Chapter Fifty-Five: You'd better behave yourself.
Seeing this, Qin Zhiyu immediately stepped forward to speak up, frowning and saying with dissatisfaction, "Sister, I know that you had a misunderstanding with me and Young Master He because of the jade seal, but my mother doesn't know anything. How can you talk to Aunt like that?"
Your aunt is just concerned about you. If you don't appreciate it, fine, but don't hurt her feelings. Besides, you just came back from the countryside; you don't know anything, running around outside all day. Now you've hurt yourself and come back, are you going to give your aunt a hard time?"
Qin Zhining looked up at Qin Zhiyu, her gaze sharp as a knife, and slowly raised her hand, then with lightning speed, *slap*—she slapped her hard in the buttocks.
"I ran into some bad guys outside and almost lost my life. Who's to blame for all of this? Hmm? Qin Zhiyu, are you so shameless that you don't even know why you got beaten up?"
"Qin Zhining, you hit me? You dare to hit me?"
After receiving a resounding slap, Qin Zhiyu covered her face, which instantly swelled up, and shouted angrily, "You little bitch, how dare you hit me? Father, do you think she has no sense of law at all?"
Qin Youming sat there, his face already pale from the incident at the dilapidated temple. Now, seeing Qin Zhining strike and his eldest daughter's face red and swollen, he slammed his fist on the table in anger.
"Enough! Aning, you've just come back and you're already causing trouble for the family. Can't you just behave yourself? Apologize to your aunt and your sister right now!"
"Apologize?" Qin Zhining laughed out loud as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. "Mr. Qin, I almost lost my life outside. Didn't you see it when I was there?"
Or was this robbery orchestrated and led by you? If so, then I have nothing left to cherish in this family. You—from now on, are no longer my family, but my murderous enemies.
You expect me, the victim, to apologize to all of you hypocritical scoundrels? You're quite the 'doing' father, aren't you?
"What did you say?" Qin Zhengming's face turned ashen with anger as he pointed at Qin Zhining. "How dare you talk to me like that? Have you grown wings? Don't forget, everything you eat, wear, and use belongs to the Qin family."
"From the Qin family?" Qin Zhining seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, her eyes flashing with icy coldness as she shouted.
"Mr. Qin, aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew? I eat your food and drink your water? How dare you say such a thing? Hmm?"
When my mother was alive, her dowry was generous, enough to ensure I had no worries about food or clothing. But when I was five years old, you sent me back to our ancestral home in the countryside, calling it "filial piety in place of my father"—bah!
Do you not know what kind of life I lived in my ancestral home? For nine years, I was starving and cold. You shamelessly seized my mother's dowry and still have the nerve to say that you raised me?
"It's only been three days since I returned to the manor, right? Living in the woodshed, Aunt An and Qin Zhiyu are making things difficult for me at every turn. Master Qin, it seems there's never been a place for me in your Qin manor, so please stop spouting those lies and disgusting yourself."
Seeing that Qin Youming was angry, Aunt An pretended to step forward and persuade him, "Master, don't be angry. Ning'er must have been frightened, which is why she spoke without thinking."
"I know Ning'er is upset, but please don't hold a grudge against the child." As she spoke, a hint of smugness flashed in her eyes, clearly indicating that she wanted to use Qin Youming to teach Qin Zhining a lesson.
Unfortunately, Qin Zhining wasn't one to be jealous. With just a few words, she pierced through Qin Youming's hypocritical facade, tearing off his fake skin.
Qin Zhining looked directly at Qin Zhengming and said, word by word, "Mr. Qin, I came back today not to argue with you, but because I have something important to tell you."
Qin Youming took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said coldly, "Speak quickly if you have something to say. I don't have the patience to listen to your nonsense."
"I've come to inform you," Qin Zhining's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap in the main hall, "I have unilaterally severed ties with your family, so from now on, I am no longer a member of your Qin family."
This single sound startled Qin Youming, Aunt An, and Qin Zhiyu, leaving them all stunned.
It took Qin Youming a while to realize what was happening.
He suddenly stood up, pointed at Qin Zhining, and trembled with anger, "What did you say? Sever ties with her?"
Qin Zhining, do you know what you're saying? You're a woman, cutting ties with your family—who gave you the guts to do that? Huh?
"You want to sever ties with your family? Pshaw—if you sever ties, how will you have the face to stand in Lincheng County? I think you—have you gone mad?"
"I'm not crazy, but I've been driven crazy by you hypocrites." Qin Zhining said firmly, "From today onwards, I, Qin Zhining, have nothing to do with the Qin family."
"I'll walk my own path; I don't need to rely on the Qin family. Oh, and by the way, I'll inform Master Qin again: you must give me my mother's dowry in full, or else I'll risk everything, even rolling on a bed of nails, to go to the capital and beat the drum in Wendeng."
Seeing Qin Zhining's strong-willed nature and the situation rapidly slipping out of her control, Aunt An quickly grabbed Qin Youming's arm and pretended to advise him.
"Master, please don't get agitated. Ning'er must have acted impulsively. You can't agree to her request. If word gets out that this is about severing ties, how will Aning face the world? What will people say about the Qin family?"
Qin Zhiyu also became anxious and shouted, "Sister, are you crazy? What good will it do you to sever ties with your family? You can't survive without the Qin family."
Qin Zhining glanced at Qin Zhiyu disdainfully, "Whether I live or not is none of your concern."
You, on the other hand, should take better care of yourself. Don't always try to scheme against others, or you'll end up shooting yourself in the foot.
Qin Youming calmed down a bit, stared at Qin Zhining, and asked in confusion, "Why do you suddenly want to sever ties with your family?"
"Is someone instigating you behind your back?" He subconsciously glanced at the group of people standing behind Qin Zhining, his eyes filled with scrutiny.
Seeing this, Qin Chengxuan stepped forward with a gloomy face and said in a deep voice, "Father, you should understand that the reason why Sister Aning made this decision is because we, her so-called relatives, have hurt her too deeply."
Today, my younger sister encountered danger outside and nearly lost her life, while you, Father—knowing that she was being hunted, returned home to be treated like this—and suffered such mistreatment. Anyone would find it unbearable in your situation.”
Aunt An was so angry that she stepped forward to hit Qin Chengxuan, who hadn't expected Qin Chengxuan to speak up for Qin Zhining.
But Qin Chengxuan's heart was already cold after today's events. How could he stand still and wait for her to make a move, just like before? He took a step back, dodged, and his expression was icy cold.
He then looked at Qin Youming and said, "Father, today's events were indeed caused by Aunt An's fault."
The black-clad men from the Shadow Assassins have already told the truth: Aunt An hired people to hunt down my younger sister, intending to steal the jade seal. They also kidnapped me and this innocent Miss Chen. If it weren't for Young Master Su from the Su family of Jiangnan arriving in time with his men, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
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