Chapter 449: Driven Out of the Family Home

Gu Sen hadn't expected the old master to personally intervene on Gu Yinxue's behalf.

He fixed his gaze on the head‑bowed Gu Yinxue, then looked again at the stern old master and asked, "What benefit did she promise you, or what leverage do you have over her?"

Given his understanding that the old master cared only for profit and always put the family's interests first, for him to step forward and speak up for Gu Yinxue, insisting she stay in the Gu household, must mean either there's something to gain or he holds some leverage over her.

As soon as Gu Sen finished speaking, the old master and Gu Yinxue both turned to look at him, seeming somewhat surprised.

Gu Yinxue couldn't understand why her father's heart had become so hard—she had called him "dad" for twenty‑eight years, and she had been the dutiful daughter for twenty‑eight years, yet now that his birth daughter had returned, he could discard all those years of father‑daughter feeling and expose her without mercy.

She felt suffocated and miserable inside.

The old master frowned, recalling that the last time he came to tell Song Shiwei about Gu Sen's intention to leave the Gu family, Gu Yinxue had seen him out, laid her cards on the table, and said she already knew that twenty‑eight years ago Jiang Lai had been abandoned by Song Shiwei, which led Gu Sen to quit politics for business; the condition for keeping it quiet was that she stay in the Gu family, and no one could drive her out or strike her name from the clan register.

To cover up that scandal, he had already agreed.

Just now Gu Yinxue had messaged him, saying Gu Sen was going to throw her out, and that was why he had rushed over to stop it.

But Gu Sen had figured it out.

The old master looked at Gu Sen and said solemnly, "Everything I've done is for the good of the Gu family."

Having guessed what was going on, Gu Sen likewise spoke solemnly: "You have your motives, I have mine—I'm just throwing her out of my house; keeping her in the Gu family is your concern, not mine. As long as she doesn't call herself my adopted daughter in the future, you can arrange her however you like."

Gu Yinxue was utterly shocked: "Dad, what do you mean by that?"

"Shut up." Gu Sen stared at Gu Yinxue, his eyes icy and devoid of emotion, "Don't call me that anymore."

From Gu Sen's words the old master sensed he still wanted to leave the Gu family; he panicked for a moment, then used his senior authority to suppress it: "Gu Sen, do you realize what you're saying?"

Gu Sen only had three firm words: "I know."

The old master staggered, extended a trembling hand, pointed at his nose, and cursed: "How can you face the ancestors of the Gu family?"

"What I owe most is to the Gu family's ancestors and to you." Gu Sen said, "Let's call a family meeting."

Seeing Gu Sen's resolute, iron‑will demeanor, the old master flared: "Whether we hold a family meeting isn't up to you—it's up to me."

Gu Sen: "I know the Gu family's rules—I'll go kneel in the ancestral hall for three days, then call the family meeting after that."

Under the old master's shocked and astonished gaze, he turned to Gu Yinxue and said, "Whether you stay in the Gu family is your own business; if you can stay, it's your ability—but our household will not remain here."

"You don't need to keep urging your mother to do anything; let me be blunt: just because I didn't abandon your mother twenty‑eight years ago doesn't mean I won't do so now."

"You're merely trying to exploit your mother's status and the family's voice to control many things; you should know that without me and the Gu family, those assets would be worth little."

After saying that, Gu Sen still, in the old master's presence, had people pack all of Gu Yinxue's belongings into a car and drive off to her studio.

Gu Yinxue's face turned ashen; not only had her clever schemes come to nothing, but even her dark thoughts had been dragged into the sunlight and laid bare, nearly making her dizzy.

In front of Gu Sen, Gu Yinxue seemed no more than a little chick.

Gu Yinxue was forced into the car, leaving the Gu household with a pile of luggage.

Sitting in the car, she was so nervous she wanted to bite her fingers.

She didn't know what to do next; a few sentences from Gu Sen had cut off her retreat.

No matter how she thought about it, she could never imagine her father wanting to abandon her mother—how could that be? Everyone could see how much he loved her mother.

How could it happen so suddenly?

Could her mother have been hiding something from her? Her father's estrangement from her mother should have been a gradual process—she couldn't possibly have missed it.

What Song Shiwei hadn't told Gu Yinxue was that she and Gu Sen had repeatedly quarreled and even slept in separate rooms.

How could such a thing possibly become known?

Even her own daughter couldn't say it—Song Shiwei had spent decades in her husband's favor, living a smooth, enviable life; how could she give up that glory, even if only superficial, without holding on to the end?

After the whole villa had quieted down, the maids glanced at each other—master absent, second miss gone—finally they could speak.

"Did the master really drive the second miss out of the house?"

"Why keep calling her 'second miss'? From now on there's only one miss in this household."

"The master is kind‑hearted and hardly ever angry—what did the second miss do to make him furious like this? He's always doted on the second miss, though the wife's affection is obvious while the master's affection lies……"

"Enough." Wu Ma couldn't listen any longer: "How can you say you don't recognize the second miss and then not recognize her? She hasn't given us trouble these years, has she? Whenever any of us has a problem, the second miss always helps out—how can you be so ungrateful?"

The others immediately fell silent.

Indeed, the second miss had caused no trouble for any of them; they had all received her help, and Wu Ma had benefited the most—when her daughter fell ill and was hospitalized, it was the second miss who arranged the admission and found the chief physician to perform the surgery.

Wu Ma watched the crowd disperse, then finally dared to knock on the mistress's door.

There was no response from inside.

She had no choice but to push the door open and found the mistress asleep heavily on the bed.

Downstairs everything was in an uproar—how could the mistress even sleep?

But then again, the mistress had been sleeping poorly these days; it was rare for her to catch a nap in the daytime.

Wu Ma felt torn—should she wake the mistress now to tell her the miss had been driven out by the master, or wait for the mistress to wake up on her own?

But thinking of the miss's kindness to her, she steeled herself and decided to wake the mistress.

Song Shiwei blinked open her eyes, feeling her head heavy and groggy, and asked, "How did I fall asleep?"

Wu Ma: "Perhaps the mistress has been overly tired lately."

Song Shiwei lamented that it had been a long time since she could actually fall asleep in bed; today was also a rare occasion—Yin Xue helped her up, poured her a cup of water, and kept her company chatting, after which she felt a bit drowsy.

Indeed, it was still this thoughtful daughter, Yin Xue.

"Have the father and daughter finished their talk?" Song Shiwei asked anxiously, glancing toward the door.

Wu Ma immediately related what had just happened: "The miss should be at the studio by now, and the master has gone to the old residence."

Song Shiwei grabbed Wu Ma's arm: "Was Yin Xue driven out by Gu Sen?"

Wu Ma nodded: "The master no longer allows the miss to call him 'dad.'"

Song Shiwei's whole face tightened; she swiftly got out of bed and headed out, feeling a little dizzy, and asked, "Where did you say Gu Sen went?"

Wu Ma carefully supported her: "To the old residence. Mistress, do you want to go to the miss's place or…?"

Song Shiwei raised her voice: "Of course the old residence."