Chapter 129: Flaunting Seniority

"Aunt Zi Yue, Ye Xuan isn’t what you think he is. He is not a loser. Please respect him, and respect me."

Yang Bingyu pulled her hand out of the middle-aged woman’s grasp, then stood up, took Ye Xuan’s hand, and forcefully made him sit down again.

Her defense of Ye Xuan was clearly a public slap in the face to them. The faces of all those meddlesome aunts darkened on the spot.

"I say, Zi Yue, you shouldn’t interfere so much. She’s not even a true member of our family, so why worry so much about her?

"You might say a lot, but she probably won’t even appreciate it. She’ll just take your good intentions for ill will. Just wait until she ends up like that girl from the Lin Family and gets dumped by this loser."

The aunt glanced disdainfully at Yang Bingyu and Ye Xuan, her words exceptionally harsh.

The rest of the Yang Family chimed in, all echoing that Yang Bingyu and Ye Xuan were unappreciative, lacked manners, and disrespected their elders. Basically, they were just abusing their seniority and putting on airs.

Ye Xuan originally couldn’t be bothered to argue with these gossiping women, but Yang Bingyu’s mood was clearly affected. The woman he had painstakingly coaxed back into a good mood was now angered by these busybodies again, and a ball of fury instantly surged in his heart. He shot up from the sofa, glared coldly at the women, and said sternly:

"I don’t care how you view me or how you insult me. After all, I, Ye Xuan, don’t live for your judgment.

"However, if you insult Bingyu, I will be the first to object. It’s not your place to judge how she is.

"You say she lacks manners, disrespects her elders, and is unappreciative. But relatives like you—what right do you have to demand her respect?

"Before making demands of others, think about whether you deserve it first. Even if Bingyu doesn’t have the Yang Family’s blood flowing through her veins, her contributions to the Yang Family over the years have been far greater than anything you busybodies have done.

"You’re just a bunch of parasites who know nothing but how to leech off the Yang Family. How do you have the nerve to criticize someone who wholeheartedly wants the best for this family?

"Furthermore, you know very well that Bingyu is the eldest daughter of the Yang Family. You are merely guests here, yet you act like you own the place. Aren’t you overstepping your boundaries and abusing your seniority? Bingyu might hold her tongue because you’re her elders, but I don’t care about such empty pleasantries. If you dare say another word that upsets Bingyu, don’t blame me for playing hardball and throwing you out of the Yang Family’s home."

Ye Xuan delivered this tirade all at once, his attitude incredibly uncompromising.

His outburst left the relatives utterly dumbstruck. They stared at him, absolutely frozen, and it took them quite a while to recover their senses.

"Well! Look at this, just look at this! What did I just say? This loser hasn’t even married Bingyu yet, and he’s already acting like this. If they actually get their marriage certificate, there will be hell to pay!"

Aunt Zi Yue glared fiercely at Ye Xuan, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Aunt Shufen, who was sitting next to her, immediately chimed in, looking at Ye Xuan with an expression of deep disappointment.

"Young man, I didn’t expect you to be so ill-mannered. What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Even though we are extended relatives of the Yang Family, we still count as half a part of this family.

"You’re just a live-in son-in-law, yet you have the audacity to threaten to kick us out. This is pure rebellion! Bingyu, you absolutely cannot marry a man like this."

The originally quiet living room instantly turned into an uproar. Over a dozen people crowded around Yang Bingyu, relentlessly criticizing Ye Xuan while simultaneously urging her not to marry him.

"Enough!"

Unable to endure it any longer, Yang Bingyu covered her ears and shouted.

The gossiping women finally shut their mouths awkwardly, though they all continued to glare at Ye Xuan like resentful hags.

"Aunt Zi Yue, Aunt Shufen, I know you’re doing this for my own good. But I don’t think anything Ye Xuan just said was wrong. You were the ones who insulted him first.

"If you don’t respect others, how can you expect them to respect you? Besides, who I like and who I choose to be with is entirely my own business.

"Whether you like Ye Xuan or look down on him has nothing to do with me. As long as I think he’s good, that’s all that matters."

Having said her piece, Yang Bingyu didn’t bother checking the reactions or expressions of those busybodies. She simply grabbed Ye Xuan’s hand and headed upstairs.

Yang Kui had been watching everything unfold in the living room from upstairs. Even though these women couldn’t do any real harm to Ye Xuan, thoroughly humiliating him like this was still a welcome sight. Furthermore, now that Ye Xuan had offended all of them, they would undoubtedly make life difficult for him in the future. Once they harbored even a sliver of dissatisfaction toward Ye Xuan, that resentment would only multiply over time. Creating trouble and making enemies for Ye Xuan—this was exactly what Yang Kui was scheming to do right now. The more people who hated Ye Xuan, the happier he would be.

"What kind of attitude is that?! She really thinks she’s the eldest daughter of the Yang Family! She’s nothing but a wild brat they picked off the streets. Even if she flies up to a high branch, she’ll never become a phoenix. Sooner or later, she’ll turn back into a sparrow!"

Aunt Zi Yue spat viciously at Yang Bingyu’s retreating back, dropping her facade entirely and revealing her true, ugly colors.

"Oh my, don’t say it like that. Even if she is a wild brat, our family has raised her for over twenty years. Even if you raised a dog for that long, you’d develop some affection for it, let alone a human."

Aunt Shufen tugged at Aunt Zi Yue’s sleeve, speaking in a soft, persuasive tone.

She really was an excellent actress. Her words seemed to be in defense of Yang Bingyu, but in reality, she was comparing the girl to a dog. Moreover, she knew Aunt Zi Yue’s personality very well: the more someone tried to speak up for Yang Bingyu, the angrier she would get.

"What do you mean by that, Cai Shufen? You’re still speaking up for that little bitch Yang Bingyu? If you ask me, raising her is worse than raising a dog!

"I’ve raised dogs for years, and a dog at least knows who its master is. But this Yang Bingyu? Her conscience has completely gone to the dogs!

"I heard that Jie was murdered by the two of them. Killed with a single gunshot... How pitiful."

As they chattered, they inevitably brought the topic back to Yang Jie. They had heard some of the crazy rumors circulating outside, which was exactly why they had intentionally tried to make things difficult for Ye Xuan tonight. They had just wanted to show him who was boss and force him to realize his lowly status. To their surprise, not only did their attempts to put him in his place fail, but they also ended up getting severely lectured by him. And to top it off, Yang Bingyu had sided with an outsider, staunchly protecting Ye Xuan the entire time. This deeply infuriated the relatives, and their resentment toward Ye Xuan only grew stronger.

"Oh my, you can’t just say things like that! Zi Yue, you need to be careful. When the Old Master comes downstairs later, you absolutely must not mention this matter regarding Jie."

Cai Shufen clamped a hand over Aunt Zi Yue’s mouth, reminding her with a panicked expression.

Lately, Yang Zhennan had been entirely heartbroken and exhausted over the matter involving Jie. His already poor health had deteriorated even further. Now, he even needed to rely on a wheelchair just to get around, and his breathing had grown noticeably heavier than before.

"I wasn’t just spouting nonsense. Everyone outside is already talking about it."

Aunt Zi Yue pulled Cai Shufen’s hand away from her mouth and muttered.