Chapter 404

"Beat me to death?" He gave a light smile, looking at his father, but there was no longer any reverence in his eyes.

"Father, before you could hit me, it was because I was willing to let you hit me, since you are my father."

"But..."

"From now on, I have no father, and you'd better not think of hitting me again."

That stubborn boy concealed the wound in his eyes, then waved a hand, shrugging off Yong Bo Marquis's arm; Yong Bo Marquis stepped back a few steps before steadying himself.

"Rebellious! You've raised a good son, and this is rebellion!" Yong Bo Marquis pointed at Zhang Cunwen, then at Yong Bo Marquis's Wife.

Yong Bo Marquis's Wife had already cried herself into a tearful mess, "Cunwen, quickly apologize to your father, okay?"

"We're doing this for your own good; now Jingdu is stormy, you must stay away from the Regent Prince's Manor, or the consequences are unimaginable." She gently explained to him.

The eldest son had been sensible since childhood, so her gaze naturally gravitated toward him more, but Cunwen was also a child born from her womb—how could she not love him?

The Yong Bo Marquis Manor had already become unsettled; at this moment, they dare not move, cannot move!

"Mom, can you believe your son?" Zhang Cunwen looked at his mother, his eyes red, yet he stubbornly held back his tears.

"Zhang Cunwen." Yong Bo Marquis's Wife looked at him and slapped him hard.

"Are you possessed? This is your home!"

She wept, yet her eyes held a fierce light.

"Hahaha—" He released his mother's hand and then burst out laughing.

"Cunwen, don't upset Mom, you should behave." At that moment, the eldest son returned from school, saw the scene, frowned, and wondered why they were arguing again.

"Behave."

"Obey!"

Zhang Cunwen looked at the three people who should have been closest to him—father, mother, older brother.

But in their eyes, he was always wrong, forever a spoiled young master, forever senseless, disobedient, willful child!

They didn't even want to approach him to understand his thoughts; they just wanted to toy with him, doing whatever they pleased, never needing to ask for his opinion.

"Having one sensible one among you is enough." Zhang Cunwen chuckled, rubbing his already balanced cheeks—it really hurt!

"If you agree, I'll go happily."

"If you disagree, I'll still go." He didn't want to be a pawn, letting others push him around as they pleased; his path, he wanted to walk it himself.

"Good, good, good!" Yong Bo Marquis laughed in anger, his face dark as he looked at Zhang Cunwen.

"You want to go? If you step out this door today, you are no longer the Third Young Master of the Yong Bo Marquis Manor, nor my son; when you're penniless, let's see how you'll manage!"

"Zhang Cunwen! Apologize to your father." His mother glared at him angrily, as if he had committed some great crime.

At that moment, the eldest son supported his mother, "Mom, sit down, don't get agitated."

"Father, have a sip of tea; the younger brother is still young and clueless."

Yong Bo Marquis snorted coldly, "Small? How much older is the second son than him? When has he ever defied me?"

Upon hearing Yong Bo Marquis's words, a flash of pain crossed Yong Bo Marquis's Wife's eyes.

But seeing the eldest son beside her gave her some confidence.

Only when she saw Zhang Cunwen did she softly sigh, this child is now utterly outrageous.

"Cunwen, make amends to your father and mother." Zhang Eldest looked at his younger brother, furrowing his brow slightly.

"Wait for me." Zhang Cunwen walked to one side, picked up brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, then swiftly wrote a full page of characters, and after finishing, blew the ink dry.

He handed that paper directly to Yong Bo Marquis, "Since you don't consider me your son in your heart, let's just sever ties."

"From now on, whatever I do will have nothing to do with the Yong Bo Marquis Manor, nor with you."

"From now on, although you don't acknowledge me as your son, I still acknowledge you as my father." His expression turned cold; his thin face, swollen red from the beating, untreated, continued to throb with a burning pain.

"Cunwen, what are you doing? Father and mother are doing this for your own good." Yong Bo Marquis's Wife pointed at Zhang Cunwen, wiping her eyes.

"Cunwen, you're utterly senseless."

……

Look, it turns out I'm just being senseless after all.

No matter what I do, I can never meet their expectations.

The Ding List won't do, the Bing List won't do, daily hard study won't do—nothing helps.

Because in their hearts, they've already decided I'm no good!

So he……

He just had to prove himself; anyone could say they're no good, but he always knew he could do it!

Looking at the three people in the room, those who should have been closest to him, sharing his joys and sorrows, the ones he could rely on in his hardest moments— their gazes were nothing but accusation and silent reproach.

Really, I'm tired.

He had pleased them for seven years; he wanted to live as himself—he was Zhang Cunwen, not just the Zhang Cunwen of the Yong Bo Marquis Manor.

"Fine, the Letter of Severing Kinship."

"Since you wrote it, I'll grant your wish." Yong Bo Marquis laughed in anger.

"Sir, he's still just a child." Yong Bo Marquis's Wife cried out.

"A child? I don't have such a child!"

Yong Bo Marquis snorted coldly, waved his big hand, directly wrote his name, and stamped it with his personal seal.

"Zhang Cunwen, from now on you are no longer a person of the Yong Bo Marquis Manor, and don't take even a copper coin from the manor; if I ever find out you've secretly given him silver, you too will get out." Yong Bo Marquis flicked his sleeve and left the room.

As he walked away, his face was flushed with anger.

Zhang Cunwen placed the Letter of Severing Kinship into his bosom, looked at his mother, knelt down, and kowtowed three times.

"Mother, I am unfilial; from now on I will support you in your old age."

The old master's heart is biased; no matter how much you suffer, no matter how frugal you are, everything goes to the concubine's side—just let it go, why bother?

"Big brother, Mother entrusted you with it."

"Zhang Cunwen finished speaking, looked at his mother and older brother, and left without looking back."

"Cunwen."

"Zhang Cunwen!"

"From behind came his brother's shout and his mother's weeping; he raised his arm and wiped his tears."

"Mother, wait for me to return, take you away from here, so you won't have to endure this nonsense anymore," he silently murmured to himself.

"Now he needs to grow; if he stays at the Yong Bo Marquis Manor, the schemes of his aunt's side could keep him there for life."