Pushed down? Lotus pond??
Shu Yu immediately took a step to the side, frowning, "Wait, are you trying to kill me? Why?"
Her gaze swept across the people present, among them her father and siblings, but none of them stood up to speak.
The old lady didn't even want to look at her, and it was the old woman in charge beside her who spoke coldly, "Third Miss... oh no, you're no longer the third young daughter of the Shu family. You're just a bastard of unknown origin. Years ago, Mrs. Xue bribed a doctor to pretend to be pregnant. On the day of delivery, she bought a baby from outside to impersonate the third young daughter of the Shu family. That baby was you."
Shu Yu furrowed her brows tightly, a rare hint of surprise crossing her face.
She wasn't even the Shu family's daughter?? Yet there wasn't a word about this in the records.
Could it be that her arrival caused a butterfly effect?
As Shu Yu was still puzzled, the old woman beside the old lady spoke again, "You've enjoyed fourteen years of noble life in the Shu family. Now that the truth is out, it's only natural to correct the mistake."
Shu Yu suddenly raised her head, "Your so-called correction? Is to push me into the lotus pond to drown?"
The old lady finally spoke, "The Shu family can't allow a blemish like you to exist."
Shu Yu, "..." She felt an obscene comment coming up but didn't know if she should say it.
"So, the snake in my room earlier, was that your doing too?"
The youngest daughter of the Shu family scoffed, "Actually, being bitten to death by a snake would mean less suffering."
Shu Yu looked at the others; everyone agreed with the old lady's decision. The Shu family's reputation was above all else. Moreover, a bastard of unknown origin like her dying was of no concern to anyone.
Shu Yu now understood why the Shu family would end up in exile. It's likely that the supporting characters were also indirectly aiding the tyrant.
Two old women had already approached, holding two ropes, ready to tie Shu Yu's hands.
Shu Yu instinctively wanted to fight back, but on second thought, she didn't move.
She couldn't change the outcome now, and the Shu family would safely wait for three months to be exiled, so there was no need to waste her energy.
In three months... that's when she'd settle scores and seek vengeance.
But she couldn't just calmly 'face death' either.
Shu Yu suddenly laughed, her gaze sweeping over everyone present, "You can kill me, but before I die, can I say a few words?"
"You have last words?" The youngest daughter sneered, "I'll give you a chance, let's see what you have to say."
Shu Yu's hands were tied behind her back, but the previous downcast and invisible demeanor had disappeared, and everyone felt she somehow appeared towering.
Shu Yu's gaze settled on the person on the far left, "Mr. Shu, isn't the mistress in Jin Taixiang as beautiful as a flower? Recently pregnant again, and to think it was the first Madam who sold her, yet you immediately brought her back. True love, indeed."
Mr. Shu's eyes widened, staring at the first Madam's incredulous look, and immediately wanted to explain.
However, Shu Yu continued, "First Madam, your maternal nephew killed his second wife again, and recently you've been discussing with the aunt about marrying the second sister, also a third daughter, to him, right? It solves a major problem and comforts her family."
"Second Master, it was the old lady who paid off your gambling debts, though it was her private money. But if you continue gambling, you'll need to use the family's funds."
"Second Madam, you drugged Mrs. Liu to cause a miscarriage. How heartbroken it made Second Master, no wonder he drowned his sorrows in gambling."
"Big Sister, you..."
"Shut up, shut up, I told you to shut up." The old lady pounded her cane, seeing the expressions change on those named beside her, she immediately gave the two women behind her a look, "Why haven't you acted yet?"
Shu Yu was regretful, "Weren't you letting me finish my last words? When the Shu family got exiled, these weren't the only things that were found out. These matters were actually all written in the records."
"You're just talking nonsense. I underestimated you. Usually so quiet, but now you incite discord, trying to destroy the harmony of the Shu family. It's utterly disgraceful." The old lady couldn't maintain her calmness anymore, knocking on the ground in fury.
The rest of the Shu family chimed in, and the two old women, not daring to delay any longer, tied a large stone to Shu Yu's ankles and hurriedly pushed her into the lotus pond.
Only when they saw Shu Yu's body sink to the bottom did the old lady breathe a sigh of relief.
However, unbeknownst to her, as Shu Yu began to sink, she had already untied the ropes from her wrists. At the bottom of the pond, she shook off the rope and stone from her ankles.
She swam forward, silently emerging half her head under a lotus leaf.
The few people on the shore hadn't left yet, as if to ensure she wouldn't resurface.
The old lady instructed the two women, "Tomorrow night, fish her out and say the third Miss went out for fresh air at night, slipped, fell into the water, and lost her life."
"Yes." The two women quickly responded.
The old lady then told Mr. Shu, "Dispose of Mrs. Xue and announce she succumbed to sorrow from losing her daughter."
The Head Master agreed without any objection.
Yet Shu Yu remembered that Mrs. Xue didn't die in the records, she was also on the exile list, and she didn't know how she avoided the disaster this time.
Just like that, Shu Yu understood why Mrs. Xue was so cruel to her biological daughter.
Shu Yu had not only competed with dogs for food, been left to rot with a fever, forced to kneel under the scorching sun until she fainted, but she was nearly beaten to death by Mrs. Xue.
Everyone in the Shu family thought Mrs. Xue was displeased that Shu Yu was a girl, so she was displeased and distant with her.