Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

"Father! Let go of my mother!"

Yun Shuhao broke free of his restraints at some point and pounced on Yun Chongshan like a madman, biting his arm hard.

Yun Chongshan winced in pain and swung his hand back.

Yun Shuhao was thrown to the ground and slammed into the corner of the octagonal table, his forehead hitting the corner of the table, and blood immediately gushed out.

"You old bastard! I'm going to kill you!"

Yun Shuhao covered his forehead, his eyes brimming with hatred.

Yun Chongshan's heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by something.

He slowly bent down and expressionlessly grabbed Yun Shuhao by the back of his collar.

The child's neck was tightly strangled, his face gradually turned purple, and he struggled futilely with his hands and feet.

"master!"

Seeing this, Aunt Feng finally became frightened and cried out for mercy.

"Hao'er is innocent! Kill me if you must! Please spare him!"

Yun Chongshan ignored it.

He looked at the child in his arms and remembered how the child looked when he first called him "Daddy".

I remember him laughing indulgently as he slammed the gilded abacus onto the Qin family's account books...

My heart aches as if it's been stabbed with a knife.

But more often than not, it was humiliation.

It was the anger of being fooled for eight years, and the guilt of remembering the grievances suffered by the Qin family for thirty years.

He flicked his hand.

"boom--"

Yun Shuhao fell to the ground like a rag doll, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He convulsed a few times and then lay still.

Aunt Feng's crying stopped abruptly.

She stared blankly at her son on the ground, the light in her eyes gradually fading.

When she looked up again, blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth, but she stared intently at Yun Chongshan, her eyes devoid of hatred, only filled with a deathly stillness.

With a "thud," her head slumped on the torture bench, and she breathed her last.

Butler Wang had already died.

The main hall was eerily quiet, with only the crackling of the flickering candlelight.

The servants lowered their heads, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Yun Chongshan's gaze swept over the three corpses on the ground, and finally landed on Yun Shulan, who was trembling in the corner.

This child was Aunt Feng's firstborn, and his features even bore a resemblance to Steward Wang...

"Father……"

Yun Shulan knelt down with a thud, her face covered in tears and snot.

"I am your daughter! Please spare me!"

Yun Chongshan closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, all that remained in his eyes was desolation.

"Bring me clean water and silver needles."

The results of the blood test for kinship were like the last straw, breaking his already tense nerves.

Two drops of blood stood clearly separate in the clear water, never mixing.

"Get her out."

His voice was eerily calm.

"Don't let me see her again, or... I'll kill her!"

Yun Shulan scrambled away, her skirt sweeping across the bloodstains on the ground, leaving a trail of messy footprints.

Yun Chongshan was finally the only one left in the hall.

He looked at the mess on the ground, at the small, gradually cooling corpse, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.

"puff--"

A mouthful of blood spurted onto the blue brick floor, mixing with Aunt Feng's blood.

Yun Chongshan's vision went black, and he fell straight down.

The candle finally exhausted its last bit of strength and went out.

The main hall was plunged into boundless darkness, much like his life at this moment.

That night.

Yun Chongshan fell ill.

He lay on his sickbed, his face paler than the bed curtains.

After vomiting blood and falling into a coma during the day, he never got out of bed again, and the affairs of the mansion were barely maintained by a few old servants.

"Imperial edict arrives—"

The shrill voice of the announcer pierced the courtyard like a cold awl, breaking the deathly silence in the mansion.

Yun Chongshan struggled to get up, and the old steward quickly helped him up.

"Sir, you are in poor health..."

Help me up.

His voice was hoarse, but he dared not be negligent.

When he knelt in the cold main hall, wearing a heavy cotton robe, he discovered that he was the only one receiving the imperial decree.

The house was completely empty; there wasn't even a decent number of servants to be found.

The eunuch delivering the imperial edict unfolded the bright yellow edict, his shrill voice echoing through the hall.

"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"

Duke Yun Chongshan of Zhenguo was morally corrupt, favoring his concubine over his wife and failing to manage his household effectively.

Furthermore, he was involved in forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices, which betrayed the high expectations of the imperial court.

Considering the merits of his ancestors, he was spared the death penalty, stripped of his title, demoted to a commoner, and never allowed to be employed again.

His son, Yun Shuwen, was also stripped of his status as heir apparent…”

The four words "forming cliques for personal gain" struck Yun Chongshan's heart like a heavy hammer.

He looked up abruptly, only to meet the eunuch's cold, emotionless eyes.

It turns out that the emperor already knew about his secret alliance with Prince Yi.

The so-called "moral depravity" is nothing more than an excuse to get rid of him.

"Your subject...accepts the imperial decree and expresses gratitude."

He lay prostrate on the ground, his forehead pressed against the cold blue bricks, his voice devoid of emotion.

The eunuch put away the imperial edict and gave a forced, insincere bow.

"Lord Yun, oh no, I should call you Mr. Yun now. I hope you will behave yourself in the future."

The footsteps faded away, and the door creaked shut, completely isolating the outside world.

Yun Chongshan remained kneeling on the ground. The old steward tried to help him up, but Yun Chongshan waved his hand to stop him.

He looked at the empty main hall and the dusty furnishings, and suddenly smiled.

His laughter was desolate, and tears streamed down his face.

"Merchants...families..."

He murmured to himself, his fingertips caressing the warm jade that Qin had given him.

"The most ridiculous thing in my life is that I always take this so seriously."

He recalled the year he married Qin, when his colleagues laughed at him at a dinner table, saying, "You married a money pit, but unfortunately, she's not presentable."

When he got back, he took his anger out on Qin, cursing her for being "filthy rich and a disgrace to the family."

He recalled Aunt Feng always nagging him, "Qin is just a merchant's daughter, how could she be worthy of being the Duchess of the State?"

He actually thought it made sense, and became even more lenient with her in mistreating Qin Shi.

In the end, what supported this empty shell of a "noble family" was the dowry of a "merchant's daughter" whom he looked down upon.

What made him a laughingstock in the capital was not his family background, but his own stupidity and callousness.

"He deserved it..."

Yun Chongshan slowly stood up and staggered towards the backyard.

That used to be the courtyard where Qin lived. It had been neglected for more than ten days and was now overgrown with weeds. Only the pomegranate tree was still stubbornly alive.

He sat under the tree, looking at the few withered leaves on the branches, and recalled the last look Qin Shi gave him.

Calm, yet carrying a sense of complete liberation.

Rather than losing the title, it's better to lose those empty "family honors".

Losing her is the most painful punishment.

He remembered what Yun Shuyao had said.

"My mother only has three to five years left to live."

It felt like something was blocking my chest, making it hard to breathe.

If... if he could do it all over again, would he have understood sooner?

Unfortunately, no if.

The setting sun cast dappled shadows on the ground through the bare branches. Yun Chongshan leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.

In the sound of the wind, one can almost hear Qin's laughter from back then, as clear and crisp as the wind chimes under the eaves.

"The Qin family..."

He called softly, his voice as light as a dream.

"I accept this retribution."

However, it's uncertain whether she can find a moment of peace in the hot spring resort.

Mountain villa.

In the dining room of the hot spring resort, the soft clinking of celadon bowls mingled with the rustling of bamboo outside the window, creating an exceptionally peaceful atmosphere.

As Qin was serving soup to Yun Shuyao with a silver spoon, the bone china spoon struck the rim of the bowl, making a crisp clinking sound.

"lady!"

Old Liu, the gatekeeper, lifted the curtain and came in, looking somewhat hesitant.

"People from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion have arrived."

Yun Shuyao paused in her chopsticks, and Xiao Fang's gaze also darkened.

Old Liu lowered his eyes and lowered his voice even further.

"They say...the Duke passed away last night."

He was stripped of his title at noon and left that very night. We request your return to take charge.

There was a moment of silence in the dining room.

Yun Shuyao and Xiao Fang both looked up at Qin Shi at the same time.

Qin seemed not to hear, and steadily pushed the bowl of soup in front of her daughter.

"What are you standing there for?"

Qin picked up her chopsticks and took a piece of green vegetable.

"If you don't drink it now, the soup will get cold."

"Mother……"

Yun Shuyao looked at her calm profile and tentatively spoke.

Are you going back?

Qin's hand, which was picking up food, didn't stop moving, and her tone was indifferent.

"What would I do if I went back?"

She looked up and her gaze fell on her daughter's face.

"I am a divorced woman, and the affairs of this household are none of my concern."

She paused for a moment, then picked up a crystal shrimp dumpling that Yun Shuyao loved to eat.

But you are different.

"You are his daughter; if you don't go, people will inevitably say you're unfilial."

Yun Shuyao remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

Even with twenty years of father-daughter relationship and countless grievances, when someone dies, you still have to see them off on their final journey.

The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

The vermilion gate was wide open, yet it exuded a deathly stillness.

When Yun Shuyao led Xiao Fang through the door, several old servants hurriedly came to greet them.

His eyes held a mixture of ingratiation and fear, completely devoid of his usual indifference.

"Young Miss, you've finally arrived!"

The housekeeper's wife rubbed her hands together, her voice trembling.

"The household is in complete chaos right now, and we're waiting for your decision."

Yun Shuyao didn't look at her, her gaze sweeping over the fallen leaves scattered in the courtyard, and coldly instructed Chun Tao:

"Find out all the indentures of everyone in the manor."

The housekeeper's wife was taken aback.

"Young Miss, what's wrong...?"

"It's not your place to ask!"

Xiao Fang's voice rang out from behind, carrying an undeniable air of authority.

Half an hour later, all the servants and maids were herded to the front yard, where they knelt on the ground in a dark mass.