The Qin family’s clan leader suddenly appeared with a group of people, parted the crowd, and walked up to Su Pan’er, eyeing her intently.
"You scoundrel! To antagonize soone, you unexpectedly chose to antagonize the Qin clan communities. Have you not gone out and inquired about the prestige of the Qin Clan, or what kind of place this is? This is not a place where riffraff like you can co and go as you please. If I don’t deal with you severely today, don’t even think about leaving this mansion!"
The clan leader, with a grim expression, stared down the fearless brat in front of him.
If it weren’t for his desire to see who dared to cause trouble in the Qin Clan’s territory, why would he, a dignified clan leader, bother to lie in wait here?
His remark left Su Pan’er dumbfounded.
She had noticed soone inside the wall before and initially thought it was guards on duty in the courtyard. Only now was she realizing that things were not as she had assud.
Seeing that Su Pan’er remained silent, the clan leader grew even more smug.
"Boy, why aren’t you talking? If you want to save your life, confess honestly. Perhaps if you’re sincere, I, the clan leader, might still grant you an intact corpse!"
"The authority of the clan leader is indeed great. Only today did the Empress understand that the clan leader can take soone’s life without even going through the governnt office, directly resorting to violence, huh?"
Su Pan’er sneered twice and then removed the mask towel covering her face, revealing her true appearance.
The familiar voice made the clan leader feel uncertain and alard.
"You are...?"
Shocked, he swiftly snatched the lantern from the person next to him and thrust it forward. The faint light from the lantern soon illuminated Su Pan’er’s familiar face.
Terrified, the clan leader couldn’t even hold the lantern steady, and it crashed to the ground with a bang.
The lantern rolled chaotically on the ground, and the candle inside quickly extinguished.
"Emp... Emp... Empress..."
He was so scared that he couldn’t catch his breath, struggling to complete his words, frightening the people who had co with him, making them equally stunned. They hurriedly moved their lanterns forward to better illuminate Su Pan’er’s face.
Su Pan’er’s expression was unusually gentle. She took a few amiable steps forward towards the clan leader and chuckled lightly.
"Clan leader, whom do you wish to grant an intact corpse to, hmm?"
Thud!
The clan leader suddenly knelt on the ground, ceaselessly kowtowing, "Empress, spare my life! It’s the clan leader... no, no, no, your servant didn’t know the Empress was here, offended the Empress, truly deserving of death! Please, Empress, te out your punishnt! Empress, spare my life..."
Empress?
Everyone who was still standing was left petrified!
Once they snapped back to reality, they quickly prostrated themselves on the ground, bowing in haste.
"Hmph!"
Su Pan’er snorted heavily from her nose, "It’s only today that the Empress has discovered that returning to her own ho ans facing attempts on her life. Truly, tis have changed!"
After speaking, without waiting for those around her to respond, she swept aside her sleeve and stepped into the front courtyard.
Everyone in the courtyard was Quietly unable to voice their suffering, remaining silent without words.
Su Pan’er entered the room and only then discovered Xiren, who had been tied up, her mouth gagged, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at her, unable to express whether she felt more anger or exasperation.
She promptly untied the ropes on Xiren’s body and removed the cloth gagging her mouth, "Xiren, what happened?"
"Your servant..."
Xiren suddenly threw herself to the ground, crying bitterly, "Your servant also doesn’t know what happened. Your servant, your servant..."
"Don’t cry, don’t cry!"
Su Pan’er quickly helped her up and personally poured her a cup of tea to drink, "What’s the matter? Drink so water and then tell slowly." Seeing that Xiren’s lips were cracked, it was clear that she had suffered quite an injustice.
Once Xiren had the water, she stopped crying and indeed drank several cups in succession, which finally relieved the dryness in her mouth.
"Empress, this morning the clan leader suddenly burst in, slandering your servant for eting a man secretly at midnight to commit adultery and wanting to drown in the pond. Your servant did not dare ntion that the person from the night before last was you. They couldn’t find any evidence, so they bound your servant here without another word..."
She said this while wiping away her tears.
She truly felt aggrieved.
"It’s all my fault, I was rash and did not consider this might happen, causing you to bear such grievances."
By now, what could Su Pan’er not understand?
It must have been when she entered and exited the Qin Mansion and was seen by soone. Since she was always dressed as a man, those people mistook her for Xiren’s lover, which led to this misunderstanding.
However, it was too presumptuous of the clan leader to storm into her residence just for this trivial matter and attempt to take her servant!
"Rest assured! I will definitely seek justice for you!"
Su Pan’er assured, patting her chest.
"Your servant does not seek justice per se."
After the shock of the recent events, Xiren felt significantly better with Su Pan’er’s reassurance and finally wiped her tears away. "But the clan leader actually accused your servant of being unchaste, and it has misled my three children. This matter simply cannot be let go so easily! Your servant only wants the clan leader to apologize to in front of everyone."
"Alright! Leave this matter to ."
Su Pan’er nodded in agreent.
Then, she looked back at the doorway, "Clan leader, you’ve heard everything Xiren has said, haven’t you?"
It turned out that while they were speaking, the clan leader and others, originally kneeling in the yard, had briefly consulted and were now waiting outside, having co to personally apologize.
Upon hearing this, the clan leader felt even more bitter than if he had eaten a bitter lon!
Thinking back, he had deluded himself; over the years, this huge mansion had only housed a few old servants left behind when the Empress passed away.
With such a large mansion sitting empty, especially as the economy gradually improved this year, the Qin Clan dominated the area with no significant competitors except the Su family. He had long been contemplating how to replace those few old people.
Upon learning of Zhou’s daughter-in-law secretly eting her lover at midnight, when he thought of Zhou Ning’s disappearance, he believed that the opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived!
He therefore hastily acted against Xiren.
Little did he expect to end up in such a difficult situation to proceed or retreat from.
"Hm? Did I not make myself clear?"
Su Pan’er impatiently turned her head and looked outside the door.
The clan leader broke out in a cold sweat under her gaze.
He couldn’t help but recall the past...
He quickly put on a smile, stooped his back, and bowed continuously to Su Pan’er, "Empress spoke clearly and understandably, I listened carefully too."
"Since you’ve understood, what should you do now?"
Su Pan’er spoke with a stern face, showing no intention of easing up.
The clan leader, adaptable to circumstances, imdiately bowed to Xiren, "It was my fault. I am here to admit my wrongdoing to Zhou’s daughter-in-law. It was my mistake to be prejudiced and misunderstood Zhou’s daughter-in-law. I am truly sorry..."
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