"Zi Xia, did your family head make an enemy?" Wen Mohan inquired.
Zi Xia gritted her teeth and looked up at Wen Mohan. "Lord Wen, can you break off your engagement with Princess Yongning?"
Wen Mohan frowned, his expression turning cold. "Presumptuous! My affairs are not for you to comment on."
"But, the family head became like this after visiting the General's mansion. Do you still insist on marrying Princess Yongning?" Zi Xia's eyes welled up with tears. The family head's admiration for Young Master Wen was a secret that could not be spoken. The family head had already worked hard enough, why didn't Young Master Wen understand the family head?
"Are you saying Cen Yu was injured at the General's mansion?" Wen Mohan asked, puzzled. "What was he doing there?"
"The family head was worried about your future prospects and went to the General's mansion to persuade Princess Yongning to break off her engagement with you..."
Upon hearing this, Wen Mohan's anger flared. He had given up everything to be engaged to Xiao Man, yet Cen Yu wanted Xiao Man to break it off. Did he have to trample on his feelings like this?
"I will not break off my engagement with Xiao Man!" Wen Mohan stated word by word. "My future prospects are worthless to me. I only need Xiao Man."
Zi Xia stared at Wen Mohan in astonishment and asked foolishly, "Then what about the family head?"
Wen Mohan was stunned by the question and remained silent for a long time. Just as he didn't know how to answer, Cen Yu woke up. Seeing Wen Mohan sitting by his bedside, he struggled to sit up.
"Don't move, you're seriously injured."
Cen Yu had no choice but to lie back down. "I've caused you worry."
"Did Man'er injure you?"
Cen Yu shook his head. "It was General Xiao Zhen."
Wen Mohan understood. The Great General loved his daughter dearly. Xiao Man had walked the capital with impunity since she was young, always under the Great General's protection. In the past two years, Xiao Man had been injured frequently, and Xiao Zhen was on the verge of an explosive rage. At this critical moment, Cen Yu had bumped into him and injured Xiao Man so severely. The Great General must have wanted to tear Cen Yu apart.
"From now on, don't go near Xiao Man again," Wen Mohan said softly. "I don't want to see her hurt again. It pains me more than gouging out my heart."
Cen Yu struggled to sit up. "Mohan, she doesn't love you at all. She agreed to your proposal merely to use you and avoid a marriage alliance!"
"Today is the last time I will visit you. From now on, let us sever ties." Wen Mohan's voice was full of resolve. The friendship between him and Cen Yu had reached its end, and he wanted to give them both a final shred of dignity.
"Mohan, are you going to abandon me, your brother, for a woman?" Cen Yu grabbed Wen Mohan's arm. "You can't do this to me!"
Wen Mohan brushed away Cen Yu's hand. "This is the last bit of dignity I give you after years of brotherhood."
"Mohan, don't do this to me!" Cen Yu clutched Wen Mohan's sleeve, like a drowning person clinging to the last straw.
Wen Mohan glanced at the sleeve being held by Cen Yu, then took out the dagger at his waist and cut off his robe. "From today onwards, I, Wen Mohan, sever our ties. From now on, you go your way, and I'll go mine. If you ever harm Xiao Man again, I will show no mercy!"
Cen Yu clutched the half-sleeve in his hand and watched Wen Mohan's heartless departure, despair overwhelming him. It shouldn't be like this!
Xiao Man had not lied. In just ten days, the Cen family, once the richest in the capital, had become heavily indebted and desolate.
Cen Yu looked at the messy state of the mansion, his heart growing cold. He had never imagined he was such a failure that even his servants would step on him in his time of need.
"Family Head, please don't be too upset. Wealth is external. With your abilities, the Cen family will soon return to its former glory," Zi Xia tried to comfort him. Now, only a few people remained in the Cen family. The members of the other branches had taken their silver and left the capital to find work elsewhere.
The servants of the mansion, taking advantage of the family head's severe illness, had taken everything valuable in the mansion. Now, the Cen mansion no longer possessed its former wealth and glory, only decay and desolation.
"It's good that they left. Zi Xia, you should leave too." Cen Yu thought for a moment, then took off the jade pendant he wore at his waist and handed it to Zi Xia. "I have nothing valuable to give you, but this jade pendant is of good quality. If you pawn it, you can get quite a bit of money."
"Family Head, I'm not leaving. I will stay with the family head." Zi Xia shook her head. "Your injuries haven't healed yet, and you need care. Please, don't send me away."
"The Cen family has fallen. There's no use in you staying by my side, and I can't afford to pay you wages."
"It's alright. Zi Xia doesn't need wages. I can eat less, as long as the family head doesn't drive me away." Zi Xia knelt at Cen Yu's feet. "Family Head, you must pull yourself together. Everything will get better."
Cen Yu helped Zi Xia up. Fortunately, there was still one loyal person who chose to stay by his side even as he fell to the bottom. At least he wasn't a complete failure.
"Zi Xia, my enemies are powerful. If you continue to follow me, you might lose your life." Cen Yu asked gently. "Even so, will you still follow me?"
"Yes!" Zi Xia replied without hesitation. "Wherever the family head goes, Zi Xia will go."
"You're a good person." Cen Yu patted Zi Xia's shoulder and placed the jade pendant in her hand. "Keep this jade pendant too. The mansion is lacking in food and clothing, and money is needed everywhere. There are probably no more valuables left in the mansion. Pack a few changes of clothes and sell this house."
"Family Head, if we sell the house, where will you live?"
"The two of us don't need such a large mansion. Having some hard cash on hand is more stable." Cen Yu's face was pale due to his injuries, and his long hair cascaded behind him, giving him the appearance of a beautiful invalid. "Now, you are the only one I can rely on. After selling this house, rent a small courtyard with two entrances. It will be enough for us to live in."
"Yes, Family Head."
Zi Xia took the property deed and left. The Cen family mansion was very large and could have been sold for a high price. However, due to the consecutive misfortunes of the Cen family, when Zi Xia went to sell the house, she was maliciously offered a low price. Zi Xia was both angry and helpless, so she had no choice but to sell the Cen mansion at a low price. She found a secluded small courtyard and rented it, bringing Cen Yu there to recuperate.
Cen Yu looked at the simple courtyard, as if returning to many years ago when he and his mother lived in a dilapidated and remote courtyard. One day, his heartless father appeared at their courtyard. He thought his father had come to take them away, but instead, the person he called father, for a trade permit, sent him to the mansion of a certain lord as a plaything!
"Family Head, you have suffered."
"I have not suffered. This place is fine. One day, I will take back everything that belongs to me!"