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

Yun Shuyao stood on the steps, holding a stack of yellowed paper contracts in her hand.

"Half of you were part of my mother's dowry when my maternal grandfather gave you your dowry."

Her gaze swept across the crowd, her voice calm yet chilling.

"You take the Qin family's monthly allowance, yet you help outsiders to humiliate the mistress."

"Having forgotten your roots to this extent, what use are you to me?"

A burly servant suddenly looked up and shouted, his neck stiff.

"We are servants of the Duke's mansion! What right do you have to sell us?"

"The Duke's Mansion?"

Yun Shuyao sneered and waved the contract in her hand.

"Look closely, the seal on your indentures is from the Qin family!"

Yun Shuyao handed the contract to Zhao Hu behind her.

"Send them all to the human trafficking ring; leave none of them alive."

The seventy-odd guards that Zhao Hu brought immediately stepped forward and forcibly dragged the crying and begging servants away.

The front yard quickly emptied out, leaving only the mournful sound of the wind whistling through the pillars.

Yun Shuyao turned to leave, but was stopped by a staggering figure.

Yun Shuwen reeked of alcohol, his hair was a mess, and his former arrogance was nowhere to be seen.

"younger sister!"

He grabbed Yun Shuyao's leg and cried out.

"I've lost my title! I have nothing left! You can't just abandon me!"

Yun Shuyao looked down at him, her eyes as cold as ice.

"I am not your sister."

She paused, her voice clear as a knife.

"It stopped the day you swung your cane and hit me on the back."

Xiao Fang stepped forward and kicked Yun Shuwen to the ground.

He didn't look at the person rolling on the ground again, took Yun Shuyao's hand, and turned to leave.

"Sister! Yun Shuyao! You can't be so heartless!"

Behind him came Yun Shuwen's desperate screams, hoarse and desperate.

Yun Shuyao did not turn around.

As she reached the main gate, she looked up at the plaque above the gate that read "Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion".

The red background with gold lettering gave off a dilapidated glow in the setting sun.

"Zhao Hu".

She gave the instructions softly.

"exist."

"Take down the plaque."

Yun Shuyao's voice was soft, yet exceptionally firm.

"From this day forward, there will be no more Duke Zhenguo's Mansion."

Zhao Hu stepped forward in response, and the guards brought over a ladder.

They quickly removed the plaque that symbolized a century of glory.

The dull thud of the wood hitting the ground was like a heavy sigh.

Xiao Fang took Yun Shuyao's hand and walked step by step toward the carriage.

The wheels rolled over the bluestone slabs in front of the door, making a steady sound.

Yun Shuyao glanced back at the empty lintel, then turned back to look at the setting sun gradually sinking outside the carriage.

The wind brushed against her cheeks, carrying a touch of coolness, but also a sense of complete relaxation.

Those grudges that had entangled them for half their lives finally came to an end with the closing of that door.

The next day.

Inside the mourning hall of the Zhenbei Duke's Mansion, the white banners fluttered in the breeze.

Yun Shuyao knelt on the prayer mat, her plain mourning dress covered with a thin layer of dust.

The mourning hall was deserted, with only a few coffin bearers and Xiao Fang by her side.

As for Yun Shuwen, he was also kneeling not far away, reeking of alcohol and sweat, his head repeatedly hitting the ground.

Before long, he slumped in a corner of the mourning hall, leaning against a pillar and snoring, with drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

No court officials came to offer condolences, and not even distant relatives showed up.

The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was stripped of its title and reprimanded by the Emperor.

The court officials, who were already bound by self-interest in their interactions, were now acting on the news and naturally tried to avoid him at all costs.

As for the collateral branches of the Yun family, after offending the Wing King at Yun Chong Mountain, they dared not try to establish kinship ties again.

Only the ever-burning lamp on the altar flickered in the wind.

As the sun began to set in the west, footsteps finally echoed across the threshold of the mourning hall.

Yun Shuyao looked up and saw Qin Ziming, her cousin from the Qin family, wearing a plain long robe and carrying a vegetarian noodle gift box.

"cousin."

Qin Ziming bowed to the memorial tablet, his voice calm.

"My father asked me to come and see Master Yun off on his final journey."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the desolate mourning hall.

"Although the marriage ties have been severed, he has been the Qin family's son-in-law for over thirty years, and my grandfather said that we should see him off on his final journey."

Yun Shuyao nodded without speaking, and gestured for a servant to offer incense.

Qin Ziming accepted the gift box, bowed respectfully three times to the memorial tablet, and then placed it on the table beside him.

"This is a small token of my father's condolences."

After saying that, he nodded to Yun Shuyao, and without lingering, turned and left.

The mourning hall fell silent again. Xiao Fang walked to Yun Shuyao's side and whispered words of comfort:

"Stop kneeling, get up and rest."

Yun Shuyao nodded and reached out to take Xiao Fang's outstretched hand.

"Alright, even though we've been father and daughter for twenty years, it's enough to have fulfilled my filial duty."

Her knees were already numb, and when Xiao Fang helped her up, she staggered before regaining her balance.

She sat down on the chair next to her, rubbing her numb knees, her gaze falling on the soundly sleeping Yun Shuwen.

The man's brows were furrowed, as if he were still calculating something in his dream, and a faint hint of greed lingered at the corners of his mouth.

"Xiao Fang."

She suddenly spoke, her voice very soft.

"From now on, no matter how badly he falls into poverty, if he comes to you for help, don't interfere."

Xiao Fang grasped her hand, feeling the warmth of her touch on his fingertips.

"Okay, I understand."

"His inherent coldness was inherited from his father."

Yun Shuyao looked at the person on the ground, her eyes filled with indifference, not hatred.

"When his mother was still alive, he never showed any filial piety; he only ever asked for money."

"It's better to disown a brother like that."

According to custom, the body should be kept in state for seven days, but seeing the current situation, Yun Shuyao knew that no one else would come.

She gave instructions to the servants.

"There's no need for a wake; let's bury the body before noon."

The funeral procession was sparse, with only a few old servants and handymen following along.

Yun Shuyao, dressed in mourning clothes, walked at the front, with Xiao Fang protecting her every step of the way.

Upon arriving at the cemetery and watching the coffin being lowered into the earth, she stood facing the new grave for a moment, neither crying nor speaking, before turning and leaving.

Upon returning to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, she went straight back to her former courtyard.

The furnishings here are the same as before she got married, only covered with a thin layer of dust.

She had her maid pack up some of her personal belongings and a purse that her mother had embroidered for her years ago.

"Take these with you."

She watched the maids pack the things, her tone calm.

"The rest is fine to worry about."

Accompanied by Xiao Fang, she walked out of the mansion gate just past noon.

The vermilion gate closed slowly behind us with a dull thud.

Yun Shuyao did not look back this time.

After an unknown amount of time, Yun Shuwen woke up in a corner of the mourning hall.

My head is throbbing and my throat is so dry it feels like it's on fire.

He struggled to his feet and found the mourning hall empty; the eternal lamps had long been extinguished, and the offerings on the altar were nowhere to be seen.

Where are they?!

He shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing in the empty main hall, but no one answered.

He stumbled and ran towards the backyard, searching through each house.

Mother's courtyard was empty, Aunt Feng's courtyard was ransacked, and even her own bedroom was turned upside down.

"My money! My servants!"

He frantically rummaged through the drawer, but only found some old pens and ink.

The entire Duke's mansion was so quiet that you could hear your own heartbeat.

He then discovered that not only was the person gone, but everything of value had been taken away by the concubines and illegitimate sons.

He patted himself all over and found that only the jade hairpin in his hair and the heirloom jade pendant his mother had given him at his waist were worth a few coins.

"No...it's impossible..."

He slumped to the ground, staring at the empty house, and finally panicked.

The sun gradually set in the west, casting his shadow long and long.

No one will bring him money anymore, and no one will listen to his orders anymore.

Do not!

A glimmer of hope flashed in Yun Shuwen's eyes.

And then there's my younger sister, whose husband is the heir apparent to a prince; they won't abandon me.

Thinking of this, Yun Shuwen turned around and ran towards the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, not caring that his clothes were wrinkled and his hair was disheveled.

All he wanted was to marry his sister and brother-in-law so he could live a life of comfort and security.