Chapter 15: A Battle of Words Among the Family

Every relative present stared wide-eyed in utter disbelief.

Who could have imagined that the man they all considered a spineless good-for-nothing would dare to unleash such harsh words before everyone?

Lin Shuqi’s face turned an ashen shade. Regaining her senses, she instantly lashed out in fury: “Damn you! You filthy dog, what kind of garbage are you spewing? Do you believe I won’t call someone right now to have your arms and legs broken, so you’ll be a cripple for life?”

Second Aunt refused to be outdone. As the “victim,” she hurled even more vicious insults.

She roared, “You disrespectful little bastard!”

“You make a mess and refuse to admit it, and now you have the nerve to insult me? How could the Lin family ever allow a wretch like you to continue acting out of line?”

“As long as you remain in the Lin family, I, Qian Fei, will never let you go—not until one of us is dead!”

Despite her fierce tirade, the truth was that if Zhang Hao had nodded, Second Aunt would have agreed without hesitation. After all, she was over forty, still in her prime, and her husband, who was always out socializing, was long past his vigor.

“I agree with Shuqi and Afei. This piece of trash absolutely cannot stay in the Lin family any longer.”

“Damn it, he’s just a troublemaker. He’s provoked the Zhang family and still dares to be so arrogant. I can’t wait to see how he meets his end!”

“This is all Xiao Yu’s fault. Hong Yu is so unruly now—she must have spoiled him rotten.”

“Just throw them out. At the very least, that would show the Zhang family where we stand. Maybe then they won’t hold us responsible.”

Yet, despite the barrage of abuse, Hong Yu remained unmoved.

His indifference seemed utterly infuriating in the eyes of the Lin family.

At this moment, Lin Jiahua, usually timid, also stepped forward.

“Hong Yu, do you even consider me your father-in-law? Who gave you the right to be so insolent? Get down on your knees right now and apologize to everyone!”

After shouting, he saw that Hong Yu stubbornly ignored him. With no other choice, Lin Jiahua turned to his daughter. “Xiao Yu, Hong Yu may be brash and ignorant, but you’re not. After causing such a disaster, you owe everyone an explanation. Why don’t you apologize to everyone now…”

Chen Lan was furious. She grabbed Lin Jiahua and snapped in a low, urgent voice, “Are you even a man? Is this how a father should behave?”

“You’re such a useless coward! You can’t even protect your own daughter. Honestly, you’re even more pathetic than Hong Yu.”

Lin Jiahua retorted in anger, “You think I want this? If Hong Yu hadn’t stirred up all this trouble, our family wouldn’t be in this mess!”

While Lin Jiahua and Chen Lan quarreled, Lin Shuyu fell silent.

If the scorn from her relatives had been directed at her alone, she might have felt grief and despair—perhaps even entertained thoughts of ending it all. Yet, no matter what, given her disposition, she would never have bowed her head, let alone apologized to these so-called kin.

But now, it was Hong Yu who bore the brunt of their attacks—and today’s calamity had, in truth, been brought about because of her.

She simply couldn’t bear to see Hong Yu treated so harshly.

Biting her lip, Lin Shuyu realized her relatives would never let Hong Yu go easily, so she steeled herself, deciding that if she must, she would kneel and apologize.

Just as her knees bent slightly, a pair of strong hands caught her.

“Xiao Yu, what are you trying to do?”

“My wife kneels to heaven and earth, but never to men. Don’t be afraid of them,” Hong Yu said, his voice firm. Lin Shuyu, who had almost resented him for stopping her, suddenly felt a strange sense of calm.

For a fleeting moment, she realized that since yesterday, Hong Yu seemed taller, more magnetic than ever.

“Damn you! Still playing the hero?” Zhao Minghui leaped in to curse.

In truth, he had merely been watching the drama unfold. After all, the Zhao family was in Yulong, and no matter how powerful the Zhangs of Fengzhou might be, they couldn’t touch him.

But Hong Yu’s words just now had been so domineering—so much so that Zhao Minghui felt a mixture of envy and resentment. In his view, only someone like himself, the favored son of Yulong, should say such things. Hong Yu, a live-in son-in-law scorned by all, had no right to utter such bold words.

“Fine, fine, Jiahua, are you seeing this? Hong Yu really is your excellent son-in-law.”

“Looks like our Lin family just can’t accommodate deities like you,” Second Aunt snapped from the side.

Lin Jiahua was flustered.

Things were bad enough already, and now Hong Yu, for reasons unknown, was adding fuel to the fire. He truly didn’t know what to say anymore.

“Heh, is it that the Lin family can’t accommodate us, or that you never intended to?”

Hong Yu sneered, “Is Xiao Yu not a member of the Lin family? Why is it that when Zhang Hao tried to lay hands on her, none of you stood by her side? Instead, you kept speaking up for Zhang Hao. Are you Lins or are you Zhangs?”

“And you!” Hong Yu suddenly pointed at Lin Shuqi. “Damn it, that’s your cousin! You actually wanted to send Xiao Yu to the Zhangs? You really are something. Do you think everyone treats their reputation as lightly as you do?”

“You—shut your mouth!” Lin Shuqi was shaking with rage. “What right do you have to judge me? Didn’t you just threaten to send my mother to the Zhangs?”

Hong Yu laughed. “What a double standard. So you can talk all the nonsense you want, but I’m not allowed to fight back? You’ve got some nerve.”

“You—” Lin Shuqi was left speechless, and everyone else was stunned by Hong Yu’s retort.

Were these really the words of the man who usually couldn’t utter a peep?

That useless, despised live-in son-in-law—when did he become so bold?

“Insolence!”

The old patriarch was so furious it took him a moment to catch his breath.

“What’s your status, your generation? As a mere live-in son-in-law, who gave you the courage to speak to your elders this way?”

“Even if your elders are wrong, you should listen and endure it. In all my life, I have never seen a junior so disrespectful of their elders!”

Hong Yu replied disdainfully, “Maybe you just haven’t seen enough. You’re over eighty, yet your thinking is still so childish.”

“It’s one thing to lord your age over people, but I didn’t expect you to be so gullible, too.”

“Lucky for you, fortune once favored you. Otherwise, you’d probably still be a street vendor selling pancakes.”

“You… you…” The old man’s face turned crimson with rage, but Hong Yu had no interest in arguing further.

“No need for this. In a short-sighted family like the Lins, whoever wants to stay can stay.”

“Xiao Yu.”

“Let’s go home.”