Chapter 4

Wei Yichen got up and went out to eat lunch. They had always eaten together. Song Yuhua also never objected, as she could show off the 'family' affection and make him feel like he totally didn't belong there.

It has been like this since his mother passed away. Literally none of the people there are actually his family. He understood it belatedly. Well, better than never.

As soon as he reached the dining hall, he heard the jolly voices inside. The sounds of laughter and conversation in the dining hall echoed around him. 

He sometimes wondered whether someone could always be this happy or if it was just for people to see.

As always he entered and sat down after a perfunctorily short greeting. Nobody bothered about him either. As they were even more uninterested in Wei Yichen.

The shared meals, once a symbol of family, now felt like a staged act. Song Yuhua's smiles seemed rehearsed, pushing him further into isolation.

In the past, he used to try and fit in so hard. He tried to laugh and converse at their wavelength.

But it was simply impossible, as they didn't want to get him involved in the least. It is said that you can wake up a sleeping person but not the one who pretends to sleep. He didn't have a sense at that time that, a relationship takes effort from both parties. Eventually, he stopped trying so hard over the years.

Today he observed them and understood yet again how insignificant he was in their eyes. There has always been an imperceptible pain in his heart at not being accepted in his own family, but today he slowly loosened the hand on this feeling.

These days were really an eye-opener for him. Actually, he should have noticed it a long time ago but he was so used to the treatment that he forgot to even resist until he was put in an actual life-and-death crisis.

He silently finished his meal and got up to leave without waiting for everyone to finish. He observed, and there was no reaction except his father narrowing his brows and relaxing it in the next second, but didn't say anything, as if it wasn't worth it to say anything to him. Even usually glib Song Yuhua didn't say anything. She was probably happy that he finally left their family of three alone.

This made him give up the last strand of the residual pain in his heart and the expectation he had of them. It was stupid to expect anything in the first place. 'Well forget it. He'll need to move on, and this just makes him more disappointed in them. Which in a sense is good for him?' Wei Yichen thought with a self-deprecating smile.

On the way back he went slowly, feeling light. It seems it's good to let go of some things. He thought.

**

Stepping into his courtyard, Wei Yichen beaconed Shi Yu. Shi Yu arranged servants according to his master's orders. He has always kept Wei Yichen's safety his topmost priority, hence he has always been keeping note of all the servant's behaviors.

Especially those who seem to come in search of information. But he never overstepped his boundaries and said anything about them to Wei Yichen.

He always just subtly warned and arranged for the problematic ones to do outside chores. But this time, even he didn't expect Wei Yichen to be so decisive. It was a pleasant surprise, to say the least.

Wei Yichen had on a serious face.

All the servants were confused, as to why was today's atmosphere so uncharacteristically solemn. Some of them didn't even take Wei Yichen as their master at all, as they had other masters who sent them here to dig for information, while some only slacked off after doing the bare minimum.

All in all, very few of them took Wei Yichen Seriously, and it was time for them to understand that they needed to, from now onwards.

Shi Yu had arranged the servants, as to who to keep and who would leave. Now only final closure was all that remained. Wei Yichen fully trusted Shi Yu and Shi Yu also made sure to do everything seamlessly.

There were many kinds of servants stuffed in his courtyard. Those who do not work and are lazy, those who think they can do as they please by relying on their backgrounds like head steward's something something.

Those who work fine but have questionable loyalty. He needs to clear out this pest. So the first thing Wei Yichen did upon arrival was, without hesitation, tell them the news of their dismissal. Startled, they started discussing among themselves.

One of them came forward and tried to cleverly ease up the situation.

"Young master, what have we done wrong? If we have offended you somehow, we are willing to repent."

Shi Yu answered, "You need not know the young master's business. Know your position and leave right away and report to the head steward by yourselves."

Wei Yichen knew this wouldn't be so simple, but he didn't intend to bother with it anymore. He'll do what he ought to do.

That servant from before said, "Young master is leaving us with no way to live. Why don't you consider us slaves?" with a hidden sly grin on his lips. He didn't think this Wei Yichen could dismiss people from the madam. He said this deliberately to make other servants make a scene as well.

"Yes, please give us a second chance." Another said among the servants.

And as expected, there were sounds of discussions all around.

Wei Yichen thought, it was good to give some second chances but he neither had time nor energy to bother with them. And the fact that these people were either lazy or taking orders from others doesn't make them worth sympathy either.

Shi Yu said displeased, "Is that how you speak to your master? Do human words not register in your brain? You just need to do what you are told."

That servant wanted to say more to instigate people.

Then Wei Yichen opened his mouth, "Do you understand who you are talking to?"

Servant, "Yes, but young master.."

Wei Yichen, "Ah' Yu, throw him out. And if he still has things to complain about, deal with him accordingly for not following orders and disrespecting his master."

The servant was astonished. Wei's family punishment for servants was to take lashes from the disciplinary whip. The minimum was thirty lashes. And with what he had done he'll have to take on no less than fifty lashes. His back wouldn't be functioning if it happened.

He wanted to say something but seeing the cold look in Wei Yichen's eyes made a chill go down his spine. This young master is not the same anymore, he thought to himself. He was dragged out by Shi Yu. He stood still outside for a while, lowered his head to hide the flames in his eyes, and walked away. After getting a good distance away from Wei Yichen's courtyard, he ran towards Song Yuhua's pavilion.

Others were also sent out, which was much easier after setting an example. And the courtyard was finally at peace...

The only people left were, people who worked hard and seemed to be loyal. Which still needs to be confirmed with further screening but this is fine for now.

There weren't many of them, about ten. Even if it may be inconvenient for now, he has to bear with it. As Song Yuhua will definitely try to stuff some in again. He can't take any of those. Nor can he choose by himself, there's no way she'll be so generous.

And Song Yuhua had transferred his mother's people to other places long ago. Shi Yu was his childhood friend and he had begged his father for him to stay, so with a wave of his hand Shi Yu was the only one left beside Wei Yichen.

These remaining people were mostly straightforward and took their jobs seriously. Wei Yichen examined each one of them carefully. Shi Yu had already told him about them.

Out of these ten people, five of them are pretty timid and just do their duties. One of them is Aunt Lee who takes care of people like their own children.

Others were pretty neat with what they did and can be assigned positions as required. In them is a child of about fifteen and a ger, clever and can go further if developed well. His name is Ranran and Wei Yichen intends to take him out and grow him afterwards.

Thanks for reading and your support! See you in the next one.