Chapter 49 Hot Potato
Two maids stepped forward quickly and held her down, while the other two held up sticks high, ready to bring them down.
"Old lady! Please spare me! I beg you!" Jiang Yingying shouted hoarsely.
"Cousin! Save me!" She turned to Guo again, a trace of despair flashing in her eyes.
"Help!" The last cry for help was drowned out by the shadow of the falling stick.
The wooden sticks fell mercilessly on Jiang Yingying's thin body like raindrops. Blood flowed slowly down her limbs. Her shrill screams accompanied by the dull sound of broken bones were unbearable to listen to.
With a cracking sound, Jiang Yingying's ribs and hand bones were twisted and deformed under the heavy blow, and the pain reached the extreme.
At the side, Su Wanyu stood quietly, her face as cold as ice, but her heart was full of ups and downs.
She thought to herself: Is this miserable?
Compared with what she endured back then, Jiang Yingying's pain was nothing.
Recalling the past that he couldn't bear to look back on, Zheng Chengyan became the top scorer in the imperial examination and rose to prominence. Jiang Yingying proclaimed herself as the future top scorer's wife, attempting to control the entire Zheng family.
On that stormy night, she almost escaped from the Zheng Mansion with the help of the elders of the Su family, but was unfortunately intercepted by Jiang Yingying halfway.
Out of jealousy and hatred, Jiang Yingying was unwilling to let her go even if she was the first wife.
The moonlight was dim. Jiang Yingying grabbed her long hair and dragged her to the yard. She burned her face bit by bit with boiling hot iron, and kept mocking her: "Everyone says that Miss Su is as beautiful as a flower, but I think she is just so-so. Come, I'll put some 'makeup' on you to make you fair and rosy, hahaha..."
The scalding hot iron penetrated her skin and reached her bone marrow, causing her to faint several times in pain and become unconscious.
When she woke up again, her right leg had been broken by Jiang Yingying in front of the old lady. The bones were exposed, the flesh and blood were blurred, and it was twisted into a strange posture, which became a nightmare she would never forget.
To this day, whenever it's late at night and everyone is asleep, the memory comes flooding back and makes her legs tremble uncontrollably.
The pain and torture can never be erased from the bottom of my heart no matter how many times I reincarnate.
She gently closed her eyes to hide her tears, but a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
This smile, cold and piercing, just fell into Jiang Yingying's dying eyes. She opened her eyes wide and stared at Su Wanyu, as if she read something in that smile. She struggled to crawl forward, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
At this moment, a stick fell heavily on Jiang Yingying's head and she lost consciousness instantly.
Seeing that the second stick was about to fall, Guo hurriedly spoke out to stop it: "Old lady, we have taught you a lesson and scolded you, please don't let anyone get killed."
Mrs. Zheng saw that her goal had been achieved, so she waved her hand to signal the maids to leave, and turned to Guo and said, "A lowly concubine should be punished for her mistakes. Why should we care about her background?"
In the Zheng family, concubines were like household objects, and no one often cared about their life or death. However, it was different for noble concubines and good concubines. They were of clean birth and noble status, so how could they easily suffer such public humiliation and severe punishment?
After all, it was Jiang Yingying herself who had evil intentions. Although she had the title of a concubine, she did all kinds of evil things and eventually reaped the fruits of her own labor. It was not easy for her to regain respect.
Guo put on a compassionate look, frowned and looked at Jiang Yingying on the ground, sighed softly: "After all, it is a life, and she once carried our Zheng family's flesh and blood."
After she finished speaking, she turned her gaze to Yu Jingxuan, and her tone was somewhat tentative: "Jingxuan, if you really like this girl from the Jiang family, why don't you take her in as a concubine? This will also be an explanation for this matter."
In a prominent family like the Marquis of Changping's Mansion, giving or accepting concubines was a common practice, and even if outsiders knew about it, it would not damage the family's reputation.
For Jiang Yingying, whether she stayed in the Zheng family or joined the Yu family, the ending seemed to be the same, she just changed the place where she suffered.
But for the Zheng family, this move can demonstrate their magnanimity.
As for Yu Jingxuan, this allows him to get rid of the matter and feel relaxed.
However, Yu Jingxuan obviously did not want to get involved in this muddy water, and quickly shook his head to refuse: "No, no, my nephew would never dare to take on this important task."
Guo sighed helplessly: "You kid, you provoked others in the first place, and now they are offering themselves to you, but you don't want them anymore."
Yu Jingxuan has had quite a few romantic affairs outside. If he were to bring every one of them home, even dozens of carriages would probably not be able to accommodate them.
He lowered his head, his eyes full of disgust, and glanced at Jiang Yingying on the ground: "I don't dare to want her in this state."
Jiang Yingying's heart was completely chilled. Although she understood the man's fickleness, she had never expected him to be so heartless.
Guo was determined to get rid of Jiang Yingying, this hot potato, so she persuaded Yu Jingxuan a few more words.
Su Wanyu watched all this coldly, with a sneer in her heart.
The Jiang who used to walk on her head and show off his power is now just dust under the feet of others, being trampled on by anyone.
The world is fickle and people’s hearts are changeable. Everything is a cycle of cause and effect and there will be retribution in the end.
But she would never give Jiang any chance to breathe. Her tone was firm and every word was clear: "Old lady, mother, maybe Wanyu can take on this important task and handle this matter properly."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Zheng frowned, with a look of doubt and expectation in her eyes, and asked, "Wanyu, are you really willing to take over this hot potato?"
The air was filled with tension and anxiety, and everyone's eyes were focused on Su Wanyu.
"Yes, old lady." Su Wanyu's answer was concise and firm.
Her eyes were calm and confident, as if everything was under her control.
Everyone looked at each other, surprised and relieved at this sudden volunteering.
After all, no one wants to be involved in such a difficult matter.
When Mrs. Zheng saw this, her frown finally relaxed, as if a huge stone had been lifted from her heart.
Yu Jingxuan's face was filled with smiles, and he almost couldn't wait to express his gratitude to Su Wanyu: "That's great, my second sister-in-law is so understanding. It's really the most appropriate thing for you to handle this matter! As the mistress of my second brother's house, it's most appropriate for you to handle this matter yourself!"
Su Wanyu nodded slightly, without saying much, just responded with a gentle smile.
Old Mrs. Zheng and Mrs. Guo exchanged a meaningful look, and they reached a consensus without saying much.
"Okay, young master, what you said makes sense. After all, Jiang is a member of your family. It is up to you to decide how to deal with her. We will not interfere." There was a hint of helplessness in Mrs. Zheng's words.
"Yes, old lady." Su Wanyu saluted respectfully, and then quickly arranged for people to send the seriously injured and unconscious Jiang Yingying to the dark woodshed in the backyard, which was actually a small prison cell specially used to punish servants who made mistakes.