Zong Chengping's face turned ashen, but once he started speaking, he let loose. He continued, "My birth mother died early, and it wasn't easy to make a living under my stepmother's control. In order to survive, I always hid my talents and dared not study with my brothers. I dared not do anything out of line. When I was just over ten years old, I asked to learn how to manage things from the family manager. I didn't dare to do well, for fear of offending my stepmother. I know that my stepmother wants to marry me off to a concubine's daughter from her own family so that she can continue to control me and prevent me from ever getting ahead. Madam Zheng, I don't dare to have any ambitions. Our Duke Cheng's mansion may look glamorous on the surface, but it is filthy inside. I've thought it over. This is how my life is going to be. There's no need to drag others down with me in that hellhole."

Zheng Yuanyuan suddenly stood up, gritting her teeth and saying, "How do you know someone is unwilling?" This was probably the bravest Zheng Yuanyuan had ever been. After speaking, she looked at Xu Zhi with tears in her eyes, only to see Xu Zhi staring blankly at the teacup in her hand. Her courage vanished instantly, and she plopped down in the chair, covering her face with her handkerchief and silently weeping.

With red eyes, Zong Chengping looked at Zheng Yuanyuan's tearful face and said to Xu Zhi, "Madam Zheng, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have come to provoke your family's daughter, and I shouldn't have harbored such wishful thinking even though I knew we weren't a good match. If you have any grievances, come at me. Anyway, this is how I am, and I'll be locked up in that house for the rest of my life."

Xu Zhi could tell from Zong Chengping's voice that he truly intended to live like this for the rest of his life, a person whose heart was dead, a person without any hope, a person who had succumbed to reality.

Xu Zhi sighed softly and said, "Young Master Zong, is this all you're planning to do? You have the ability, why not give it your all?"

Zong Chengping shook his head and said, "In our Zong family, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is very clear. Legitimate children receive dedicated upbringing, while illegitimate children not only don't receive any upbringing, but are also required to be stepping stones for legitimate children. Over the years, have all the illegitimate children in the Duke of Cheng's mansion, whether boys or girls, been mediocre? No, it's all because of the suppression of illegitimate children by their elders. They believe that the lack of distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is the source of family disaster. For us illegitimate children, being given food to grow up is the greatest kindness we can receive."