Qin Fen spun a web of lies, painting Qin Chen as the villain who'd sabotaged their dealings with Liang Yu. "Because of him, the Artificer Hall now shuns us! Our reputation lies in ruins!"
Qin Chen stood unmoved, coldly amused. Seven thousand silver coins lost? A drop in the ocean for the Qins. Yet they act like I've bankrupted them.
"Expel him!" Second Elder roared. "This mongrel brings only calamity!"
"Agreed!"
"He's a viper in our bosom!"
Lady Zhao hid a smirk. The elders' chorus echoed her scheming perfectly.
Qin Yuanzhi objected: "Exiling clan members requires Patriarch's decree! Wait for Father's return—"
"Wait?!" A white-bearded elder sneered. "By then, this brat might've offended the Emperor himself!"
Patriarch Qin Yuanxiong finally spoke: "Qin Chen. Explain yourself."
Qin Chen laughed—sharp, mirthless. "Explain? You've already decided. Fine. I'll leave this rotten clan."
"Chen'er!" Qin Yuechi's voice broke.
Lady Zhao pounced: "See his ingratitude?! He spits on our name!"
"Your name?" Qin Chen's voice cracked like a whip. "When have you ever treated us as family?!"
He whirled, eyes blazing. "My mother—your blood—knelt all night at Lady Zhao's door for a mere Soul-Returning Pill to save my life! And what did this viper demand? That she prostitute herself to that lecher Zhao Qirui!"
Gasps erupted. Elders shifted uncomfortably.
"A Qin princess groveling for a second-grade pill while you turned blind eyes!" Qin Chen's laughter turned jagged. "And you dare call me 'clansman'? I was never one of you!"
Lady Zhao shrieked: "Lies! Patriarch, silence this—"
"Enough!" Qin Yuanzhi surged to his feet, trembling. "Brother—is this true?!"
The hall fell deathly quiet.