As the slap aimed at her, Shen Xue's gaze turned icy cold, and she fiercely kicked out!

Bang!

Shen Xue’s kick was intercepted by a snow-white hand, which blocked her strike in front of the middle-aged man.

"Xiao Xue truly lives up to being the most outstanding of our generation in the Shen family. If that kick had landed, your brother would have been bedridden for half a year." The woman, who had been sitting by the elder's side, suddenly appeared in front of the middle-aged man. With a light-hearted smile, she effortlessly caught Shen Xue’s kick.

The middle-aged man, still seated on the ground, glared at Shen Xue with venomous resentment.

Shen Xue glanced at her brother, Shen Wu, who had fallen to the ground, then looked at the woman and said indifferently, "I’m not here to chat with you. Where’s the money?"

"Insolent! You want to use our Shen family’s money to save your bastard child? Keep dreaming!" Shen Wu got up and shouted angrily at Shen Xue.

The woman shot Shen Wu a sharp glance. "Shut up."

Shen Wu’s expression changed slightly under the woman’s glare. He gritted his teeth and lowered his head, replying, "Understood, Aunt Wei."

At that moment, the elder who had been playing chess turned around. He looked at Shen Xue and smiled gently. "Where's my grandson? Why didn’t you bring him?"

Hearing this, Shen Xue, who had maintained a cold expression, suddenly turned pale with fear. She looked at the elder with a near-pleading gaze and said, "I’ll go to the Zhou family as you instructed, isn’t that enough?"

The elder shook his head with a smile. "What nonsense. I just wanted to see my grandson."

Upon hearing this, Shen Xue's face drained of all color. She bit her lip and knelt down directly, pleading, "Please, let my daughter go. I’m willing to do whatever you say, just please spare Tian Tian."

The elder's face turned cold as he looked down at the kneeling Shen Xue with indifference. "You were once the pride of our Shen family, but you’ve disgraced yourself... Enough!"

He sighed as if in resignation, then turned to Shen Wu and said, "Go, bring my grandson back. Our family’s sanatorium can perform the surgery; there’s no need to waste money elsewhere."

Shen Wu's face lit up with joy. He shot a hateful glance at Shen Xue before turning to leave.

"No, don’t!"

Shen Xue suddenly raised her head, shouting in agitation.

"What, are you planning to defy your father’s orders?" The elder's tone turned icy when he saw Shen Xue attempting to rise.

Shen Xue’s body stiffened, her teeth clenched tightly as she closed her eyes and knelt back down. At this moment, she could only hope that Shen Wu didn’t know where Tian Tian was.

But was that even possible?

Given the Shen family’s influence...

She didn’t dare to think further.

She looked up at the elder with tear-filled eyes and asked through gritted teeth, "Why? You promised me—why are you going back on your word?"

The elder turned his gaze back to the chessboard, holding a black piece in one hand and a white piece in the other. As he listened to Shen Xue's anguished plea, he replied calmly, "Why? Because you trampled on my lawn, my daughter."

Shen Xue’s body stiffened, and her fingers dug deep into the grass beneath her.

…

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Zhongjing Sanatorium?"

Yang Yi read the vertical sign of the beautiful building complex nestled between the mountains and water.

"Please present your identification."

As the off-road vehicle pulled up to the entrance, the guard approached to check their credentials.

Ying San, who was driving, did not wear a mask and a flash of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes.

Yang Yi gently patted Ying San’s shoulder, then lowered the window and said, "I’m here to see Shen Xue."

The guard was taken aback, sizing up Yang Yi. "You’re here to see the Third Miss? May I ask who you are?"

Yang Yi pondered for a moment, then asked instead, "May I know who owns this place?"

The guard was puzzled. "You’re here to see our Third Miss, but you don’t know this is the Shen family’s property? Who exactly are you?"

Hearing that this was a Shen family property, Yang Yi narrowed his eyes slightly. The Shen family, huh?

Five years ago, it was the Shen family’s betrayal that led to him being found, hunted, and ultimately separated from his daughter for five years.

Their betrayal was also the reason he had to pursue the woman he loved all over again.

So upon hearing the name Shen, his mood soured.

But Shen Xue was still a member of the Shen family.

And if it hadn’t been for those experiences, he might not have succeeded in becoming a king.

Now, in the eyes of a king like him, the Shen family was no more than ants, and he could disregard that old grudge.

After all, as the saying goes, "There is a destined time for everything."

However...

"It’s a shame. I was ready to let go of that grudge, but you all just had to bully my wife!" Thinking back to Shen Xue’s desperate, pleading voice on the phone in the hallway, Yang Yi’s eyes flashed with cold light.

"Hey, you, just who the hell are—"

"I’m Shen Xue’s husband."

Yang Yi glanced at the guard indifferently and said.

The guard was stunned, staring at Yang Yi in disbelief, stammering, "You—you’re the Third Miss’s… No way!"

Saying this, he quickly stepped back, taking out his walkie-talkie to communicate, "This is the guard. There’s someone at the gate claiming to be the Third Miss’s husband..."

After the message was relayed twice, the elder playing chess received the news.

He frowned and glanced at Shen Xue, then sneered disdainfully, "It must be that boy from the Zhou family. To claim to be Xiao Xue’s husband, how absurd!"

The woman chuckled, casting a mocking glance at Shen Xue. "You can’t say that. If Xiao Xue marries into the Zhou family as a concubine to that fool, she might indeed have to serve this young master. Calling him her husband isn’t entirely out of the question."

Beside her, Shen Xue bit her lip so hard that blood began to seep from the corners of her mouth.

The elder showed no reaction to the woman’s words, only saying blandly, "Let him in. After all, the Zhou family is powerful now. Let’s see how arrogant this young one can be."

"The master is always joking. How could a junior dare to be presumptuous before you?" The woman smiled seductively, then spoke into the phone, "Please let Young Master Zhou in, don’t stop him."

Shen Xue closed her eyes, her tightly clenched fists slowly relaxing, her fingertips dripping blood. She paid no attention to it, remaining eerily calm.

At the gate, Yang Yi’s car drove in, but his eyes were filled with hostility as he looked ahead. What did he just hear? That person called him Young Master Zhou?

Yang Yi let out a cold laugh.

In the front seat, Ying San suddenly felt a chill, making it difficult to steer the car steadily.

A few minutes later, Yang Yi’s gaze sharpened as he observed the scene ahead.

The lush green grass swayed in the breeze, and beside an ancient, intricately carved golden nanmu chess table, an elderly man with an immortal-like aura held a black piece in one hand and a white piece in the other, deeply engrossed in his game. Beside him, a beautiful, curvaceous woman was pouring tea for the old man.

Such a beautiful and serene scene!

Yet, in Yang Yi’s eyes, there was only Shen Xue kneeling on the ground, the dirt and blood on her fingertips!

The elder, engrossed in his game, looked every bit the carefree sage with his black and white pieces, but in the next instant, he abruptly dropped the chess piece and straightened up, his expression turning sour.

The beautiful woman, having just finished pouring the tea, looked over with a light smile. However, that smile quickly vanished, replaced by a strange, sinister smirk, her face covered in a frosty demeanor.

Their sudden change was due to the vehicle carrying their Third Miss’s husband, which had driven onto the lawn!

In the silence, Shen Xue suddenly smiled, a radiant and brilliant smile.

But to the elder and the beautiful woman, it was full of sarcasm...