The village head stared with wide eyes and said in a trembling voice, "If he's Pearl's elder brother, then who is Pearl?"
"Of course it's me!" Shen Baozhu replied.
"You're Pearl? He's Pearl's elder brother, then where's Su Qian?"
"What does it have to do with Brother Su Qian? Even if it's Brother Su Qian, he can't snatch my elder brother from me."
"Isn't he Su Qian's elder brother?"
"Elder brother is Pearl's elder brother, not Brother Su Qian's elder brother."
"Then who's Elder Brother Su Qian!"
"This is my elder brother. Elder Brother Su Qian is Brother Su Qian's elder brother."
The village head was dizzy from this talk about "brothers". His eyes darted between Shen Heqing and Su Qian, as if trying to figure out their identities.
Su Qian punched those people twice, then turned around. "I'm Su Qian. They are all my friends. We came to Sujiacun to visit Granny. I don't know how my friends offended you, but they were beaten for no reason."
"My friend is a juren. If you don't give a reasonable explanation, I'll definitely report this to the government."
Hearing that Shen Heqing was a juren, the villagers of Sujiacun immediately knelt down and begged for mercy. "Please be magnanimous, Master Juren. Su Dazhuang didn't do it on purpose."
The village head looked even more humble. "Master Juren doesn't know. That bastard, no, it's Su Ming."
"Su Ming is the bastard son of Su Yue and the bandit leader!"
"Back then, there were bandits in this area. Sujiacun wasn't spared either. The one who led the bandits into the village was that heartless Su Yue."
More than a decade ago, Su Qian's parents only had Su Yue as their only daughter. They doted on her in every way, which also made her an arrogant and selfish girl.
Su Qian's father was very skillful. Whether it was making clay figurines or doing carpentry, he was among the best in the neighborhood and had saved up a considerable amount of money.
Since they had no son, Su Qian's father had the idea of finding a son - in - law to join the family.
But few sons from decent families were willing to be a son - in - law, especially since Su Yue was well - known for her bad temper. For half a year, they couldn't find a suitable person.
Su Yue blamed her father. She thought that with her looks, she was more than qualified to marry a wealthy merchant. It was all her father's fault for insisting on finding someone to join the family, which scared away all the good men.
This thought took root in Su Yue's mind. One midnight, she ran away from home.
But Su Yue didn't get far before she was captured by the bandits. She was even taken a fancy to by the third leader of the bandits, and the two got married in a simple ceremony and promised to be together for life.
When the village head was talking about this, a quick - tongued village woman angrily added, "Even if Su Yue was looking for a son - in - law and had a bad temper, she was from a good family, only fourteen years old, beautiful, and had a small family fortune. But that third bandit leader was a fugitive, nearly thirty. If he had gotten married earlier, he could have had a child as old as her!"
"Su Yue was just blind. She threw herself at that old man and even betrayed Sujiacun. Poor my eldest son had his leg cut off by the bandits..." The village woman covered her face and cried softly.
The others were also affected. Some cried like her, while others cursed Su Yue.
Everyone didn't expect there to be such a past and didn't know what to do.
But Shen Baozhu ran up to the village woman and handed her her handkerchief. "Don't cry, don't cry. Pearl will avenge you!"
"Pearl has a god. Wuwuwuwu... Second brother, what are you doing?"
Shen Danqing stepped forward quickly and covered Shen Baozhu's mouth in time. He whispered, "Pearl, shut up!"
"Do you want to sleep with elder brother?"
Shen Baozhu, who was still muttering just now, immediately became obedient. She didn't want to recognize characters and practice calligraphy before going to bed. It was too tiring.
After successfully stopping Shen Baozhu, Shen Danqing looked up at the village head. "Since you have so many complaints about Su Yue, why didn't you report it to the government?"
The village head sighed and told the whole story.
After hearing about the bandits, the villagers of Sujiacun dug cellars and stored some dry food and water in them for emergencies.
Su Qian's parents were the richest in the village. They not only dug a cellar but also a cave not far away and hid all their family wealth in it.
Sujiacun wasn't big. As soon as Su Yue led the bandit leader to the village entrance, the villagers got the news and fled in a hurry. Su Qian's parents even took the whole village to that cave and escaped.
But a few people were left behind and couldn't run in time, so they were killed by the bandits.
For example, the village woman's eldest son was out playing and unfortunately ran into the bandits when he came back. And Su Dazhuang, who had just injured Shen Heqing, his parents were weeding in the fields and were captured by the bandits.
There were two reasons for not reporting it to the government. Firstly, the one who led the bandits into the village was Su Yue. Sujiacun had reacted quickly. Compared with several neighboring villages that were massacred, the casualties in Sujiacun were few. Reporting this matter might affect the reputation of Sujiacun.
Secondly, and most importantly, Su Qian's parents took out all their savings to compensate the villagers of Sujiacun, especially those who had lost their family members. They just begged them not to report it to the government. To keep this matter quiet, Su Qian's parents would send money every month.
The village head sighed. "Dazhuang's parents are dead. He became an orphan and can only eat his fill with this money... Even though no one in our family was killed, all the valuable things in our homes were robbed. Life is hard. If we reported it to the government, we wouldn't have any money."
The reason was simple. Since the people were already dead, it was better to get some compensation. Although reporting to the government could arrest Su Yue, the villagers of Sujiacun needed this money badly.
Moreover, Su Qian's parents kept their promise. The money had never stopped over the years, and they never brought Su Yue and that bastard son back to the village.
Shen Danqing keenly caught the key point. "Is Elder Brother Su Qian the child of Su Yue and that bandit leader? If so, Su Qian should be his little uncle. Why is the seniority reversed now? It seems that you all know about this?"
The village head sighed. They did know about this.
Less than half a month after the bandits looted Sujiacun, just as a great general was returning to the capital to attend his only daughter's wedding, he happened to wipe out the bandits. Su Yue managed to escape back to Sujiacun. At that time, she was still holding the just - full - term Su Ming in her arms.
At that time, Su's mother was pregnant with Su Qian. Looking at Su Yue holding the child, she felt both heartache and resentment.
Su Yue took advantage of this. She kept begging while holding the child and hinted that the baby in Su's mother's belly might be a girl, while her child was a boy and could even take the surname Su.
This exactly hit Su's father's desire for a son. Under Su Yue's pleading, he reluctantly kept the child.
Originally, Su's father and mother didn't plan to hide the child's identity, but Su Yue wanted to get married herself and didn't want to take the child with her when she got married.
After some trouble, Su's father made another concession. He raised the child as his own and claimed it was his illegitimate son.
Shen Heqing couldn't hide his shock. "The daughter is so willful, and the father is so muddle - headed?"
This was what everyone in Sujiacun thought. Although they didn't say anything on the surface, there were rumors flying everywhere secretly.
Su Yue couldn't stand the gossiping. The next year, she married into a family that raised silkworms, while Su's father and mother took Su Ming and Su Qian away from Sujiacun.
Su Qian thought it was absurd. "How could my father think of taking his grandson as his son?"
The village head sighed. "Your father has always been like this. He can't make up his mind when something happens. All the important matters in your family were decided by your mother. It was also your mother's idea to use money to control the villagers. It's a pity that when Su Yue came back, your mother was pregnant with you and handed everything over to your father to handle."
"Your father was soft - hearted. Su Yue was his darling, and Su Ming was a boy, so he just agreed in a daze."