The news that An Chaoli had separated from the family quickly spread throughout Shengjing.
After the second branch of the family separated, the Grand Tutor allowed his other two sons, the former eldest and third masters, to establish their own households.
Grand Tutor An meant that living under the protection of the An family for too long could easily breed laziness, making people think that with a large family fortune, they could squander it at will. Grand Tutor An disliked this situation the most.
After An Chaoli separated from the family, he took away the original power and status of the An family. After the third branch separated from the family, it took away a large amount of the An family's property. Only the eldest branch, after separating from the family, soon had creditors coming to their door.
For years, the master had indulged in a life of debauchery, taking one concubine after another. Yet, he was content with his pleasures, accomplishing nothing, and always relying on the An family for survival. Now that he had broken away from the family, he hadn't changed his extravagant spending habits, and his debts were piling up.
If there's anything special about the patriarch, it's that he has the most daughters. He's been dreaming, busy lately searching for suitable young men for his daughters. His idea is that his daughters would have powerful husbands, which would be a great help to him.
An Piao'er reaped what she sowed. She thought of driving An Yuan'er away, but she didn't expect that the whole family would be divided up. The first thing the master wanted to do was to find a suitable match for An Piao'er.
An Piao'er has been having a tough time lately, being dragged to all sorts of drinking parties by her father. An Piao'er is indeed famous for her talent, and there's a long line of men who want to marry her.
But the people the master knew were all like him—spoiled brats, lacking any ambition. An Piao'er, with her lofty aspirations, naturally looked down on them.
Three days passed quickly, and An Yuan'er's case of beating the drum to appeal was finally to be heard in public.
The Emperor's original intention was that family scandals should not be made public. Although the matter had become the talk of the town, the Emperor still wanted to conduct a private trial. Once the trial was over, the results would be announced to the public.
An Chaoli is An Yuan'er's biological father, so it's inconvenient for him to appear in person. However, he can use his connections to secretly advise the emperor that not conducting a public trial could easily lead to wild speculation among the people, and if rumors spread unchecked, it would damage the reputation of the royal family.
Moreover, An Chaoli's people have repeatedly implied that the eldest prince's mistake was his fault. The emperor only needs to conduct a fair trial without bias to give the people an explanation.
Under An Chaoli's brainwashing, on the day of the formal trial, the emperor changed his mind and decided that the trial would be held in the Imperial Clan Court. If the people wanted to watch, they could watch from outside the gate, and the royal family would not stop them.
That morning, An Yuan'er washed up and prepared to go out. She changed into the dress that Yi Chenli liked her to wear the most, and went out looking beautiful.
On days like these, An Yuan'er can't afford to be careless. Today, she's facing a tough battle.
Before she even stepped out of the house, An Huaishou was already waiting outside.
"Brother, you shouldn't go with Yuan'er to risk your life."
An Huaishou smiled nonchalantly: "My sister's little head is so beautiful, it would be a waste to cut it off. Yuan'er, I am your brother and your family. We should face life and death together."
"Yuan'er, it's not just Yi Chenli who's good to you in this world. You also have your brother, your father, and Mo Ran... don't you?"
An Huaishou hopes that the warmth of home will help her younger sister gradually emerge from her pain.
Although he knew that some separations and deaths, some wounds, might never heal in a lifetime, at least, home would always be Yuan'er's support.
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