Just as he was about to look up and curse Shen Qingwan, Lu Wenzhao saw the lifeless face of Old Man Lu, his eyes wide open in death.

His complexion was pale, his mouth slightly open, and he stared blankly ahead.

The sight was so horrifying that Lu Wenzhao fell to the ground in shock.

Then, as if suddenly waking from a daze, he crawled toward the old man.

“Father? Father? What’s wrong with you?”

Lu Wenzhao never expected his father to die.

Just a short while ago, he had been fine.

Su Ruoyun had told him that his parents had been sulking for the past few days and refused to leave their courtyard.

Lu Wenzhao assumed they were angry about Xiaoyu’s disappearance and about him arranging Jiao Jiao’s marriage.

Since he had been busy with work, he didn’t visit them.

But now, after just a few days, his father was dead?

Lu Wenzhao couldn’t comprehend it.

However, his sorrow was real.

Although his parents never wanted to stay in the capital and refused to let him divorce Shen Qingwan, they were still his parents, and he cared for them.

“You starved your own father to death! You’re worse than an animal! And you still have the audacity to ask what happened?”

Shen Qingwan thought that killing Lu Wenzhao outright would be too easy for him. He deserved to suffer before he died.

Lu Wenzhao was shocked and urgently refuted, “What nonsense are you talking about? How could I possibly starve my own father to death? They were just making a fuss, so Ruoyun temporarily forbade them from leaving the courtyard. I—”

As he spoke, he suddenly turned to Su Ruoyun. “I haven’t had time to visit my parents lately. You clearly said you only forbade them from leaving the courtyard but ensured they were well cared for. How did my father end up starving to death in his own room?”

Su Ruoyun averted her gaze and spoke without her usual tenderness. “It was only a few days without food. Who knew he would just die like that? If they hadn’t been making such a fuss, I wouldn’t have locked them up.”

She didn’t think she had done anything wrong.

They weren’t her parents—she had no obligation to take care of them.

Lu Wenzhao pointed at Su Ruoyun in fury, but he didn’t dare to act against her.

Meanwhile, Old Madam Lu, looking at the son she had raised, was filled with resentment.

She rushed forward and slapped him hard across the face—twice.

“You beast! Why don’t you just die? Why did you come back? Why did you force us to the capital? You and that venomous woman are in cahoots! You two conspired to marry Jiao Jiao off as a concubine. She beat the two children, and you did nothing! She sold Xiaoyu, and you ignored it! Your father suffered a stroke from anger, and instead of calling a doctor, she locked us up and left us without food or water.

If Shen Qingwan hadn’t come today, both of us would have starved to death! We survived over a month of famine and never starved, yet now, after being taken into your household, we’ve lost one of our own. Why did you come back? Since you already married and started a new family outside, why did you have to find us and shatter our lives?”

Old Madam Lu seemed to go mad as she slapped Lu Wenzhao repeatedly.

He didn’t dare to fight back, but her words sent chills down his spine.

Xiaoyu was sold?

His father had a stroke?

How could this be?

Su Ruoyun had promised to take good care of them!

“Su Ruoyun! Is my mother telling the truth? Did you really sell Xiaoyu? And refuse treatment for my father?”

Su Ruoyun sneered, not even bothering to put on an act. “Lu Wenzhao, do you really think you’re something special? Without my Su family, you’re nothing! I don’t care whether your parents live or die. Now, go capture that bitch for me—I want her dead!”

Su Ruoyun had already sent someone to inform the Prime Minister’s residence.

Lu Wenzhao’s guards might not be able to subdue Shen Qingwan, but the Prime Minister’s elite guards certainly could.

Lu Wenzhao was shocked by Su Ruoyun’s words. But he couldn’t deny that his current position was entirely due to his in-laws’ support.

“They’re my parents! They’re your in-laws! How could you treat them like this? And Xiaoyu—you told me she was missing, but you actually sold her?”

Though he questioned her, his tone was weak.

Old Madam Lu saw through him—her son was powerless in this household.

This venomous woman was utterly ruthless.

She only wanted to find her granddaughter and leave with her and her deceased husband.

Shen Qingwan, however, wasn’t interested in arguing further.

She was more worried about Xiaoyu’s whereabouts.

“She was just a village girl, always whining about finding her mother. It was annoying, so I sold her. What? Are you really going to argue with me over some worthless girl?”

Su Ruoyun’s arrogance made Old Madam Lu tremble with rage.

“You venomous woman! Give me back my granddaughter!” She lunged at Su Ruoyun, clawing at her face.

Su Ruoyun wasn’t afraid of an old woman, and she raised her hand to slap her.

But before she could, Shen Qingwan stepped in, shielding Old Madam Lu and kicking Su Ruoyun square in the chest.

Su Ruoyun fell to the ground, her face twisted in pain. “You bitch! How dare you hit me? My father won’t let you go!”

Shen Qingwan stepped forward, planting her foot on Su Ruoyun’s hand.

Her expression was ice-cold. “Where is my daughter?”

“Ahhh! My hand!”

As Shen Qingwan pressed down harder, Su Ruoyun shrieked in pain.

“If you don’t tell me, you can say goodbye to this hand.”

Shen Qingwan increased the pressure, grinding down on Su Ruoyun’s flesh.

A little more force, and her bones would shatter completely.

Su Ruoyun was terrified.

But she had sold Xiaoyu to a random slave trader—there was no way to find her again. “I really don’t know! The traders weren’t from the capital—they’re long gone!”

Shen Qingwan sneered. “If I can’t find my daughter, then I’ll take your son as compensation. When my daughter is found, you’ll get him back. If she’s lost forever, then your son will be too.”

With that, she grabbed the young boy in the servant girl’s arms.

Su Ruoyun panicked and lunged forward to snatch him back. “No! Take me instead! Give me back my son!”

Shen Qingwan smirked.

See?

No one ever truly understands another’s pain until it happens to them.

Since Su Ruoyun had sold her daughter, it was only fair for Shen Qingwan to take her son.

“If my daughter isn’t found, your son will never return.”

With that, she knocked the struggling boy unconscious and handed him to Old Madam Lu before picking up Old Man Lu’s body.

Xiao Chen followed obediently.

Lu Wenzhao and Su Ruoyun tried to stop them, but Shen Qingwan sent them both flying with a kick.

The guards hesitated, afraid to intervene.

Shen Qingwan left with them. There would be time to settle the score later.

Right now, finding Xiaoyu and dealing with Old Man Lu’s funeral were the top priorities.

“My son! My baby! Give him back!”

Su Ruoyun wailed, trying to stand despite her pain.

Lu Wenzhao, however, didn’t dare chase after them, fearing another beating.

“Ruoyun, don’t worry. She won’t harm Yangyang. We just need to find Xiaoyu, and we can trade her back.”

He was sure Shen Qingwan wouldn’t hurt the boy—she needed to exchange him for Xiaoyu.

But Su Ruoyun wasn’t so sure.

She knew what a woman driven by rage could do.

“Lu Wenzhao, if anything happens to Yangyang, I will never forgive you!”