Chapter 118: Begging You to Take Me Away

Su Wan stopped in her tracks and helped Mrs. Hu up with both hands. “Let’s talk properly, no need to kneel.”

Mrs. Hu took the opportunity to stand up, her eyes turning red and her throat choked with emotion. “Mrs. Gu, I have a favor to ask of you, you…”

She glanced at Mother Gu, who was standing by the carriage, her face stern and her eyes filled with a fierce warning. Mrs. Hu’s neck shrank, and she pointed to the lush tree nearby, stammering, “Can you go over there?”

“Go ahead,” Su Wan said, walking over first.

Mrs. Hu quickly followed, feeling Mother Gu’s gaze on her back like a thorn.

“What do you need my help with?” Su Wan asked as she faced Mrs. Hu. In less than a month, Mrs. Hu had become emaciated, her face haggard, and her eyes lifeless. Su Wan couldn’t help but think of the little girl she had rescued by the roadside.

Su Wan furrowed her brows. It’s very likely that the Jiu Yu bracelet fell out of her sleeve when she gave money to the little girl.

She wondered if Mo Yuan had rushed back and found the bracelet.

Mrs. Hu had previously helped Su Wan with her own future in mind, hoping that in a critical moment, Su Wan would lend her a hand.

Now that the moment had arrived, she found it difficult to speak, feeling that her own heart was too dirty.

But compared to the hopeless life in darkness, Mrs. Hu bit her teeth hard and said resolutely, “I… I want to leave the Song family. If I stay here any longer, I’ll die, tortured to death by Madam Jiang.”

“I have no ability to leave. I can’t rely on my brothers from my maternal family. I have no other choice but to come to you for help.”

“I can work, I’ll do all the dirty and tiring jobs. Mrs. Gu, I beg you to take me away from the Song family.”

Mrs. Hu, with her face streaked with tears, she knelt on the ground, begging Su Wan.

Before Su Wan could say anything, Mother Gu stormed over, dragged Mrs. Hu up from the ground and scolded fiercely, “What’s with this habit of kneeling all the time? Do you want people to see and start gossiping, saying that Wanwan is bullying you!”

Ever since Song Dalang had bribed people to ambush Su Wan on the road and cripple her leg, Mother Gu had harbored deep hatred for the Song family.

“Get out of here and stop causing trouble for Wanwan. If that wicked woman Jiang finds out, she’ll come and bother Wanwan again.” Without waiting for an explanation, Mother Gu pushed Mrs. Hu aside and drove her away. “Go back quickly.”

Mrs. Hu glanced timidly at Mother Gu, then quickly lowered her head and hurriedly left the Gu household.

Mother Gu was right; she had been reckless.

If Madam Jiang found out that she had come to seek Su Wan’s help, it would not only bring trouble to Su Wan but also lead to even harsher beatings for her.

Mrs. Hu took a detour and deliberately returned to the Song house from the village entrance. When she pushed open the door, she saw Madam Jiang standing in the shadows. Her face was stern and her eyes staring at her with a chilling intensity.

Mrs. Hu turned pale with fear, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably. She opened her mouth to make an excuse, but when she saw Madam Jiang approaching, she quickly clammed up.

“Where did you go?” Madam Jiang suddenly asked. Her tone could almost be considered gentle, but to Mrs. Hu’s ears, it was terrifying. Cold sweat broke out on her back.

“N-no… I didn’t go anywhere,” Mrs. Hu’s throat tightened, her teeth chattering as she stammered, “Just… just weeding at the village entrance.”

“Oh.” Jiang Shi nodded, seeming to believe her. “Go make dinner.”

Mrs. Hu loosened her clenched fingers, feeling the cold sweat in her palms. Her tense body relaxed, and she slumped her shoulders, shuffling towards the kitchen.

“Ah—” 

Mrs. Hu screamed in pain.

“You wretch! I’ll beat you to death, you shameless woman! You traitorous harlot, conspiring with that slut Su Wan, causing the death of my Dalang.”

Madam Jiang’s eyes were bloodshot as she grabbed a handful of Mrs. Hu’s hair, and delivered two slaps to her face. She then kicked Mrs. Hu’s legs out from under her, causing her to fall heavily to the ground with a thud.

“Go find Su Wan! Ask her to take you away! Why did you come back? What? She found no use for you and refused to help, so you came back to let me torment you?”

Madam Jiang’s face was filled with malice as she kicked Mrs. Hu hard. Mrs. Hu curled up in pain, clutching her stomach and groaning.

Madam Jiang had lost all reason, kicking mercilessly. “Go on, leave! Why won’t you leave? You worthless, black-hearted wretch, clinging shamelessly to the Song family. I’ll beat your guts out.”

Mrs. Hu covered her head, sharp pain radiating through her body as fists and feet rained down on her like knives.

Unable to bear it, she cried out for mercy, “I didn’t run away, please spare me… Help, help—”

Bang—

“You wretch, die! Pay with your life for my Dalang!” Madam Jiang lifted a long bench and brought it down on Mrs. Hu’s head.

It felt as if Mrs. Hu’s head had split open,, a scream tore from her throat, and everything went black as she lost consciousness.

Madam Jiang knelt on the ground, gasping for breath, her chest heaving violently as she stared fixedly at Mrs. Hu lying on the ground. Blood oozed from Mrs. Hu’s hair, staining the compacted earth floor red.

“Wretch, this is what you get for betraying us!” Madam Jiang staggered to her feet.

Song Erlang, hearing the commotion, stopped what he was doing and opened the door to come out. He looked expressionlessly at the scene in the middle of the main room, and he frowned deeply. “Mother, get a doctor. If you kill her, you’ll be a murderer. How will I take the imperial exams then? The provincial exams are soon, and we can’t afford any mistakes!”

Hearing this, Madam Jiang regained some semblance of rationality. Though she was afraid, she said reluctantly, “If she dies, she dies. Who would know? This wretch deserved it for causing your elder brother’s death. I’ll wait until dark and then drag her to the mountains to bury her.”

“You’ve made an enemy of Su Wan. Now that she’s back, she’s surely watching you, waiting for you to make a mistake to bring you down,” Song Erlang saw that Madam Jiang remained unmoved, so he tried another approach. “I heard that Gu Huaizhi came back from the capital specifically for the provincial exams. He hasn’t attended the academy for years and hasn’t been studying at home either, so he surely won’t pass. I’m different. The academy’s tutor says my studies are excellent. This time, I’m sure to pass the exams.”

“Mother, think about it. When Gu Huaizhi passed the scholar exams, it caused a stir throughout the entire Guangling Prefecture. If he doesn’t pass this time, and I do, from the same village, won’t I become famous in Guangling Prefecture? Won’t that bring honor to you?”

Madam Jiang was somewhat moved. If her son could pass the exams and become a juren, gaining fame in Guangling Prefecture, they could ask Su Mixue for help to secure an official position.

“But…”

“She caused my brother’s death. Just beating her to death might be too easy on her, don’t you think?” 

Song Erlang, seeing that Jiang Shi was somewhat swayed, looked at Mrs. Hu as if she were already dead. “Mrs. Hu is close to Su Wan. Use her to set a trap. On the day before the provincial exams, lock Su Wan up. Gu Huaizhi will definitely abandon the exam to find her. Afterward, you can kill both Su Wan and Mrs. Hu to avenge my brother.”

Madam Jiang snorted coldly, “Too easy on this wretch.”

Song Erlang cast a dark glance in the direction of the Gu family. This time, the title of juren in Xihe Town would belong to him alone.