If you force me to take the blame, I'll spend a day in jail and gain a year's worth of spi

It was dusk, inside the Moyunzhai studio.

Li Dagang frowned, writing furiously at his desk.

He was following Zhang Yu's instructions to divest and transfer the properties related to the Marquis's mansion.

Before long, everyone in the Marquis's mansion will discover that the entire mansion is now just an empty shell.

Now that his character was fully established, Zhang Yu had no intention of indulging those vampires in the Marquis's mansion any longer.

Beside Li Dagang, a young man dressed in black was lounging unceremoniously on a grand chair, one leg draped over the armrest, holding a gourd of wine in his hand, occasionally tilting his head back to take a swig.

He was Mo Di, Zhang Yu's top expert and one of Zhang Yu's earliest confidants. At only twenty years old, his cultivation had already reached the peak of the sixth rank.

In fact, with Zhang Yu's financial resources, he could easily afford to hire even a ninth-rank master or a master of innate talent.

However, his own cultivation level was low, and he dared not rashly recruit people with high cultivation levels, for fear of being attacked by his subordinates.

Therefore, he chose to carefully cultivate loyal people, and then use the Marquis's mansion as a cover to carry out his activities outside.

Suddenly, Li Dagang's communication jade pendant lit up.

He looked down and his expression immediately turned strange; his lips even twitched slightly.

"What's wrong?"

Mozi keenly noticed the change in Li Dagang's expression and asked lazily, but his eyes sharpened.

Li Dagang's expression was complicated as he handed the note to Mo Zhai, his tone carrying a sense of absurdity: "Take a look for yourself... Someone has taken a fancy to the boss's 'chrysanthemum'."

"chrysanthemum?"

Mo Di was taken aback. He took the jade tablet and looked at it. Then a vicious smile appeared on his lips: "Interesting. Since the eldest brother wants to ruin the eldest brother's chrysanthemum, we might as well let him experience the pleasure of being covered in wounds first."

"Old Li, go here..."

Mozi whispered something to Li Dagang, who hesitated, "Isn't that inappropriate?"

The next day, Dali Temple prison.

The people detained here are mostly serious offenders, major criminals, or innocent people involved in big cases.

Inside the prison, however, suffering was not monolithic.

Here, money and power can still carve out a crack, letting in a little bit of "human" light.

The area where Zhang Yu was located was the "paradise" side of this "ice and fire" contrast.

Thanks to the huge sum of money that Li Dagang had arranged in advance, he was not thrown into a cramped, smelly communal cell filled with a dozen or even dozens of prisoners, like most other prisoners.

He has a small, private room.

Although it was only a few feet square, compared to the crowded and filthy prison cells outside, this place was already receiving "VIP" treatment.

The cell contained a fairly clean wooden bed, covered with brand-new bedding that Li Dagang had sent in, and even a small wooden table and a stool.

At this moment, Zhang Yu was leisurely lying on the wooden bed covered with a soft cushion, his hands behind his head, his legs crossed, and even a blade of grass that he had gotten from somewhere was dangling from his mouth.

"Dinner's ready!"

Outside the cell gate came the lazy shouts of the jailers, accompanied by the clanging of chains and the dragging of wooden barrels.

Zhang Yu sat up upon hearing the sound.

Before long, a jailer with a fairly kind face came over carrying two food boxes.

Instead of roughly stuffing the food through the gaps in the bars as he did with other prisoners, he took out his key, opened the small window in the cell door, and handed in the two food boxes one after the other.

"Young Master Zhang, your meal is ready."

The jailer lowered his voice, with a hint of flattery, "As you instructed, it's light and delicious, all freshly cooked."

Zhang Yu nodded and took the food box.

Upon opening it, you'll find a bowl of glistening white rice on top, a plate of stir-fried vegetables, a plate of braised pork, and a bowl of chicken soup, all glistening with golden oil and emitting a wonderful aroma.

This is what is meant by "home-style cooking" costing fifty taels of silver per meal.

Even in the Dali Temple prison, as long as you pay enough money and have a strong enough background, you can still enjoy food that is almost the same as outside food.

Zhang Yu ate slowly and deliberately, creating a stark contrast with the faint sounds of cursing and beatings coming from next door, a fight over a few bits of moldy porridge.

His gaze would occasionally drift to another single room of the same size across the street.

That was the only son of Prince Jing's family, who was said to be a frequent visitor here.

That cell was even more spacious than Zhang Yu's; it not only had a bed and a table, but also a bookshelf and a tea set.

At this moment, the young prince was reclining on a soft couch covered with brocade, with two pretty young girls dressed as maids standing beside him. One was fanning him, and the other was peeling grapes for him.

The curtain was half-drawn, blocking most of the view, but the occasional teasing and ambiguous noises made it easy to guess what was happening inside.

Even if you are imprisoned, someone with power and influence can still live a life of debauchery.

Zhang Yu ate his prison food, which cost fifty taels of silver a meal, slowly and deliberately. He was picking up the last piece of meat when his chopsticks paused slightly—there seemed to be something foreign at the bottom of the bowl.

He calmly used his chopsticks to separate the rice grains, and his fingertips touched a small piece of oiled paper—a message from Li Dagang.

"Even though I'm already in jail, my good brother still won't let me go."

He sneered inwardly, then tore the creed to pieces.

He had just finished dealing with the note when he heard a jumble of footsteps coming from the end of the cell corridor, accompanied by the jailer's deliberately raised shouts and the clinking of keys.

Before long, several jailers bowed and scraped as they led the group to his cell door.

Despite the dim lighting, Zhang Yu recognized the person at a glance.

Qin Xuehua's expression was complex, carrying a condescending scrutiny and an imperceptible irritation.

Zhang Wanning made no attempt to hide the schadenfreude and disdain in her eyes, as if she were looking at a piece of dirty trash.

Zhang Qingyue still maintained her aloof and ethereal appearance, but there was a hint of impatience and detachment in her eyes, as if stepping into this filthy place was already a great injustice.

Standing at the very front was his fiancée, Jiang Luohan.

The jailer deftly opened the viewing window on the cell door, then respectfully stepped aside.

Jiang Luohan stepped forward first. She wasn't wearing her usual athletic outfit today, but rather a simple and elegant dress, which only made her face appear colder.

"Zhang Yu!" Her voice was clear and bright, filled with undisguised disappointment and accusation, which sounded particularly jarring in the quiet prison area. "You have disappointed me too much."

She didn't give Zhang Yu a chance to speak at all, coldly saying:

"I originally thought that although you were mediocre and gentle, you were at least kind-hearted and knew how to think about the family."

But what about you?

The Wang family's affairs have led to a lawsuit involving Xiao Heng, and it's certainly unfair that you're being asked to take the blame.

But with the bigger picture in mind, what do personal gains and losses matter?

That is your chance to share the burdens of the Marquis's mansion and your younger brother Heng.

But what about you?

She grew increasingly agitated as she spoke, her slender fingers almost poking into the wooden fence:

"Instead of being grateful, they complained and even said something outrageous like severing ties with the Marquis's mansion."

Do you still have your parents in your heart?

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

"But do I, as his fiancée, still have any dignity?"

Her scathing critique placed her on a moral high ground, belittling Zhang Yu to the point of being worthless, as if his imprisonment was entirely due to his own incompetence, and her "disappointment" was perfectly justified.

Zhang Qingyue frowned slightly, and her clear, cold voice rang out, like pearls falling onto a jade plate, yet carrying a chilling edge:

"Brother, your actions this time were indeed too reckless."

Regardless of the reason, arguing with one's mother and disregarding one's family is not the way of a son or a brother.

Now that things have come to this, it's time to reflect on our actions.

She didn't say much, but every word she spoke was like a knife, firmly labeling her as "immature" and "irresponsible."

Zhang Yu listened quietly, his face showing no change in expression.

After they finished speaking, he put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and acted as calmly as if he were in his own living room.

He raised his eyes, his gaze calmly sweeping over Jiang Luohan and Zhang Qingyue, finally landing on Qin Xuehua's face, whereupon he suddenly chuckled softly.

The laughter was soft, yet it brought Jiang Luohan's accusations and Zhang Qingyue's admonitions to an abrupt halt, making it seem somewhat comical.

"Disappointed? Lacking common sense?"

Zhang Yu spoke, his voice not loud, but clear and steady, echoing in the oppressive cell, "Miss Jiang, Second Sister, you stand here, dressed in fine silks and satins, smelling the stench of this cell, and express your disappointment in me, a 'criminal' in prison clothes and eating prison food, saying I'm ungrateful... Don't you find it ridiculous?"

He paused, then turned his gaze to Jiang Luohan:

"You forgot, this was caused by Zhang Heng."

My refusal to take the blame would be seen as disregarding the bigger picture.

He caused this mess himself, so why not let him take responsibility for the bigger picture?

Jiang Luohan was taken aback by his question. She subconsciously looked at Zhang Heng, who was "fearful" and had his head down beside her. Her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

But in his heart he thought, "How can my brother Heng, with such talent and such a bright future, suffer such injustice?"

Before she could answer, Zhang Yu looked at Zhang Qingyue again:

My second sister said I disregarded the family.

Then let me ask you, has my family ever cared for me?

For ten years, he ignored me completely; was he looking out for me?

Bringing me back to serve as a tool to demonstrate benevolence—is that how you take care of me?

When something went wrong, the first thing they thought of was pushing me out to take the blame. Was that out of concern for me?

Or is it that the "family" you speak of only includes those you acknowledge?

"And I, Zhang Yu, have never been considered a member of the Zhang family. Am I just an outsider who can be sacrificed at will, used and discarded?"

A slight ripple finally appeared on Zhang Qingyue's usually cold face—the anger of having a tacit understanding exposed. But she was always reserved, so she simply pursed her lips and turned her face away.

Qin Xuehua's face turned ugly, and she said sternly:

"You wretched child, how dare you try to argue?"

Your family gave you life and raised you; their kindness is as heavy as a mountain!

It was out of necessity to make you take the blame, in order to preserve the foundation of the Marquis's mansion!

Instead of showing understanding, you harbor resentment and are now spouting nonsense here, trying to frame your younger brother and sister.

Have you gone crazy from being in jail?

"Climbing and biting?"

Zhang Yu laughed, this time with undisguised sarcasm.

"Mother, don't you really know who is accusing whom?"

As for the immense kindness... the son will always remember the "kindness" of Zhuangzi's ten years of self-reliance and self-destruction.

So isn't this imprisonment today a way of repaying the "gratitude for giving birth to and raising me"?

"From now on, we're even, isn't that clean and simple?"

"You...you."

Qin Xuehua felt a tightness in her chest from his words, and pointing at him, she was so angry that she couldn't utter a complete sentence.

She never expected that even in this situation, her son would still be so "stubborn" and even more "arrogant" than when he was at home.

Seeing her mother being mistreated, Zhang Wanning immediately snapped, "Zhang Yu, stop your nonsense. You're useless, yet you complain about everything. We're here today to..."

"You're here to have me sign the annulment papers, right?"

Zhang Yu interrupted her directly, his gaze shifting to Jiang Luohan, whose face flushed and paled in turns, then to Qin Xuehua, whose expression was blank but whose eyes conveyed urgency, and finally to Zhang Heng, who was looking down to hide his expression.

He had already guessed it; he had guessed it the moment he stepped into the cell and saw Jiang Luohan's "interrogation" face.

Qin Xuehua took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her anger, and put on an expression that was both "heartbroken" and "forced to do so":

"Yu'er, now that you are imprisoned and your future is ruined, Luo Han... is in the prime of her youth, we can't let her waste her life for you."

Let's call this marriage off.

You write a letter of annulment, and from then on, the man and woman marry and have nothing to do with each other.

This is also...for your own good, for Luo Han's good.