Chapter 52: Crown Prince Gu's Decisive Strike Sends the Treacherous Servant Ding Auntie to Prison!
On the black Mercedes.
Madam Su beamed with delight, “Ruanyuan is after all our own daughter; she couldn’t bear to see the family in hardship.”
Su Chaosheng nodded, “Yes, Ruanyuan has become much more sensible. She must have suffered outside and realized that family is the most important thing in this world.”
Madam Su said, “Tonight, with the whole family reunited, I feel like cooking myself. By the way, what dishes does Ruanyuan like?”
Su Chaosheng replied, “Something light in flavor, I think.”
Madam Su decided, “Then we’ll prepare Cantonese cuisine.”
As the Su couple entered the villa’s foyer, they saw Aunt Ding with a face bruised and bleeding, and Su Lany’er, whose face was swollen, cradled in Su Shengyao’s arms.
Madam Su immediately rushed over anxiously to Su Lany’er’s side, like a protective mother hen, angrily demanding who had struck her daughter’s face.
Su Lany’er’s eyes were moist; she had clearly been crying. She glanced toward Su Ruanyuan standing to the side.
Following her gaze, Madam Su saw Su Ruanyuan leaning against Gu Jinzhou’s chest. The man’s tall, disheveled figure exuded an ineffable nobility. His cold black eyes, filled with the wrath of a ruler, hung over them like the Sword of Damocles, ruthlessly severing their taut nerves.
Could it be that Gu Jinzhou was the one who struck her?
Madam Su suppressed her anger and asked gently, “What exactly happened here?”
Su Shengyao, distressed for Su Lany’er but mostly angry, said, “Aunt Ding called Ruanyuan a little harlot.”
Su Lany’er covered her swollen face and whispered, “Aunt Ding knows she was wrong.”
Madam Su looked at Aunt Ding in disbelief, “Are you out of your mind? Do you think you’re in heaven, daring to insult my own daughter!”
Aunt Ding knelt on the floor, no longer the fierce but timid figure she had been before. She looked like a terrified fat rat about to be slaughtered, her forehead bleeding from hitting the ground.
Su Ruanyuan lowered her eyes and refused to look.
Gu Jinzhou’s expression was calm and proud, his face clean of any emotion. His heart had long been forged into a rock by the tumultuous stock market and ruthless business battles; nothing could shake him.
“Looks like the Su family is determined to protect her.”
Su Chaosheng hurriedly shook his head, “President Gu, please don’t misunderstand. Our Su family cannot afford to keep such a troublesome servant. Tonight, I will send her away!”
“No!”
Su Lany’er rushed forward and clung to Aunt Ding, tears streaming down her face. “She has cared for me for over twenty years, almost like family. How can you just throw her out like this?”
---
Su Chaosheng was speechless.
Su Shengyao was at a loss.
They didn’t understand what Su Lany’er was doing.
Madam Su felt weary.
She looked at the poised, unassuming daughter who had saved the Su family from ruin, Su Ruanyuan.
Then she looked at Su Lany’er, who seemed like a madwoman, blindly defending a disobedient servant who had insulted her own master.
In both bearing and temperament, Lany’er seemed far inferior to Ruanyuan.
Seeing no one on her side, Su Lany’er closed her eyes in frustration and fainted.
“Lany’er!”
“Lany’er!”
Su Ruanyuan was dumbfounded. Such splendid acting—no wonder Su Lany’er had become a top star within a year of debut.
The family doctor gave Su Lany’er basic emergency treatment and fed her some medicine. She slowly opened her eyes.
“Aunt Ding knows she was wrong. Please, for my sake, forgive her this once. Aunt Ding has cared for me over twenty years, like my right hand... When I was ill, she reminded me to take my medicine and checked on me two or three times at night. I can’t imagine losing her.”
Su Lany’er looked apologetically at Ruanyuan. “Ruanyuan, I apologize on Aunt Ding’s behalf. She knows she was wrong, and I promise she won’t do it again. After you were born, Aunt Ding held you and made you smile. She wants you to grow up healthy. Once you spend more time with her, she’ll treat you as well as she treats me.”
Her words were deeply moving; even Su Shengyao, who hated Aunt Ding enough to want her dead, felt forgiving her once might not be impossible.
Su Ruanyuan gently squeezed Gu Jinzhou’s hand and smiled faintly. “This is your family’s private matter. My opinion probably doesn’t matter.”
Su Chaosheng said sternly, “Ruanyuan, you are part of this family, so your opinion definitely matters! But it’s late now. Why don’t we have some supper together? Let’s not let a troublesome servant spoil our family reunion.”
Su Lany’er gripped Aunt Ding’s arm tightly, her eyes cold. “I’m not feeling well, so I won’t join you for supper. Aunt Ding will stay and keep me company.”
Gu Jinzhou took Su Ruanyuan’s hand and led her to the West Tulanya Restaurant.
“Brother Jinzhou, what are you scheming?” she asked.
“Ruanyuan has grown smarter.”
“Aunt Ding insulted me, and you only gave her a swollen face? That’s not like your ruthless style. Could it be you contacted assassins who are on their way here?”
“Half right.”
---
In the bedroom,
Su Lany’er was on the phone with Li Shaojue.
“Shaojue, can you come over? Aunt Ding and I have been beaten, and they want to kick Aunt Ding out.”
Li Shaojue frowned, “Who hit you?”
“Gu Jinzhou.”
“Don’t worry, I’m on my way.”
After hanging up, Su Lany’er felt somewhat reassured.
“Aunt Ding, rest assured, I won’t let them throw you out. Actually, Mom and Dad don’t want to either, but they are restrained by Gu Jinzhou behind Ruanyuan... When Shaojue arrives and pleads for us, my parents won’t dare to expel you out of respect for him.”
Aunt Ding, having wiped the blood from her mouth, her swollen face sharp and fierce, snarled, “Su Ruanyuan... wretch!”
---
At West Tulanya Restaurant,
Gu Jinzhou did not touch the food prepared by the Su family. His long legs crossed elegantly, his refined and gentle voice steady and unhurried.
“Madam Su, Mr. Su, have you found out who stole Ruanyuan and abandoned her?”
Su Chaosheng confessed with shame, “The day Ruanyuan went missing, we mobilized everyone to search but found nothing. My wife nearly broke down because Ruanyuan was only two months old then; without the warmth of home, she could have died.”
“The next day, we reported to the police, but there were too few clues, and no progress was made. For four or five years, we kept searching for Ruanyuan. When my wife’s mental state deteriorated, I took her to an orphanage and chose a clean, well-behaved little girl for her to raise.”
“My wife’s health gradually improved, but we never stopped looking for Ruanyuan. Finally, twenty years later, we found her. After two decades apart, our family was reunited.”
Madam Su recalled wandering the streets desperately searching for her child. Tears streamed down her face as maternal love surged, and she grasped Su Ruanyuan’s hand imploring her to come home.
Gu Jinzhou’s lips curved slightly as he glanced toward the gate.
*Knock knock—*
Two men in police uniforms knocked and asked,
“Is this the Su Chaosheng residence? You reported a missing daughter years ago. This case has been solved. A street beggar witnessed your maid, Ding Huiwen, abandoning a two-month-old infant.”