Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Pan Taining and the other two received the imperial edict demoting them to commoners and wailed, crying out that it was unjust.

But reality didn't care what they wanted, and since the edict had already been issued, there was no taking it back now.

So after their cries and protests, they could only swallow their pride and accept it.

Of course, this was also because the three believed that since their folks and grandparents spoiled them so much, they surely couldn't bear to watch them suffer—they'd definitely slip them money on the down low. That's the only reason they were able to accept it so fast.

"Fine, let them demote us. Even before this, we were already commoners anyway..."

"Grandmother has always doted on me most; she'd never just sit there and watch me suffer..."

"My mother too—she'll definitely have someone secretly bring me money and stuff..."

"I'm the only male heir of the Pan family. Even if my parents and grandparents have to go against the whole world, they'll make sure everything's taken care of for me..."

"Besides, once I'm a commoner, won't I no longer have to go to the Imperial Academy and listen to all that old-fashioned bookish nonsense?!"

After that little pep talk.

Pan Taining, Zhao Yongchang, and Wu Xuelin exchanged glances, their eyes lighting up as they cheered in unison.

But clearly, they were dreaming.

While their parents and grandparents did indeed feel heartache and couldn't bear to see them suffer, their siblings seized the opportunity to "turn their backs" and "kick them while they were down," left and right.

——

The Zhao family estate of the State-Assisting General.

Zhao Yongchang's elder brother—the Zhao Heir—ordered his men to seize all the gold, silver, and valuables Zhao Yongchang had packed up, and chewed him out:

"Zhao Yongchang, the emperor's decree said it plain as day: strip you of everything and kick you out of the family. And you still have the nerve to sneak out gold and silver?"

"With such blatant defiance, if you wanna get yourself killed, that's on you, but don't drag the entire household down with you! Our Li Prince's lineage—the State-Assisting General's mansion—has already become the laughingstock of the entire capital because of you, you plague!"

At these words, Zhao Yongchang shuddered, stumbled back two steps, and stared in disbelief at the brother who used to spoil him rotten. He just couldn't wrap his head around this cruel reality.

His eyes instantly welled up: "Elder Brother... you... you're calling me a plague?"

In the past, aside from his parents and grandparents, his big brother had doted on him the most. Now his big brother was the first to call him a plague—it really broke his heart.

Zhao's sister-in-law stepped up too, her face twisted in disgust as she laid into him: "Zhao Yongchang, if you're not a plague, then what are you? You cause trouble every single day and leave us to clean up your mess. Do you have any idea how many people you've made enemies for this household?"

"Do you really think today's decree just demotes you? No—it demotes our whole mansion!"

"Do you know what happens to a member of the royal family once they fall out of favor with the emperor? Oh... wait, I forgot—a useless piece of trash like you can't even read the Three Character Classic or the Thousand Character Classic, so how would you know!"

The rest of the Zhao family crowded around too, jabbing fingers at Zhao Yongchang and laying into him.

Zhao's mother spoke up through tears, trying to defend him: "Boo-hoo, stop it, stop it. Yongchang's just still young, he hasn't grown up yet. You can't blame him for this..."

Zhao Yongchang's husband also stepped forward to defend his man, begging pitifully: "Big Brother, these things are my dowry. The emperor only punished my husband, not me. My husband's never known hardship in his life—without this money, how's he supposed to get by... Big Brother, please, just bend the rules a little."

"If I cut him slack, who's gonna cut our whole family slack? Don't bring this up again! Brother-in-law, you made your bed, now lie in it. Since you chose to leave with him, from now on you're a commoner too."

"Get out—all of you, get the hell out. If you don't leave now, don't blame me for getting rough."

The Zhao Heir coldly kicked Zhao Yongchang and his whole family out of the mansion.

"Boo-hoo, husband..."

"My lord, young master, what are we gonna do..."

"Waah, Papa, Father..."

The wailing of his husband, kids, and concubines, mixed with the accusations and grumbling all around him, crashed down on Zhao Yongchang like a wave. He stood frozen, a chill running down his spine, his head buzzing.

——

The Wu family.

Wu Xuelin was in the exact same boat right now.

Actually, he was even worse off than Zhao Yongchang.

At least Zhao Yongchang had his husband and concubines willing to stick it out with him—while he... not only did his siblings turn their backs on him, but his husband and concubines were each flying the coop, running faster than anyone else.

Wu's husband said coldly: "Husband, go by yourself. In the past, you lived it up—when did you ever make plans for me and the kids' future? Now that you're in trouble, you deserve to deal with it alone."

His concubines hid their faces behind fake smiles: "Young master, don't worry. We'll stay in the mansion and keep vigil for you, take good care of the kids. You can go out and taste the hardships of the common folk with peace of mind."

Wu Xuelin felt like he'd been struck by lightning, his ears ringing: "..."

He was still alive—who asked his husband and pretty concubines to keep vigil for him?!

——

The Pan family.

Pan's parents and grandparents were indeed loath to let him go.

But the Pan clan elders came knocking, pressuring Pan's dad and mom to immediately adopt a kid from a side branch.

"Second Brother, now that Taining's been kicked out by His Majesty, your branch has no male heir left. How can that be allowed? For the sake of the ancestors' honor and the family line, you need to adopt a kid quick to carry on the bloodline."

"These are a few kids from side branches the clan picked out. Take a look and see which one you like—we'll get the family registry updated today..."

The Pan clan relatives had greedy, scheming looks on their faces, clearly out to swallow up the whole inheritance.

Pan Taining's younger siblings who weren't married yet huddled in the corner in fear, already imagining how the adopted brother would treat them later.

His favorite little brother and sister burst into tears and clung to his arms:

"Brother, don't go... Nanny says they're bad people, that they'll hand me and sister over to old officials as concubines... Brother, we're scared..."

The kids' cries cut Pan Taining's heart like knives.

Pan's dad, mom, and grandparents also looked dejected, like they could already see their old age being miserable under an adopted son.

Pan Taining flew into a rage and charged at the clan elders:

"You old bastards, all of you get the hell out! The emperor only demoted me to commoner and told me to leave the house—he didn't kick me out of the Pan family! I'm still my parents' son, and when the time comes, I'll take care of my parents and grandparents in their old age and give them a proper funeral. No need for any side-branch brats to be adopted in!"

"If you dare mess with my parents, grandparents, or siblings, I'll never let you hear the end of it..."

But his anger and harsh words didn't do a damn thing.

The Pan clan elders sneered and piled on: "The Emperor might not have kicked you out of the clan, but the Pan family will do it ourselves! Someone like you, despised by His Majesty, doesn't deserve to stay on the family tree. From this day forward, you, Pan Taining, are no longer a member of the Pan family."

The branch-family young men waiting nearby to be adopted in also started sneering:

"Pan Taining, who do you think you are? A nobody like you thinks you can take us on? Yeah, keep dreaming..."

"Exactly, you'd better start figuring out how you're gonna feed your wife and kids after leaving the Pan family."

"Don't worry, we may be adopted, but we'll be Uncle and Auntie's real sons now. We'll take real good 'care' of Mom and Dad, and 'look after' the little ones..."

"Thanks for 'making room' for us, cousin Taining, hahaha..."

The taunts and jeers stabbed at his ears like needles, pushing Pan Taining over the edge: "I'll fight you all—"

But it was still useless.

A man with no talent for books or fighting, he ended up getting beaten half to death and tossed out of the Pan estate to fend for himself.

At that moment.

Pan Taining lay in the mud, his heart drowning in bitter regret.

"It's all my fault, all because I was such a screw-up and caused this huge disaster... Father, Mother, Grandfather, Grandmother, little brothers and sisters, my husband... I'm so sorry, it's all my fault, all my fault..."

Pan Taining sobbed and pounded the ground.

He couldn't even bear to imagine how his parents, grandparents, and unmarried siblings would be mistreated after those greedy clan relatives adopted heirs into the family.

He had originally thought that even if he was mediocre and talentless, he could still land some cushy no-show job through family connections and keep the household going.

He didn't need to grind for the imperial exams; being a self-aware, mediocre guy was fine by him.

But who could've guessed disaster would strike out of nowhere like this!

Tears kept streaming down, blurring his vision.

And as if the heavens wanted to pile on too, a heavy rain began to fall at that very moment.

"Rumble—"

"Patter—"

The cold rain hit like needles, stabbing into their skin. Broke and miserable, Pan Taining and the other two could only drag themselves and their families to knock on the Shen family's back door, looking for help from their good buddy.

"Old Pan, Old Zhao, Old Wu... what the hell happened to you guys?"

Shen Huaizhi, who had no idea what was going on, was shocked to see his three brothers in such a sorry state.

After all these years of brotherhood, how could he just stand by and do nothing?

He immediately had the steward set up a guest courtyard to get everyone settled, then asked what on earth had happened.

There was no hiding it, and no point in hiding it anyway. Pan Taining and the other two recounted the situation, then burst into tears together, regretting it beyond measure.

"It's all because we only cared about having fun back then... If we'd actually memorized the academy rules, we wouldn't have been so clueless that we couldn't even recognize the Emperor's own dragon-scale pine, and went and kicked it. And now we've gone and brought down this god-awful disaster on ourselves..."

Shen Huaizhi sympathized deeply, but couldn't help saying: "Your luck really is terrible."

At the same time, he felt a somewhat unkind relief that he had been kept at home studying these days and hadn't been carousing with his brothers—otherwise, he would surely have been one of the unlucky ones too.

After sighing, Shen Huaizhi asked: "So, Old Pan, what do you plan to do next?"

The three said nothing, only looking at him with hopeful, pleading eyes.

Shen Huaizhi: "..."

Wait—these three aren't thinking of bringing their wives, children, and a bunch of concubines to mooch off their brother, are they?!