I Have Conditions

Su Li looked at Old Master Su, the once most authoritative patriarch of the Su family, the one who could decide her life and fate.

After a long pause, Su Li, having thought it through, finally spoke: "You want to continue living in the old Su family mansion? Fine, but I have conditions."

"What conditions? Al Li, just say them!" Old Master Su seemed to see a lifeline.

Su Li said, "First, this old mansion belongs to me. If I want to take it back, I can do so anytime. With just one word from me, your whole family must immediately leave."

"Second, I allow you to temporarily live in the Su family mansion, but you must always remember, the owner of this house is me, Su Li. You will forever be living under my roof! So don’t act arrogantly in front of me like before. If anyone offends me or makes me unhappy, you will immediately get out!"

"Third, stop scheming to harm me. Open your eyes and see clearly: I, Su Li, am no longer the helpless orphan everyone used to bully."

After Su Li finished stating these three conditions, the faces of the Su family members turned as gray and lifeless as dirt, each lowering their heads.

Her words brutally placed the harsh reality in front of the Su family. They had fallen from being the supreme patriarch who controlled Su Li’s mother’s life and death to being dependents, living at Su Li’s mercy, acting according to her mood, and bowing low.

Falling from the high clouds to the muddy ground felt worse than death to the Su family.

Inside the door, Old Lady Su sat on the bed, her chest heaving with anger, mumbling some unclear curses in her slurred voice.

Zhao immediately jumped up in fright, rushed inside, and covered Old Lady Su’s mouth, whispering sharply in her ear, "You old hag, don’t you dare curse Su Li! If she gets angry and takes back the house, we’ll be homeless!"

Old Lady Su glared with unwilling eyes. Who was Su Li? Just a lowly granddaughter she could casually mistreat! She wished she could get up immediately, walk up to Su Li, slap her hard, and force her to kneel and admit her mistake.

Zhao saw her mother-in-law’s thoughts clearly and pinched the soft flesh under Old Lady Su’s ribs hard, threatening, "You old hag, don’t you see Su Li’s power now and our family’s situation? You’re just a cripple, what nonsense do you want to pull? If you curse Su Li again, I won’t feed you anymore. Let you starve to death!"

Zhao’s threat clearly worked; fear showed on Old Lady Su’s face.

Zhao asked, "Still dare to curse?"

Old Lady Su gratefully shook her head and slurred, "N-no, I don’t dare..."

Zhao then released her and stepped outside, putting on a smiling face to Su Li, "Al Li, your grandma was just hungry, calling me."

"Oh? Then why did I hear her cursing me?" Su Li frowned and looked inside the room.

Zhao, Old Master Su, and Su Da Qi hurriedly put on smiling faces and said, "No, no, Al Li, you’re kind-hearted letting us stay in the house. How could grandma dare to curse you? She was cursing her daughter-in-law Zhao."

Zhao quickly added, "Yes, yes, she was cursing me!"

Su Li pulled at her ear, clearly tired of the Su family’s sycophantic faces, and said to the village chief, "Today I’ll trouble you to oversee this fairly. The house matter is settled: the old Su family mansion now belongs to me. Whenever I want to take it back, it’ll be based on my mood."

The village chief smiled, "Of course, it’s your house; handle it however you like. If you want to take it back but someone refuses to leave, hmm... the village will fully support you!"

As he spoke, the village chief gave the Su family a threatening look, reminding them of the nightmare of public humiliation and corporal punishment. They quickly replied, "No, no, we’ll all listen to Al Li!"