Dragging My Legitimate Elder Sister into the Bed - Chapter 3

Blood splattered thickly across her naked body, like vivid, demonic flowers blooming on snow.

The admiral whose cock had been bitten off lay in a pool of blood, his face pale as gold paper, silent and motionless, his life or death unknown. The knife in Su Yihuan’s neck was embedded firmly. Before it was pulled out, he was still barely clinging to life, letting out occasional whimpers from his throat.

Lin-shi looked at the two children before her. She gently but firmly pulled her arm back from Su Xi’s grasp.

“Xi’er…” After so long, she saw that her daughter had grown taller. The brows and eyes were almost exactly like her own. However, that trace of resilience between her brows was not something a girl of this age should possess.

Deep exhaustion surged from the depths of her soul. Lin-shi looked at Su Xi with pity, softening her voice as much as possible and whispered, “Xi’er, go fetch a basin of water for mother to wipe her body…”

There was still a lot of sticky filth between her legs, and her whole body was covered in blood. She didn’t want the last image she left in her daughter’s mind to be so filthy and dirty.

“Okay… Mother, wait a moment. Xi’er will go right now.” She turned to her younger sister and instructed, “Qianqian, stay by Mother’s side.”

She took one last look at her mother — that gentle, water-like woman, still as peerlessly elegant as in her memories.

The thin figure walked out the door. The scenery outside was squeezed through the gap along with the gentle breeze.

Lin-shi turned her head to look at Su Qian.

She was very quiet, looking calmer than anyone else. Her small amber eyes clearly reflected her own naked figure.

Lin Longyue smiled, watching her own brows and eyes relax into a gentle, graceful, and dignified expression.

“Qianqian, go wait outside for mother for a while…”

Seeing that she didn’t move and just quietly stared at her, she added, “Sister can’t carry the water by herself. Can Qianqian help her at the door?”

Su Qian looked at her, moved slightly, then stood still again, appearing hesitant.

“You can protect your sister, right?” Lin-shi stared at her with a gentle but firm plea.

Under that gentle yet resolute gaze, Su Qian slowly turned around.

Bright sunlight flashed through the door gap once more — the most beautiful scenery Lin-shi had seen in her life.

She crawled over to Su Yihuan. He was whimpering incoherently from his throat. In his wide, terrified eyes, the woman’s naked arm came down, followed by a large spray of blood that splattered across her beautiful, charming face…

When Su Xi returned, she saw her younger sister squatting on the ground, holding something in her arms, looking at her silently.

A fresh, thick smell of blood poured out of the room, overwhelming everything, as if the air itself was coated with a layer of pink.

A snow-white color slowly crawled from Su Xi’s neck up to her cheeks. She stood there holding the basin, swaying a few times, yet seemingly motionless.

Her jade-like skin was covered with a layer of ice and frost. Even the air she exhaled seemed to chill her lungs.

With a loud “clang,” Su Xi threw the basin to the ground. It spun wildly as water splashed everywhere.

“Qianqian, do you want to see…” She turned her eyes to Su Qian, who was squatting on the ground. Though it was a question, her hand reached out toward her.

Then, she slowly pushed open the door.

In the 28th year of Huaiqing, Su Yihuan, son of the former Hanlin Grand Academician Su Yan, offered his wife for another man’s sexual pleasure. Unable to bear the humiliation, his wife rose in fury, killed the man and her husband, then committed suicide.

Three deaths in one room — an atrocity so horrific and appalling that it was quickly suppressed by those in power, who ordered a thorough investigation. The case involved a court official and was connected to the Imperial Noble Consort’s family and external relatives. Soon after, the entire Su family was thrown into prison.

The matter was already shocking. Coupled with its connection to the late Grand Academician Su Yan, whose son had so thoroughly ruined the family reputation, the emperor was furious. However, the rest of the Su household — the elderly, weak, women, and children — were innocent.

Unable to allow one person to cover the sky, the emperor personally ordered an imperial envoy to investigate, which also uncovered a filthy chain of buying and selling official positions.

The investigation proceeded intensely. The Su family declined. The old, weak, women, and children in prison were at the mercy of others. In this moment of crisis, the Su family’s twelve-year-old legitimate eldest daughter presented an imperial death-exemption gold token to secure the release of the Su family’s grandmother from prison. The rest remained in prison awaiting further interrogation.

However, this action drew even more attention from the emperor. Using a death-exemption token just for interrogation was essentially informing interested parties that there was interference. The investigation became even stricter afterward, and no one dared to act rashly for a time.

Two months later, the case concluded. A group of officials were removed from office. It also implicated imperial relatives. External relatives were exiled, and the Imperial Noble Consort was demoted. In consideration of the late Grand Academician Su Yan’s great contributions during his lifetime, all unrelated individuals were released.

The Su family originally wanted to move away entirely, but due to various inconveniences, they could only continue living in the capital under the mocking eyes of others, keeping a low profile and enduring cold treatment. The various hardships need not be elaborated.

At this moment, on the emperor’s desk, brushes stood in their rack and fragrant tea curled in wisps of steam. The emperor looked at the two items presented by the imperial envoy and sank into deep thought.

One of them was the death-exemption gold token that the Su family’s legitimate eldest daughter had used to save her grandmother. It was currently being played with in the emperor’s hand, his fingers gently stroking the surface.

The other item was the murder weapon from Su Yihuan’s death in the Su family case — a small knife used by children for cutting paper.

Lin-shi had been trapped for many years. If she wanted to die, she could have done so long ago. Yet she couldn’t seek death because all objects in the room had rounded edges and no sharp items. This small knife, it was said, had been brought in by the Su family’s youngest daughter that day.

“Your Majesty, there is still one matter your subject does not understand.”

“Speak.” The emperor’s gaze lingered on a faint scratch at the corner of the gold token.

“Thank you, Your Majesty… Regarding Su Yihuan’s death, logically speaking, when a knife is inserted into the neck, due to the angle and force, there should be tearing and bruising on the wound edges — one when entering and another when exiting. However, the autopsy shows only a slight bruise from when it was pulled out… Moreover, the angle of insertion was from bottom to top at an incline.”

Although women of the inner palace are petite, a natural motion when raising the hand would usually be from the side at a slight angle for convenience. An upward thrust from below… is somewhat puzzling.

Yet the hidden answer behind it makes one even less willing to think deeply.

“Years ago, I bestowed a death-exemption gold token upon Grand Academician Su…”

The emperor was silent for a long time before suddenly mentioning the token.

“But this one,” he tossed the gold token in his hand to the envoy, “is not the one I bestowed… This was bestowed by the previous emperor to the Lin family.”

“This… How can you tell?”

The faint scratch on it was from when he was young and mischievous and dropped it. At the time, he was punished by the previous emperor. These details, however, were not convenient to share with a subject…

“In that case, the Su family still has another death-exemption gold token?” The envoy clicked his tongue, finding it unbelievable.

The emperor ignored him and fell into his own thoughts.

Two death-exemption gold tokens could protect two young girls’ lives. Yet one was used in a time of crisis to save the Su family’s grandmother.

That Su grandmother was extremely narrow-minded and had always made things difficult for her daughter-in-law. Now that her son had been killed by her daughter-in-law, when she returns to the mansion, how will the two young girls fare in the Su family without protection? Not to mention the concubines and illegitimate daughters watching covetously from the side.

Now the murderer is unclear, and both young girls are suspicious. If they investigate further…

“— If we investigate further, who do you think the other death-exemption gold token is protecting?”

The envoy remained silent. Since the emperor clearly did not want to pursue the case any deeper, this question was not one he could answer.

She was arrested and imprisoned but remained calm and unmoved — showing deep scheming. In a moment of crisis, she protected her grandmother and intimidated others so no one dared to act. Killing two birds with one stone showed far-reaching planning. She countered every move while keeping hidden cards, unpredictable in her actions…

The Su family’s eldest daughter truly inherited much of her grandfather’s style.

The emperor waved his hand and said, “Withdraw.”

(Tomorrow they will finally grow up. Hmm… Although I added a tiny bit of rough suspense into the yuri story, it’s only for character setting and won’t be too much. Today is pure plot. Finally getting to the main part soon, so happy~

By the way, everyone should know who the killer is, right…)