Chapter 41: The Su Family in Shock

“All of you in the Su family have offended the young master without even realizing it—you are truly blind to what’s right before your eyes!”

“And as for the two betrothal gifts, you’ve even managed to mix them up!”

“It’s true that I delivered the second gift myself, but the first one was most definitely sent by the order of the young master through the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce!”

Ye Tianlin’s voice was hoarse as he shouted; all his former elegance was stripped away, replaced by a near-roaring fury, as if he wished to raze the Su family to the ground.

Who was the young master? He was the sole legitimate heir of the principal family line—the only rightful successor! With a single word from the young master, all branches of the clan and merchants across the land would have no choice but to obey.

To have caused such a catastrophic blunder—given his own status as a mere branch member of the family—meant his future would be bleak, and he would never again win the favor of the Ye family, doomed to obscurity for life.

And all of it, every last misfortune, had been brought about by the Su family themselves!

So, Ye Tianlin made a snap decision and declared, “Su Yixue, from this day forward, we sever all ties. Tomorrow, I shall send someone to retrieve my betrothal gift, and every present I have ever given your family must be returned in full!”

At that moment, Su Yixue looked as if she had been struck by lightning, her face drained of all color. She had never imagined, not in her wildest dreams, that after all her scheming, things would end so disastrously. She had thought that with their arrival, Su Rulan would be put in her place—never expecting such a reversal.

“So Ye Tianlin… is the true young master of the Ye family?” The old patriarch’s cane slipped from his hand, his aged face turning ghostly pale in an instant, and his limbs went numb with cold.

Su Yicai stood in a daze, unable to process what he’d heard. The truth was simply too astounding, beyond anyone’s expectations. Who could have imagined that the idiot son-in-law, who had been out of his mind for five years, was actually the noble young master of the Ye family—the very clan whom the Su family once served?

“Tianlin, is this true?” Su Rulan’s entire body was taut, her breath caught in her throat.

But before Ye Tianlin could answer, Ye Tianlin turned to her, dropped to one knee, and with deep remorse in his voice, said, “If the young mistress has any complaints, she may punish me as she sees fit—I am willing to bear it all.”

“No, no, the fault is not yours. This has nothing to do with you. If you hadn’t come in person today, the truth never would have come to light.” Su Rulan was utterly overwhelmed by the honor. To hear herself addressed as ‘young mistress’ felt like a dream; the world spun around her.

Su Weimin gradually came to his senses, hurriedly rubbing his eyes before pinching Gao Yulan’s arm. Confused, he asked, “Yulan, am I dreaming? Weren’t we just squatting in the kitchen having dinner?”

“Ow! Why are you pinching me? Of course this is real! Didn’t you hear them call Rulan ‘young mistress’? Are you deaf?” Gao Yulan rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Hearing this, Su Weimin threw his head back and burst into joyous laughter, pride radiating from his entire being. “The young mistress! Hahaha! It’s true—I’m not dreaming. My son-in-law really is the young master of the Ye family!”

“And someone was just accusing us of wrongdoing, trying to bring us down. Who could have guessed they’d end up humiliated instead? Today, let’s see who’s really unlucky, and whose son-in-law is truly a dragon among men!” Gao Yulan puffed out her chest, humming with confidence.

With his hands on his hips, Su Weimin grinned and said, “And who was it just now, showing off, saying they’d visit the Bihu Bay villa after dinner? Well, it turns out the villa belongs to us!”

“Not only did you make a mess of things, but now you’ve provoked them into breaking the engagement. Su Yixue, what pride do you have left?” From head to toe, Gao Yulan was relishing the moment; she and her husband had never felt such elation in their lives.

Su Yixue stumbled backward, collapsing to the floor, unable to accept this reality. All her life, she had been more favored than Su Rulan, more beautiful, more accomplished—yet now…

“This can’t be real—this absolutely cannot be real!” Su Yixue shook her head desperately.

But as soon as she spoke, Su Zhengjun rose from his seat, as if he had just finished his last meal before execution, and strode forward. Without hesitation, he fell to his knees.

With his hands pressed to the ground, Su Zhengjun spoke in a calm tone, “It’s all true. I think we’d best accept reality. Everything that’s happened lately has been of our own making. Whatever consequences there may be—we can only leave it to fate.”

The old patriarch shuddered, his last line of defense crumbling. His face was a mask of terror as he, too, knelt down, pressing his palms together in supplication. “Tianlin, my grandson-in-law, all of this was our fault! But in the end, we are family; you can’t destroy us completely!”

Just at that critical moment—

Su Yicai suddenly raised his hand, his expression odd as he looked around at the crowd, his gaze finally fixing on Ye Tianlin. “Brother-in-law, did you really need to go to such lengths to test our Su family? Was it necessary to lower yourself so much?”

“What are you implying?” Ye Tianlin frowned in confusion.

Su Yicai put on a knowing air, explaining as if he had figured it all out. “If you’d said someone else was the Ye family’s young master, I might believe it, but that idiot? Impossible!”

“The reason is simple. For five years, this fool has been nothing but utterly deranged. Everyone’s seen it for themselves, always fantasizing that he’s someone else, some other character—how could he possibly become normal overnight?”

“And besides, how could that idiot have found his way to the Su family villa on his own? The only explanation is that you set this up deliberately, brother-in-law. Otherwise, why would you have sent someone to give him money before?”

“Insolence! Slandering the young master—if anyone’s an idiot, it’s you!” Ye Tianlin’s lips twitched, and he slapped Su Yicai across the face.

Su Yicai took the slap without flinching, still grinning smugly. “Go ahead, brother-in-law, keep up the performance. Hit me all you like. You just want to test our Su family, don’t you? Well, let me tell you—we can handle any test!”

The old patriarch scrambled to his feet, suddenly thinking Su Yicai’s logic might be sound. Ever since their last meeting, he’d felt something was off—perhaps this was all an elaborate act?

The Ye family’s background was vast; it couldn’t possibly be this straightforward.

Moreover, the Su family had once been expelled by the Ye family—they had a history.

“I see! So you’re taking advantage of Ye Tianlin’s illness, staging this whole farce to see how we’d react, and now you want to take back the betrothal gifts to test our loyalty. Am I right?” The old patriarch felt as if he had suddenly understood everything—this was a ruse, using illness as a pretext to test them.

Su Yixue climbed to her feet, hope rekindled in her eyes. “Yes, that must be it! Husband, you must be deceiving me, right?”