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Li Shi tried to comfort herself inwardly: It’s fine. I was the one who sold the embroidery. That little wench definitely doesn’t know about it.
Su Qingqing, undisturbed by Old Madam Su’s fury or Li Shi’s panic, continued her tearful accusations:
“Grandma, I really didn’t make anything up! How could I invent something like that? You’re the one who told me those things!”
Old Madam Su was so angry she could barely stand.
Seeing her wobble as if about to faint, Su Qingqing fanned the flames:
“And the other day, I didn’t sell my brother in town—it was you and Auntie who said that Butcher Hu didn’t have a son and wanted to adopt my brother.”
“You even said…”
Old Madam Su could no longer keep up appearances. She grabbed a firewood stick off the ground and lunged at Su Qingqing.
She wanted to beat this little wretch to death.
Li Shi rushed to assist, seizing both of Su Qingqing’s arms to stop her from escaping.
The watching villagers couldn’t bear it anymore and stepped in. They blocked Old Madam Su, snatched the stick from her hand, and pulled the two apart.
“Old Madam Su, what are you doing? Going to kill your own granddaughter? Does that mean what she said is true?”
“And you, Tingting’s mother—you’re usually so reasonable. How could you not stop your mother-in-law and even help her beat Su Qingqing?”
…
Faced with the villagers’ sharp questions, Old Madam Su was so furious that she couldn’t catch her breath—and fainted on the spot.
Seeing her mother-in-law pass out, Li Shi lost her anchor. She panicked and ran to her side, crying loudly,
“Mother! Wake up! If you faint, what will I do?!”
Having been married into the Su family for so many years, she had grown used to relying on her mother-in-law and daughter Su Tingting to make decisions. She didn’t know how to handle this on her own.
The villagers thought Li Shi’s reaction was out of concern for her mother-in-law and were slightly moved by her display.
What kind of daughter-in-law cared this much about her mother-in-law?
Su Qingqing took advantage of the chaos and pinched her thigh again. Tears burst forth like a broken dam as she crawled over to Old Madam Su, wailing like her whole family had just died.
“Grandma, what’s wrong? Is this because you don’t want me telling the truth?”
The villagers, moved by her grief, tried to pull her up.
Su Qingqing looked at them with red, pained eyes, full of guilt and sorrow:
“Uncles, aunties… it’s all my fault. Grandma told me not to tell anyone these things. I must have made her faint from anger…”
The villagers went stiff: Could it all be true…?
Su Qingqing then leaned over Old Madam Su’s body, crying as she twisted the old woman’s arm under the guise of despair:
“Grandma, please just wake up. I promise I won’t say anything again, okay?”
Just as the words left her lips, Old Madam Su suddenly yelped in pain and shot upright like a flipped carp.
The villagers watching: Looks like what Su Qingqing said was pretty much true…
Li Shi, terrified, fell on her backside and stammered, “Oh my god! She’s risen from the dead!”
Old Madam Su, who had just come to, heard this and fainted again in rage.
Afraid something serious might happen, the villagers urged Li Shi to help her mother-in-law back to bed.
After watching everything unfold, the villagers came to one realization:
Old Madam Su’s so-called kindness had always been fake. She had just been putting on an act. Who knew how cruel she really was on the inside?
They realized they had misjudged Su Qingqing all these years. She wasn’t a vicious sister at all—she was a filial, kind-hearted granddaughter.
They looked down at the frail, sobbing Su Qingqing with deep guilt.
They wanted to apologize… but saying sorry to someone younger was too awkward, especially as elders.
Su Qingqing’s tears were partly genuine. She thought of her parents and grandparents from her past life. The emotions of the original host also affected her—and the pain from pinching her thigh didn’t help.
But when she noticed the villagers’ guilty looks, she knew—her bad reputation had been washed away in the village.
She stopped crying and spoke gently,
“Uncles, aunties… thank you all for stopping my grandma. Otherwise, I really might’ve been beaten to death.”
“Hey now, Su girl, don’t say that. Who could just stand there and watch you get beaten like that? We’re all human, too.”
“I heard you and your brother moved out of the Su family house. If anything ever happens, let us know. We’re neighbors—don’t be shy.”
“Yeah, just speak up. We used to think you were being childish for leaving home, but now we understand. You and your brother must’ve had no choice.”
Su Qingqing sincerely thanked the villagers.
Seeing that the matter was more or less settled, they reminded her to take care and gradually left the Su household.
Su Qingqing wiped her tears and stood up, walking toward Old Madam Su’s bedroom.
She had no choice but to act today. If she didn’t clear her name, living in this village would become increasingly difficult—especially for her younger brother’s future.
Everything she said was true—memories preserved from the original host.
From a third-party’s view, she saw things more clearly.
When the original host lost her parents, she had only been six or seven years old. With nowhere else to go, she clung to the Su family.
After all, the original Su Qingqing was a traditional girl of ancient times, while she was a soul from the 21st century, not bound by those outdated ideas of obedience and virtue.
Old Madam Su and Li Shi had deliberately twisted the original host’s upbringing and mistreated Su Zijing.
Su Qingqing wanted to get justice for the original host—and to carve out a better life for herself in this era.
Some people… the more you give in to them, the more they’ll take advantage.
Su Qingqing entered Old Madam Su’s room. Li Shi wasn’t there. The old woman lay unconscious in bed.
She walked straight to the spot where the old lady hid her silver—something she knew from the original host’s memories.
Old Madam Su had dug a hole under the bed and stored the money in a ceramic jar.
Su Qingqing pried it open and, sure enough, found a clay jar inside.
She opened the lid and poured the contents out.
Good heavens—she hadn’t expected it to be this much.
After counting, the total came to 186 taels of silver and five strings of copper coins.
Each string had 100 coins tied with hemp rope—five strings in total.
There were also three silver hairpins, two pairs of silver earrings, and a pair of silver bracelets.
These accessories were originally gifts from Su Wenyuan to his wife Liu Yue, but Old Madam Su had taken them for herself.
Most of the silver came from Su Wenyuan’s work escorting caravans, plus the 50 taels he had entrusted to the old lady before leaving. A small portion came from the original host selling embroidery.
Even the Su family’s large brick house had been built with the money he earned.
Thinking of all this, Su Qingqing pulled out the hemp sack she had brought just for this purpose and loaded the silver and jewelry inside.
She had planned it all this morning. If she was going to collect what she was owed, she couldn’t come empty-handed.
After burying the now-empty jar back under the bed, Su Qingqing hoisted the sack over her shoulder—
and went to find Li Shi for the next part of her reckoning.