Chapter 102: It’s Time for a Substitution

Seeing Ye Xuan compromise, Yang Bingyu slowly returned to normal. She leaned against his chest, feigning a fearful and guilty expression.

"I’m sorry. I don’t know why I acted like that. I just felt this ball of fire in my heart with nowhere to vent it.

"I felt like I was being pushed to the point of suffocation. My heart was in complete chaos, and I didn’t know what to do."

Faced with the self-reproachful and helpless Yang Bingyu, Ye Xuan had no choice but to put the matter with Yang Jie on the back burner for now. Meanwhile, hearing the commotion, the rest of the Yang family rushed upstairs to see what was happening.

"Yang Jie, I won’t forget what you did to Bingyu and Aoxue. For Bingyu’s sake, I’ll let you off the hook today. But in the future, I will definitely settle this score with you."

Ye Xuan scooped the trembling Yang Bingyu into his arms. As he walked to the door and brushed past Yang Jie, he delivered his cold warning.

Yang Jie didn’t reply, but the resentment in his eyes deepened as he glared at Ye Xuan. He scoffed inwardly, wondering if Ye Xuan would even live long enough to settle any scores.

Shortly after Ye Xuan left, Yang Zhennan summoned Yang Jie to his study. Without saying a word, the older man hoisted his cane and viciously struck his grandson three times. Every blow made Yang Jie’s body violently flinch. By the third strike, he could barely stand.

"You bastard! What kind of disaster have you caused this time? Haven’t you brought enough trouble to the Yang family?!"

Yang Zhennan trembled with rage. His facial muscles twitched in an expression of deep agony.

Yang Jie stood before him without a trace of concern in his eyes. Instead, his face was a mask of cold indifference.

"What I do is none of your business. I’ll clean up my own messes. You should just stay home and focus on recovering your health."

Ever since he was kicked out of the house last time, Yang Jie had harbored a deep grudge against Yang Zhennan. He never expected the arrogant and imperious Yang Zhennan to abandon his own biological grandson because of Ye Xuan.

After his brush with death, Yang Jie had become increasingly focused on his own survival and interests, growing utterly apathetic toward so-called family ties. In his eyes, looking out for number one was all that mattered. Since the Yang family was willing to discard him, their glory and disgrace would no longer have anything to do with him.

"Jie! Is that how you speak to your grandfather? Apologize at once!"

Yang Kui’s expression drastically changed; he hadn’t expected Yang Jie to actually dare to talk back to Yang Zhennan. He roughly yanked his son’s arm, then turned to plead with Yang Zhennan on the boy’s behalf.

"Dad, Jie is just confused right now. Please don’t hold it against him. I’ll teach him a proper lesson later."

Yang Zhennan was flushed with fury, panting heavily. However, knowing that Yang Jie held a grudge against him, the old man didn’t intend to pursue the boy’s disrespect and insolence. Instead, he simply waited for him to lower his head and apologize.

"Why should I apologize? I haven’t done anything wrong.

"Yang Bingyu likes Ye Xuan. She wants to marry him, and I merely gave her a helping hand.

"Xiao Ran took a liking to Lin Aoxue. I only set up that dinner party to secure an opportunity for the Yang family to collaborate with the Xiao family.

"Besides, Lin Aoxue wanted a piece of the pie and attended the dinner of her own volition. What does that have to do with me?

"You might be afraid of Ye Xuan, but I’m not. Everything I did was for the Yang family. I have a clear conscience!"

Yang Jie stared fixedly at Yang Zhennan, showing absolutely no intention of apologizing. On the contrary, his self-righteous tirade sent Yang Zhennan’s blood pressure skyrocketing.

"You! You! You! The Yang family is going to be destroyed in your hands!"

Yang Zhennan hadn’t expected Yang Jie to scheme against Lin Aoxue. That woman was Ye Xuan’s absolute taboo! They were doomed! The Yang family was truly finished this time!

Watching the furious Yang Zhennan, a trace of guilt flashed through Yang Jie’s eyes, but he quickly wiped it away. He raised his chin, devoid of any remorse.

"The people from the old Four Palaces are no longer a threat. Ye Xuan has been separated from the Four Palaces for a full five years. The situation in Jingcheng changed a long time ago.

"Only you people still take him seriously. Right now, countless people want him dead. It’s hard to say if he’ll even make it back to Jingcheng alive.

"Grandpa, I really don’t know what you’re so afraid of. Even Su Xiaobai dares to challenge Ye Xuan, yet you don’t.

"It seems you’ve truly grown old. It’s time for a changing of the guard in the Yang family."

Yang Jie’s meaning couldn’t have been more obvious: he was telling Yang Zhennan that he intended to seize power. He also made his stance perfectly clear—he, Yang Jie, was going to be Ye Xuan’s enemy.

"Foolish! Utterly foolish! Yang Kui, look at the fine son you’ve raised! Do you have any idea that his actions will bring a fatal disaster upon the Yang family?!"

Feeling as though countless needles were piercing his brain, Yang Zhennan slammed his hand heavily against his wheelchair, his face turning a dark, liverish purple.

Yang Kui was also quite surprised by his son’s ambition. However, instead of rebuking Yang Jie like Yang Zhennan did, he patted the young man’s shoulder with a gratified expression.

"Jie, you truly are my son. A man should have this kind of ambition. Do whatever you want to do. I will handle things here in the Yang family for you."

Yang Jie gave Yang Kui a cold, sharp smile, then nodded and backed out of the room.

Yang Zhennan stared in astonishment at his normally subservient son, trembling so violently with rage that he couldn’t speak.

"Dad, you’re old. You shouldn’t worry about certain things anymore. Besides, you have less than half a year left anyway. You should just focus on enjoying your twilight years.

"You originally passed the position of Patriarch to my third brother, claiming my ambition was too great and that it would ruin the Yang family. But it’s obvious that my abilities are a hundred times superior to his.

"Out of filial piety, I yielded. But now, for Jie’s sake, I won’t back down a single inch. I will take back what rightfully belongs to me," Yang Kui whispered softly, bending down to lean close to Yang Zhennan’s ear.

"You! You! You!"

Yang Zhennan turned his head, staring at Yang Kui in horror. His hands gripped tightly onto Yang Kui’s collar. After stammering for a long time, he actually passed out from sheer anger.

As Yang Zhennan lost consciousness once again, Yang Kui didn’t panic at all. Instead, he straightened up with a faint smile, his eyes filled with a chilling, terrifying coldness. He calmly smoothed out his clothes before walking out of the room to call the butler downstairs and have Yang Zhennan sent to the hospital.

After leaving the Yang family’s home, Ye Xuan took Yang Bingyu directly to a psychiatric clinic.

When Yang Bingyu had suddenly jumped into the sea the day before, he had already sensed that she was mentally unwell. After today’s dramatic outburst, he felt it was even more necessary to have her see a professional.

"Doctor, how are the test results? Is there a problem?" Ye Xuan asked worriedly after the psychiatrist finished giving Yang Bingyu a thorough examination.

By this time, Yang Bingyu had already fallen asleep on the examination bed. Not wanting to disturb her, the doctor led Ye Xuan to his office.

"The patient’s condition is a form of manic disorder. Although it’s still in the early stages, this illness is highly unpredictable. The moment she is triggered, her condition will severely deteriorate."