Struck her?

Decades of marriage, and only now did he strike her?

Madam Gu was stunned on the spot. The Patriarch’s fury exploded like a raging lion as he roared, “Jun Beiyue is my son, the only blood of the Gu clan! He possesses an extraordinarily high aptitude for the Gu clan’s internal energy techniques—he is the most rightful heir of the Gu clan!”

Madam Gu suddenly burst into laughter. “Gu Jun, don’t you forget—I am the legitimate wife of the Gu clan. If I don’t acknowledge him, he will never be your son!”

“Yu Meixiang, a mother’s status rises with her son’s—you should understand the rules of the Gu clan even better than I do!” The Patriarch no longer showed her any courtesy. How could a woman who bore no sons still expect to remain the legitimate wife?

The Patriarch had already treated her with the utmost benevolence and duty. After she bore him two daughters, she had grown too old to conceive again, yet the Patriarch had never taken a concubine—both out of deep marital affection, and because he didn’t want to threaten her position as the lady of the household!

And yet, Jun Beiyue’s very existence was the greatest reason he had once resolved never to take a concubine!

Madam Gu ought to have been grateful for Jun Beiyue’s existence—had he taken a concubine instead, and had that concubine borne a son who then usurped her position as the lady of the house, then Madam Gu and her two daughters would have been reduced to an inferior status!

She understood this relationship perfectly well. But hearing her husband say it aloud himself made her heart ache as though it were being carved out of her chest. “Gu Jun, yes! That’s right, a mother’s status rises with her son—then bring his birth mother here! The moment you can bring his birth mother before me, I will step down from my position as the lady of this house immediately!”

With that, she raised her voice and laughed loudly. “A dead woman—what right does she have to talk about her status rising through her son?”

But no sooner had these words left her mouth than a deafening crash rang out, shaking the entire hall—Jun Beiyue had slammed his hand down on the table before him, shattering it completely. The piece of wood clutched in his hand was slowly being crushed to powder…