Chapter 1: Perplexity

  Liu'er was so frightened by their commotion that she trembled all over. The young master's behavior today was beyond everyone's expectations. If people didn't believe the young master had already woken up, they would naturally point their fingers at her. Gao Jian questioning her like this made it clear he didn't believe the young master had recovered his normal mental faculties, or else he wouldn't have bypassed Gao Huaiyuan to ask her directly!

  But by this time, Liu'er had no way to retreat, so she gritted her teeth and bowed her head, saying: "In response to Master's words, the Third Young Master's words today are all true, and these words were not taught by me! The Young Master is no longer like before, the Third Young Master has regained his senses! Please, Master, understand!"

  Gao Huaiyuan was disappointed with his father's performance after hearing Gao Jian's words. This old man actually interrogated Liu'er like this, obviously not believing in himself! At this point, he knew that if he couldn't prove that he had recovered his sanity today, no one would believe him, and in the end, Liu'er would still have to take responsibility for his crime. Anyway, things had come to this, wanting to stand firm here was impossible by being foolish! His father's bias was very obvious, he could only argue with reason to turn the disadvantage around!

  After thinking clearly about these things, he suddenly walked a few steps forward and said loudly to Gao Jian: "Father, please listen to me, this matter has nothing to do with Liu Er!"

  The child knows that he was crazy and silly in the past, not making everyone like him. The child doesn't blame others for this, but what the child wants to tell his father now is that the child is no longer the fool he used to be. Now the child has a clear mind about what he says and does!

  Today's events I made very clear, this small servant dared to speak out of turn to me, and treated me like a fool, opening his mouth to scold, raising his hand to hit! No matter how lowly I am, even if I'm still a fool, I am your son, how can you let a servant humiliate your son at will? If that gets out, where is the face of the Gao family?

  In the past, I was foolish and didn't know what's good or bad, so be it! But now I'm no longer foolish. I don't ask for your love, Father, but as a member of the Gao family, I should have my own dignity! Although I may not have won your favor, the blood flowing through my veins is still that of the Gao family. No matter what, I am still your son!

  Liu'er was the personal maid assigned to me by Father when I was young, she is my exclusive servant, no one has the right to order her around or scold her. These past few days, after I got injured, if it wasn't for Liu'er, I would have probably died in that small courtyard already. My life was saved by Liu'er, but what did she get? Liu'er! Roll up your sleeves!

  Gao Huaiyuan was truly enraged, anyway things had reached this point, he had already offended the arrogant Li family, so now he didn't care about saving face or not. At worst, he wouldn't live in the Gao household anymore, and taking Liu'er away would be it. He didn't believe there wasn't a place in the world where he could make a living. So he turned around, speaking as he turned to grab one of Liu'er's arms, lifting her sleeve to reveal her small arm to everyone present.

  Everyone was shocked by Gao Huaiyuan's words, and they all felt as if they were still in a dream. A foolish young man had suddenly spoken out so boldly, which was beyond their expectations. As a result, everyone's thoughts involuntarily followed what Gao Huaiyuan had said. When Gao Huaiyuan lifted up Liu'er's sleeve, the crowd looked over and couldn't help but gasp in unison. They saw that Liu'er's slender arm was covered in scars, some of which were clearly from being whipped with a willow branch, while others were obviously hand-pinched purple marks! The crowd then turned to look at Li Shi standing beside them.

  Liu'er's small hand was tightly grasped by Gao Huaiyuan, and she couldn't cover it up even if she wanted to. She also knew that today, Gao Huaiyuan had already decided to make sacrifices for her. Remembering the various grievances she had suffered in the Gao Manor over the years, Liu'er couldn't help but shed two lines of hot tears, hung her head low and started sobbing softly.

  Li's face immediately turned liver-colored, she didn't expect that today Gao Huaiyuan suddenly became a sensible person. Originally in her opinion, today Gao Huaiyuan was like someone who had taken the wrong medicine, beating up one of her underlings severely and reporting to Gao Jian, saying that no matter what, he must be severely punished and that little slut Liu Er must be dealt with harshly, to vent her anger. But she never expected things to change so drastically. At this moment, Gao Huaiyuan didn't have a single stupid look on his face, even she, who thought herself clever, felt speechless after hearing Gao Huaiyuan's words. The fact that she had been beating Liu Er for no reason during this time was not hidden from anyone, so everyone in the Gao household knew where the scars on Liu Er came from!

  Gao Huaiyuan suddenly launched a devastating counterattack, leaving her completely unprepared and without any room to fight back, so she immediately froze on the spot.

  "Hmph! There's something that doesn't make sense to me. Liu'er has been taking care of me with great care and dedication in the manor, but someone wants to treat her so cruelly? What did she do wrong? Isn't it because of my own foolishness in the past? It's precisely because of my past foolishness that everyone in the manor looks down on Liu'er, treating her as if she doesn't exist! They can do whatever they want to her! If I hadn't stopped them today, who knows what would have happened to Liu'er again!"

  This rascal was indeed beaten by me, but I was acting as a master to discipline an insolent servant, what's wrong with that? If Father thinks I've done something wrong and wants to punish me, then go ahead and punish me! I'm willing to take Liu'er and leave this place, and from now on, I won't bother any of you again. This matter has nothing to do with Liu'er, it was all my doing!

  And today, I'm going to say something ugly upfront. If anyone dares to bully me and Liu'er again in the future, I'll risk my life to not let them off! Gao Huaiyuan loudly said this while staring angrily at Li Shi, taking slow steps towards him, his eyes burning with fierce anger, his fists clenched together involuntarily once more, like a mad tiger, as if he was about to pounce on someone. Suddenly, an aura that made people dare not look directly at him emanated from all over his body.

  After hearing Gao Huaiyuan's words, Liu Er suddenly couldn't bear it anymore and burst into loud sobs. The whole room was stunned by Gao Huaiyuan's momentum, this matter had already exceeded their understanding range, was this still the silly boy from before?

  "You... don't come over! Don't come over! You... you... this is outrageous, this isn't... isn't me..." Li was stared at by Gao Huaiyuan's eyes that contained anger, and her whole body felt a bit hairy, afraid that he would pounce on her and fight. So she involuntarily retreated a few steps, filled with fear and uncontrollable anger in her heart, her lips trembling as she pointed at Gao Huaiyuan and stuttered. She wanted to threaten Gao Huaiyuan, but the feeling was so weak. She wanted to defend herself, but the words couldn't be defended."

  Gao Huaiyan released Liu'er's arm, his eyes fixed on Li Shi, and took two more steps towards her. After stopping, he sneered: "I said this was done by you, Mother Li? Why do you need to be so guilty?" With one sentence, he shut Li Shi down.

  Li was so frightened by Gao Huaiyuan that she took two steps back, and was so angry that she almost fainted on the spot. She was furious and wanted to pounce over and tear Gao Huaiyuan's mouth apart, but looking at his intimidating demeanor, she didn't dare to be arrogant again.

  "Third Brother, you dare to be rude to your stepmother! Get out of here immediately and shut up! I've already understood the situation, there's no need for any of you to say anything else! Guards, take this insolent whelp who doesn't know his place away and prepare him for family punishment! Thirty strokes of the rod, then throw him out of the Gao household, never to be allowed back in again!"

  Seeing Gao Huaiyuan like a furious rooster, it seemed that the next moment he might pounce over and tear Li apart. Gao Jian was worried that if Gao Huaiyuan started acting foolishly again and really pounced over to violently beat Li, then his family would be completely thrown into chaos! In order to prevent things from developing to an uncontrollable extent, he hastily spoke out to stop Gao Huaiyuan.

  He didn't need to ask about this matter, and he knew it was the fault of this little servant. Even if he didn't get along with this foolish child, it wasn't up to a subordinate like him to insult his own son. In any case, Gao Huaiyuan beating this little servant was justified. If he had supported Li Shi instead and punished Gao Huaiyuan, that would have damaged his reputation. If word got out, the people of Shaoxing Prefecture might ridicule him mercilessly. If his colleagues found out, it would be enough to make them mock him for the rest of his life, using this incident as a handle to do so.

  So Gao Jian didn't hesitate to deal with the little servant, shifting everyone's attention to him, but not pursuing what Li had done. In fact, he was still maintaining Li's interests, and this time the little servant could only be used as a scapegoat and sacrificed.

  To be honest, Gao Jian was also shocked by Gao Huaiyuan's performance today. Gao Jian's mind is very confused now, and his mood is also very complicated. Although he doesn't like Gao Huaiyuan as a son, after all, the Gao Huaiyuan in front of him is still his own flesh and blood, with the blood of the Gao family flowing through his veins, his biological son. In the past, he was an idiot, so neither he nor the people in the mansion paid attention to him, which can be excused, but from a moral point of view, their behavior is not justified!