CHAPTER 106 — The Fall of the Shi Empire
The day the Shi family finally collapsed did not begin with thunder or flames or the dramatic crash of ruined empires.
It began with silence.
A cold, heavy, suffocating silence that settled over the once-glittering Shi residence like the dust of a demolished building. The tall iron gates stood open—not welcoming, but broken. The proud crest of the Shi family, once polished until it gleamed, now hung lopsided, one hinge ripped loose.
Inside, the atmosphere was worse.
Employees rushed in and out carrying boxes; lawyers stormed into offices; creditors shouted into phones; reporters crowded the entrance demanding statements.
The house was no longer a home.
It was a battlefield.
And at the center of the wreckage…
Shi Zhen'ai sat on the marble floor of the grand hall, surrounded by scattered documents, his hair disheveled, his hands shaking around a half-crushed legal notice.
For decades, he had been proud. Arrogant. Untouchable.
Today he looked like a man who had aged twenty years in a single night.
Financial ruin had struck fast.
Everything—the private accounts, overseas investments, corporate shares, even the secret funds he once used to control city officials—had been frozen under investigation.
The Shi Corporation had not simply fallen.
It had been razed to the ground.
And the one person he blamed above all was the daughter he had cast aside years ago.
Shi Yunxi.
Or as the world now knew her—
Xiolan.
The ghost they tried to bury.
The girl they underestimated.
The woman who returned stronger than the entire Shi empire.
Shi Zhen'ai crumpled the notice in his fist and roared, "THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! The Shi family cannot be destroyed! We built this city—!"
His voice cracked.
A lawyer standing nearby cleared his throat carefully. "Sir… the prosecutors have gathered overwhelming evidence. Attempting to fight the charges would worsen your position."
Shi Zhen'ai slammed a hand against the floor.
"I WAS FRAMED! That useless girl Roulan dragged us into this mess! What is the point of me having children if they only ruin everything?!"
The lawyer flinched but continued professionally.
"Sir… Roulan is giving testimony. She has already implicated you."
Silence.
Cold.
Deadly.
Shi Zhen'ai's head snapped up. "What did you say?"
"She claims the illegal funds, the forged contracts, the coerced acquisitions were all decisions you made."
A vein throbbed dangerously at Shi Zhen'ai's temple.
"That ungrateful brat!" he roared. "She thinks she can save herself by destroying me? After all I did for her?"
The lawyer hesitated again.
"Sir, it's… more than that. She is also claiming you were aware of the things that happened to Yunxi in the past."
The hall went still.
Shi Zhen'ai's fingers trembled around the crushed document. His voice lowered to a dangerous rasp.
"What things?"
The lawyer swallowed hard.
"That you intentionally isolated her. Controlled her finances. Restricted her education. Manipulated her records. And that the incident at the east quarry years ago was not an accident."
The air turned to ice.
Everyone in the hall froze, terrified to breathe.
Shi Zhen'ai surged to his feet, face red with fury.
"THOSE WERE FAMILY MATTERS!" he yelled. "How dare she—how dare either of them bring Yunxi into this—!"
But he couldn't finish.
Because a new voice rose behind him.
Calm.
Sharp.
Deadly.
"Because those 'family matters' were crimes."
Shi Zhen'ai spun.
Shi Yunxi stood at the entrance of the hall, raincoat in hand, eyes cold as winter steel. Behind her, Mu Lingchen remained a silent shadow, watching everything with the protective intensity of a man who would burn a city for the woman beside him.
Yunxi stepped inside.
The air shifted.
Even the reporters outside quieted.
Everyone knew—this confrontation was inevitable.
Shi Zhen'ai let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "So you've come to watch us fall? Are you satisfied now? Does ruining your own family make you feel powerful?"
Yunxi didn't blink.
"I didn't ruin you," she said softly. "You ruined yourself."
Shi Zhen'ai scoffed. "Without us, you would have been nothing!"
Yunxi paused.
Then smiled—a cold, heartbreaking smile.
"Without you," she said, "I would have been free."
The words sliced through the room.
Shi Zhen'ai flinched.
Yunxi stepped closer, her voice steady.
"Do you know what the investigators asked me? They asked if you were abusive. If you were controlling. If you treated me like property."
Her gaze sharpened.
"I didn't have to answer. Roulan already told them everything."
Shi Zhen'ai paled.
"She's lying! She's trying to protect—"
"No," Yunxi cut in. "She's trying to survive. Just like she always has. Because you taught her that survival requires sacrificing anyone necessary."
Her eyes darkened.
"Even me."
Shi Zhen'ai's jaw clenched.
"You ungrateful child—"
"CHILD?" Yunxi's voice cracked at the word, fury and pain erupting. "You never treated me like a child! I was a tool to you. A project. A business asset to be shaped and controlled."
Shi Zhen'ai opened his mouth, but she raised a hand—stopping him.
"The only thing you didn't expect," she said, "was that I would escape."
Lingchen stepped forward then, his voice low and lethal.
"And now that she has, you will never touch her or the children again."
Shi Zhen'ai sneered. "Children? They aren't Yunxi's alone. They carry my blood too!"
Lingchen's eyes went cold.
"Say that again," he warned, "and I will ensure you never speak another word outside a prison wall."
The remaining employees backed away quickly.
Shi Zhen'ai turned desperate. "Yunxi… listen to me… if you testify, the Shi family will die. Completely. There will be nothing left. No legacy. No name. No future."
Yunxi's eyes softened.
Not with pity.
But with the quiet finality of someone who had long since mourned this family.
"The Shi family died," she said, "the day you chose power over your daughter."
Shi Zhen'ai's face drained of all color.
"For years," Yunxi continued, "I begged for your approval. Your affection. Your protection."
Her voice trembled—not with weakness, but with memory.
"But today? I don't need anything from you. Not your apology. Not your excuses. And certainly not your family name."
She stepped back.
"From this moment on, I cut ties with you. Forever."
Her words echoed through the ruined hall, final as a judge's gavel.
For the first time in his life, Shi Zhen'ai looked small.
Fragile.
Afraid.
"Yunxi…" he whispered, reaching out a trembling hand.
But she stepped away.
Lingchen wrapped an arm securely around her shoulders.
And Yunxi didn't look back.
Not once.
Behind them, the sound of approaching officers grew louder.
Shi Zhen'ai sagged to his knees.
The empire he built was gone.
The daughters he shaped had destroyed him.
And the girl he underestimated had walked away stronger than all of them.
As Yunxi and Lingchen exited the property, reporters swarmed.
But Yunxi kept her head high, her voice firm.
"The Shi family is no longer part of my life," she said. "My children and I stand with the truth."
And the world—
Finally—
Stood with her.