before she could get a clear look, a small figure crashed into her arms.
Su Yunmo scrambled into her embrace with hands and feet. "Mother, Mother, General Su is going to hit a child, are you going to do anything about it!"
Su Qingtian, who was chasing closely, almost bumped into Zhou Wanyou. Upon seeing his wife, he instinctively hid the shoe sole behind his back.
"You... You'er..."
General Su looked guilty.
Zhou Wanyou had just learned about Su Yunmo running away from home.
She looked down at the child clinging to her collar, then at her husband opposite her, who was trying to assert his authority as a strict father. She stepped forward.
The next moment, Su Yunmo was grabbed by the collar and handed to Su Qingtian.
Zhou Wanyou smiled gently and affectionately, "Brother Yi, hit her lightly. It would be bad if you knocked off her leaves."
Su Yunmo's hair stood on end.
Su Qingtian immediately perked up.
"Good!"
He threw the shoe sole on the ground, put on his shoe, and carried Su Yunmo into the house.
A moment later, the child's screams could be heard from inside.
At the foot of the wall, the three brothers stood in a line.
Su Siyuan looked worried. "Shouldn't we go help Mo Mo?"
Su Siqi was cracking melon seeds. "No need. Let the child have a complete childhood."
Su Sizhuo nodded in agreement.
Su Yunmo spent the afternoon lying on her bed.
Even Luoluo, who was recovering from her injuries on the bed, got up to help her apply ice compresses to her backside.
Su Yunmo felt utterly humiliated today.
"Hiss~ Luoluo, be gentler!"
Father's blows were too heavy!
Luoluo felt both pained and helpless. "Young lady, if you know pain, you'll remember next time. Don't run away from home again."
If the Prefect of Jingzhao hadn't arrived in time, who knew what might have happened.
Su Yunmo was furious, but she couldn't say that running away from home was just a ploy to lure out Qin Aoxue.
Ziyuan stood to the side, wanting to laugh but daring not to, only managing to suppress it with difficulty. "Mistress, Prince Yu will be returning to the capital tomorrow."
"So he's returning to the capital, what does that have to do with me?" Su Yunmo bit her handkerchief to stop herself from crying out.
Ziyuan reminded her mistress, "Although Prince Yu might not be satisfied with the marriage the Empress arranged for him, Qin Aoxue is his fiancée after all."
"Mistress, you've ruined Prince Yu's future wife."
Only then did Su Yunmo suddenly realize.
Her gaze darted around, a little guilty. "What's so great about that? It wasn't a good marriage anyway. At worst, I'll compensate him with a wife later."