Discovery

Compared to the Su family, which had only truly risen to prominence under Su Chiming, the Ye family possessed a far longer history and had always walked the political path. A century ago, the Ye family's influence had been at its zenith, rivaling that of the aristocratic families, with their members rising to the rank of Governor-General of Tiannan. Although the current Ye family had experienced somewhat of a decline—with their highest-ranking member reaching only the post of Chief of the Longxiang City Security Department—their lineage flourished. Their branches spread across all walks of life in Tiannan, and the lower-ranking deputy chiefs, county magistrates, and department heads among them were too numerous to count on one hand. From this alone, one could indirectly glimpse the Ye family's latent potential in the political arena. The Su family had maintained an alliance with the Ye family all these years precisely because they valued the connections the Ye family had accumulated in Tiannan over a century, which compensated for their own shortcomings in political power. Given the realities of Dayu, wealth did not necessarily confer power, but with power, money was easily within one's grasp. Thus, during the Buzhou Group's most glorious period, the old master of the Su family had briefly claimed the title of the wealthiest man in Tiannan. Yet in terms of influence, he still fell short compared to the aristocratic families who controlled the local councils. Ordinary people, of course, were unaware of this. They merely saw the Su family's strength and assumed that even if it was not the strongest in all of Tiannan, it was certainly among the top tier. And within any clan, there were direct lines and collateral branches. The older the family, the more pronounced this division became. Ye Ziyi was merely a collateral member of the Ye family, but Ye Yiren, the woman in the red dress who had egged her on, was an indisputable member of the main direct line. The current family head, Ye Baifeng, was her biological father. This was precisely the backing that gave her the audacity to watch the drama unfold without fearing the consequences. *** "Sister Yiren, just watch me!" Ye Ziyi cried out excitedly, deliberately clawing toward Ran Qiu's sensitive areas while shouting to another woman nearby, "Zhang Shu, what are you standing there for? If you want my car, do something now, or don't blame me for looking down on you!" The woman who had been trying to break up the fight froze, momentarily at a loss for what to do. "Stop fighting! Stop it!" Su Yaoyu had already arrived on the scene. Seeing the brawl grow increasingly fierce, she could not help shouting toward the hallway, "Caiyun! Caiyun!" "Su Yaoyu, you're being a real party pooper." Ye Yiren raised an eyebrow. "Everyone is just joking around and having fun. How did it turn into a fight when it came out of your mouth? Calling others over—are you trying to blow this out of proportion? Does she even have the status to get involved?" With that, she called out casually, "Ye Ling." A woman in her thirties immediately stepped forward to intercept the hurrying Caiyun. At that moment, with a sharp ripping sound, Ran Qiu's collar was torn open. Had she not been wearing an undershirt, she would have been exposed on the spot. Although they were on the second floor where the private dining rooms were clustered... Many patrons had already leaned out, watching with great amusement and even pointing and murmuring remarks. "You call this a joke?" Su Yaoyu glared at Ye Yiren. "You've gone too far." "It really was just a joke. Don't tell me the Su family can't take a little fun?" Ye Yiren shrugged. "If you think you're losing, you can jump in too." She then glanced at Su Yaoshuang and Su Yaoqin behind her. "Quite a crowd you've got. Come on, join in together! If your performance entertains me enough, I'll pay for your meal today. After all, our families are business partners, aren't we? Generous of me, right?" By then, the woman named Ye Ling had already blocked Caiyun's path. "Halt." She said flatly, "Young Lady said this is just some playful roughhousing between the young ladies of the Ye and Su families. If you dare make a move, the nature of the situation changes. Don't blame us for ignoring the rules when that happens." "You..." Caiyun was about to speak. Yet at that moment, Su Yaoxue, who had been holding back, could no longer endure seeing Ran Qiu taking the worse end of the fight. She barked sharply, "Enough!" In the next instant, she stepped forward, clamping onto Ye Ziyi's hand with pinpoint precision just as it clawed toward her face, and twisted with applied force— "Ah!" Ye Ziyi let out an agonized shriek. Yaoguang glanced at Su Yaoxue. She seemed to have practiced martial arts. Though she probably did not qualify as a true Martial Artist and might not even beat a burly ordinary man, taking on two or three women of similar build was clearly not a problem for her. *Full of energy,* Yaoguang refrained from commenting. Descendants of prominent families always fell into extremes. The select few who received focused grooming could indeed survey the landscape, strategize from behind the scenes, and conduct themselves with refined poise. As for the rest... Some would strive to make something of themselves on their own. Others truly just drifted through life looking for thrills, indulging in whatever amused them. Ye Yiren could tell that once Su Yaoxue intervened, the fun was over. The situation would soon develop in a direction unfavorable to the Ye family. She turned to a young man beside her. "Your sister is getting bullied right in front of you. What are you just standing there for?" The man paused to think for a brief moment, then stepped forward, reaching out to block Su Yaoxue. As soon as he moved, many gazes naturally shifted toward Yaoguang, the only "male" on the Su family's side. "Lei Yun," Yaoguang said directly, wasting no words. "Stop them." "Yes." Not far behind Caiyun, Lei Yun strode forward. "Hold on!" Ye Ling's expression changed as she warned sharply, "You'd better think carefully about the consequences of making a move..." Lei Yun ignored her completely. When she had been assigned to Yaoguang, Leng Jun had already dropped hints. This previously unseen young master of the Su family was extremely likely to inherit the clan in the future. Now that he had issued an order, what she needed to do was not hesitate over consequences, but put on a good performance. With that mindset, she did not merely break up the scuffle—she seized Ye Ziyi and flung her aside. "Insolent!" Ye Yiren barked in a low voice. Lei Yun could not be bothered with her. Without the slightest hesitation in her movement, she lunged at the young man who had stepped in. As his right hand swung forward, she dropped low and delivered a precise intercepting strike to an acupoint beneath his armpit. His face instantly drained of color, and his arm dropped limply to his side. Immediately following up, she surged forward and kicked him squarely in the chest with momentum. The man stumbled back four paces before collapsing heavily onto the floor. Such ferocity instantly caused the faces of the cast-off Ye Ziyi and the people around Ye Yiren to drain of color. "You..." A flicker of rage flashed through Ye Yiren's eyes, and she was about to snap. At that moment, a woman in a casual suit beside her whispered in her ear, "That woman is from the Su family's External Affairs Hall." *The External Affairs Hall?* The fury in Ye Yiren's chest vanished in an instant. The Ye family had a corresponding institution as well. It was a violence-wielding arm dedicated to handling the family's external matters. To use a nation as an analogy, the Family Disciplinary Hall was like a domestic security force responsible for settling internal disputes and ensuring the safety of personnel, while the External Affairs Hall was equivalent to a national army, designated purely for external combat. Anyone who could command personnel from the External Affairs Hall was undeniably a core member of the family. Earlier, she had said that if Su Yaoyu dared to let Caiyun make a move, it would blow things out of proportion. Yet that level of escalation would, at most, bring the matter to the attention of the elders, resulting in a round of scolding. Now, with someone from the Su family's External Affairs Hall stepping in... It was no longer as simple as a scolding! If handled poorly, it would be tantamount to tearing up all pretenses and going to war. One had to understand that even after Su Yaoxue broke off the engagement and created friction between the two families, the extent of the damage was merely reduced interaction; certain intertwined business dealings that could not be severed quickly were still ongoing. It was only the younger generation that harbored resentment, constantly arguing and squabbling. To truly break all ties... Leave aside herself—not even her elder brother, who was being groomed as the family successor, had the authority to make such a call. Suppressed anger tightened her jaw as she looked at Yaoguang. "Who are you? I don't recall anyone like you in the Su family." "He is Su Yaoguang, the son of Su Huaifeng," the woman in the suit explained in a lowered voice. "Him?" Ye Yiren could hardly believe it. How could a descendant who had not returned to the Su family for over a decade possibly command someone from the External Affairs Hall?! Yet the reality of the situation clearly overpowered her pride today. Until she figured out why someone from the External Affairs Hall was accompanying Su Yaoguang, she had to take the way out that was offered. "Since the Third Young Master of the Su family dislikes our playful roughhousing, then so be it. Let's go." With a wave of her hand, Ye Yiren took the indignant Ye Ziyi and the others and left. Yaoguang did not stop them. Just as their group was about to head downstairs, two figures came hurrying toward them. It was Ye Yuhe and Lin Xiaowei. Upon spotting Yaoguang, Ye Yuhe paid no heed to the surrounding crowd and said hurriedly, "Yaoguang... my senior brother wants to meet you." "Is something the matter?" Yaoguang asked. "Yes, he wants to ask you..." Ye Yuhe took a deep breath. "Earlier, you kept saying..." She lowered her voice. "When you said that what you killed wasn't human... did you mean something deeper?" Yaoguang showed a hint of surprise. Then, understanding dawned on him. "He ran into it?" "I don't know," Ye Yuhe shook her head. "Senior Brother won't tell me. He only hopes we can bring you over to meet with him." Yaoguang looked at her and said calmly, "It seems he did run into it." Anyone who truly encountered such things would find it beyond belief. It would severely shatter their worldview. Moreover, once such a person regained their composure, they would not easily confide in those close to them, lest they drag them into an uncontrollable vortex of horror. In that case... He would see just how much influence a chief procurator holding the status of a procurator-general truly possessed. "There's no need to meet," Yaoguang said. "Pass along my words: it means exactly what he thinks it means. It all depends on whether he still has the nerve to keep investigating." "But..." "Go on," Yaoguang waved a dismissive hand. Ye Yuhe wanted to say more, but Yaoguang had already turned and walked back toward the private room. Seeing this, Ye Yuhe sighed and had no choice but to turn and leave. Su Yaoyu, on the other hand, asked Lin Xiaowei, "Since you're already here, do you want to join us for dinner?" "Never mind. If I wanted to join, I would have come with you earlier. This is a gathering for your siblings; it wouldn't be appropriate for an outsider like me." Lin Xiaowei waved her hand and hurried after Ye Yuhe. The two left quickly. Having not yet gone downstairs, Ye Yiren watched the scene thoughtfully. She immediately beckoned Ye Ling over. "A descendant who hasn't been home for over a decade suddenly receives such importance from the family—there must be an underlying reason. Follow them and see what you find. Report back to me immediately if anything comes up." "Yes," Ye Ling acknowledged and departed swiftly. "Su Yaoguang, is it? Very well, you've caught my attention." Ye Yiren glanced toward the private room Yaoguang and the others had entered, a faint smile curling on her lips. "Let's see what you're truly made of."