Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Attack the Heart First!

Young Lord Li finished his lesson, then opened the gate as if everything had already been settled.

Lamplight spilled out.

Su Xuan Ming’s bruises looked almost grotesque—dark, swollen, the kind that made people flinch. On the door plank, Su Yun Ting was pale as death, his lips colorless, his eyes half-lidded like a corpse that hadn’t yet cooled.

Young Lord Li’s smile cracked.

“This,” he forced out through clenched teeth, “is what you called a small dispute?”

He wanted nothing more than to kick his own son out of the residence on the spot.

That little bastard had run home to complain and carefully skimmed over the worst of it—never once saying they’d beaten Gu Nan Xi’s boys into this state.

Gu Nan Xi only had these two sons. Su Xuan Ming hadn’t inherited the position of heir yet. Su Yun Ting had been sickly since childhood—still breathing was practically a miracle.

If someone did that to his children, he’d throw away his official robe and fight to the bitter end.

Which meant his earlier plan might not work at all. He needed a new angle, and fast.

He flicked his eyes toward his wife. Madam Li understood at once.

Li Ming De stepped forward, bowed deeply, and forced the words out. “Brother Su, I was wrong. Hit me. Curse me. Whatever you want—I’ll take it.”

Su Xuan Ming blinked, startled, then looked to Gu Nan Xi like a drowning man searching for a hand.

Moonlight lay across her patent robes like pale silk. Gu Nan Xi’s face was serene, her gaze sharp—holy and cold as a divine maiden carved from ice.

She gave Su Xuan Ming a small nod.

Only then did Su Xuan Ming reach out and help Li Ming De up. “Knowing your mistake and correcting it is a great virtue. But Brother Li—don’t bully and toy with other classmates again.”

Li Ming De flicked a glance at his father, frustration tightening his jaw. Su Xuan Ming was too blunt, too straight. How was he supposed to respond to that?

Young Lord Li didn’t look at his son at all. He put on a polite smile and addressed Gu Nan Xi instead. “Madam, why trouble yourself to come in person? I was just scolding that worthless boy inside. Little scuffles between classmates are normal—how did it become this severe?”

He pulled Li Ming De closer, lowering his voice as though sharing a painful confidence. “You saw it today, madam. My son is useless, but he was injured in a vital place. The doctor hasn’t even examined him yet.”

Madam Li dabbed at her tears. “I only have this one son…”

Young Lord Li snapped at her, feigning anger. “What do you know? A kind mother ruins her child! He deserved it. He has no discipline—always fooling around with classmates!”

Madam Li choked, voice trembling with grievance. “Last time our son broke his leg at the school, we didn’t even go looking for trouble.”

Su Xuan Ming listened, and a cold unease crawled up his spine. Something about this “apology” felt wrong.

He stole a glance at Gu Nan Xi.

Sure enough, her lips had curved—mockery flashing in her eyes like a blade catching light.

Gu Nan Xi tilted her head, all earnest concern. “When did your son break his leg? How was he injured?”

Madam Li’s gaze flickered. “Early last year. It was… an unintentional mistake between friends. We didn’t find it convenient to pursue.”

The meaning was clear enough.

Our son’s leg was broken because of your son, and we swallowed it.

So why are you making such a fuss over bruises?

The crowd picked it up at once, murmuring in eager, poisonous little waves.

“Is she saying Su Xuan Ming caused Li Ming De to break his leg?”

“If Madam of Marquis Yong Chang didn’t even come to apologize back then, she shouldn’t come demanding justice now.”

“Exactly. Su Xuan Ming looks miserable, but he didn’t break an arm or a leg.”

“Madam of Marquis Yong Chang is too overbearing.”

Madam Li and Young Lord Li traded a glance—satisfied.

Su Xuan Ming’s mind went blank for a heartbeat.

Are they… turning it around on us?

On the door plank, Su Yun Ting tried to sit up, face flushing with rage, ready to curse the whole street. Su Yun Yan pressed him down with one hand like she was pinning a struggling chicken.

“Brother,” she whispered, stern as an adult, “Mother told me to watch you. You’re a patient. Don’t move.”

Su Yun Ting wheezed. “Little Sister… Mother told you to watch me, not kill me. Get your hand off my chest—I can’t breathe!”

Su Yun Yan jerked back, embarrassed. “Sorry, Brother. I don’t know why lately I’ve gotten so strong. I didn’t control it.”

Su Yun Ting rolled his eyes, but he didn’t dare truly provoke her. Instead, he stared at Gu Nan Xi like she was his last hope.

Gu Nan Xi acted as though she hadn’t heard a single whisper. She only pressed on, smiling softly, voice warm enough to fool a fool.

“Oh? Something like that happened? That won’t do.” She turned to Madam Li as if the two of them were sisters confiding. “If a child is bullied at the school and the parents don’t stand up for him, who will? Madam Li, don’t be embarrassed—say it boldly.”

Then she patted Li Ming De’s hand with exaggerated tenderness. “Good child. Even if you bullied my eldest son, right is right and wrong is wrong. If you’ve been bullied and your parents won’t stand up for you, come to me. I’ll get you justice.”

Li Ming De’s throat tightened.

Half a year. He’d spent half a year recovering from that broken leg.

And his father hadn’t dared say a word to the true culprit.

His parents claimed to love him—yet all they did was force him to swallow his anger and pain like a bitter pill.

In that moment, Madam of Marquis Yong Chang felt kinder than his own blood.

He sniffed hard, forcing steadiness into his voice. “Thank you, Marchioness, but… there’s no need.”

Gu Nan Xi nearly laughed. He said no—but his face screamed, Ask me. Please ask me.

So she did, sharpening her expression into righteous displeasure. “You child. If you don’t speak, the one who harmed you will go on to harm others.”

That was all the permission Li Ming De needed.

He spilled everything out, fast and furious, like beans pouring from a snapped bamboo tube.

“It was Li Shao Yan! Li Shao Yan hated that I wouldn’t listen, so he told Wu Fa Tian to break my leg!”

“When I first entered the school, Wu Fa Tian made me treat him to meals. When he couldn’t squeeze more silver out of me, he made me go with him to target classmates.”

“I might be a jerk,” Li Ming De choked out, tears spilling at last, “but I wouldn’t dare do something that wicked. So they pushed me off a rocky hill…”

Young Lord Li’s face drained of color. “Unfilial son! Stop spouting nonsense! You slipped while playing and rolled down the rocks. How dare you frame others?”

Li Ming De’s resentment burst free like floodwater. “I’m not lying! Vice Minister Chen, Censor Jiang, the Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Banquets—their young masters can all testify! Marchioness, I can take you to them!”