Zhou Family Residence.
Mother Zhou indignantly pulled Xu Zhuling aside to lament, “Your cousin has changed. He no longer listens to me. What’s so great about Ye Wanning? She’s not half the woman you are!”
Xu Zhuling privately agreed, but since arriving in Jingcheng, she had witnessed its prosperity and understood that esteemed families valued not only personal talent but also familial influence. “Aunt, don’t be angry. Cousin has his reasons for acting this way.”
“He’s completely blinded—insisting on praising Ye Wanning. Such an unfilial…”
Before Mother Zhou could finish her tirade, the courtyard erupted into chaos.
Xu Zhuling walked to the window and peered out. Seeing Zhou Yu’s face even more swollen than before, she rushed outside. “Cousin, what happened to you?”
The Ye brothers glared at Xu Zhuling, particularly Ye Mingde, whose expression darkened instantly. “Enough talk. I’ve brought the betrothal token today. You hand over the marriage certificate first. From now on, our families shall have no further dealings!”
“Elder Brother, I…” Zhou Yu still wanted to plead his case, but his mother came running out of the house, wailing as she embraced him. “My son! Did the Ye Family do this to you? We must report this to the authorities! Right under the Emperor’s nose, the Ye Family acts with utter lawlessness!”
“Mother!”
Zhou Yu’s sharp cry cut through the air.
Mother Zhou froze, stunned by her usually obedient son’s outburst. She stared at him in disbelief, unable to recover for a long moment.
Zhou Yu took a deep breath. “Mother, please stop this. Don’t you understand? If you continue being so unreasonable, you’ll ruin all my prospects!”
“You… you’re blaming me?” Mother Zhou stared at her son in disbelief. “Zhou Yu, have you no conscience? You lost your father young, and your uncles refused to support us. I struggled tirelessly to bring you back to my maiden family. If not for me and the Xu Family, could you have become Zhuangyuan?”
Zhou Yu’s headache worsened. Too exhausted to argue further, he shot Xu Zhuling a meaningful glance.
Xu Zhuling stepped forward to support Mother Zhou, but was shoved away abruptly.
Ye Mingyue tossed the betrothal token to Zhou Yu. “We don’t have time to listen to your family squabbles. Hand over the marriage certificate first, then we’ll settle accounts.”
“Settle accounts? What accounts?” Hearing Ye Mingyue mention money, Mother Zhou immediately stopped crying and sprang to her feet.
“Shouldn’t Zhou Yu repay all the money he’s used from our family over the years?” Ye Mingyue retorted impatiently.
“Why should we repay you?” Mother Zhou refused. “You gave it voluntarily, and now you want it back? What shamelessness! You keep boasting about being an esteemed family, yet you haggle over every coin. Pah! You’re the scoundrels—ruining my son’s reputation and now trying to drive a wedge between us! A whole family of black-hearted bastards!”
Ye Mingde, being a scholar, had never heard such vulgar language. Ye Mingyue remained comparatively calm. “Madam Zhou, don’t you realize it’s your foul mouth that shames Zhou Yu? After the disgraceful stunts your Zhou Family pulled, I’d like to see how much lower you can sink!”
“Who’s disgraceful? You little brat, who are you talking about?” Mother Zhou rolled up her sleeves, ready to strike, until Zhou Yu shouted:
“Enough!”
Zhou Yu had reached his limit. “Zhu Ling, take Mother back to her room.” His eyes turned stormy—if this weren’t his birth mother, he would have resorted to force long ago.
This was the first time Xu Zhuling had seen Zhou Yu look so menacing. Despite Mother Zhou’s protests, she managed to drag her away.
Zhou Yu looked at the Ye brothers. “Eldest Brother, Second Brother, could you give me another chance? My feelings for Wan Ning are genuine. As the old saying goes, ‘Better to demolish ten temples than ruin one marriage.’ Wan Ning and I grew up together—we share a bond since childhood. Could you…”
“No!” Ye Mingyue interrupted. “With your mother’s shrewish behavior, I would never let my sister marry into your Zhou family. Hurry up and bring the marriage contract. Don’t force us to take it ourselves!”
At this point, there was no room for negotiation.
Zhou Yu’s hatred was beyond words.
The annulment was settled, and relations with the Ye family were severed. Zhou Yu had Feng Ran bring the marriage contract. As for repaying the money—that was impossible. He didn’t have the funds, and even if he did, he wouldn’t give it to the Ye family.
Ye Mingyue confirmed the marriage contract was correct and calculated what Zhou Yu owed. “Five taels of silver per month, academy tuition, and other expenses over the years—just repay five hundred taels. Rest assured, our Ye family never takes advantage of others. You’ve spent no less than that.”
“Five hundred taels?” Zhou Yu frowned. “Ye Mingyue, your Ye family voluntarily supported my studies—I never asked for it. Now you demand repayment for money you gave me? Is this the dignity of a noble family?”
After a pause, Zhou Yu retorted sarcastically, “Or is the Ye family so poor that you can’t survive without these five hundred taels?”
The Ye family was indeed short on money, and Zhou Yu, aware of their situation, deliberately provoked them.
Since they had already fallen out, there was no need to spare the Ye family’s dignity.
Ye Mingde’s face flushed red. By principle, the Ye family shouldn’t haggle over this sum. But Zhou Yu had gone too far, and not reclaiming something would be a disservice to his deceased parents.
Ye Mingyue cared little for reputation. “We supported your studies because we saw you as a future brother-in-law. If it were an ordinary annulment, we wouldn’t demand this money. But you’ve done so many shameless things and humiliated my sister—I insist on repayment. Zhou Yu, are you broke? Can’t you afford it?”
“So what if I am?” Zhou Yu snapped, throwing caution to the wind. “Do you dare to rob me?”
Both held official positions and status. Ye Mingde couldn’t order a seizure, and even if they searched, the Zhou family didn’t have the money.
As Ye Mingde hesitated over what to do, Xie Bohuai entered with his men.
Upon entering the courtyard, Xie Bohuai stated his purpose: “The thugs who assaulted Zhou Hanlin have been found—they died in a dilapidated temple. These items were found on them. Zhou Hanlin, are they yours?”
They were already dead?
Zhou Yu glanced and nodded in confirmation.
Xie Bohuai returned the items to Zhou Yu but didn’t leave. Instead, he asked Ye Mingde why he was at the Zhou residence.
Ye Mingde was reluctant to discuss family matters, but Ye Mingyue, unafraid of stirring trouble, quickly summarized the annulment. “Commander, please judge fairly. Zhou Yu used our Ye family’s money to support an Outside Woman—they even have a child together. Shouldn’t we demand repayment?”
Xie Bohuai had brought ten men with him. None expected to overhear the secret affairs of the Ye and Zhou families. They maintained calm expressions but were inwardly buzzing with gossip.
Zhou Yu’s face burned crimson. Earlier, in his own home, no matter how he acted out, no outsiders would hear. But that scoundrel Ye Mingyue, to drag him down, didn’t even care about the Ye family’s reputation.
“Let’s all speak up—am I wrong to come asking for money?” Ye Mingyue looked around at the crowd. “Anyway, Zhou Yu, if you don’t repay the debt for a single day, I’ll pester you every day. I’ll file a complaint at the magistrate’s office, I’ll go beat the Denwen Drum—anyhow, I’ve got nothing better to do and plenty of time to waste with you.”
“Ye Er, aren’t you… aren’t you afraid of tarnishing the Ye Family’s reputation?” Zhou Yu said through gritted teeth.
“What I do on my own has nothing to do with the Ye Family?” Ye Mingyue disliked studying and couldn’t care less about good or bad reputation.
“I think you should repay it,” Xie Bohuai suddenly interjected.
Everyone turned to look at Xie Bohuai.