Tofu Beauty Escapes
The village rule was that the public shaming parade had to last a whole day. When the donkey got tired, they'd switch to another one; when the person got exhausted, they'd swap in someone else. But the shamed criminal had to keep running the entire time.
Old Su and Su Daqi had been running for most of the day, nearly losing half their lives in the process.
Old Su, seeing that Su Shimao hadn’t returned yet, ground his teeth in hatred: "That dog Su Shimao came up with this rotten idea that’s gotten us into trouble. Now that things have gone wrong, he’s vanished without a trace! When we find that dog, I swear I’ll break his legs!"
Su Daqi also hated his son fiercely: "Exactly! What kind of rotten idea was that! When he comes back, we won’t let him off!"
"What are you two babbling about? No talking! Keep running the parade properly!" A young man from the same village, sitting on the donkey, turned his head to scold them, then urged the donkey to go faster. Father and son Su had no choice but to run after the donkey, gasping for breath.
Zhao Shi had already had enough and stopped following them, going home to cook, crying her heart out.
Su Meixiang sat on the doorstep, coldly watching everything before her, her eyes vacant. The gauze on the other side of her face had been removed, revealing her entire face.
The area burned by hot water had become infected several times due to poor treatment, leaving a large scar. Her vision was affected, and she was almost half-blind with a disfigured face.
Old Lady Su sat on the bed, half-paralyzed, drooling at the corners of her mouth, reeking of stench. Seeing Zhao Shi's swollen, tear-streaked eyes, a trace of satisfaction rose in her heart: "You shameless woman abused your mother-in-law, the old man abused his daughter-in-law, the eldest abused his own mother. You bunch of ungrateful wolves, all doomed with me! If I’m miserable, I’ll make sure you’re worse off. That makes me happy!"
Zhao Shi cried while cooking, sitting for a long time until her legs went numb and she couldn’t stand. She called for Su Meixiang but got no response, so she called for Tofu Beauty instead.
"Tofu Beauty, come help me up!" Zhao Shi called for a long time, but Tofu Beauty didn’t respond.
Instead, Liu Ru came over, holding her big belly.
Liu Ru looked at Zhao Shi with eyes full of mockery: "Stop calling, Tofu Beauty ran away."
Zhao Shi was momentarily stunned, then looked up in disbelief: "Shimao’s wife, what did you say? Tofu Beauty ran away?"
Liu Ru snorted and looked at Zhao Shi disdainfully: "Your family’s in such deep trouble, the whole village won’t tolerate it. Tofu Beauty saw the situation was bad and ran off with her secret lover."
Zhao Shi ground her teeth in hatred: "That little harlot Tofu Beauty ran off the moment we fell into misfortune. I truly hate her to death!"
Liu Ru snorted, thinking to herself that if it weren’t for her big belly, she would have run away long ago. Once she gave birth, she’d be the fastest to run.
Zhao Shi cursed Tofu Beauty harshly, but with the Su family in such turmoil, no one had the energy to find her. Besides, Tofu Beauty was a concubine who came in without any documentation. If she wanted to run, no one could stop her.
Zhao Shi came to terms with it quickly and comforted herself: "Good riddance. She never worked a day and was just a mouth to feed."
"Tsk." Liu Ru sneered, "Tofu Beauty had quite a bit of money. She ran off with at least a dozen taels of silver."
Zhao Shi was stunned: "What? Where did Tofu Beauty get so much money, ten or more taels of silver?"
Liu Ru rubbed her belly: "Don’t you know? Tofu Beauty secretly followed Su Li to do business, selling vegetables. Today she didn’t hand over the vegetable capital; she ran off with both the capital and the profits she made these days."