Chapter 631 - 232: A Clean Break
Chapter 631: Chapter 232: A Clean Break
Mrs. Bai curled her lips. "Didn’t you know about these things all along? If you were going to intervene, you would have done so ages ago. Why bring this up now? Furthermore, you are well aware of Shu’er and Hua’er’s origins. If it truly bothered you, you could have just refused to see them. Yet, haven’t you showered them with love and affection?"
If anyone was hypocritical, First Madam was the most hypocritical person in this mansion. Mrs. Bai didn’t say it aloud, but her face displayed her every thought.
First Madam fell silent for a moment. Indeed, she was the most hypocritical person in this mansion.
She knew Yan Cheng could swim, yet pretended otherwise. She knew about Yan Cheng messing around with Third Ms. Bai, she knew Shu’er and Hua’er’s intentions, and she was even fully aware of Yan Cheng’s actions outside the home. She knew it all, so why didn’t she intervene?
It was because the Yan family struggled to produce heirs. She only had one son, and her son had only given her one grandson. Because this grandson was so precious, she couldn’t bear to let him be ruined. Thus, when the Xu family came to demand answers, she heavily shielded him.
This protection completely destroyed Yan Cheng. He was no longer that bright, honorable, and brilliant young man. Tormented day and night by guilt, cowardice, remorse, anxiety, and fear, he was utterly ruined.
Since her grandson could no longer uphold the family’s honor, she could only rely on her great-grandchildren. Even knowing these children were born of Third Ms. Bai, she had no choice but to lavish them with affection and raise them with meticulous care. Mrs. Bai was right; she was the most hypocritical person in the world. She bore the greatest responsibility for Yan Cheng ending up in this state.
Kneeling in front of the two women, Yan Cheng listened to every word his elders exchanged behind him. He couldn’t make a single sound, not even blinking an eye. He was like a mummy, kneeling on the ground in a posture of atonement. His remaining years would likely be spent in this exact stance.
But Yan Cheng wasn’t thinking about any of that right now. He was thinking about Xu Su Ying. That unbridled, vibrant, and flamboyant Xu Su Ying.
She was still alive! It had been twenty years, and she hadn’t died. She was actually still alive. How ridiculous, how utterly ridiculous...
A noise came from behind the doors, and the three of them looked up. They saw the gatekeeper who had been questioning them earlier walking out alone. Seeing no one behind him, the heart First Madam had been keeping in her throat finally plummeted heavily to the ground.
"Apologies for making the First Madam of Court Chengyi Mansion wait so long. Just so you know, our masters are happily reunited with their family right now, and they don’t want to see you..." The gatekeeper didn’t mince his words, bluntly repeating Old Madam Xu’s exact phrasing.
The gatekeeper also hated the people of Court Chengyi Mansion. What kind of trash were they? They had built their fortune by relying on the Xu family, yet they had made fools of the Xu family for twenty years! The fact that his masters weren’t seeking revenge was already the greatest mercy, yet these people still hoped to mend the relationship? Bah, keep dreaming!
After delivering the message, the gatekeeper shut the heavy doors right in their faces with a loud SLAM. He had truly pushed the concept of burning bridges to its absolute limit.
Seeing this, First Madam stumbled. She barely managed to steady herself with the help of the old nanny behind her.
"First Madam, are you alright? Let’s head back quickly. I’ll fetch a doctor for you once we return."
Mrs. Bai also pulled hard at Yan Cheng. "You’re still kneeling? What the hell is the point of kneeling! Without your grandfather and father, our family is no longer a match for the Xu family in status. Their heads aren’t filled with mush; they will never allow Xu Su Ying to get back together with you. Hurry up and get up! Your grandmother can’t hold on much longer. We need to return to the mansion immediately."
Seeing Yan Cheng remaining completely motionless, Mrs. Bai grew furious. "Do you think we haven’t lost enough face already? Open your eyes and look around! Front and back, left and right—there are people everywhere waiting to watch us make a spectacle of ourselves. If you don’t care about your own dignity, are you going to throw away the Old Master’s dignity too? Pity the Old Master. He was a proud man his entire life, only to be stuck with an unfilial descendant like you..."
Mrs. Bai chattered on and on, like a Monk chanting scriptures, but Yan Cheng didn’t hear a single word.
It was First Madam who finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "Cheng’er, let’s go back. We are no longer on the same path as them. The fact that the Xu family isn’t pursuing this is already the utmost mercy to us. Staying here will only bring further humiliation upon ourselves. Let’s go home."
After saying this, First Madam saw that Yan Cheng still showed no reaction. She let out a heavy sigh. "If you had known it would end like this, why did you do it in the first place!" Giving up on him, she leaned on the nanny’s arm, turned around, and walked back.
Mrs. Bai glared at her son, furious at his failure to live up to expectations, and followed First Madam away.
Only Yan Cheng remained. He knelt in front of Xu Mansion for an entire afternoon, and then for an entire night.
It wasn’t until curfew, when the city patrol guards came to drive him away, that he finally dragged his nearly crippled legs, staggered up from the ground, and walked step by step into the darkness of the night...