Chapter 1329: Chapter 761: Severing Family Ties and Breaking Off Relations, Tearing Off All Pretenses (Part 2)
In that brief moment when he raised his hand to block, You Yunzhi actually lifted her other arm and swung back, landing another slap on him.
A sharp "smackâ".
The sound was crisp and chilling to the bone.
This one was even harder than the first, and it came straight at his face, a frontal strike. You Hongxianâs lip split at the corner, a thin line of blood seeping out, enough to show how much force she used.
"Things have come to this, and you still refuse to admit it. Iâm really, truly disappointed in you."
"How did you become like this!"
You Hongxian had lived to this age and had some standing in Beijing. Being privately scolded was one thing, but in front of so many people, getting slapped and lectured by his own older sister.
His pride, his male self-esteem couldnât handle it; he snapped and yelled at her.
"Youâre disappointed in me? You think Iâm not disappointed in you?"
His face twisted and contorted, like something that had been repressed for a long time suddenly exploding. That terrifying look even made You Yunzhiâs heart jolt.
Si Yushan walked straight over to his wife, ready to shield her behind him, but she pushed him away.
"Youâre disappointed in me? Then tell meâafter all these years, as your elder sister, when have I ever treated you unfairly?" You Yunzhi gave a bitter laugh. "So many people are here today, letâs settle this account properly. What exactly have I done to you, that you, as an uncle, would treat your own niece like this?"
"Uncle..." Since things were already torn apart, he didnât bother to hide anything. "What am I? How do I deserve to be the uncle of the Si Familyâs eldest daughter?"
"You want me to treat her like my own niece, then what about you?"
"Did you treat my son like your own nephew? Heâs about to go to prison, I begged you to help, to save himâdid you?"
"You watched him die without lifting a finger, and even warned me off for the sake of some unrelated outsider. Itâs not you whoâs disappointed in me, itâs me whoâs utterly disappointed in you!"
As You Hongxian spoke, he even raised his hand to point at Jiang Chengsi, clearly marking him as that "unrelated outsider."
The crowd let out another round of sighs and murmurs.
Honestly, Jiang Chengsi had just been standing to the side watching the show for a long time without saying a word. How did he end up so involved in the whole thing, like heâd been in the drama from start to finish.
You Yunzhi helplessly pulled at the corner of her mouth.
"You wanted me to save Shenmingâyour feelings I can understand. But how exactly did you expect me to save him?"
"He committed premeditated murder. The other side only sued him for intentional injury; thatâs already an extremely lenient charge. And you still want me to pull strings for you? What strings am I supposed to pull? The Si Family just has some money; being surnamed Si doesnât mean we can control the judiciary."
"Shenming ended up like this, and as his father you bear a huge part of the responsibility. Have you ever reflected on yourself? In your eyes itâs always someone elseâeveryone else owes you. Have you ever properly said âsorryâ to Old Master Shen, to Shen Shuci, to Tang Wan?"
"You donât conduct yourself properly and still shove the blame onto others? If you could quietly examine your own faults and truly reflect, I might be willing to run around the Shen Family on your behalf. But thatâs not the case..."
"You refuse to bow your head, and just expect me to go begging for you! Have you completely mixed up what comes first and what comes after?"
Fire was burning in You Yunzhiâs chest as well. Once she finished, everyone understood the situation clearly.
The root of it all was that she hadnât gone to save that bastard son of You Hongxianâs.
You Hongxianâs face went pale then livid at her words, the red handprint on his cheek stark and bloody, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
"You say Iâm shielding an outsider? Then I want to ask youâwhen you wanted toäșć leniency for Shenming, what exactly did you do in the process?"
"You ran off to Pingjiang to harass the Tang Family, got thrown out, and then you shoved all the blame onto an innocent junior."
"You think I donât know anything? Still trying to talk your way out of it in front of me! Donât you feel the slightest bit ashamed?"
...
You Yunzhiâs expression was agitatedâangry, burning, furious, but underneath it all was a bitter disappointment in him for not living up to expectations.
You Hongxian knew that on this matter, he had no moral high ground. He clenched his teeth, then suddenly jumped to another point, blurting out:
"Anyway, all these years, you and my brother-in-law have never thought much of me!"
He didnât respond directly to You Yunzhiâs accusations; instead, he deliberately shifted the focus.
Hearing that, You Yunzhi was even more enraged. She was just about to speak when Si Yushan tugged her behind him. "What did you say? Your sister and I never thought much of you?"
"Because I look down on you, we didnât help your son, so you decided to go after my daughter?"
"You Hongxian, donât forget who gave you everything you have today. To put it bluntly, without the Si Family, what the hell are you?"
Si Yushanâs words were far more blunt than You Yunzhiâs.
They were simple, crude, vicious, and satisfying.
They even drew open snickers from the people below:
"What the Si Familyâs given him still isnât enough? Says the Si Family looks down on him? If youâve got the guts, then donât rely on them. Youâve eaten up all the benefits that came from them and now you turn around and kick themâwhat a damn ungrateful wolf."