"Wanqing, your uncle would never do such a thing."

“She and my mother are siblings from the same mother; we are connected by blood. How could he possibly harm me?”

Zou Wanqing glanced at the old lady lying on the ground, then looked at her own mother.

"If a person doesn't look out for themselves, they'll be punished by heaven and earth; that's human nature."

"Mother, Uncle cannot be kept here. We haven't been in touch for months. Uncle must have encountered some difficulties."

Given Zhu Yikang's cowardly and greedy nature, if he were caught, none of those connected to him would escape. The most important thing right now is to get rid of him.

"Wanqing, the Zhu family will still need him to support it in the future. The Zhu family line cannot end."

"Mother is no longer a member of the Zhu family..."

Zou Wanqing tugged at Zou Shuang'er, then climbed onto the chair and looked at her.

“Mother, even if you get married, you will still be a daughter of the Zhu family. Women can also run the household. Besides, can’t my eldest brother inherit the family business?”

"You are of the Zhu family bloodline, so what if you are a man or a woman?"

"The ancestors of the Zhu family will be eternally grateful to you for restoring the Zhu family."

Zou Shuang'er was tempted by Zou Wanqing's few words.

But when she thought of her only younger brother...

“Mother, since the Marquis’s mansion is in such a state anyway, if you don’t believe me, you can go back and see for yourself in secret.”

After hearing this, Zou Shuang'er gritted her teeth.

"Wanqing, you stay at home. I'll go find him now."

"Okay, please come back soon."

"Um."

Zou Shuang'er thought of something, squatted down and pushed the old lady on the ground back onto the bed, then covered her body tightly with quilts.

Only then did he pick up Zou Wanqing and leave.

Lin Shixuan stumbled back to the Marquis's residence, and seeing its dilapidated state, he was furious.

He happened to see several concubines planting vegetables in the field, so he picked up his whip and walked towards them.

Of the four concubines, only Zhiyan and Yushuang remain.

The two were working hard in the field when they were suddenly whipped twice.

"ah."

"ah."

The two screamed together, jumping up and down in pain.

"Young Master, why are you hitting us?"

"Why did I hit you? If you hadn't come into the house and taken away my father's favor, would my mother have discovered our true parentage? Would she have taken away my father's favor?"

"You are all guilty of a great sin, you should go to hell!"

"Smack!"

Lin Shixuan lashed the two men repeatedly, each blow stronger than the last.

He didn't know what was going on either.

Whenever he was angry, this was the only way he could vent his anger and relieve his resentment.

In particular, he went even further when the other party was his father's person.

"Smack!"

"Smack!"

The Marquis of Zhenbei had just returned from court when he saw his son beating his wife in the courtyard, and he was furious.

He looked around and saw a wooden stick on the ground.

"You unfilial son, how dare you hit your father's woman?"

"I'll beat you to death, you unfilial son!"

The Marquis of Zhenbei angrily grabbed a wooden stick and started hitting Lin Shixuan.

Lin Shixuan was already quick to anger, and now that someone was provoking him, his eyes flashed with unprecedented fury.

Seventeen-year-old Lin Shixuan was already taller than the Marquis of Zhenbei.

Snatching the stick from his hand would be a piece of cake.

"Bang!"

The Marquis of Zhenbei's wooden stick landed heavily on Lin Shixuan's back, leaving a gash.

"Pfft~"

Lin Shixuan coughed up a mouthful of blood, the pain in his back was unbearable.

He turned his head and stared intently at the Marquis of Zhenbei, then dodged the wooden stick in his hand and struck him on the back with his other hand.

"Bang!"

"ah--"

Upon seeing this, Yu Shuang and Zhi Yan were so frightened that they fled in panic.

"Ah—" Marquis Zhenbei cried out in pain, his forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat.

"You dare hit me?" Lin Shixuan's angry voice rang out from above him, and then he slammed the wooden stick down hard.

"Father, don't forget, I am the hope of this family. What right do you have to hit me?"

The Marquis of Zhenbei was utterly astonished. He angrily pointed at Lin Shixuan and said:

"You hit my woman, so what's wrong with me hitting you?"

"Your woman?" Lin Shixuan's heart still ached when he thought of Dingxiang.

Dingxiang was the only one who wouldn't argue with him about his status. He slept with his beloved concubine, forcing him to have her beaten to death.

Now, all she did was hit his concubine, and he's yelling at her like that.

"If it weren't for the fact that you, Dingxiang, wouldn't die, and that you were having an affair with your son's woman, what would you be? If it weren't for me, you would have been vilified long ago."

Marquis Zhenbei felt somewhat guilty after Lin Shixuan mentioned it.

He avoided Lin Shixuan's gaze and said resentfully, "In short, she seduced me herself. I told you I didn't touch her, and if you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."

"Really?" Lin Shixuan asked, his eyes bloodshot. "What's going on with the things in her room? And what about those new clothes?"

"Don't tell me she bought it herself; she didn't have any money at all."

Their eyes met in mid-air, and Lin Shixuan's aura even overwhelmed that of the Marquis of Zhenbei.

The Marquis of Zhenbei clenched his fists tightly. He was still in charge of the family, and his son dared to threaten him.

He raised his hand and angrily flung it at Lin Shixuan.

But Lin Shixuan grabbed his hand. "Father, you should save your energy. The doctor said you can't get angry. If you hurt yourself, I'll have to burn incense before I can tell you even if I pass the imperial examination. Don't you think that's a waste?"

"Father, is the title of Marquis to be inherited? Isn't this what you've always wanted?"

"In that case, I'll be in charge of this household from now on!"

"You—" The Marquis of Zhenbei looked at the hand that Lin Shixuan had grabbed and was so angry that he couldn't say a word.

Back then, in order for Shixuan to pass the imperial examination and rise to prominence as soon as possible, he specifically pleaded with His Majesty several times before the title was transferred to Shixuan.

I never expected that they would use the title to threaten me now?

“Father, isn’t this what you taught your son? You have to be a little selfish. If a person doesn’t look out for himself, he’ll be damned.”

"I learned all of this from you."

After saying that, he put his hands behind his back and said, “Starting tomorrow, after court you will work the land here with your beloved concubine and enjoy your love.”

"What did you say? You want me to plow the land?"

The Marquis of Zhenbei glared angrily, pointing with a ferocious expression at the fields behind Lin Shixuan.

He had specially cleared out this land to display the peonies bestowed upon him by the Empress, in order to enhance the prestige of the Marquis's residence.

Now they're actually making him, a high-ranking official, farm in public.

“It’s okay if you don’t plant, then Grandma won’t have anything to eat.”

"You, you, you...you unfilial son! Your grandmother used to love you so much, how could you repay kindness with enmity? You actually didn't let her eat!"

Lin Shixuan snorted coldly, "It's you who's not letting her eat, what does that have to do with me? The manor won't keep any idle people, that's what you told me, Father."

Marquis Zhenbei clutched his chest, so angry that he took several steps back.