Chapter 59: Must Separate

When Chen Fan and the others arrived, Su Yi and Wang Wei had already stepped inside.

Upon seeing the residence, both of them wore expressions of surprise.

Although this house could not compare to the Su estate, it was by no means small, and being located within the county seat of Dongyang County, its value was certainly substantial.

They had never expected that Chen Fan, a penniless young man who had just been released from prison, would actually be able to afford such a property.

"Father, Mother, you're here."

The two sisters walked toward Su Yi and Wang Wei with bright smiles on their faces.

However, Su Yi and Wang Wei currently wore expressions of dissatisfaction.

Last time, not only had the two sisters refused to obey their wishes, but they had also secretly run away from home.

It had caused them a great deal of worry.

In the past, the sisters had never once defied them, let alone sneaked out of the house.

"Hmph."

At the sight of the two sisters, Su Yi and Wang Wei immediately let out cold snorts.

It was evident they were still harboring anger.

Although Yingchun and Xiaxia were very unhappy with the previous actions of Su Yi and Wang Wei, seeing them angry now made the sisters somewhat nervous.

After all, the education they had received since childhood dictated that they should listen to and obey their parents.

"This son-in-law pays his respects to Father-in-law and Mother-in-law."

Just as the two women were wondering what to do, Chen Fan stepped forward and saluted the couple.

When Su Yi and Wang Wei saw Chen Fan, a flicker of anger simultaneously appeared in their eyes.

This was because they believed that the daughter who had always been so obedient until now was only defying them because of Chen Fan.

They both believed their daughter had been corrupted by Chen Fan.

"We wouldn't dare accept such a greeting."

At that moment, Su Yi spoke up directly.

"Father..."

Seeing this, the sisters immediately stepped forward to speak on Chen Fan's behalf, but Su Yi raised a hand to interrupt them.

"Chen Fan, although our Su family is a family of merchants, we have maintained a clean reputation for generations, and none of our kin has ever been imprisoned."

"What qualifications do you, a convicted criminal, have to be the son-in-law of the Su family?"

Su Yi said coldly.

Previously, when Chen Fan had helped the Su family resolve their trouble with the Fan family, Su Yi had thought quite highly of him.

However, Chen Fan had been constantly stirring up trouble lately and had even provoked the county magistrate, which left Su Yi somewhat displeased.

He felt that if Chen Fan continued down this path, he would sooner or later implicate the Su family.

Coupled with the fact that Wang Wei had been constantly whispering in his ear about all of Chen Fan's supposed faults, Su Yi's dissatisfaction with Chen Fan deepened even further.

"You can afford a house like this right after coming out of prison—this money is definitely not obtained through honest means."

"If our daughter continues to follow you, she will undoubtedly be implicated by you sooner or later."

Wang Wei also said with a cold face.

Before coming, Su Yi and Wang Wei had already agreed that, no matter what, they would force Yingchun and Xiaxia to separate from Chen Fan today.

"Father, Mother, you are going too far."

"The reason my husband was imprisoned was because he was wrongfully accused, and his innocence has already been restored."

"Furthermore, the money used to buy this house was earned by selling storybooks, not some dishonorable money."

Before Chen Fan could speak, the two sisters could not help but blurt out.

Yet, upon hearing this, Su Yi and Wang Wei merely sneered.

"If he didn't provoke others, who would wrongfully accuse him?"

"He's only been selling stories for a few days, and already he can afford to buy a house like this? You two are simply too naive and have been deceived by him."

Wang Wei said with a look of utter disdain.

Since the Su family did not dabble in the publishing industry, they had no conception of the immense profit margins involved.

"A housewarming is a major event, yet not a single person has come to congratulate you. Do you still not understand why?"

"It is undoubtedly because Chen Fan usually commits all sorts of misdeeds, and everyone is afraid of being implicated by him."

Su Yi also chimed in coldly.

"Chen Fan, we came here today with only one purpose: you must sever ties with Yingchun and Xiaxia. We have already prepared a letter of annulment."

"As long as you sign it, we will give you one thousand taels of silver. This sum is more than enough for you to live a life of comfort in the countryside for the rest of your days."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Yi drew a document from his robes.

The letter of annulment stated that Yingchun and Xiaxia were casting Chen Fan aside.

Looking at the two of them, who had even prepared the divorce papers in advance, Chen Fan furrowed his brow.

"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, I..."

"Master, a large group of scholars has arrived outside, saying they are here to congratulate you on your housewarming."

Just as Chen Fan was about to speak, Old Fu hurried over and shouted anxiously.

Scholars held a very high status in the Great Xia Dynasty, and there were so many of them that even Old Fu felt somewhat nervous.

Disregarding the fact that Chen Fan was currently speaking with his parents-in-law, he had rushed over to interrupt them.

Hearing this, Chen Fan breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Su Yi and Wang Wei had already made up their minds, and no amount of explanation on his part would suffice.

In the end, it would surely have concluded on a sour note.

Fortunately, Old Fu had arrived at this exact moment to interrupt them, buying Chen Fan some much-needed time to think.

"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, I will go outside to welcome the guests."

With those words, Chen Fan walked out.

"Scholars coming to congratulate a penniless wretch on his housewarming? Could this be just an excuse to deceive us?"

Wang Wei muttered sarcastically.

"Father, Mother, you really are going too far."

Yingchun and Xiaxia now deeply regretted inviting Su Yi and Wang Wei over.

"You two are still young; we are only doing this for your own good. You..."

Su Yi and Wang Wei resumed their attempts to persuade the two women.

Meanwhile, stepping outside the front door, Chen Fan saw a large gathering of scholars—at least a hundred of them.

Every single one of them was holding a gift in their hands.

"We congratulate Mr. Chen on his housewarming. We have prepared humble tokens of our regard to offer our felicitations."

Said a representative among the scholars.

In Chen Fan's eyes, these scholars were walking ingots of silver! Moreover, they had all come bearing gifts; how could Chen Fan possibly refuse?

"Thank you all, please come inside."

With a smile, Chen Fan welcomed them into the estate.

As Su Yi and Wang Wei were inside trying to persuade Yingchun and Xiaxia, they happened to see one scholar after another walking in from the courtyard.

Furthermore, many of these scholars were familiar faces—they were sons of local gentry and the county magistrate, and a few had even attained the rank of *Xiucai* (scholars who passed the imperial county-level examination).

Gazing at the endless stream of scholars, Su Yi and Wang Wei were completely dumbfounded.

Among the wealthy families of Dongyang County, whenever they hosted events, they would invite a few scholars to showcase their social connections and scholarly prestige.

Yet scholars were usually aloof and proud; being able to invite ten or so of them was already considered quite an achievement.

They never expected that well over a hundred would show up for Chen Fan's household.

This was unprecedented in Dongyang County.

"Manager Su, you truly have found a remarkable son-in-law!"

"Manager Su, to have Mr. Chen as your family's son-in-law must be a blessing accumulated over several lifetimes."

...

Every scholar who entered took the initiative to speak respectfully to Su Yi upon seeing him.

Not daring to show disrespect to these scholars, Su Yi could only manage an awkward smile.

"Mr. Chen, there are actually many more of our fellow students who wished to come, but fearing they might burden you, they asked us to represent them."

"Though they could not attend in person, they have all prepared gifts, and we hope you will not disdain them."

At that moment, a scholar produced a long scroll listing the gifts and handed it to Chen Fan.

This statement left Su Yi and Wang Wei even more astonished. Were these scholars not even the full count?

"You are all too kind, please take your seats wherever you wish."

Chen Fan welcomed them with a smile.

Though the courtyard of Chen Fan's house was not small, it suddenly appeared rather crowded with so many people present.

"Father, Mother, do you see now? It's not that no one came to congratulate us; it's just that those who came are all scholars."

The two sisters looked at Su Yi and Wang Wei with an expression of pride.

"Hmph."

"They're just easily swayed by empty words. What use is it to have a bunch of poor, pedantic scholars show up? When trouble strikes, he will still cause trouble."

"In the end, you two will still be the ones implicated."

Su Yi muttered in a low voice.

His tone was so subdued that even Yingchun and Xiaxia could barely hear him, as Su Yi was afraid of being overheard by the scholars.

"Imperial Tutor Fang and Grand Secretariat Liu have arrived."

Just as Su Yi finished speaking, an excited shout echoed from outside.