Chapter 64: Drunk

"Yes, yes, of course! I’ll have someone arrange it right away!"

Having finally begged Ye Xuan to show mercy, Yang Zhennan didn’t dare utter a word of refusal. He nodded repeatedly at the young man.

"Yang Zhennan, if you insist on protecting that mole in the Yang family, then make sure he stays completely still from now on. Tell him to keep himself well hidden.

"If I catch him doing even the slightest thing to hurt Bingyu, then your entire Yang family had better prepare to vanish from Jianghai City."

Ye Xuan stood up, looking down at Yang Zhennan with the imposing aura of a king.

Yang Zhennan’s body trembled violently, and he bowed even lower. Without caring what the old man was thinking, Ye Xuan let out a cold scoff, left the Yang family home, and drove back to Yunju Mountain Villa.

Yang Bingyu was originally supposed to return with him. However, using the excuse that she hadn’t spent time with Yang Zhennan in a long while, she said she wanted to stay at the Yang family home for the night.

Ye Xuan’s mind was as tangled as a ball of yarn, so he agreed without overthinking it. With the warning he had just delivered, the mole in the Yang family surely wouldn’t dare to make a move against Yang Bingyu for the time being.

In the small garden of the Yang family estate, Yang Bingyu sat alone, drinking from a bottle of XO cognac. She had assumed that everyone in the Yang family would be asleep by this hour. To her surprise, Yang Jie—who had fled the banquet in a panic earlier—actually returned.

Seeing that Yang Bingyu was already tipsy, Yang Jie couldn’t resist mocking her.

"TSK TSK. Sister Bing, shouldn’t you be happy about your engagement to Ye Xuan? Why are you hiding out here drinking alone? Could it be that you don’t like the marriage Elder Yang arranged for you? Do you think that piece of trash Ye Xuan isn’t worthy of you?"

Yang Jie had originally planned to lay low outside for a while. After all, he had smashed such an incredibly expensive tea set; Elder Yang was bound to skin him alive. But who would have thought that Elder Yang would actually send people to drag him back this late at night? He had been severely reprimanded in the study and explicitly warned never to cross Yang Bingyu or Ye Xuan again.

A person like Yang Jie was incredibly arrogant and exceptionally self-righteous. The younger generation of the Yang family consisted of only three people: him, Yang Bingyu, and Yang Tian. In Yang Jie’s mind, Yang Tian was a spineless, good-for-nothing coward, while Yang Bingyu was just a woman who would eventually be married off. Therefore, the position of the future Patriarch of the Yang family rightfully belonged to no one else but him.

With this self-important mindset, Yang Jie was even more disgusted by how much the Yang family doted on Yang Bingyu. Outwardly, he treated her with the utmost respect, but secretly, he looked down on her with sheer disdain. Especially after discovering Yang Bingyu’s true identity, Yang Jie felt even more strongly that she was an outsider with no right to enjoy the honors of the Yang family.

Last time, Yang Zhennan had grounded him for three months because of Ye Xuan. This time, he had been viciously berated for Yang Bingyu’s sake. With these old grudges and new resentments combined, the hatred in Yang Jie’s heart toward Yang Bingyu only grew stronger.

"Go away! Just looking at you annoys me!" Yang Bingyu shot him an angry glare, looking as though she didn’t want to engage with him at all.

"HEH. Sister Bing, I was just trying to show some concern. Your words really break my heart.

"If you don’t want to marry that trash Ye Xuan, you can just tell Elder Yang directly. He dotes on you so much; he’ll definitely respect your wishes."

Although Yang Jie appeared to be advising Yang Bingyu to break off her engagement, in reality, he wanted her to marry Ye Xuan more than anyone else. Ye Xuan was a publicly acknowledged loser in Jianghai City. If Yang Bingyu married him, wouldn’t she become the laughingstock of everyone? That was exactly what Yang Jie wanted to see.

"Shut up! Ye Xuan isn’t trash! He’s amazing! If you don’t know anything, keep your mouth shut!"

The alcohol had gone to her head. Hearing Yang Jie call Ye Xuan a piece of trash instantly upset her, and she swayed as she reprimanded him. Her arrogant attitude irritated Yang Jie immensely, but he also caught a hint of something telling in her defense of Ye Xuan.

It was obvious that Yang Bingyu liked Ye Xuan! Since she had agreed to marry him, the only possible reason for her to be drinking herself into a stupor late at night was that Ye Xuan didn’t like her back. At this thought, a calculating glint flashed in Yang Jie’s eyes.

"Sister Bing, are you drinking in the middle of the night because Ye Xuan doesn’t want to marry you?"

Hearing his question, Yang Bingyu’s body stiffened. Then her mouth turned down into a pout, tears instantly welling up in her eyes, and she bawled at the top of her lungs.

"Tell me, how am I any worse than that woman, Lin Aoxue? Why does Ye Xuan have to like her and not me?! That jerk Ye Xuan! He actually said he wants to break off the engagement! He’s a massive jerk!

"He even said he only sees me as a younger sister. Who wants to be his sister?! I don’t want to be his sister; I want to marry him!"

Who would have thought a drunk Yang Bingyu would lack a filter, blurting out everything that was on her mind. This gave Yang Jie the perfect leverage. A wicked smirk formed on his face as he began to set a trap for her.

"Sister Bing, I have a way to make Ye Xuan marry you. Do you want to hear it?"

Yang Bingyu’s eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this. Staring at Yang Jie woozily, she said, "Tell me! What’s your plan?"

"HEH HEH. Once the deed is done and the two of you sleep together, are you still worried Ye Xuan won’t marry you?"

Seeing that she had taken the bait, Yang Jie flashed a sleazy grin. Ye Xuan liked Lin Aoxue, and Yang Bingyu liked Ye Xuan. If he could get Ye Xuan to sleep with Yang Bingyu, the relationship between the three of them would become even more hopelessly entangled. Then he could spread some rumors to completely ruin both of their reputations. Public opinion would tear them apart, and society’s spit alone would be enough to drown them both.

"Y-you have such a filthy mind! How could you... could you suggest I do something like that!" Although Yang Bingyu was drunk, it didn’t mean she had lost her sense of right and wrong. Upon hearing his idea, she immediately waved her hands and shook her head, instantly rejecting the plan.

"HEH... Well, that’s not really up to you anymore." Yang Jie sneered. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small glass vial containing white pills. He shook one out and dropped it into Yang Bingyu’s glass.

These little pills were great stuff; Yang Jie frequently used them on women who refused to submit to him. It took half an hour from ingestion for the effects to kick in, which was exactly enough time for him to send Yang Bingyu back to Yunju Mountain Villa.

"Sister Bing, you must be thirsty after talking for so long. Here, drink this."

With malicious intent, Yang Jie grabbed the spiked drink and forced it down Yang Bingyu’s throat. She was already heavily intoxicated. After gulping down that glass, she completely lost consciousness, slumping forward onto the small table in a deep sleep.

Looking at her, Yang Jie let out a cold chuckle. He then called Yang Tian over and told him to send Yang Bingyu back to Yunju Mountain Villa. How could the foolish Yang Tian know about Yang Jie’s insidious trap? Without a second thought, he gullibly followed his instructions.

"Yang Tian? What’s going on? Why did Bingyu drink so much?"

When Ye Xuan saw the frail Yang Tian standing at the door, struggling to support Yang Bingyu, he hurried over to help. Smelling the heavy stench of alcohol on her, his brows instantly furrowed into a deep frown.