Gu Shengyin looked at Old Master Yan with a placid expression, "After the former dynasty was overthrown, the ritual of kneeling was abolished. May I ask, father, which rules are you referring to?"
Old Master Yan lifted his hand and swept the teacup at his side to the ground; the tea splashed onto the hem of Gu Shengyin’s skirt.
What a pity, she thought. This was one of her favorite skirts.
Old Master Yan acted as if he had never known this daughter of his, "Look at yourself, look what you have become! A few years outside and you think your wings are strong, you don’t even recognize your own father anymore, right? No wonder the Loo Family despises you!"
Gu Shengyin sneered in her heart. Her own daughter, bullied by her in-laws, yet the first thing he blamed was the daughter.
In Old Master Yan’s eyes, if a woman is not liked by her husband, it must inevitably be her own fault.
She had already anticipated what she would face upon returning home, which was the reason she had been unwilling to return to the Yan Family after divorcing Loo Zijun.
Yan Ruohua was willing to endure it back then, but Gu Shengyin was not.
She looked straight at Old Master Yan, "Father, I have been married in the Loo Family for two years, always following your teachings, being a virtuous wife. I dared not step out of line, I even dared not proclaim the fact that I can read. But do you know what I received in return? Two years! For the whole two years, Loo Zijun never once entered my room. The number of times we met over the two years of our marriage can be counted on one hand. The most recent meeting was when he took a fancy to an actress and wanted me to give up my place for her."
"What wrong did I do? None! He wouldn’t even give me the basic dignity. In the Loo Family, even a maid laughed at me behind my back."
Gu Shengyin said in an even tone with her final words, "Father, what do you think I should do to be at my best?"
Old Master Yan had already been infuriated by her speech and stood up abruptly; he had never been defied before.
He extended his trembling finger and pointed at Gu Shengyin for a long while, unable to say a word.
Madam Yan hastily got up to pat his back but was pushed aside forcefully, "Get out! Look at the fine daughter you’ve given birth to!"
Madam Yan looked to be not much over forty, with gentle and timid eyes and brows. It seemed she was a beauty in her youth and Yan Ruohua had inherited her looks.
She was a person without her own opinions, after marriage relying entirely on her husband for survival. If Old Master Yan said to turn east, she would never dare to turn west.
Being shamed in front of her daughter left her feeling embarrassed, but more than that, she was worried about her daughter.
"Ruohua, don’t be mad at your father, quickly apologize to him," she said.
Gu Shengyin couldn’t get angry at her; this woman had been educated since childhood and lived in an environment that molded her into someone inherently timid.
Gu Shengyin lowered her eyes, "Daughter does not know where she has erred, I beg mother to enlighten me."
"This..." Madam Yan was at a loss for words. Seeing her husband’s anger, apologizing had become her habit. She had never considered whether she needed to apologize, or why she should.
Living so humbly and subserviently was indeed pitiable.
Old Master Yan had finally calmed down somewhat. His eyes, sharp as a sword, swept towards Gu Shengyin, "If you truly wanted to save face, you should have died by crashing your head when the Loo Family wanted to divorce you! That would have earned a Chastity Arch for the girls of our Yan Family!"