Zhang Meiyu suddenly became furious and wanted to dismiss Xue Yi.
Seeing this, Tang Yiyi quickly said, "Mom, Xue Yi only made a small oversight. There's no need to dismiss her."
"She's been with us for so many years, like family. Please forgive her this once."
"Like family," these words struck Zhang Meiyu like a blow.
"She's just a servant. How could she be considered family?"
"If she can't even handle a small matter, what's the use of keeping her? Pack your things and leave the Tang family immediately."
"Mom..."
Tang Yiyi tried to persuade further, but was reprimanded by Zhang Meiyu.
"You're always defending her. Do you still have me, your mother, in your eyes? In this household, don't I even have the right to dismiss a servant?"
Tang Zhongcheng sighed and said, "Forget it. It's just a minor issue. Just be more careful next time."
"Xue Yi, you may go."
"Yes, yes."
With Tang Zhongcheng providing an out, Xue Yi quickly left, disappearing from Zhang Meiyu's sight.
It seemed she intended to prevent Zhang Meiyu from dismissing Xue Yi.
Tang Zhongcheng ate with his head bowed, as did everyone else, automatically moving past this brief interruption.
Zhang Meiyu, seething with anger, slammed her chopsticks onto the dining table with a loud clatter.
"Tang Zhongcheng, what do you mean by that?"
It had been years since Zhang Meiyu had addressed Tang Zhongcheng by his full name.
Her doing so now clearly indicated she was utterly enraged.
Tang Zhongcheng looked at Zhang Meiyu and said, "She's just a servant who has worked for us for over a decade. If she hasn't earned merit, she's at least earned our tolerance. No one is perfect, mistakes happen. She'll be more attentive in the future. Why must you be so aggressive?"
The four characters "duō duō bīpó" (aggressive/overbearing), spoken by Tang Zhongcheng to describe Zhang Meiyu, made her understand.
"You've never judged me like this before, no matter what I did. What's wrong today? You're speaking to me like this for an incompetent servant."
"Tang Zhongcheng, what do you mean?"
Tang Zhongcheng found Zhang Meiyu incomprehensible today. Seeing her demeanor, he lost his appetite.
"You're in a bad mood today. Let's discuss this after you've calmed down."
This statement, however, sounded like further prevarication to Zhang Meiyu, as if Tang Zhongcheng was deliberately brushing aside the issue concerning Xue Yi.
"I just don't understand. She's only a servant, yet you're arguing with me like this. Tang Zhongcheng, what is wrong with you?"
*Crash!*
Tang Zhongcheng put down his chopsticks, stood up, and looked at Zhang Meiyu with impatience.
"I think you've lost your mind. You don't know what you're saying."
Tang Zhongcheng, too weary to deal with Zhang Meiyu, went straight up to their room.
Seeing this, Tang Yiyi quickly advised, "Mom, you just got out of the hospital. Don't argue with Dad."
Zhang Meiyu sat down, silent, breathing heavily.
After dinner, back in their room, Zhang Meiyu could no longer hold back and confronted Tang Zhongcheng.
Zhang Meiyu threw the evidence she had gathered – proof of Tang Zhongcheng forging Xue Yi's academic credentials – in front of him, saying furiously,
"Tang Zhongcheng, I gave you some face in front of the children earlier."
"You forged Xue Yi's qualifications from the Butler's Academy. You were the one who replaced the previous butler and hired her. What unspeakable secret do you share with her!"
Tang Zhongcheng stared at the irrefutable evidence, stunned, and speechless.
However, Zhang Meiyu was far from finished.
"Tang Zhongcheng, when I married you, you were just my father's secretary. Without me, you would never have had this good life.
"You're so great, bringing women into our home behind my back.
"My friends even warned me to watch you carefully during my pregnancy. I trusted you and bore you five children. And you? Do you think you've been fair to my sacrifices?"
Tang Zhongcheng looked at the evidence and questioned,
"Where did you get this? Could it be Tang Xiaomin?"
Zhang Meiyu let out a cold laugh.
"Hmph! Tang Xiaomin was more clear-headed than I was. Only I was kept in the dark by you all along."
"Tang Zhongcheng, if you don't want others to know, don't do it. The evidence is here. Are you still not going to admit it!"
The evidence was ironclad.
Tang Zhongcheng hadn't expected Zhang Meiyu to investigate these matters, let alone uncover them.
He didn't know what else Zhang Meiyu might have found, and feared she would continue digging.
After pondering for a moment, Tang Zhongcheng reluctantly nodded and confessed.
"Wife... I'm sorry. I merely made a mistake that many men make. My heart has always been with this family."
Hahahaha...
Zhang Meiyu laughed, then cried, her demeanor manic yet desolate.
No matter how she usually behaved, at this moment, she was just a foolish woman betrayed and deceived by her husband.
"Tang Zhongcheng, you really are something."
"You betrayed me and brought other women into the house, parading them before my eyes. I was like an idiot, deceived by you for ten years!"
How many decades does a person have in a lifetime?
Zhang Meiyu's laughter was filled with utter despair.
As she laughed, she began to weep in pain.
"Tang Zhongcheng, you've failed my youth. You owe me my youth..."
Owe?
How could he repay?
Zhang Meiyu angrily hit Tang Zhongcheng. The blows landed on him, but her heart ached for herself.
"Wife, I know I was wrong, I truly know. It was only those few times during your pregnancies that I was with her. Afterwards, I really wasn't. I slept in our room every night, you know that, wife."
What was the point of saying these things now?
Zhang Meiyu kicked Tang Zhongcheng out of the room.
"Tang Zhongcheng, I will never forgive you. Never!"
Tang Zhongcheng was relegated to the study to sleep.
Taking advantage of the quiet, Xue Yi nervously came to find him.
"Sir, Madam suddenly wants to dismiss me. What should we do?"
Tang Zhongcheng looked at Xue Yi. He hadn't wanted to cause this trouble; it stemmed from a moment of youthful indiscretion.
But now that the trouble had erupted, he had to deal with it.
"Sigh."
Tang Zhongcheng sighed.
"She already knows about you and me."
"Ah?"
Xue Yi's face turned ashen.
"Sir, then what should we do? Madam is proud and won't let me off easily. Sir, please think of a solution."
What solution could Tang Zhongcheng possibly think of now?
"Sigh, pack your things and leave. Go far away, where she can't find you."
Xue Yi hadn't expected Tang Zhongcheng's solution to be her departure.
She had spent over a decade of her life in the Tang family, and now, he was telling her to leave.