Lily Evans looked up at Marquis Weiyuan and couldn't help but find it amusing to see him so meek and submissive.
Marquis Weiyuan, who always thought himself above everyone else, now had to plead with a country bumpkin like her. How the tables have turned—truly ironic!
Lily Evans simply put down the account book, too lazy to spar with Marquis Weiyuan, and said bluntly, "Marquis, let's not beat around the bush. You and Madam Lou miss Alexander Hayes? I don't think so. Alexander Hayes grew up in your household and was always neglected. As parents, you never showed him any warmth. Now, the reason you don't want Alexander Hayes to move out isn't because you'll miss him, but because you're afraid that without him, the Marquis's residence will lose its backing. Those opportunists in the capital won't flatter you like they used to, will they?"
Marquis Weiyuan's face instantly turned ashen, his throat felt blocked, and whatever he wanted to say got stuck there.
Lily Evans sneered, "Marquis, you just want to use Alexander Hayes's influence to make others respect you. You have no real fatherly feelings for him, so why pretend to be reluctant? Isn't it disgusting? Let me be honest: moving out wasn't my idea—I never brought it up. It was Alexander Hayes's own plan. You and Madam Lou know perfectly well how you've treated him all these years. As parents, you've never acted like parents, so don't blame your son for not being close to you or acting like a real son should."
Marquis Weiyuan stared at Lily Evans, unwilling to accept it, wanting to argue, but was blocked by Lily Evans again.
"Marquis, don't ask me to plead for you. You tried to harm my mother, maybe you want to harm me too. Living under the same roof with two people who wish me dead, how could I ever feel safe? When I have children, who knows if you'll try to hurt them as well? I'm not stupid—why stay and let you stab me in the back?" Lily Evans shot Marquis Weiyuan a disdainful look and picked up the account book again. "What's done is done. What's the point of talking now? If you'd known this would happen, why did you act that way before? Am I right, Marquis? You should just leave. Someone, see the guest out."
"You, Lily, that's not..." Marquis Weiyuan tried to say something, but two guards forcibly escorted him out.
Standing outside the courtyard, Marquis Weiyuan stared blankly at it, his face full of defeat.
Now even Lily Evans's guards could throw him out—being Marquis Weiyuan felt utterly humiliating!
He was deeply unwilling, but what could he do? All his glory depended on having a capable son, Alexander Hayes. Now Alexander Hayes sides with his wife’s family and draws a clear line with him, nearly severing their father-son relationship. Without his son as support, what does Marquis Weiyuan have left?
If Lily Evans wanted to give him a hard time, he had to take it; if she wanted to show him a cold face, he had to accept it; if she snubbed him, he had to endure it.
Not only that, he had to coax Lily Evans with kind words and humble himself, but she still ignored him.
Thinking ahead, when Lily Evans has children, they'll inherit Alexander Hayes's title and glory. Lily Evans's children will side with her, not their grandparents. Does that mean he has to live under Lily Evans's thumb now, and later under her children's as well?
Imagining his twilight years spent under the shadow of Lily Evans and her children, Marquis Weiyuan felt nothing but darkness, despair, and regret.
If only he hadn't listened to Madam Lou—he should've built a good relationship with Lily Evans. Things wouldn't be this miserable now. Ah, regret!