Chapter 2: Heart-Piercing Pain

The adults praised Su Xinyu for her genuine character.

Her cousins went even further, jeering and egging him on to call her "sister-in-law."

【Sister-in-law.】

He called out the name with extreme reluctance.

Recalling this, Lu Chengxu's pupils darkened abruptly, and a chill permeated his entire being.

"Someone, take her away."

He issued the command.

Su Xinyu was immediately led out of the cabin.

Someone pressed a lamp into her hands.

Only when she saw a small boat beneath the official vessel did Su Xinyu realize that Lu Chengxu intended for them to leave the official ship.

"But I don't know how to row."

"Do you wish to return to the passenger ship where a murder occurred?"

Lu Chengxu's narrow phoenix eyes were quiet and deep, his voice devoid of any warmth.

Left with no choice, Su Xinyu carried the lamp and descended the ladder from the official vessel with her maid, landing in the small boat.

The wind rose and the waves grew fierce.

The small boat rocked violently.

The maid took the lamp from her young lady's hands and hung it on a pole, indignantly protesting, "Miss, you are, at the very least, relatives with Lord Lu now. How can he treat people like this?"

It was already October, the height of late autumn, and the air was growing increasingly cold.

"Let's not mention whether we are relatives or not." Su Xinyu shrank her body back and sat down with difficulty. "Qinqi, do you know how to row?"

Qinqi sat down beside her. "Miss, I don't know how either."

Looking up at the towering official vessel, Su Xinyu held onto a sliver of hope and shouted toward the soldiers on board, "Gentlemen, can any of you teach us how to row?"

Lu Chengxu remained silent, and none of the other soldiers dared to respond.

After a long while, Lu Chengxu remarked indifferently, "As long as you have hands, it'll do."

Su Xinyu choked on her words. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the oars and began to row through the water with great difficulty.

Lacking the proper technique, the master and maid toiled away for half the night, yet the small boat merely spun in circles.

The river surface was pitch black, the wind was strong, and the waves were high.

By the dim light of the lamp, Su Xinyu lifted her hand to look; her palms had already developed blisters, which was why they stung so much.

A wave crashed against them, causing both the master and maid to swallow mouthfuls of seawater.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

The boat's swaying grew even more violent. They had no choice but to increase their rowing speed, but it was to no avail.

On the official vessel, Lu Chengxu stood with his hands behind his back.

Seeing the wind grow stronger and the waves higher, that tiny skiff looked as though it might capsize at any moment...

His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and he turned his head to command, "Retrieve them."

"Yes, My Lord."

Immediately, someone lowered a rope ladder.

Seeing this, Qinqi cried out in surprise, "Miss, does this mean they've agreed to let us back onto the big ship?"

"It should be. Let's go up."

Su Xinyu stood up.

However, because of the blisters from rowing, the pain was piercing as she gripped the rope to climb up.

Once back on the large ship, she spread her hands to look; the blisters on both palms had burst, leaving the new flesh underneath bright red. She wasn't sure if they had burst while rowing or while gripping the rope, but they hurt terribly.

Qinqi gasped, "Oh, Miss, what happened to your hands?"

"It just happened."

Su Xinyu's hands curled slightly.

Once she straightened her palms, the torn skin of the blisters would pull, bringing another bout of piercing pain.

Qinqi said sorrowfully, "The blisters are so large and the skin is torn; when has your Miss's hands ever suffered such hardship?"

It truly hurt immensely. Su Xinyu pursed her lips and asked, "Lord Lu, do you have any ointment?"

Lu Chengxu's expression remained cold and aloof. "The blisters will heal after they burst a few more times."

"You..."

Su Xinyu was stunned.

A guard stepped in to explain, "There is no ointment on this ship. Besides, we all have calluses on our palms; why would we need ointment? My master means that once the blisters burst a few times, they will grow into thick calluses, making your palms sturdy."

The soldiers on the ship moved back and forth, clearly busy handling the case on the passenger ship.

Su Xinyu stood in a corner.

Regarding her staying on the official vessel, the man surnamed Lu seemed quite displeased. It was best to avoid provoking him; otherwise, if she were thrown onto a small boat again, how would she survive the night?

Lu Chengxu cast an inadvertent glance.

He saw her hiding in the corner, gently blowing on her palms.

The wave from earlier had not washed away the soot from the pot on her face, making her small face look even more filthy. However, her eyes were born clean and beautiful, currently brimming with tears.

Her nose twitched rhythmically; she was clearly on the verge of crying.

*Hmph, delicate.*

——

At dawn the next day, the official vessel arrived at the capital's pier along with the passenger ship.

The soldiers escorted the bandits to the yamen, and the citizens began to disembark from the passenger ship.

Su Xinyu and Qinqi also descended from the official vessel.

Turning her head, she saw Lu Chengxu standing high upon the official vessel, looking down upon the pier as he watched the soldiers escort the bandits.

Qinqi said, "Miss, there are so many people coming and going. If there are more villains, we should leave quickly."

There was no need to wipe off the soot on her face; she would worry about that once they reached her uncle's house safely. Her safety was the top priority.

"Mhm."

The master and maid quickened their pace.

On the official vessel, Lu Chengxu's eyes were indifferent.

A beautiful silhouette, which even coarse cloth clothing could not hide, suddenly entered his field of vision. He frowned and looked away.

By the time Su Xinyu reached her uncle's house, it was already the hour of *si*.

Seeing two filthy young women approaching, the doorman sneered and tried to shoo them away, "Go, go, go! Where did these beggars come from?"

"We are here to see the Master. My lady's surname is Su."

Qinqi's voice was not small.

Mu Rong, who happened to be passing by the screen wall, heard this and glanced toward the entrance.

"Xinyu?" He was shocked and hurried outside. "Xinyu, is that you?"

The middle-aged man before her had a gentle countenance. Su Xinyu called out, "Uncle."

"You've grown up, you've truly grown up."

Mu Rong sighed as he led them into the manor, then instructed the servants to find his wife, Lady Niu.

A moment later, in the front hall of the Mu residence.

Mu Rong and his wife, Lady Niu, sat in the main seats, observing Su Xinyu.

"Xinyu, why are you and your maid dressed like this?"

Lady Niu dabbed the tip of her nose with a handkerchief, her tone concerned.

The Su Xinyu before them had a face covered in black soot, as if she had been smeared with pot ash, with only a small patch of fair, creamy skin visible on one cheek. Even so, she didn't look particularly striking.

Qinqi said, "To answer the Mistress, half a month ago, the Miss reached her coming-of-age age. A local bully took an interest in the Miss's beauty and wanted to force her to be his concubine. Out of desperation, the Nanny had the Miss flee to the capital, hoping that the Master and Mistress would intervene and arrange for the Miss to marry the Sixth Young Master of the Lu family."

Upon hearing this, Su Xinyu remembered that day when the bully had brought men to her home to seize her.

The bully had brought too many men, and the Su family servants were outnumbered. In the heat of the moment, the Nanny and the steward had sent them to the capital while they stayed behind to hold off the bully.

It had taken half a month to reach the capital.

The original owner of this body was delicate and weak, and had clearly suffered quite a bit.

Hearing this, Mu Rong sighed, "My poor, ill-fated sister and brother-in-law."

Five years ago, shortly after the Su family and the Lu family had arranged the marriage, the brother-in-law had left the capital for his post.

They had thought he would be transferred back to the capital soon, but unexpectedly, after two years of service, both the brother-in-law and his sister had passed away, leaving Xinyu an orphan.

At that time, he had sent people to bring Xinyu to the capital, but the child was very sensible and said she wanted to stay home to observe three years of mourning for her parents.

Back then, he thought that since the Su family servants were loyal and his brother-in-law's prestige in the local area remained, he would respect her wishes.

Who could have imagined a brazen, lustful bully would emerge.

By now, the three-year mourning period had passed.

Thinking of this, he said to his wife, "Go to the Lu residence and tell them to set a wedding date as soon as possible."

(End of Chapter)