Chapter Seventy-Five: I Will Walk With You

"Yurou, you should be the one to decide. After all, this is your home, too. Whether you leave with me or stay here to eke out a miserable existence, the choice is yours. I won’t force you to make the same decision as I do."
Yan Yuanqing had given up arguing with the chatterbox beside him. Fixing his gaze on Shi Yurou’s eyes, he spoke with utmost seriousness.

In such circumstances, could Shi Yurou possibly need time to consider?
She made her choice without hesitation.

"I’ll go with you," Shi Yurou said softly. Her tone was calm, but to Yan Yuanqing, it sounded infinitely gentle.
He could tell that Shi Yurou had made this decision with great resolve.

"Shi Yurou, I hope you’ve thought this through. Everything the family has done is for your sake!"
The staff member beside them refused to give up, still trying to persuade Shi Yurou from the family’s lofty standpoint.

But Shi Yurou was long accustomed to the coldness and indifference of her family. Disappointment had filled her heart, and she no longer believed any of the staff member’s words.
Yan Yuanqing’s demeanor was the exact opposite of her family’s; he had truly won Shi Yurou’s heart.

"I know clearly who’s right and who’s wrong. I don’t need anyone else to lecture me. Yuanqing, let’s go. We’ll pack our things, and wherever you want to go, I’ll follow."
With those words, the two paid no further attention to the staff member, whose face had turned livid with anger, and returned to the house.

When the staff member tried to follow them inside and argue further, he was stopped by several guards outside.

"Let me through! Do you know who I am? How dare you stop me? Are you trying to ruin your future in the family?"
The staff member instinctively yelled at the guards, as he always did with others. Usually, family guards would yield to him.

But this time, he was stunned to find these guards were unmoved, their faces twisted into mocking smiles, as if ridiculing him.

Only then did the staff member recall that all these people had been recruited from outside by Yan Yuanqing—they were outsiders and wouldn’t obey him.

"Very well, your whole family! Now that you’ve gained a little power, you don’t care about the family anymore, do you? You think you’re really somebody?"
"Just wait and see! Let’s see who wins in the end—you or the family! Hopeless!"
With that, the staff member swept his sleeves and left, knowing that staying any longer would achieve nothing and only invite more humiliation. He could only return to the family to seek reinforcements.

Back in the house, Yan Yuanqing and Shi Yurou’s relationship suddenly felt more delicate.

Inside, Shi Yurou seemed at a loss for what to say to Yan Yuanqing, maintaining the reserved and aloof manner she had cultivated over the years.
Yet, that façade was already crumbling, difficult to sustain much longer.

Yan Yuanqing pondered where they should go next to start their new life.

Just then, Ji Chunyan burst through the door, launching into a tirade against Yan Yuanqing.
Her words showed no mercy; in front of Shi Yurou, she berated Yan Yuanqing relentlessly.

"Yan Yuanqing, you know well how our family has treated you these past years. We’ve fed you, sheltered you, let you live comfortably despite being a good-for-nothing."
"We never expected you to make something of yourself, but look at what you’ve done now—does any decent person behave like this?"
"Now you not only eat our food and drink our wine, you’ve even lost our house! You truly are a bringer of misfortune!"

After venting her anger at Yan Yuanqing, Ji Chunyan turned her wrath upon her own daughter.