Madam Yuan's eyes were piercing as she pointed her finger at Ayu's nose: "I want to ask them, when did my husband ever say he wanted to repay Zhong Rentao for saving his life?"

"The Zhong family proposed the marriage themselves. If they don't want to, are we just going to leave? Who's so shameless as to cling to the Zhong family?"

Ayu saw that Yuan Shi had a gentle temperament and Bai Yan was taciturn, never expecting that this mother and daughter would be so direct and fiery.

She wasn't stupid; she knew things couldn't escalate, so she quickly apologized to Madam Yuan and Bai Yan.

Madam Yuan refused to comply, stating that she would take her daughter to the newspaper the next day to cancel the engagement with the Zhong family, and would not tolerate the grievances of her aunt!

In her previous life, the original owner was all alone and had nothing to rely on, so she was naturally obedient and dared not cause trouble. However, Bai Yan and Yuan Shi knew that Zhong Rentao wanted a good reputation, so they forced themselves to live in the Zhong family. How could she let others bully her again?

When things got out of hand, Zhong Rentao naturally found out. He also knew that nothing stays hidden forever. If word got out that the Yuan mother and daughter were making such a fuss, wouldn't it seem like he was letting his concubine bully Bai Zhizhong's wife and daughter?

Making a scene would do him no good at all.

To uphold justice, he hardened his heart and beat Ayu with ten strokes of the military rod. The delicate beauty developed a high fever that very night, and it would probably take at least ten days to half a month for her to recover.

Zhong Rentao felt sorry for the beauty, but also felt some dissatisfaction with Bai Yan and Yuan Shi.

"Even when you're under someone's roof, you still don't know the importance of bowing your head." Zhong Rentao's tone was particularly impatient. "This time, Ayu has suffered. Go back and get her some jewelry to cheer her up."

"Yes," the First Madam said, bowing her head.

Zhong Rentao sighed again. He had agreed to this marriage, which offered no benefit, for the sake of his reputation, but now that Xu Shengtian was becoming more powerful, it was clear that the higher-ups no longer valued him.

He could only rely on the British, the Mu family... If he had known, he should have let his son marry that woman from the Mu family.

The first wife, who was standing to the side, massaged his shoulders. Seeing his agitated expression, she hesitated.

"Has something happened to Yun Sheng again?" Zhong Rentao could guess from her expression.

"Yes... Yun Sheng just packed his things and moved out." The First Madam said, "He said he will live in the mansion outside from now on. If you want him to marry that girl from the Bai family, he will never come home for the rest of his life."