Zhong Rentao frowned, but he wasn't particularly annoyed.

To be honest, he didn't care about the Yuan mother and daughter. He originally thought that by taking care of the orphan girl of his old friend, he could gain some good reputation. For people like them, reputation is a powerful weapon in competition at times.

However, seeing that the Yuan family mother and daughter were not as obedient as he had imagined, Zhong Rentao was naturally dissatisfied.

"You think you can outdo me just because of some small favor you did for me?" Zhong Rentao sneered. "It's good to teach them a lesson."

He also needed to make the mother and daughter understand that they relied on him, and how could they dare to act like their savior if they didn't flatter and respect him?

"Madam..." Zhong Rentao was about to give instructions to his madam.

"Master, Madam Yuan from the guest room courtyard is moving out with her young lady. They've already left for outside the Zhong Mansion!" A maid from the mansion came out to report.

Zhong Rentao jumped to his feet, cursing as he walked out, "What's with all this fuss? When will this end?!"

Didn't he already punish Ayu?

"Are you all just standing by and watching? Why aren't you stopping it!"

"How can we stop her? That Mrs. Yuan has a very fiery temper. She says she's the wife of your savior. If anyone dares to stop her, she'll kill herself. We don't dare..." the maid said tremblingly.

Zhong Rentao's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly turned to look at his wife: "What are you all standing there for! Do you expect me to step in and stop them, mother and daughter?!"

The first wife quickly lifted her skirt and followed him to the door.

Yuan Shi, holding Bai Yan's hand with one hand and carrying a suitcase with the other, was about to leave.

"Sister-in-law, what are you doing?" The First Madam quickly stepped forward to stop Yuan Shi. "How could we not take good care of you? Tell me, where is it that you can't stay? We're all family, aren't you slapping the Zhong family in the face?"

Yuan sneered: "Am I slapping your faces or are you slapping mine?"

“I, Yuan Qiu’s mother, am Bai Zhizhong’s lawfully wedded wife. I came to your house seeking refuge because your Zhong family insisted on this marriage at my late husband’s grave. Well, now that my late husband’s body is cold, I’m only fit to be served as a concubine in the Zhong family!”

The First Madam quickly explained, "Sister-in-law, it's not like that. That Concubine Yu is a educated female student, and she's the one in charge of things in the household. She didn't mean to look down on you."

Madam Yuan didn't care and sneered, "In the end, she looks down on me. Otherwise, how could she say that I, Yan'er, only got this marriage because of my late husband's life?"

Yuan's eyes were bloodshot as she stared at Zhong Rentao behind the threshold. She pointed at him and said, "Zhong, I've been bullied in my past life, and I've endured it. But my Yan'er wasn't born to be bullied by you!"

As Madam Yuan spoke, she grew increasingly angry: "If it weren't for my husband saving you, you wouldn't be in your current position, and your family wouldn't have such wealth and honor! My husband was of a higher rank than you back then, and if he were alive, I, Yan'er, would still be a noble lady raised in a big city!"

"Ask yourself if you owe our family a life! How dare one of your concubines point her finger at my mother and me and say that we came to curry favor with your Zhong family?"

"You think you can just hit her a few times and let things slide? Do you think that will make up for the insults we suffered?"

"Bah! This marriage is off, we don't care!"

Yuan Shi was truly enraged and pulled Bai Yan towards the door.

The first wife hurriedly and anxiously tried to stop her.

When had Zhong Rentao ever been insulted like this before? But now he could only gasp and hold his breath.

Things didn't go as he expected, and he didn't want to ruin his reputation for Ayu's sake: "Sister-in-law, it was because I couldn't control that bitch's mouth that she broke your heart!"

"It's all my fault!"

A cold glint flashed in Zhong Rentao's eyes, but his expression was full of sorrow: "Brother Bai saved my life back then, and I will remember it for the rest of my life. I wish I could give you all my wealth, which is why I let my only son marry Yan'er!"

Yuan sneered, "Is that so? Commander Zhong, you are now in a high position of power. Don't you feel that we are using the favors we did for you back then to coerce you?"

"Nonsense!" Zhong Rentao retorted angrily.

He turned back to the First Madam and said, "That bitch Ayu said such hurtful things to my relationship with Brother Bai. She can't stay at the Zhong family any longer. Send her back to her home, and from now on, that bitch will have nothing to do with the Zhong family."

A hint of surprise and joy flashed in the eyes of the First Madam, but she quickly lowered her head: "Yes, sir."

Yuan Shi and Bai Yan returned to the Zhong family home after Zhong Rentao tearfully pleaded with them to stay, but the treatment they received in the guest rooms was different from what they had received when they stayed in the other guests' rooms that hadn't been cleaned up.

The first wife led them to the guest room that Zhong Rentao usually stayed in when important guests came.

"Sister-in-law, you and Yan'er can rest here for now." The First Madam smiled sincerely at the two of them, "If there is any furniture that you don't like, just tell me and I'll find someone to replace it for you right away."

Holding the handkerchief, she pointed outside and said, "I still need to take Ayu home, so I won't stay with you any longer."

Madam Yuan didn't have much ill will towards the First Madam, and nodded: "You go about your business."

After the first wife left, Madam Yuan closed the door and looked around the house again. It was much more spacious than the house where Ayu and the two of them had lived at the beginning. There was a lot of fine sandalwood furniture, modern decoration, and a gramophone and records on the counter.

The cabinet contains exquisite porcelain coffee cups, as well as several bottles of fine red wine.

“It looks much better than the house we just had,” said Madam Yuan.

But then she remembered Zhong Rentao's excellent singing and songwriting performance, and felt disgusted. "Yan'er, I really wanted to break off the engagement with them right now!"

Bai Yan took out a coffee from the cupboard, turned around and chuckled, "Don't be so angry."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!