Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

Chen Wenyuan's wrist ached from being gripped so tightly, and upon hearing Chen Chang'an's outrageous words, he was so angry that his vision blurred, and he pointed at Chen Chang'an, unable to utter a single word.

Chen Chang'an looked at him indifferently.

In the past, when she was in the Chen family, she always yielded and kept to her proper place.

In return, he suffered from hunger, living alone in a secluded courtyard, and being bullied at will by even the servants.

This body used to be very weak, precisely because of years of malnutrition and melancholy.

Now that he has broken free from the Chen family's shackles and his business is about to take off, with a promising future, he naturally doesn't want to have anything to do with them anymore.

As more and more people gathered to watch, Chen Chang'an looked at Chen Wenyuan and sneered.

"While my mother was still bedridden and on her deathbed, you disregarded your wife and children and turned to curry favor with the daughter of the Grand Tutor. Do you have even a shred of marital affection for her?"

"My mother passed away less than a year ago, and you became the Grand Tutor's son-in-law, using your father-in-law's power to rise through the ranks to the position of Vice Minister of Personnel. Do you have even a shred of basic human decency?"

"During my years in the Chen family, I suffered endless bullying from my stepmother, Zhao. She made me live in the woodshed and eat leftovers. The servants in the Chen family showed me no respect whatsoever. As your father, you stood by and watched this with indifference. Do you have even the slightest bit of the demeanor of a father?"

"Lord Chen, tell me, does a father like you have the right to lecture me?"

Upon hearing this, the onlookers became even more excited.

"The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel?"

"This official is actually the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel..."

"Wow, this is going to be interesting!"

……

Chen Chang'an looked at Chen Wenyuan, whose face was ashen, and continued, "The reason I was kicked out of the Chen family was because my stepmother, Zhao, couldn't tolerate me. She instructed her niece, Zhao Wan'er, to frame me, saying that I had molested her, in an attempt to ruin my reputation..."

"As a father, you disowned me without even hearing the facts, simply because you believed the one-sided story of outsiders. Lord Chen, what a terrible father you are!"

"You all just want to give up my engagement with the princess to Chen Wenxuan, right? I don't want this engagement anymore. And stop acting like a father in front of me, lecturing me like that..."

Upon hearing Chen Chang'an's words, the onlookers immediately erupted in uproar, pointing and whispering about Chen Wenyuan.

"How could the current Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel be so heartless and ungrateful?"

"His first wife had just passed away, and he immediately married the Grand Tutor's daughter, mistreating his own son. What kind of father is that!"

"With a character like that, he's definitely a corrupt official!"

"The imperial court should thoroughly investigate him!"

Amidst the murmurs of conversation, and feeling the disdainful gazes of the crowd, Chen Wenyuan's face flushed red. He shouted, "Nonsense! Utter nonsense! Don't listen to this unfilial son's rubbish!"

Chen Chang'an looked at the onlookers and chuckled, saying, "Everyone in the Chen household knows whether I'm talking nonsense or not. You can find out by asking around..."

"You unfilial son, you rebellious son!"

Chen Wenyuan tried desperately to break free of Chen Chang'an's grip, but Chen Chang'an held him tightly.

He grew increasingly furious, turning to the three stewards behind him and shouting, "What are you all standing there for? Come here and seize this disobedient and unfilial brat!"

The three servants received orders and immediately surrounded Chen Chang'an.

Chen Chang'an glanced at the three of them. Although Qing Shuang was not present this time, he was not flustered at all, and even seemed eager to try.

The three servants exchanged a glance and then pounced on Chen Chang'an.

Chen Chang'an took a deep breath and immediately activated his internal energy.

Although he had only cultivated his inner energy for a day, he was no longer the weakling who could be bullied by others.

Faced with the three men's attack, he dodged to the side, avoiding one of their fists, and then struck the man's shoulder with a palm strike, a powerful force surging from his palm.

The servant groaned, staggered back seven or eight steps, and fell to the ground with a thud, clutching his arm and groaning in pain.

"Oh no, my hand! My hand is broken!"

The other two were stunned for a moment, not expecting that their usually weak and easily bullied young master would actually be so strong.

They quickly came to their senses and flanked from the left and right.

However, in Chen Chang'an's eyes now, their speed was far too slow.

Chen Chang'an kicked the knee of the servant on the left with his left foot, and elbowed the servant on the right in the chest with his right elbow.

With two swift and clean moves, the two servants fell to the ground one after the other, one clutching his leg and the other covering his chest, groaning incessantly, unable to get up again.

Gasps of surprise came from the surrounding crowd.

"That young man is incredibly strong!"

"He looks so skinny and weak, I never expected him to be a trained fighter!"

"Well done! These lackeys deserve it!"

Chen Chang'an stood still and looked down at his hands.

He hadn't expected that the internal energy cultivated through the Breaking Army Technique could have such an effect.

Even though I only trained for one day, my strength increased several times over.

If he continues training at this pace, in a few months he might actually be able to scale walls and rooftops.

Chen Wenyuan stood there dumbfounded, witnessing this unbelievable scene.

The three servants he brought were all taken down by Chen Chang'an alone?

When did this rebellious son become so powerful?

Chen Chang'an raised his head, his gaze returning to Chen Wenyuan.

Chen Wenyuan's lips trembled as he tried to say something, but his words were drowned out by the murmurs of the surrounding crowd.

"A high-ranking official like yourself, leading people to bully his own son—he's shameless!"

"According to what that boy said, his stepmother couldn't stand him and kicked him out."

"No wonder this boy would rather live in a dilapidated house outside than go home. His stepmother bullies him, and his father doesn't care. He's so pitiful..."

"How can someone like that be appointed as a vice minister? Doesn't the Ministry of Personnel assess the character of its officials?"

"He's the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel; who dares to examine him?"

……

Chen Wenyuan's face flushed red and then paled. He cared most about his reputation, and finally lowered his voice, gritting his teeth, "Chang'an, you...you come back to the manor with me. We'll talk about it when we get back!"

Chen Chang'an looked at him calmly and shook his head, saying, "I've already said that from the day you kicked me out of the Chen family, I have nothing to do with your family anymore. If you, Lord Chen, continue to pester me, don't blame me for being impolite next time!"

After saying this, he turned around, pushed open the courtyard gate, and stepped inside.

boom.

The courtyard gate slammed shut.

Chen Wenyuan stood outside the door, his face ashen, his chest heaving violently.

He, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Personnel, was ridiculed in the street by his own son and pointed at and gossiped about by a group of ordinary people.

But even in his anger, he knew he couldn't stay there any longer.

He pointed at Chen Chang'an's courtyard gate and roared, "You unfilial son, you said it yourself! From this day forward, our father-son relationship is severed. Whether you live or die outside is none of my business!"

Then, he turned around and, with three servants who had scrambled to their feet in a disheveled state, quickly left amidst the pointing fingers of the crowd.

Across the street, in a teahouse, a man wearing a straw hat slowly put down his teacup, revealing half of his face.

He glanced at Chen Chang'an's courtyard gate, then at the direction Chen Wenyuan had gone, before rising and disappearing into the crowd...