Chapter 12 A Dynasty Restored
The Ye family mansion made the Lu estate look like a modest summer cottage. It was a sprawling, ancient compound guarded by literal paramilitary forces.
Within an hour of the auction's abrupt end, I was sitting in the grand ancestral hall, a cup of rare Da Hong Pao tea resting in my hands. Patriarch Ye sat beside me, refusing to let go of my wrist, as if he feared I would vanish into thin air again.
Across the massive mahogany table sat the entire Ye family inner circle—uncles, cousins, and board members. They were staring at me with a mixture of profound awe, suspicion, and deep-seated fear. To them, I was a ghost who had suddenly returned to claim the throne.
Standing rigidly by the door, entirely uninvited but absolutely refusing to leave, was Lu Chen.
"Explain, Yan-yan," Patriarch Ye demanded softly, his eyes flashing with the lethal authority that had built an empire. "You said you know who took you."
I set the teacup down. "System," I whispered under my breath. "Generate the kidnapping dossier."
[Executing. Printing all evidence to Host's mobile device.]
I slid my phone across the table.
"Twenty years ago, a maid named Lin Xiu worked in this house," I began, my voice perfectly steady.
"She was deeply envious of my mother. When the family took a vacation to the southern provinces, Lin Xiu hired local thugs to stage a kidnapping.
She intended to sell me to a human trafficking ring.
But the thugs got nervous during a police checkpoint and dumped me at a rural train station. "
The blood drained from Patriarch Ye's face. "Lin Xiu... Madam Lin? The woman arrested tonight?"
"Yes," I confirmed. "She used the hush money from the thugs to move back to Jingcheng, marry a mid-level businessman, and build her fake aristocratic life.
She thought she was safe. Until three years ago, when the Lu family arranged my marriage to Lu Chen.
She recognized my face. She knew who I was. "
The puzzle pieces clicked together with devastating clarity.
"That is why she pushed her daughter, Lin Wan, to seduce my husband," I continued, staring directly at Lu Chen.
He flinched visibly under my cold gaze. "That is why she relentlessly painted me as a vicious, greedy country bumpkin.
She wasn't just being a bully. She was terrified that if I ever gained power or visibility in high society, the Ye family would find me. She was trying to drive me to suicide."
And in my past life, she succeeded.
CRASH!
Patriarch Ye's dragon-headed cane shattered a priceless Ming dynasty vase against the wall. The old man was on his feet, breathing like a wounded lion.
"That venomous rat!" he roared, the sheer force of his fury making the entire room tremble. "I will tear down the prison brick by brick! I will make her beg for death for a hundred years! Guards!"
"Grandfather," I said, my voice cutting through his rage. I stood up, placing a calming hand on his arm. It was the first time I had called him that, and the old man instantly froze, tears welling in his eyes again.
"Do not waste your energy on garbage," I said coldly. "Madam Lin is already facing life in prison for the charity fraud and the fake antiques. The police will easily find the twenty-year-old money trails with the evidence I just provided. Let the law bury her in a dark hole where she belongs."
Patriarch Ye looked at me, a profound sense of pride replacing his fury. He saw the cold, calculating ruler in my eyes. He saw the Ye family bloodline.
"You are right, my child," he said, turning to address the room. "Hear me now! Su Yan is dead. This is Ye Yan, the sole heiress to the Ye Global Consortium! Tomorrow, I will transfer fifty percent of my shares to her name! She is the new master of this house!"
The uncles and board members instantly scrambled out of their chairs, bowing deeply in absolute submission.
I looked across the room at Lu Chen. He was staring at me, his handsome face completely unreadable.
For three years, he had treated me like dirt on his shoe. He had allowed his precious 'white moonlight' to abuse me. Now, I was standing on a pedestal so high, even the great CEO Lu had to look up to see me.