Chapter 131: Face-Slapping

After signing the documents, Yang Bingyu and Ye Xuan helped Yang Zhennan downstairs.

As soon as the various aunts saw him, they immediately swarmed him.

"Are you coming down, Father? Are you feeling any better?"

"Dad, do you want some water? I’ll pour you a glass."

Aunts from both sides of the family crowded around Yang Zhennan, putting on a grand show of concern. An outsider might have actually believed they had always been this filial.

Yang Zhennan gave them a few superficial smiles and empty replies before gesturing for Yang Bingyu to wheel him to the head of the table. He knew exactly what these people were plotting. Back before all this chaos had struck the Yang Family, these relatives only ever visited when they needed money. Now that Yang Bingyu’s true lineage had been exposed and Yang Jie was dead, the only remaining heir in the younger generation was the worthless Yang Tian. Every single one of them was hoping to claim a slice of the pie. Still, for the sake of family ties, Yang Zhennan refrained from tearing away their masks, choosing instead to maintain a facade of harmony.

"Alright, since everyone is here, let’s take our seats and eat." Yang Zhennan cleared his throat and waved his hand, signaling the butler to start serving the meal.

The moment they sat down, Aunt Hui began to complain. "Dad, although Bingyu is only an adopted daughter of our family, she has lived with us for so many years after all.

"How could you find her such a husband? He doesn’t understand the rules at all. He just gave us a harsh scolding with such an arrogant tone."

She shot Ye Xuan a vicious glare, eagerly waiting to see him get reprimanded. She thought, "Let’s see him act smug now! How dare a mere live-in son-in-law act so brazenly? Does he really think we of the Yang Family are that easy to bully? Bingyu might be bewitched by him, but my father is still here. As long as my father dislikes Ye Xuan, he definitely won’t let Bingyu marry him. Once he’s barred from entering the Yang Family, we’ll see what he has to be smug about."

"Oh? How exactly did he scold you? Let me hear it," Yang Zhennan asked calmly, narrowing his eyes as he glanced at his eldest daughter.

Aunt Hui froze for a moment. Seeing Yang Zhennan’s cold expression, she assumed he was angry. Overjoyed, she immediately repeated what Ye Xuan had just said, heavily embellishing the details.

"Dad, you really need to take charge of this," she urged. "He hasn’t even officially joined our family yet, but he’s already speaking to us with such an attitude. Imagine how terrible it will be after he marries Bingyu!

"Although I’m not Bingyu’s mother, I watched her grow up. I’m practically half a mother to her.

"I don’t think this marriage is a good idea. This Ye Xuan is not worthy of our Bingyu."

Not satisfied with merely exaggerating the story, she actively tried to sabotage Yang Bingyu and Ye Xuan’s engagement altogether.

Yang Zhennan gave her a cold look but said nothing to her. Instead, he turned his gaze to Ye Xuan. "Ye Xuan, what do you have to say about this?"

Ye Xuan swept his gaze over Aunt Hui. Seeing her gloating expression, he let out a cold laugh. "I admit that I did say the things she claimed. However, I don’t think I said anything wrong. She has no right to demand my respect, nor is she worthy of it.

"As for my marriage to Bingyu, that is between the two of us. It is not the place of outsiders to meddle."

He had no desire to save face for these so-called relatives anymore. They were more hypocritical than anyone, yet they insisted on parading around as moral paragons.

"Look at this! Just look at this!" Aunt Hui roared fiercely, pointing a trembling finger at Ye Xuan, infuriated by his words. "Even in front of you, he dares to speak with such arrogance! Dad, do you really think an egotistical man like this is worthy of our Bingyu and can give her happiness?"

The others quickly chimed in, echoing Aunt Hui’s sentiments and berating Ye Xuan.

"Aunt Hui! All of you, stop talking!" Yang Bingyu couldn’t stand it anymore. She knew exactly what kind of people these relatives were, and hearing them insult Ye Xuan made her incredibly uncomfortable. "From the very beginning, you were the ones relentlessly causing trouble for Ye Xuan. He only retorted because he couldn’t tolerate it anymore.

"As for the marriage, he’s telling the truth. Who I marry is none of your business in the first place.

"If you want to earn the respect of others, you must first respect them."

Yang Bingyu’s words caused the faces of the assembled aunts to darken. They all glared indignantly at Ye Xuan. They wondered how a mere live-in son-in-law had any right to demand their respect. Being allowed to marry into the Yang Family was already the greatest honor of his entire life!

"Shut up! How can you be so ungrateful, you foolish girl?! I’m thinking of your best interests!" Humiliated and enraged, Aunt Hui slammed her palm against the table, sprang to her feet, and pointed a finger at Yang Bingyu as she cursed. "If you marry this piece of trash, how will the Yang Family ever show our faces in public again?

"Besides, he’s Lin Aoxue’s ex-husband! If you marry him, outsiders will laugh their heads off!"

She had grown up pampered in the Yang Family and had married into a wealthy, aristocratic household. Whenever she went out, she commanded absolute prestige, with everyone respectfully addressing her as Madam. Yet today, she had been repeatedly insulted because of a live-in son-in-law. How could she possibly swallow such humiliation?

"Yang Hui! Do you even have any regard for me as your father? Since when was it your turn to throw your weight around in the Yang Family?!"

She had assumed that her outrage would force Yang Bingyu to apologize and break off the engagement with Ye Xuan. To her utter shock, Yang Zhennan reprimanded her instead, his words laced with undeniable blame.

Yang Hui stared at Yang Zhennan in astonishment, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Dad! Are you yelling at me for the sake of an outsider?" she shrieked at the top of her lungs.

"Shut up!" Yang Zhennan bellowed, his brows tightly knitted as he angrily slammed his hand on the table.

Although Yang Hui was immensely displeased, she had no choice but to hold her tongue under Yang Zhennan’s imposing authority.

Seeing that she had quieted down, Yang Zhennan cast a cold glance at the rest of the group and made his stance clear. "I didn’t invite you all here today so you could humiliate Ye Xuan, much less for you to critique this marriage.

"Although Ye Xuan is marrying into our Yang Family, both I and all of you must respect him. There will be no looking down on him whatsoever.

"I will not cancel this engagement. Aside from Bingyu, no one else in the Yang Family has the right to interfere in this matter."

Yang Hui’s face twisted with fury, but she didn’t dare utter a single word of rebuttal. She thought, "To think this Ye Xuan actually had the ability to win my father over! No wonder he dared to act so arrogantly—he has a massive backer to rely on. What a worthless dog counting on his master’s power! If the old man weren’t standing by your side, you’d be absolutely nothing."

She glared viciously at Ye Xuan, her hands clenched tightly into fists.

As Yang Hui was Yang Zhennan’s biological daughter, if even she had to swallow her anger, the others certainly didn’t dare voice any complaints. They all lowered their heads in absolute silence.

"Alright, let’s eat first. We can talk while we eat." Seeing that his words had the desired effect, Yang Zhennan withdrew his intimidating aura and gestured for everyone to begin the meal.