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“I have made up my mind. Since Yuan is determined to sever ties with them, I won’t allow them to have the opportunity to use this as an excuse to approach her in the future,” Wen Jian said firmly.
Based on his understanding of the Qi family, with their shameless behavior, if the Qi family were to fall on hard times in the future, they would definitely use the excuse of Qi Yuan’s lenient punishment to seek her help, refusing to acknowledge the severed ties. Since they were going to sever ties, he naturally wanted to ensure that the Qi family had no excuses.
This was actually the intention Wen Jian had in mind. Just now, he had been thinking that if the Qi family were to decline in the future, they would definitely come to Qi Yuan for help, knowing that the County Princess would likely give her a lenient punishment out of consideration for the Wen family’s face. Who would have thought that Wen Jian would say such a thing now, completely disrupting all his thoughts.
“What do you mean by this, Wen Jian? Are you happy to see Yuan sever ties with us?” Qi Rong’s father said angrily, his expression filled with sadness and even tears.
Wang Jinhe looked at Qi Rong’s father’s fake and exaggerated expression and shook her head with a wry smile. “Qi Rong’s Father, those tears of yours could be called crocodile tears, couldn’t they?”
Su Yu interjected at the right moment, “Xiao He, what are crocodile tears?”
“Crocodiles are extremely fierce and cold-blooded animals,” Wang Jinhe explained with a good mood.
Su Yu smiled and said, “That’s a very apt description.”
Wang Jinhe raised an eyebrow and said matter-of-factly, “Of course.”
Qi Rong had initially been happy about Qi Yuan severing ties with the family, but seeing her father’s reaction and realizing that she couldn’t leave the Qi family, she understood that it was necessary to maintain the family’s connections. Otherwise, they wouldn’t receive any benefits from the Wen family or the County Princess’s family in the future.
“Is what you’re doing a bit too much, sister? After all, Father is your father. How can you sever ties with him? This will hurt his feelings. Where did this deep-seated grudge come from within the family?” Qi Rong said gently.
However, her words implied that Qi Yuan was an unfilial daughter for severing ties with her father over a trivial matter.
After speaking, Qi Rong glanced at Su Yu, hoping to gauge his reaction. To her surprise, Su Yu remained expressionless, as if the matter had nothing to do with them.
This outcome left Qi Rong very dissatisfied, so she shifted the focus to Wang Jinhe. “County Princess, you are such a kind person. You wouldn’t let an old man lose his daughter, would you?”
“Are you trying to morally blackmail me?” Wang Jinhe had initially thought that the matter would be resolved quickly, but to her surprise, Qi Rong, had come out to cause trouble. The conversation was filled with tension.
With a half-smile, Wang Jinhe looked at Qi Rong and said, “Old man? I don’t think so. Even my grandfather doesn’t refer to himself as an old man. He’s not yet forty, and you’re already calling him old? Is the standard for old age so low these days? Just having a daughter makes one an old man?”
Wang Jinhe’s words made Wen Sitong couldn’t help but laugh.
Qi Rong’s words were quite provocative, and it was amusing to see the unpleasant expression on Qi Rong’s father’s face.
Clearing her throat, Wang Jingyu said with a straight face, “Xiao He, how can you compare your grandfather to others? He doesn’t look well, but my grandfather is in good health.”
“It’s my mistake,” Wang Jinhe said with a smile.
Yu Bailin looked at the siblings with a wry smile. He didn’t intend to reprimand them, but he spoke up, “If you want to sever ties, do it quickly. We didn’t come here today to witness a family dispute. We came to deliver the engagement gifts.”
“I don’t agree,” Qi Rong’s father said coldly.
“Qi Yuan, you are my daughter. As long as I disagree, you won’t be able to sever ties with me. I raised you over the years,” he said.
“It wasn’t you who raised me. It was my mother’s dowry and the wet nurse she brought with her. She took care of me and raised me, not you. You don’t deserve to be called a father,” Qi Yuan retorted.
“My mother entrusted all her dowry to you before she passed away, with only one request: to treat me well and, when I grew up, to give me one-third of the dowry and find a good family for me to marry into. But what did you do? If I hadn’t met my husband, I would have been married off to a seventy-year-old man. Are you even worthy of being called a father? Do you have any shame?” Qi Yuan trembled with anger, never realizing she could be so shameless.
Wang Jinhe frowned as she looked at Qi Rong’s father, her expression turning grim. She hadn’t expected to encounter such a father.
“You’re talking nonsense…”
“Nonsense? I have my mother’s written instructions here. If I wanted to, I could ask the County Princess to help me retrieve all of my mother’s dowry. Although my mother intended to give two-thirds of the dowry to you, she also stipulated that you must treat me well. But what kind of life have I had in the Qi family all these years? Don’t you have any conscience?” Since everything was being exposed, Qi Yuan didn’t mind causing her father to lose face.
Wang Jinhe spoke with a cold expression, “I never expected to encounter such a despicable creature in this world.”
“Wen Sitong’s sister-in-law, if you need my help, I can assist you.”
“Thank you, County Princess.”
Before Qi Rong’s father could say anything, Qi Yuan spoke again, “This isn’t even the most disgusting thing about your family. Today is Tongtong’s auspicious day, yet your family’s people asked me to find a way to keep half of the engagement gifts for Tongtong and at least give your family the other half. Why didn’t you just snatch it?”
Qi Rong’s father’s expression darkened. He had indeed instructed Qi Rong about this matter, but he hadn’t expected Qi Yuan to reveal everything in front of so many people.
“I’ll kill you, you wicked girl,” he said, moving to strike Qi Yuan.
Wen Sitong’s father stepped in front of Qi Yuan, looking at him coldly. “What are you doing? You want to bully my daughter-in-law in front of us? Have you asked for the opinion of our Wen family?”
“Mr. Qin, what you’re doing is not right. Qi Yuan is now the daughter-in-law of our Wen family. You can’t just hit her as you please.”
Qi Yuan was deeply moved. The protection from her in-laws gave her a sense of belonging and confidence.
Wen Sitong’s mother walked to Qi Yuan’s side, putting her arm around her shoulder. “Don’t be afraid, Yuan. With us backing you, no one will dare to lay a hand on you.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
Looking at her father with a cold smile, Qi Yuan said, “I know why you don’t want to sever ties, but you want to continue benefiting from the Wen family.”
“I’ll give you two choices. First, from now on, we sever all ties, and I won’t pursue the matter of the dowry. Second, you can choose not to sever ties, but I will reclaim every penny of my mother’s dowry. You know how much of my mother’s dowry that woman has used over the years.”