I was led by my eldest brother, walking towards the direction of the garden. My eldest brother was walking very quickly, and I had to jog to barely keep up. Having been raised in seclusion by my father since I was young, my physical strength naturally couldn't compare to my eldest brother, who had been practicing martial arts all year round. Before long, I couldn't keep up with my eldest brother's pace. I glanced at my eldest brother, whose face looked somewhat unpleasant, clenched my teeth, and forcefully pulled apart the hand held by my eldest brother, saying, "Let's take a break, I can't walk anymore."

Big brother looked at me with a strange look in his eyes, as if he didn't believe that I would be unable to walk so soon. Fortunately, he finally stopped walking, and I followed him to sit down in a nearby pavilion. Big brother's face was a bit gloomy, and my heart couldn't help but thump. I didn't dare to speak first, so I had to lower my head and wait quietly for big brother to speak.

I don't know how long it had passed, but I heard the big brother beside me let out a barely audible sigh, then I heard him ask, "A Ying, do you remember what I told you?" I knew that the big brother was referring to the words he had said to me on the day Wei Heng entered the Shangshu Mansion, and I also knew that at this moment, he was frustrated with my weakness. However, thinking of the distressed look on Father's face at the dining table, I still shook my head and said, "It's been a long time, A Ying can't remember."

As I finished speaking, I saw my eldest brother slowly clench his hand into a fist on the table. After a while, he loosened it. I swallowed my saliva and put on a bewildered expression as I said again, "Eldest brother, did Aying do something to make you angry? But Aying has already apologized as Father instructed. Please don't be angry, eldest brother, okay..."

"Yu Ying, how long do you plan to act foolishly? Your biggest mistake today was not listening to me and going to apologize. You are the legitimate young lady of the Shangshu Residence. How many more times do I have to tell you before you remember? In the Shangshu Residence, you should assert the dignity of being the legitimate young lady. Don't let any Tom, Dick, or Harry trample on you. You should understand that you represent not only yourself but also the authority of your mother as the mistress of the Shangshu Residence. By repeatedly bowing and scraping to Wei Heng and Yu Zhu, you are essentially tearing off your mother's face and offering it as a joke to them. Do you understand any of this?" My words successfully darkened the face of my usually expressionless elder brother. He interrupted me before I could finish, and his voice carried a rage that I had never heard before. Although I had anticipated angering my brother like this, hearing his displeased tone still made me feel a bit wronged. I clenched my teeth, trying my best to ignore the slight unpleasantness in my heart, and calmly said, "Brother, I understand what you're saying. But mother is no longer here, so what is the value of face and dignity? Ying doesn't want father to be troubled because of Ying's actions. Besides, it's just an apology. Ying won't lose anything substantial. Since they want to hear it, Ying will say it to them. Brother, please don't be angry. Ying was at fault and disappointed the kind intentions of her brother."

Big Brother obviously did not expect me to say this. He looked at me with eyes full of disbelief, and then slowly transformed into anger. He stood up from the stone stool with a leap, and looked down at me, saying, "Yuying, you're becoming less and less like your old self. The previous you wasn't like this. What about your pride? What about your dignity? Are you throwing it all away? I never expected that Yujin's sister would one day become such a weak and useless person. Yuying, you really disappoint me."

"Big brother, Aying isn't worse off than before, she has just grown up. She is no longer the mischievous little girl she used to be. Pride and dignity are truly worthless in the face of family. If these things will cause trouble for Father, then Aying would rather abandon them." I lifted my head and looked into my big brother's eyes, staring at my own reflection through his pupils. With an unprecedented firm tone, I began to speak.