Chapter 125: Face the Facts

Faced with Ye Tianlin’s attitude, the members of the noble family present were seized by panic, standing at a loss, completely unable to determine how to react.

The Old Matriarch was so furious that she felt as if her lungs were about to explode. While she was secretly delighted to see the Ye family suffer such a setback, Ye Tianlin’s tone and demeanor were truly unbearable to her.

"You scoundrel! If you want to make this old woman regret anything, you might as well kill me here today!" the Old Matriarch roared, her hair trembling with rage.

Ye Tianlin watched her with cold eyes. He shook his head slowly and said, "I will not let you die; you can rest assured of that. I will make you witness everything with your own eyes until you finally recognize the reality of the situation."

The Old Matriarch slammed her cane against the ground and shouted, "I will say this here and now: as long as there is breath left in these old bones, you will never see me regret a thing!"

Jiang Yingxia, unable to stand by any longer, moved to intervene, but Ye Tianlin gestured for her to stop. He then waved his hand, summoning the contract that had been drawn up between the two parties.

Ye Tianlin held the document, tapped it a few times against his palm, and remarked, "Old Matriarch, you should know the importance of this contract well. Since matters have reached this point, there is no longer any need for this agreement to pass."

With that, Ye Tianlin tore the contract to pieces without the slightest hesitation and tossed the remnants into the air, where they scattered across the floor.

Seeing this, the Old Matriarch was incensed beyond measure. Clutching her cane tightly, she launched into a tirade of insults and blame directed at Ye Tianlin. Her vitriol was so intense that the attempts of the two elders beside her to pacify her were entirely futile.

Ultimately, even after Ye Tianlin turned and walked away, and the senior executives of the Shangjing Consortium and the overseas Hong family had departed one after another, the Old Matriarch remained unrelenting, continuing her bitter cursing.

That night, after the meeting concluded, the shifting situation forced many high-ranking figures, including Hong Jianian, to disperse to handle various urgent matters.

Ye Tianlin issued a few final instructions, calmed his mind, and, accompanied by Shen Wanjun, returned to the hospital.

The reason he could not bring Su Rulan’s family to the meeting—and why he had been delayed—was that shortly after the Su family’s birthday celebration, Su Weimin had been distracted while driving and had been involved in a car accident.

Su Weimin had sustained only minor cuts and bruises. Gao Yulan, however, was in a more serious condition, suffering from multiple fractures that would require her to be hospitalized for at least half a month.

Ye Tianlin had reacted quickly and remained unscathed, but due to the accident, Su Rulan’s family had been unable to attend the meeting.

As he pushed open the door to the hospital room, he saw Gao Yulan lying on the bed, covered in injuries, wincing and moaning in pain. Su Rulan and Su Weimin sat by the bedside, their eyes filled with deep concern.

Upon seeing Ye Tianlin return, Su Weimin stood up immediately and scolded, "You scoundrel! Such a major incident occurred, and you just ran off without saying a word?"

Ye Tianlin walked to the bedside and explained, "I was just attending a meeting."

Su Weimin realized then, remembering Ye Tianlin’s identity as the former young master of the Ye clan. His tone softened slightly, though his expression remained skeptical. "What kind of meeting did you attend?"

"Naturally, the meeting between the Ye family and the overseas Hong family. I had intended for you all to attend, but then the accident happened," Ye Tianlin replied.

Su Weimin was stunned into silence. Even Gao Yulan stopped her moaning and stared at him.

Ye Tianlin smiled and said, "As I told you before, the overseas Hong family is a subsidiary of the Shangjing Consortium, and all of this was arranged by me. Since you were unable to attend, I have come to tell you the truth myself so that you may understand what is truly happening."

"Yes, what Tianlin says is true!" Su Rulan stepped in to corroborate his words.

However, as soon as she finished, Su Weimin’s expression grew increasingly strange. He pursed his lips and said, "Rulan, stop trying to save face for him. How could such a thing be possible?"

"Yes, yes. We have already seen the new Ye family young master with our own eyes. Good son-in-law, you have sacrificed so much for our family; there is no need to put on a brave front before us!" Gao Yulan managed to squeeze out through her pain.

Su Rulan was left speechless. Although she hadn't gone to the meeting, she knew what had occurred because Ye Tianlin had explained it to her beforehand.

Su Weimin sighed and waved his hand. "Enough, enough. There is really no need to force it. We can just start over. What kind of hardships haven't we endured? At the very least, I know now that Ye Tianlin is not without his merits."

"Good son-in-law, you have done so much for this family, even giving up such a bright future. We won't blame you, and we won't mock you," Gao Yulan gritted her teeth against her pain.

Before Ye Tianlin could respond, Su Weimin changed the subject. "We certainly won't pass the Shangjing Consortium's evaluation this time, and we will inevitably be dismissed. We should start thinking about a backup plan as soon as possible!"

Ye Tianlin raised an eyebrow. "What if I told you that not only will we not be dismissed, but Rulan will also be promoted?"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Shen Wanjun yourself. He is standing right outside the door."