Chapter 137: Swept Out of the House

Xiang Xiang Junzheng frowned deeply, a cloud of doubt rising in his heart as his fingers unconsciously rubbed the embroidery on his sleeve cuff. He asked the servant:

"Did he reveal anything at all?"

The servant panted heavily, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead, clearly having rushed over in haste.

He raised a hand to wipe the sweat and replied:

"Reporting to Second Young Master, the Eldest Young Master did not mention specifics, only that the Jun family members have all gathered in the front hall, waiting for you."

Xiang Xiang Junzheng's heart sank heavily; he vaguely felt it was bad news, but he had no choice but to go.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his unease, waved his hand, and instructed the retainers behind him:

"Take Li Shi away and keep a close watch on her!"

The retainers surged forward. Li Shi immediately rebelled, forgetting her fear, struggling and shouting curses:

"Xiang Xiang Junzheng, you coward, you weakling, if you have the guts, kill me!"

Xiang Xiang Junzheng was so angry he wanted to smash her mouth, but with a head full of troubles, he couldn't spare a thought for anything else. He merely glanced at her coldly and roared: "Drag her away and keep her under tight guard!"

The retainers hesitated no longer, dragging the struggling, crying Li Shi away.

Xiang Xiang Junzheng straightened his clothes and walked straight toward the front hall. All the way, his heart was full of anxiety, unable to guess what medicine Jun Zhengming was brewing in his gourd.

The moment Xiang Xiang Junzheng stepped into the front hall, it felt as if he had stepped into an ice cave. The hall was brightly lit, yet it radiated a bone-chilling cold.

Jun Zhengming sat upright at the head seat, his brow revealing dignity, his gaze sharp as a blade.

At the lower end, Jun Chengcai sat with his hands folded on his knees, looking as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

His expression was somewhat nonchalant, yet also revealed a touch of coldness; no matter how one looked at it, it was contradictory, yet one could not look away. Jun Zhengming was born refined, and Wu Shi was beautiful; how could their child's appearance be anything but good?

The Old Lady had also come, sitting in her wheelchair with a complex expression. Even several Young Ladies and Zhou Zhou Yiniang from the First House were present.

Each sat with a serious face. Seeing him enter, their gazes all turned toward him at once. It was as if he were a sheep that had wandered into a pack of wolves.

Xiang Xiang Junzheng instinctively shrank back, his footsteps slowing slightly. He had already lost a significant portion of his momentum to the First House. With this display of force, did they truly intend to sweep the Second House out of the house?

Seeing Xiang Xiang Junzheng enter, Jun Zhengming spoke lightly: "Second Brother, I have called everyone here today to discuss the matter of dividing the family."

Xiang Xiang Junzheng's heart trembled, and his gaze shot upward:

"Dividing the family? Why divide the family?" Although he had already expected it, hearing Jun Zhengming say it with his own ears still felt like being struck by lightning, accompanied by strong unwillingness and anger.

Jun Zhengming frowned tightly, his tone carrying a hint of suppressed anger:

"The things the Second House has done, you must be clear about them. The First House has already been as kind as possible. For so many years, the Second House has relied on the First House, yet never thought of repayment, and even indulged their children in evil deeds, nearly costing the lives of my son and daughter."

Speaking here, Jun Zhengming raised his voice a bit,

"Dividing the family is a settled matter. For so many years, the Second House has never contributed a single penny to the family treasury; instead, the First House has never fallen short in giving the Second House silver. Therefore, dividing the family is very simple."

Xiang Xiang Junzheng opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found he had nothing to say. Jun Zhengming spoke the truth; the Second House had indeed been eating and drinking for free in the Jun family for so many years.

He deeply regretted listening to Li Shi's instigation. Li Shi had said, "The Jun family is wealthy and great; how would they care about your trifling amount? The Old Lady is compassionate and will not count this small amount of silver against you."

He had originally calculated to seize the entire family fortune, only to find that before he could get a single share of the vast estate, the First House had kicked him out the door.

He couldn't even utter a word of refutation. After all, the Second House was merely a collateral branch of brothers in the Jun family, having contributed not a penny and relying entirely on the First House for support. Now that the First House was unwilling to support them anymore, what more could he say?

It was all due to that mother and daughter who could achieve nothing but cause failure. They had caused him to lose all face and be left with nothing. Xiang Xiang Junzheng wished he could go back right now and tear Li Shi apart.

The Old Lady sighed and said:

"Second Brother, the things your wife and daughter have done have truly chilled the First House's heart. This division of the family is unavoidable. As for the courtyard you currently live in, if you wish to move, move; if you wish to stay, I will instruct the craftsmen to block the moon gate connecting the Second House to the First House. In the future, if there is business, use the main gate."

Xiang Xiang Junzheng gritted his teeth and pleaded:

"Old Lady, Eldest Brother, I know my mistake. Can you give the Second House another chance?"

Jun Zhengming shook his head: "Second Brother, it is not that Eldest Brother refuses to give you a chance. The grievances of the Second House are too deep; separating is best for everyone."

Seeing that his plea for mercy yielded no result, Xiang Xiang Junzheng could only turn his gaze toward Seeing Jun Jun Zijin. As long as the Jun family's second daughter was willing to help him, the family could not be divided.

Who would have thought she would lower her head and pick at her fingernails, completely pretending not to see him.

He then turned his gaze toward Jun Chengcai. Jun Chengcai was even more ruthless, directly turning his head to the side, making it clear he did not wish to get involved. His master's will was his will.

A wave of despair washed over Xiang Xiang Junzheng's heart. Finally, he mustered the shamelessness to turn his head toward Zhou Zhou Yiniang and Jun Jun Shuyan.

Who would have thought Jun Jun Shuyan would immediately open fire:

"Second Uncle, why are you looking at me? Your daughter tried to kill me. Do you expect me to plead for you? Are you overthinking things?"

Xiang Xiang Junzheng, being rebuked by a junior, felt his face turn red and white with shame, unable to bear the humiliation and anger.

Knowing there was no room for compromise in this matter, he could only lower his head and agree:

"Very well, if the family is to be divided, then let it be divided."

In the end, the Jun family formally divided the household.

Xiang Xiang Junzheng's heart was bitter. He had schemed for half a lifetime, gained nothing, and ended up being driven out of the family home.

Finally, he waited for his son to return, only to find that was useless too. He had originally thought the useless Jun Chengcai had undergone a complete transformation overnight.

But the First House had its reasons too. A concubine's branch, no matter whether the First House did well or not, would never get a good outcome. The Second House had freeloaded for so many years; that was enough.

In short, the Second House packed up and left the Jun family compound. To call it a division of the family was not accurate; it was more that the Second House was driven out by the First House.

In the Second House, Li Shi was dragged into a room. She sat dazed, her face wretched, filled with shock and unwillingness.

Qingyu slowly walked to her front, looked down at her, and a smile of triumph curled her lips.

"Lady, did you think only you knew how to design and frame others?"

Li Shi looked up and saw that Qingyu's eyes were full of triumph and mockery. Her heart jumped, and she immediately felt a strong sense of crisis.

"You... what do you mean?" Li Shi's voice trembled; she felt a strong fear.

Qingyu did not answer her, merely letting out a few "ge ge" laughs, then turned and left.

Inside the room, Jun Jun Zhidie heard the commotion outside, but she was too severely injured to move. She could only lie helplessly on the bed, cursing everyone in the First House in her heart.

The next day, the morning light filtered through the window lattice like scattered gold sprinkled on the ground, quietly filling the entire room with warmth.

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin woke from her dream. She had been dreaming all night, sometimes dreaming of her daughter, sometimes of Lei, and sometimes of Quan Quan Aoyu. She had not slept well all night.

She relaxed her tightly furrowed brow and drew a deep breath of the morning air. Outside the window, birds had already begun to sing cheerfully, and in this quiet morning, the world appeared exceptionally peaceful.

Seeing Jun Jun Zijin had just risen when, suddenly, a black shadow landed silently in her room.

In the blink of an eye, Fei Ying stood steadily before her.

Fei Ying took a neatly folded secret report from his bosom and handed it to Seeing Jun Jun Zijin. His voice was low:

"Master, the Prince has sent a letter."