Chapter 54 Want Them? Take Them All!

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Yu Shensheng curtsied to Su Dingqin.

"Young General."

Su Dingqin was in a rare good mood. As he looked at her, his gaze gradually softened with relief.

"You're alright. That's wonderful. I've been worried about you."

Yu Shensheng nodded. "Thank you."

"Today is Zhiyi's birthday, you..."

Su Dingqin had originally intended to say that he would reserve a good seat for her later so she could enjoy the banquet properly, but he suddenly remembered that today was also Yu Shensheng's birthday.

He lowered his voice. "Shensheng, Zhiyi only celebrates her birthday once a year. The gathering is a bit large, but her health isn't good right now, so please give way to her."

"Tonight, Your Eldest Brother will personally cook longevity noodles for you, alright?"

Yu Shensheng found this utterly baffling. Why did everyone assume she was about to bully Su Zhiyi, and always try to suppress her beforehand with their words?

"Young General, whose birthday isn't once a year?" Yu Shensheng smiled faintly. "Please don't worry. As a mere distant relative, how could I dare talk about yielding to a Princess? You flatter me too much."

Su Dingqin's expression stiffened slightly. His hands clenched involuntarily, and his voice dropped. "Shensheng, you helped Eldest Brother, and Eldest Brother is very grateful. Whatever the matter is, let's talk about it later, alright?"

Before Yu Shensheng could reply, Su Zhiyi stepped closer. "Little Sister has come? That's wonderful. I was just saying I'd have Rujian invite you over."

Yu Shensheng curtsied. "I wouldn't dare."

"Earlier, the Princess asked me for a birthday gift, saying she wanted Crescent."

A faint tremor crossed Su Zhiyi's face, as she hadn't expected Yu Shensheng to bring it up right to her face.

Su Dingqin was also stunned. "Crescent?"

How could he forget? That was the bow he had made for Yu Shensheng. He had spent a fortune on the materials and crafted it himself, taking more than a month to complete.

To this day, he still remembered the sparkling light in Yu Shensheng's eyes and her joyful, radiant smile when she received Crescent.

She had even said, "Eldest Brother, I will definitely learn horsemanship and archery well, master my skills, and follow you onto the battlefield in the future."

Those words still echoed in his ears, yet so many things had changed.

Su Dingqin thought to himself that Shensheng surely wouldn't agree, and Zhiyi would certainly be heartbroken.

He turned to Su Zhiyi. "Zhiyi, Crescent was given to Shensheng by Eldest Brother. Eldest Brother promises you—"

Before he could finish, Yu Shensheng's voice cleaved his words in two.

"I have brought Crescent with me. Since the Princess wants it, there is no reason not to give it to her."

Jin Baobao, standing behind Yu Shensheng, brought the chest forward and set it down heavily right in front of Su Zhiyi.

"Not only is Crescent here, but ever since I arrived at the Su household, everything given to me by Madam Su, the Young General, and the Second Young Master is also in this chest."

Amidst Su Dingqin's shock and astonishment, Yu Shensheng smiled lightly, as breezy and detached as the wind, brushing away all of his past affection as if it were mere dust.

Not just his, but also Madam Su's and Su Yanshu's.

"Last time the Princess wanted the white jade rabbit Second Young Master gave me, and this time she wants Crescent. Figuring there was no need to go through so much trouble again, I might as well give you everything, including the chest itself."

"This chest, it is said, was Madam Su's dowry back then."

Su Zhiyi's face turned livid. Framed by darkened eyebrows and scarlet lips, she looked all the more grim.

Yu Shensheng—how dare she!

This was a slap to her face in public.

An expression of anger also surfaced on Su Dingqin's face. "Shensheng, how could you—"

Yu Shensheng's gaze remained calm. "The Princess asked me for it, so shouldn't I give it to her? If I didn't, would the Young General blame me once more for being insensible and not knowing how to yield to her? Exactly what must I do to be in the right?"

Su Dingqin was momentarily at a loss for words. "..."

What Yu Shensheng was doing made sense, but it just didn't sit right in his heart!

She had clearly liked Crescent so much; how could she just give it away?

Jin Baobao flipped open the lid of the chest, revealing the contents inside.

The crowd cast their eyes inward, and lo and behold, there were quite a few things indeed.

A small crossbow, a slingshot, two pairs of shoes, a cloak, and a small box. Jin Baobao opened the box as well, revealing several hairpins inside. Their style wasn't particularly new, and one could tell they had been worn before.

Yu Shensheng pointed at the box. "Princess, you gave me this back then, saying every year had great meaning. I've kept it safe all this time and never worn it. Today, I am returning it to its rightful owner."

The crowd quickly exchanged glances. This was a gift from the Princess of Rongyang? A dignified Princess actually gave someone secondhand hair ornaments?

Su Zhiyi's expression grew even uglier. Rujian stepped forward and said, "What do you mean by this? Are you looking down on our Princess? These accessories are valued for their meaning, not their worth!"

"In that case, I am even less worthy of keeping them," Yu Shensheng smiled faintly. "Just in case you want them back one day, and I fail to produce them due to improper storage, wouldn't that cause trouble?"

"Such a meaningful item is better kept by the Princess herself."

Unable to restrain himself any longer, Su Dingqin barked in a low voice, "Stop talking! What kind of nonsense are you uttering? Is that what Zhiyi meant? She merely asked you for Crescent, did you have to go this far?"

At the opportune moment, Su Zhiyi's eyes reddened as she bit her lip to keep her tears from falling. "It's my fault, Eldest Brother. I only..."

She gently pressed her hands against her knees, her fingertips trembling slightly.

"I only wanted to touch Crescent, to draw the bow once more, even without shooting an arrow. I just wanted to experience the past one more time."

At her most sorrowful, she still stubbornly refused to let her tears fall, touching the hearts of all who heard and bringing tears to the eyes of all who saw.

Su Dingqin's heart fractured within his chest. "You did nothing wrong, Zhiyi. The one in the wrong has never been you."

Miss Liu knitted her brows and said, "Exactly! Princess, don't blame yourself. The ones in the wrong are outsiders who come to other people's homes to freeload, cling shamelessly without leaving, and try to masquerade as noble daughters."

Su Zhiyi's face turned even paler.

Yu Shensheng held down Jin Baobao's arm, refusing to spare Miss Liu even a glance.

"In that case, these things, including Crescent, are all returned to the Princess."

With that, she turned to leave.

A cold, resounding shout cut through the crowd, full of authority.

"Hold on!"

Su Huaishan strode forward. "Since you are handing things over, you ought to let others inspect them. Who knows if you've kept the valuable items and only handed over the worthless ones?"

Yu Shensheng sneered inwardly. Su Huaishan was truly asking to be slapped in the face.

To compensate for the lack of "familial affection" toward her, the gifts the Su family had given her were either handmade, hand-embroidered, or used items of sentimental value.

They were a mixed bag and indeed numerous, but as for anything truly valuable? There was none to speak of.

"Very well, then please inspect them, General Su."

Su Huaishan simply wanted to humiliate Yu Shensheng, to make her lose face and show everyone that even as a distant relative, she had enjoyed immense grace from the Su family, and that the family had never shortchanged her.

He walked up to the chest, first took out Crescent, and handed it to Su Zhiyi.

"Zhiyi, take it. If you want it, it's yours."

Su Zhiyi received it with both hands. "Thank you, Second Uncle."

Su Huaishan rummaged through the contents of the chest, growing increasingly irritated the more he searched.

"What is this mess of junk? Are you fobbing us off with these? Where have you hidden the valuable things?"

Yu Shensheng met his gaze calmly. "Perhaps General Su could tell us which valuable items you are referring to, and produce an inventory."

Su Huaishan frowned. He didn't have any inventory, nor had he ever gifted her half of these things himself.

Yu Shensheng smiled lightly. "You don't have one? I do."