Even if thievery is in one's nature, they are still a thief of the nation

The table was full of delicacies, the ingredients were all extraordinary, and the aroma made one's stomach rumble, but Ren Tianye no longer had any appetite. He turned around and left with his lieutenant, Wang Ming.

Just as they stepped out of the dining hall, they saw a man jogging over.

It was none other than Su Hong, the actual master of the Su Manor.

Su Hong had clearly heard the news and rushed over quickly. Because he ran too fast, he was out of breath. However, when he saw the scene before him, especially the sight of his mother and his niece Su Xiu being dragged away, his vision instantly went black.

"What... what is going on?"

"Great General, what happened?"

No one paid him any attention. Feeling anxious, he leaned closer to Ren Tianye. "Great General, what exactly is going on?"

"Why have you arrested my mother and niece?"

"Did they offend you?"

"Great General, I beg you to be magnanimous. Our Su Manor is willing to do everything in our power to assist you. I beg you, please show mercy!"

Perhaps due to his panic, he slightly blocked the returning personal guards, causing Ren Tianye, who had been ignoring him, to furrow his brows.

"What?"

"Su Hong? Are you also trying to demand justice from this general?"

Ren Tianye's voice was neither light nor heavy, and his expression was indifferent, but these words carried the weight of a thunderbolt. The personal guards following him immediately drew their precious swords from their waists.

The metallic clashing sounds rang out endlessly.

Su Hong immediately dropped to his knees with a thud. "Great General, this lowly one would not dare, I would not dare..."

Ren Tianye ignored him and led his men out of the Su Manor. It was not until his figure completely disappeared outside the manor gates that Su Hong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and staggeringly stood up.

From just one glance from Ren Tianye, he could feel a chilling murderous intent. It was a fatal sensation that a sword could be pressed against his neck at the slightest disagreement.

Although he was the wealthiest merchant in Yunji City and usually held a high status, he absolutely did not dare to defy such a great general.

But...

This great general was supposed to be the excellent son-in-law of his Su Manor!

Everything was perfectly fine just a moment ago.

The general had even come smilingly to attend the banquet hosted by his niece Su Xiu. How did it turn into this in the blink of an eye?

What in the world happened?

Su Hong took a few steps toward the dining hall and looked inside. His heart, which was already half-cold, turned completely icy, and he fell to the ground in sudden fright.

Dozens of corpses were laid out right before his eyes.

So...

Great General Ren Tianye didn't just take away his niece Su Xiu and his mother, he also went on a killing spree in their Su Manor?

"Why?"

He let out an agonized question almost subconsciously.

Everything was perfectly fine just now, how did it become like this?

He had looked into this Great General Ren Tianye. Although he acted ruthlessly, he was not someone who killed innocents indiscriminately. After arriving in Yunji City, he had not committed the slightest offense against the people.

Why such a huge temper all of a sudden?

Looking around in bewilderment, he spotted a servant hiding in the distance. He immediately called him over and sternly asked, "What happened just now?"

"Why was there such a huge commotion?"

"Why did the Great General suddenly burst into such immense anger?"

The servant was so frightened he nearly wet his pants. With a miserable face, he answered, "M-Master, it was the Second Miss's maid, Xiaotao. She, she said the Great General stole her gold hairpin..."

"What?"

Before the servant could finish speaking, Su Hong's eyes widened in shock. "Did you hear clearly? That wretched maid Xiaotao really framed the Great General like that?"

"Yes, yes..." the servant said. "When Xiaotao said it, this lowly one was right nearby serving tea, and I heard it perfectly clearly."

"Xiaotao explicitly said that the Great General stole her gold hairpin..."

Boom!

It felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded above his head.

Su Hong felt dizzy. At this moment, he was about to go mad.

Stealing a gold hairpin?!

How did Xiaotao even come up with such a brainless accusation!

That was the Great General. Even if he wasn't recognized by the imperial court, he controlled over seven thousand soldiers and held the strategic town of Yunji City.

Even if he had poor morals and a habit of stealing, he would be a thief of the nation. What on earth would he want with a maid's gold hairpin?

Did he lack a gold hairpin?

But immediately after, Su Hong realized that no matter how bold Xiaotao was, she was just a lowly maid. How would she dare to threaten the Great General?

So, the only one who truly dared to threaten the Great General could only be...

"Xiu'er?"

"It was Su Xiu's idea!"

His vision went black, and he almost fainted.

He suddenly thought of Su Xiu's behavior. That smiling and cheerful appearance was something he rarely saw, and he had been excitedly thinking that Su Xiu had finally figured things out.

It turned out she wanted to get their entire clan wiped out!

"Crazy, sheer madness..."

"I worked so hard to manage the Su Manor, raising her like a delicate branch of gold and leaves of jade, keeping her from suffering the wind and sun. But why, why did she insist on driving my Su Manor to its death!"

Su Hong let out a shrill cry, but then a flash of realization crossed his mind. He quickly asked the servant again, "Then what about my mother? What did my mother do?"

Even before finishing the question, he roughly knew the answer in his heart.

His mother was overbearing. She often proudly boasted about not taking her husband's surname. As a son, he naturally had to satisfy her vanity, but this also made her arrogant and domineering.

She would constantly resort to family punishment at the drop of a hat!

In Yunji City, she ran amok without hindrance.

I'm afraid, I'm afraid she heard that something happened to Su Xiu, came out to back her up, and offended the Great General.

Sure enough, the servant said tremblingly, "Old Madam Qin said the Great General was being insolent, and then ordered people to lynch him, and even had people tie up the Great General..."

"In a fit of rage, the Great General just..."

Before the servant could finish, Su Hong's eyes rolled back, and he fainted right on the spot, terrifying the butler behind him into screaming.

They had to carry him back to his bedroom, fetch a doctor, and pinch his philtrum.

The Su Manor was thrown into absolute chaos.

Finally, Su Hong slowly woke up, but his face was filled with nothing but remorse.

I shouldn't have!

I shouldn't have!

Over the years, I really shouldn't have indulged my family so much, raising a bunch of people who couldn't see reality clearly. They were so arrogant and domineering that they dared to falsely accuse and offend a great general holding a massive army, which brought about this tragic result.

All the preparations he made to curry favor with the Great General had completely gone down the drain.

The Su Manor is going to fall!

Completely ruined!

"Second Uncle, please, please don't panic. Perhaps there is still room to salvage the situation?"

By the bedside, a young girl wearing a peach-pink dress, with eyebrows as fine and soft as willow branches, gently comforted him. "The Great General didn't execute the matriarch and older sister in public, which proves he doesn't intend to kill them immediately."

"If our Su family can think of some solutions during this time, wouldn't we still have a chance?"