Chapter 335 - Catch a Turtle in a Jar!
Translator: BinBin
Editor: Vampirecat
The election for Head of Household had ended. The parlor was now empty as everyone had left.
Su Hao Nan, Qin Feng, and the twin sisters gathered in Su Hao Nan's room. The election ceremony for Head of Household ended well, and all of them were rapturous with the outcome.
"Come over here, Xia Tian. Please help me throw away the red sandalwood incense at my bedside!" Su Hao Nan became gloomy when he looked at the altar.
"Grandpa! Our servant just changed the red sandalwood in the altar not long ago. There's still so much left!" Su Xia Tian pouted while clinging to her grandpa's arm.
Su Qiu Yue pinched her sister's cheek and said softly, "My dear little sister, just do what Grandpa has asked!"
After glaring at Qin Feng, Su Xia Tian reluctantly got to her feet, walked to the altar, and went off to dispose of the remaining red sandalwood. "This rascal has not contributed since he came to our house. Grandpa, Big Sister, let's kick him out today!"
Su Hao Nan and Siu Qiu Yue were tickled by Su Xia Tian's lovely appearance when she grumbled. After Su Xia Tian left the room, the elder's countenance suddenly sank. He gazed at Su Qiu Yue and asked, "So, Qiu Yue, you know as well!"
Su Qiu Yue was an observant woman. She'd noticed that the elder intentionally asked her second uncle to lit the incense this morning when they were having the family meeting in the parlor. And now, the first thing her grandpa did on entering his room was to replace the incense beside his bed. So she concluded that something was dubious about the incense from these two things!
"As a core member of our Su family, it's obvious that Second Uncle will never perform a menial job like burning the incense personally. However, he was able to locate the drawer that has the red sandalwood incense out of a dozen drawers. It's suspicious that he knows the exact location of that incense!"
After Su Qiu Yue spoke her mind, she then continued unruffled, "Could it be you suspect there's something wrong with the incense, Grandpa? So that's the reason why Grandpa changed the red sandalwood incense at your bedside once you got back?"
Extremely surprised by Su Qiu Yue's analysis, Su Hao Nan looked at Su Qiu Yue and nodded his head, gratified. "Good! Excellent! Qiu Yue indeed is meticulous and attentive to details. I'm so relieved to have passed the Head of Household position to you!
"Yes, you're right! The incense is the main problem… and that's what Qin Feng hinted at me when he left last night. I was just suspicious at that time; but my suspicion was proven to be correct during the family meeting this morning. This red sandalwood incense was given by your second uncle. It released a tasteless and colorless poisonous gas whenever I burned it. I sleep in this room every day, so I inhaled the fragrance infused with this poisonous gas every day. Do you think I can still stay healthy that way?
"Ai… Life is full of uncertainties! I never imagined the two sons that I raised with bitter hardship would try to kill me behind my back! One of them asked Old Li to drug my meals, while the other fiddled with my incense! Qiu Yue, if it's wasn't for you bringing Qin Feng back in time, I might've returned to the Western Paradise already! The Su family would also be in complete chaos by now!" [TN: Western Paradise, or the Sukhavati, refers to the western pure land of Amitābha in Mahayana Buddhism. "Returned to the Western Paradise" is an euphemism for dying.]
Su Hao Nan was affected deeply by this internal strife and hidden patricide!
Originally, he had been reluctant to pass the Head of Household position to Su Qiu Yue because she was a woman and she was still young. However, the elder decided not to trouble himself anymore after this incident, so he officially passed the position to Su Qiu Yue in front of everybody once he awakened!
Su Qiu Yue's countenance changed slightly at the elder's words and she took a peek at Qin Feng. Su Qiu Yue had never expected a frivolous and perverted man like Qin Feng to be savvy, always having plans a couple of steps ahead of everybody. Most of the problems that had been overlooked by Grandpa and herself couldn't escape his discerning eyes. It was he who had solved them!
She was naturally an icily arrogant woman and she'd set her sights high. Indeed, she was fit to be a prideful queen as she was renowned as Sky City Number One Noble Beauty. There were very few people her age whom she had taken a liking to. Those idle dandies and hedonist young masters, in particular, disappointed her very much.
Now, a handsome man with hidden talents, brave and astute, suddenly appeared before her. On top of that, both of them were of similar age, had extraordinary appearances, and were brimming with talents! It was something rare and worth celebrating. However, once she thought about how this man belonged to her sister, Su Qiu Yue had mixed feelings, both gratitude and loss roiling within her!
"Grandpa! Next time, donkey work like pouring the ashes, you should ask Qin Feng to perform it! He isn't one of us whatsoever; you can just order him like a servant!" Puffing with anger, Su Xia Tian returned to the room after she finished the task requested by her grandpa.
Su Hao Nan pampered this willful and mischievous granddaughter the most. He pulled her into his arms and stroked her silky hair. "Silly little girl! Sooner or later, Qin Feng is going to be one of us. You must cherish him greatly in the future after you get married. Qin Feng's an outstanding young man; if you always order him around and scold him, he might dump you in the end and go for another prettier and more obedient girl!"
Su Xia Tian instantly widened her eyes as big as saucers, and glared glacially at Qin Feng. "I dare him to dump me! If he really did, I'd destroy him!"
Su Xia Tian realized she was acting weird after she finished speaking. Blushing, she hastily yelled, "Pooh pooh pooh! When did I agree to marry him? He'll never be one of the Su family members, and I'll never settle for a rascal like him!"
Su Xia Tian was a source of amusement for Su Hao Nan and Su Qiu Yue. Both of them were tickled pink by her chirps and tweets. Even Qin Feng was charmed by her cuteness and willfulness. If it wasn't for the presence of the elder, Qin Feng might have already darted forward to hug and kiss her!
On this side, the four of them were laughing and talking cheerfully, having won the first battle.
However, the atmosphere was below zero in the parlor of a private villa!
This villa was the residence of Su Qiu Yue's third uncle, Su Hai. He was supposed to be treated like a local despot in his house, but at this moment, he acted like a servant, standing by a tea table and trembling in fear. On the sofa sat a black-robed old man with a big straw hat on his head. Nobody could see his face as it was covered by a black veil.
"Master, I-I failed!" Su Hai lowered his head like an errant kid.
"My dad has awakened already. He called a family meeting this morning and nominated that b*tch, Su Qiu Yue, as the next Head of Household. So, what should we do now?"
"Idiot! What a useless fathead!" The elder's voice was profound and distant, as if carried from a very far place. "How could you not accomplish a simple task like that? You know you've wasted half a year of my time! I would've done the job myself if I had known you're such an incompetent bungler earlier! If I acted personally, the Su family would already be in my hands by now!"
The elder was mad; he even shattered the ashtray on the tea table. The eyes behind that black veil glittered like a venomous snake's, glaring at Su Hai. "I order you to kill that old man tonight! Don't ever appear alive before me if you fail!"
The elder gave his order. Su Hai was so afraid that he felt weak in the knees!
By the time he raised his head to beg the elder, the elder had already gone, and there was no one left on the sofa!
Came without shadow, left without footprints! This elder was really an otherworldly master!
Su Hai had first encountered the elder half year ago. It was he who approached Su Hai!
The elder had given some poisonous powder to Su Hai during their first meeting. He told Su Hai to put the poisonous powder in Su Hao Nan's meals and Su Hao Nan would die mysteriously within three months. Nobody would be able to interpret or analyze the ingredients of the poison and none of the doctors in this world could save Su Hao Nan. This was because the poison was a proprietary prescription developed by the elder's secret sect. How could an outsider detoxify it?
At the same time, the elder had promised Su Hai that once Su Hao Nan was dead, he would utilize the power of his sect to help Su Hai reign over the Su family. After that, both of them would collaborate for mutual success!
Originally, the plan was carried out smoothly in accordance with the elder's demands: Elder Su was going to die and the Head of Household position was within Su Hai's reach. However, Su Hai never expected that Qin Feng would butt in halfway and screw up all his plans!
Su Hai went weak at the knees, and he knelt on the floor. It was a tough decision. He was struggling in his heart!
Either he or his dad had to die! Most people are selfish when it comes to their survival. Some even discard their humanity and kill their own brothers and parents without any remorse. In Su Hai's case, he had made his choice three months ago—to set up and kill his own father. It was natural for him to made his move tonight and finish this filthy conspiracy once and for all!
……
Night had fallen, and the Su family's mansion fell into a pool of silence!
A shadow suddenly emerged. He wore all-black night-walking clothing; even his face was covered by a black mask. He held a dagger in his hand, which glinted coldly, and he was closing on Su Hao Nan's room, step by step!
All the rooms had their lights turned off, including Su Hao Nan's room. It was in complete darkness!
The man in black stopped at the door for a moment. He slowly opened the door and snuck into Su Hao Nan's room after he ascertained that there were no threats!
On the large wooden bed, Su Hao Nan was sleeping on his back. His breathing was smooth and he seemed to have fallen into deep sleep. Suddenly, a malicious expression flashed across the man's eyes. He then held his dagger tightly and thrust it at Su Hao Nan.
Clack!
The room door opened once again before the dagger could fall on Su Hao Nan. Although the sound was soft, the man in black heard it. Startled, he hastily pulled back his dagger and hid behind the door.
Soon after, another man in black night-walking clothing entered the room. Just like the previous person, he observed the surroundings first and then brandished his vegetable knife directly at Su Hao Nan without a slight hesitation!
Thump!
Before the second man in black's vegetable knife could reach its target, the room door was suddenly shut!
At the same time, the lights in the room were switched on!
Both men in black who had adjusted to the darkness were suddenly dazzled by the daylight brightness and couldn't open their eyes. They instinctively covered their eyes with their hands and peered between their fingers at their surroundings!
Their hearts were in their throats as soon as they glanced around the room! They were so frightened that they almost fell to the floor!
Su Hao Man, who was supposedly sleeping on the bed, had awakened and sat up on the bed. He was staring at them relentlessly!
While Su Qiu Yue and Su Xia Tian guarded the elder on his left and right, respectively, Qin Feng stood at the door and blocked their only escape route!
This was clearly a well-planned scheme to pull the snake out of its hole, to catch a turtle in a jar!