A clear and crisp slapping sound rang throughout the villa. Everyone inside the house, including the servants, froze. They looked at the person who did it incredulously.

Initially, Zhao Youxi was knocked out of her senses. She immediately snapped out of her daze after being slapped by Zhao Shuncheng. She fell to the ground and covered her searingly painful cheek. She shouted incredulously, "Father, what are you doing?! Why did you slap me?!"

Li Hongyu was taken aback by the sight before her. She immediately reacted to it and rushed to Zhao Youxi's side. She sat down on her knees and touched her daughter's reddened cheek with heartache. She said pitifully, "Youxi, does it hurt?"

Zhao Youxi had never suffered grievance like this before. She covered her face and sobbed, "It is, Mother! It's very painful!"

Li Hongyu's heart broke when her daughter cried. She turned back and yelled at the servants, "Get some cold water for the young lady. Hurry up!"

After shouting at them, she turned back and stared at Zhao Shuncheng. Although it was rare to hear a dissatisfied tone from her, she actually sounded more pitiful and aggrieved, "Shuncheng, what are you doing? Why can't you speak calmly? Why did you have to strike our child?!"

At that moment, Zhao Shuncheng even thought of strangling Zhao Youxi to death, much less slap her.

"Speak calmly? Before you say that to me, ask your daughter what she has done?!"

Li Hongyu widened her eyes as Zhao Shuncheng shouted furiously at her. Ever since she joined the Zhao family with her two children, she hardly saw Zhao Shuncheng getting so angry, especially toward the mother-daughter pair.

"Youxi, tell me, what have you done?" Li Hongyu was panicked. She turned and asked her daughter who was in her arms.

Zhao Youxi had no idea the situation would turn out like this. She mumbled, "What have I done? I didn't do anything!"

Zhao Youxi's stubbornness of not being willing to admit her wrongdoings had once again rekindled Zhao Shuncheng's anger. He raised his hand and was about to strike her again, "You didn't do anything?! If you didn't, why did she have your crime evidence?! If you didn't do it, how could she kick you out of Zhao Enterprise without hesitation? If you didn't do it, why are you so nervous that you revealed everything upon her provocation? You admitted your own crime!"

Zhao Youxi hurriedly buried herself into Li Hongyu's arms when Zhao Shuncheng was about to strike her again.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Shuncheng paused his hand movement. In the end, he did not strike her. He snorted and swung his hand to the side fiercely. Then, he turned back.

Zhao Youxi heaved a sigh of relief. Immediately after, she seemed to realize something, and she shouted, "Father, did you go and look for that wench?!"

Li Hongyu was hugging her daughter tightly. When she heard this, her expression changed. 'So, Zhao Shuncheng went to see that wench today?'

No wonder she found him behaving so strangely today. It must be… it must be that wench who had said something to him that resulted in him misunderstanding the mother-daughter pair!

A hint of sinister and hatred flashed across Li Hongyu's eyes. However, she concealed it so well that no one was able to notice it.

"Shuncheng, did you go and look for Youlin? Was there… some kind of misunderstanding between Youlin and Youxi? Calm down first. We can talk this through calmly. Even though Youxi is condemned for her sins, she should at least be given a chance to defend herself. Maybe… maybe someone purposely said something just to drive a wedge between you two. Shuncheng, you must not be deceived!"

"Drive a wedge between us? Are you referring to Youlin?!" Zhao Shuncheng's put on a straight face and asked in a low voice.

Li Hongyu did not answer him. The pitiful look beneath a wolf's skin suggested she admitted what she said.

A loud bang was heard. The noise of a ceramic shattering into pieces rang throughout the villa. Li Hongyu and Zhao Youxi watched as the vase brushed past them, fell to the ground, and broke into pieces. Their entire bodies unwittingly stiffened.

The two froze for some time before they shivered as they reacted to this. The terror set in for real.

Meanwhile, Zhao Shuncheng seemed to not notice their fear. He still had not had enough after smashing the vase and so, he simply picked anything on the desk and smashed them to the ground.

Within an instant, the house was left with nothing but various smashing sounds.

Li Hongyu hugged Zhao Youxi tightly in her arms, not willing to let her go even if it cost her life as she watched Zhao Shuncheng burst out in horror.

Zhao Shuncheng smashed the things all over the place. Finally, his anger subsided slightly. He abruptly turned around and looked at the mother-daughter pair who were squatting on the floor. His face turned black again.

Under the two's fearful gazes, he went up and grabbed Li Hongyu's wrist. He lifted her up.

"Mother!" Zhao Youxi screamed in a high-pitched voice. She could not care less about others and lunged at Zhao Shuncheng. But, Zhao Shuncheng pushed her to the side.

Li Hongyu was shocked when she saw Zhao Youxi being pushed down and exclaimed, "Youxi!"

Before she finished crying out, she had been dragged up by Zhao Shuncheng. Li Hongyu looked at him with teary eyes and said in a low voice, "Shuncheng…"

However, Zhao Shuncheng snorted at her and said something that dreaded her, "I used to have many mistresses outside. Yet, I only laid my eyes on you. I made you pregnant with my children and even brought you back to the Zhao family. The reason for all these is because I admired your obedience and understanding behavior. But, I never expected… in the end, I was wrong!"

"I-I… I didn't… Shuncheng, listen to me. I didn't…" Li Hongyu really could not figure out why Zhao Shuncheng had turned into a completely changed man right after one trip. She was eager to explain herself yet she did not know where to start.

Zhao Shuncheng did not plan to give her a chance to defend herself. His face turned dark, and he interrupted her, "No matter what, Youlin is my daughter. Although I don't have feelings for her mother, Youlin still carries my blood. All the while, I thought you had at least provided all the necessary needs for her and ensured her to grow up healthily even though you could not treat her as well as you do for Youxi. However, you… let me down…"

Right after Zhao Shuncheng spoke, Li Hongyu's expression changed drastically. She thought to herself, 'Indeed, that wench has lodged a complaint about me to Zhao Shuncheng!' Immediately after, she put on a heart-wrenching expression and said in teary eyes, "Who… who told you about all these? Is it Youlin? Is Youlin the one who told you that I've been mistreating her in the past? Shuncheng, I already knew that Youlin had hated me due to her mother's incident all this while. But… I never put her in any difficult positions. We've been together as a couple for so many years, would you rather trust a daughter who wants to sever ties with you than me?"

A hint of doubt appeared in Zhao Shuncheng's eyes. He quickly put the thought to the back of his mind and sneered. He pushed Li Hongyu to the ground, "It's precisely because I've trusted you with all my heart and ended up being fooled by you! You said Youlin holds a grudge against you due to her mother's incident but from what I see, you're the one who can't tolerate her because she's not your flesh and blood!"