Grand Elder Ye Changlin laughed inwardly.
The Ye Family had been in a period of scarcity lately; among the younger generation, there was no one noteworthy besides Ye Qingyi, but she was now crippled.
Meanwhile, the Zhao Family had produced a genius like Zhao Yuan.
A marriage alliance between the two families would allow the Ye Family to borrow the Zhao Family’s influence and stabilize their standing.
Rather than keep Ye Qingyi at home consuming resources, it was better to marry her off in exchange for a political ally and maximize profit.
Moreover, Zhao Lilong had promised: if the marriage went through, the Zhao Family would yield an extra 10% of the spirit stone mine distribution to Ye Changlin’s branch.
He knew it was like courting death by cooperating with a tiger, but it was Ye Qingyi being sacrificed, not someone from his own branch.
Why not do it?
Since Ye Zhenshan, as the family head, couldn’t support the family, then let him, the grand elder, seek fortune in danger, turn the tide, and make the family great again.
On the surface, however, he picked up his teacup, unhurriedly blew on the floating leaves, took a sip, then smiled, his tone calm: “The family head jokes. I am merely idle with nothing to do. It just so happened that the Zhao family head came calling, so I accompanied him in a few words. Now that the family head has returned, naturally the family head should handle the guests.”
Zhao Lilong watched this scene from the side, a glint flashing in his eyes.
He laughed heartily, breaking the atmosphere.
“Zhenshan, you’re still so straightforward. Since that’s the case, I won’t beat around the bush.”
“I’m here today for an old matter—the engagement that Elder Ye and my father agreed upon back then. Now the children are of age. I thought it was time to set a date.”
Ye Zhenshan tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, let his gaze sweep past Zhao Yuan, then land on Zhao Lilong’s face.
He was silent for a moment, then said flatly: “As for the engagement, Qingyi’s side…”
“Of course we’ll inform Qingyi,” Zhao Lilong interrupted with a smile.
“But in matters of marriage, it’s the parents’ command and the matchmaker’s word. Zhenshan, you are Qingyi’s father. This marriage is naturally a decision between our two families. As for the children’s feelings, once they marry, they’ll naturally understand.”
He spoke as if it were only natural, his tone carrying unshakable certainty.
Ye Zhenshan did not respond immediately.
He picked up his teacup, drank slowly, his gaze fixed on the tea as though he were watching something interesting.
The Bright Virtue Hall fell silent.
The elders exchanged glances, then quietly looked at the grand elder, as if trying to read something from his expression.
But Ye Changlin only closed his eyes and rested, as if none of this concerned him.
Zhao Lilong waved his hand, and a servant lifted the lid off a chest.
Spirit stones, spirit materials, pills, and artifacts gleamed in the morning light.
Thirty-six chests, packed full, lined up from the hall all the way to the corridor.
A low murmur of surprise rose in the hall.
“This is the greatest sincerity the Zhao Family can offer,” Zhao Lilong said, beaming.
“Zhenshan, take a look. Has my Zhao Family shown any slight?”
Ye Zhenshan’s gaze swept over the chests.
He thought to himself that even the Ye Family’s treasury in recent years probably didn’t have this many good things.
But he still pretended not to understand.
“Lilong, what do you mean by this?”
Zhao Lilong smiled broadly and once again emphasized the origin of the old engagement, adopting a very humble posture: “Zhenshan, our two families have been friends for decades. Back then, Elder Ye and my father drank together on Qingyun Terrace and personally agreed to this marriage. Now the children are grown. My Yuan has always had Qingyi in his heart, and that has never changed over the years. Though he was fortunate enough to rank first among the younger generation of Qingyun City, his feelings for Qingyi have never wavered in the slightest.”
Ye Zhenshan knew his daughter disliked Zhao Yuan, and the Zhao Family was a den of tigers and dragons—one couldn’t enter lightly.
He was just thinking about whether to continue deflecting or refuse outright when he heard a familiar voice.
“Uncle Zhao, Zhao Yuan, I understand your intentions in coming here. But there’s one thing I want to make clear in front of all the elders.”
“So-called engagement was nothing more than a drunken joke between my grandfather and your grandfather back then. There was no matchmaker’s letter, no token as proof, no record in the family genealogy, and not even a single formal witness. That does not count as an engagement in Qingyun City.”
Ye Qingyi met Zhao Yuan’s gaze directly, her tone calm but firm.
“I refuse this marriage. Not only do I refuse, but I also formally declare before all the elders that I am dissolving this engagement that never truly existed.”
As soon as she said this, the Bright Virtue Hall fell silent for a moment.
The smile froze on Zhao Lilong’s face.
He turned to look at Grand Elder Ye Changlin, his tone flat.
“Changlin, is this the Ye Family’s stance?”
The implication was clear: Do you still want that 10% share of the spirit stone mine allocation or not?
Ye Zhenshan sneered inwardly.
Just a moment ago, he had been called the family head and Qingyi’s father.
But now, when it came to Qingyi’s marriage, they didn’t ask him but the grand elder instead?
He didn’t lash out immediately.
He wanted to see what other farce these two would put on.
Besides, since his precious daughter had taken the initiative to step forward, he, as a father, shouldn’t spoil her too much.
The child was grown and had to stand on her own.
Crack—
The teacup hopped up; the porcelain lid rolled off onto the floor, shattering into several pieces.
“Qingyi! How dare you!”
Grand Elder Ye Changlin knew Zhao Lilong was displeased and wanted him to step in.
So he got angry—just got angry.
“How can you treat the words of your elders so flippantly? Even if it was only a verbal agreement, it was your grandfather’s word! Now the Zhao Family comes with courtesy and sincerity, and Zhao Yuan here has never wavered in his affections even after your cultivation collapsed. What more could you possibly want?”
Grandfather…?
Ye Qingyi frowned.
She had never met her grandfather in this life.
He had passed away before she was born.
All she knew of him came from a portrait and a few stories.
And now, Ye Changlin was using this man she had never known to pressure her, to make her give up her lifelong happiness and her hope of returning home.
How was that possible?
Besides, anyone could marry in her place!
“I don’t actually insist on breaking off the engagement,” Ye Qingyi said, her tone unhurried.
“I just don’t want to get married. If the Zhao Family feels they’ve lost face, the engagement can continue. Coincidentally, your granddaughter Ye Xuan has repeatedly warned me, both openly and in private, to keep my distance from Zhao Yuan. Everyone knows that. So change the engagement target to Ye Xuan—see if Zhao Yuan is willing.”
“If Zhao Yuan isn’t willing, then switch to another scion of the Zhao Family.”
“But as for marrying me off—absolutely impossible.”
“If your grandfather has a spirit in heaven and sees you being so rebellious, he’ll be furious enough to die all over again!”
Ye Changlin turned to Ye Zhenshan, his tone shifting from explosive rage to wounded indignation, completely ignoring the suggestion to marry his granddaughter Ye Xuan to Zhao Yuan.
“Zhenshan, you are also a member of the Ye Family. You know full well what situation the Ye Family is in. The Yue Family to the north is eyeing us hungrily, the Song Family to the south is pressing in step by step, and the younger generation of the clan is in a gap period. At a time like this, the Zhao Family’s willingness to form a marriage alliance is like charcoal in the snow!”
“I understand you care about your daughter. But you are the head of the Ye Family. You cannot put your own selfish desires above the entire clan!”
He looked around; several elders chimed in: “The grand elder is right!”
“In the Ye Family’s time of crisis, individuals must make way for the clan!”
“Qingyi, stop being so willful…”
Willful?
They’re calling me willful?
Ye Qingyi wore an expression of utter disbelief.
She looked at those elders—some she had called “uncle” since childhood, others her father had personally promoted.
Now they sat there, looking at her with eyes that said, ‘Why can’t you understand?’
Are you people out of your minds?