Ye Tiance turned to look at his grandfather's tombstone, saying coldly, "Grandfather, I will keep following this lead. No matter who the murderers are, I will make them pay with their lives!"
Snap!
With those words, the documents in his hand suddenly burst into flames and instantly turned to nothingness!
Behind him, Zhao Hailong stared in utter astonishment.
Is... is this something a human being is capable of?
Ye Tiance picked up the backpack containing the marriage contract from the ground and said, "Compile a dossier on Han Ruoyun of the Han Family and send it to me. I have some old business to settle!"
"Understood!"
Hesitating for a moment, Zhao Hailong asked, "Mr. Ye, what about tomorrow night's chamber of commerce event?"
"I will go. Handle everything else as you see fit."
Without another thought, Ye Tiance walked away directly.
Zhao Hailong stood in place, pondering for a moment.
Suddenly, he pulled out his phone, made a call, and ordered, "Notify the Xiao Family, revoke their eligibility to attend tomorrow night's chamber of commerce event. No explanation is needed. Redraw the list for the ten-billion-dollar bidding contract..."
...
At the Xiao Family Group headquarters, on the top floor office.
Xiao Qingcheng sat in her executive chair, feeling restless.
Proposing a divorce to Ye Tiance should have been a good thing, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to be happy.
Assistant Sun asked with concern, "President Xiao, is something on your mind?"
"Ah? No... nothing at all."
Xiao Qingcheng pulled her thoughts back and said, "I was just wondering about tomorrow night's chamber of commerce event. Who on earth is the big shot behind Lord Long?"
At that moment, Ji Boduan, who was sitting on the sofa across from the desk, stood up and walked over to Xiao Qingcheng.
With a hint of boastfulness, he said, "Qingcheng, that big shot holds a noble status, revered by thousands! As it happens, I am very familiar with him. When the chamber of commerce event arrives, I will introduce you. If you can win his favor, your future will be boundless."
Xiao Qingcheng said expectantly, "In that case, I'll have to trouble Young Master Ji!"
Bang!
The office door was suddenly pushed open.
Zhang Huilan and Xiao Nan rushed in, looking disheveled and aggrieved.
In particular, Xiao Nan's mouth was badly swollen, and blood was still trickling from the corner of his lips.
Zhang Huilan wailed, "Qingcheng, you have to stand up for us mother and son! Teach that godforsaken bastard a harsh lesson!"
Xiao Qingcheng asked with concern, "Mom, what happened to you?"
Zhang Huilan grievance-strickenly replied, "We were beaten by that good-for-nothing Ye Tiance! He's an ungrateful wolf!"
Xiao Qingcheng knitted her delicate brows, finding it hard to believe, "How could it be him? You must have gotten it wrong!"
Throughout their three-year marriage, although she was unsatisfied with Ye Tiance, she understood his temperament well enough.
He wouldn't just go around beating people.
Zhang Huilan fabricated, "It's the absolute truth! Your brother and I went out of the kindness of our hearts to sweep his family's graves, and who would have thought he'd suddenly fly into a rage and start hitting people!"
"This..."
Xiao Qingcheng wavered.
Knowing full well that her mother and younger brother had plenty of faults of their own, she always maintained a healthy skepticism toward their claims.
Ji Boduan said solemnly, "Qingcheng, I believe Aunt Zhang. The scoundrel must have been unable to accept being divorced, and not daring to vent his anger in front of you, he took it out on Aunt Zhang and the others instead."
"Young Master Ji is right!"
Zhang Huilan cast a grateful look at Ji Boduan and piled on the falsehoods, "When that good-for-nothing was beating us, he even complained that you gave him too little money in the divorce settlement! He went so far as to brag that he's going to the Jiangnan Han Family to participate in their bride selection, latch onto a rich woman, and make you regret it!"
Xiao Qingcheng's expression darkened.
Earlier, when she proposed the divorce, Ye Tiance's detached attitude in rejecting the ten million had made her look at him in a slightly different light.
Never did she expect him to be such a person behind her back!
At that thought, she whipped out her phone and dialed Ye Tiance's number...
Meanwhile, Ye Tiance was on his way to the Jiangnan Han Family, preparing to call off his engagement with Han Ruoyun.
The failure of his three-year marriage had left him with zero romantic illusions about wedlock.
Therefore, he decided to cancel all nine marriage contracts left by his master and settle the past once and for all.
Bzz-bzz~
His phone vibrated, and seeing the caller ID.
After a slight hesitation, he swiped to answer.
From the other end came Xiao Qingcheng's dissatisfied and questioning tone: "Ye Tiance, what gives you the right to do such a thing?"
Ye Tiance looked perplexed. "What did I do?"
Xiao Qingcheng said coldly, "Ha! You won't admit it? Wasn't my brother beaten by you?"
Ye Tiance explained, "I did hit him, but..."
Before he could finish, Xiao Qingcheng cut him off: "If you're dissatisfied with the divorce terms, you can take it up with me face-to-face, instead of taking your fists out on my family! That's the act of a coward!"
Ye Tiance knitted his brows.
Could this Xiao Qingcheng really abandon all sense of right and wrong just to shield her family?
Hearing that Ye Tiance remained silent, Xiao Qingcheng demanded, "Where are you right now?"
Ye Tiance answered truthfully, "On my way to the Jiangnan Han Family. Why?"
Xiao Qingcheng's pupils constricted.
Sure enough, he really was going to seek out the Han Family for their bride selection!
Could he really not wait even immediately after being divorced?
She took a deep breath. "Ye Tiance, I order you to apologize to my mom and my brother, and then this matter will be over. Otherwise, you..."
"Unreasonable!"
Ye Tiance muttered in annoyance and simply hung up the phone.
Xiao Qingcheng was so angry she almost hurled her phone across the room!
She immediately prepared to call back—she had to demand an explanation from Ye Tiance!
However, her phone rang first.
Glancing at the screen, she saw the call was from Tianlong Group.
After answering...
Xiao Qingcheng's delicate body trembled, and she nearly collapsed to the floor.
Assistant Sun hurriedly steadied her and asked with concern, "President Xiao, what's wrong?"
Xiao Qingcheng turned pale, looking utterly soul-drained. "Tianlong Group has revoked our eligibility to attend tomorrow night's bidding chamber of commerce event... Lord Long issued the order personally..."
Chapter 4: The First Fiancée with Cup Size E!
What?!
Everyone present was utterly shocked!
Just like that, why was their eligibility to attend the chamber of commerce suddenly revoked?
Wouldn't that mean the bidding contract worth ten billion was also down the drain?
Ji Boduan frowned and asked, "For Lord Long to issue a personal order, did any of you offend him?"
Xiao Qingcheng shook her head. She had always walked on eggshells when dealing with Tianlong Group; how could she ever dare to offend them?
However, Zhang Huilan and Xiao Nan exchanged glances, and a realization instantly dawned on both of them at the exact same time!
The fat man with wire-rimmed glasses they had insulted earlier at the cemetery seemed to be none other than Zhao Hailong.
After all, his business portraits could be seen everywhere in Jiangnan City.
No wonder he had looked somewhat familiar at the time!
Could it be that because of this very incident...
Zhang Huilan and her son turned green instantly, breaking out in a cold sweat!
Noticing the strange behavior of Zhang Huilan and Xiao Nan, Xiao Qingcheng asked, "What is wrong with you two?"
Xiao Nan wouldn't dare tell the truth, so his eyes rolled and he lied:
"Sis, I just remembered seeing Ye Tiance cursing at Lord Long back at the cemetery. It must be because of this that Lord Long is retaliating against our Xiao Family."
Xiao Qingcheng didn't believe it at all. "How could Ye Tiance ever have the guts to curse at Lord Long?"
Zhang Huilan chimed in to help explain, "Of course that good-for-nothing wouldn't dare curse at Lord Long under normal circumstances, but he must be harboring a deep grudge over being divorced and deliberately dragged our Xiao Family down with him! After all, he has nothing to lose.
Don't worry about those little details right now. This chamber of commerce event is of vital importance to our Xiao Family; we have to get our qualification reinstated immediately, otherwise the ten-billion-dollar order is gone!"
Xiao Qingcheng bit her lip hard!
Never had she imagined that Ye Tiance could be so narrow-minded, resorting to such scummy tactics just to exact revenge on her!
She had completely misjudged him!
Taking a deep breath, she said helplessly, "I want to get it reinstated too, but since Lord Long gave the order personally, what can I possibly do?"
Assistant Sun reminded her, "President Xiao, didn't Young Master Ji say that their Ji Family sought out Lord Long to mediate all these bids? He must be able to help!"
Everyone immediately turned their gazes toward Ji Boduan.
The latter's expression turned awkward for a moment, but putting on a brave face, he said, "That may be so, but I'm not entirely clear on the specific situation. I'll go straight to Tianlong Group and ask Lord Long about what's going on!"
Xiao Qingcheng expressed her gratitude, "Sorry to trouble you!"
After Ji Boduan left, Assistant Sun comforted her, "President Xiao, with the young master of the Ji Family helping out, you can rest easy!"
Xiao Qingcheng shook her head.
Although the Ji Family was one of the three major families in Jiangnan City, in front of the King of Jiangnan, Lord Long, their weight might not count for much.
She had to think of a way herself!
After a brief hesitation, she spoke up, "The Han Family is not only one of the three major families, but family head Han Tianzheng is also the richest man in Jiangcheng. I hear he's on quite good terms with Lord Long personally. I plan to visit the Han Family and ask him to lend a hand as well!"
Assistant Sun said with worry, "The Han Family holds a prominent status, and we aren't close with them. Will they help?"
Xiao Nan patted his chest and boasted, "Don't worry, I'll go with Sis. As it happens, the Han Family's young miss is holding a bride selection right now. With my looks and talent, I'm bound to pass. Once I become the Han Family's son-in-law, how could the Han Family refuse to help?"
Zhang Huilan slapped her thigh in excitement and said, "That's right! Xiao Nan is so outstanding, he's sure to become the Han Family's son-in-law. Let's head over right now!"
"Then... alright, let's go to the Han Family!"
Xiao Qingcheng had no choice but to try her luck.
...
Wolong Manor spanned tens of thousands of square meters, featuring picturesque scenery, beautiful landscapes, and fresh air.
This was the home of Han Tianzheng, the richest man in Jiangnan City and head of one of its three major families.
Along the way, Ye Tiance had finished reading the dossier on Han Ruoyun that Zhao Hailong sent him.
Two and a half months ago, after returning from Elder Han's funeral, Han Ruoyun contracted a strange illness. She remained in a daily coma, her skin intermittently bleeding, while all major hospitals were completely baffled.
Han Tianzheng spent a fortune to invite Taoist Master Gongsun.
After peering into the secrets of heaven, this person stated that Miss Han was not ill, but rather that Elder Han had died with an unfulfilled wish—having never seen his granddaughter get married—leaving behind an obsession and an unvanquished lingering spirit.
He then provided a method to break the curse: bride selection to bring good fortune and drive away bad luck.
Thus, seven days ago, the Han Family released news that they would search Jiangnan City for a man with a compatible destiny to marry Han Ruoyun, granting him a life of luxury and wealth.
As soon as the news broke, young men from all over the city swarmed in, eager to avoid a lifetime of hard work.
Ye Tiance walked all the way into the inner courtyard of the Han Family, where twenty or thirty young men had gathered.
In the center of the courtyard stood an offering table enshrining Elder Han's memorial tablet, with three unlit incense sticks inserted into the burner in front of it.
Family head Han Tianzheng stood to the right of the table. Over the past two and a half months, having first suffered the pain of losing his father and then facing his daughter's life-and-death ordeal, he was physically and mentally exhausted.
To the left of the offering table stood an elderly man with a goat-like goatee, wearing a yellow robe and a floral crown, exuding an immortal Daoist aura.
He was none other than Taoist Master Gongsun.
Stroking his beard, he announced, " Gentlemen, the so-called destined person must be acknowledged by Elder Han himself. In a moment, follow my command to step forward, kneel, and kowtow to Elder Han's memorial tablet, after which I will perform a ritual to test your affinity. If the destined person is found, the incense sticks before the memorial tablet will ignite automatically. Let's start with you."
A young man stepped forward, knelt down, and banged his head three times against Elder Han's memorial tablet with loud thuds.
Taoist Master Gongsun flicked his horsetail whisk, paced the Dipper steps, and chanted: "Moving the heart and shifting the form, taking refuge in the void, dust motes numbering like sands... Hear and obey my urgent command, decree!"
The incense remained completely unresponsive.
Taoist Master Gongsun said expressionlessly, "Next!"
The next young man stepped forward to kowtow.
Witnessing this, Ye Tiance was rendered utterly speechless.
From the moment he heard that Miss Han's coma was linked to Elder Han's wandering spirit, he had thought it was pure nonsense, but he never expected the method for testing affinity to be even more ridiculous!
Mind you, checking affinity for such rituals relied on face reading and matching birth characters; he had never heard of kneeling and kowtow.
His intuition told him there was definitely something fishy going on here, so he decided to watch and wait for now...
A short while later.
Counting Ye Tiance, only two people were left who hadn't tested their affinity; all the rest had failed.
Taoist Master Gongsun said solemnly to Han Tianzheng, "Family Head Han, today is the seventh and final day for testing the destined person. If we still can't find the one, please prepare yourself mentally..."
Han Tianzheng nodded gloomily.
"Next!"
A proud young man wearing a designer suit stepped forward and knelt before the memorial tablet.
Exclamations broke out among the crowd:
"Isn't that Ji Boxiao, the second young master of the Ji Family? Even he came to take the test?"
"The Ji Family and the Han Family are both among Jiangnan City's three major families. Their second young master is a perfect match for the Han Family's young miss. He's bound to pass the test!"
Ji Boxiao secretly exchanged a glance with Taoist Master Gongsun.
The latter understood immediately, stroked his beard, and praised, "From what I can see, this young master has a broad forehead and the noble bearing of a dragon among men. I estimate only he can pass this test!"
"That would be best!"
Han Tianzheng's expression was full of expectation. If Ji Boxiao passed the test, it would mean a marriage alliance between the Han and Ji families—the best of both worlds.
"Moving the heart and shifting the form, taking refuge in the void... Hear and obey my urgent command, decree!"
Following Taoist Master Gongsun's fierce shout, the incense sticks in the burner trembled slightly, but they did not catch fire.
Taoist Master Gongsun frowned and said, "The incense moved, which means this young master is the destined person! Quick! Keep kowtowing, increase your force and don't stop, while I continue the ritual!"
"Alright!"
Ji Boxiao looked overjoyed and put a bit more force into his kowtows.
"Hear and obey my urgent command, decree!"
The incense still refused to light, and after several attempts, it remained the same!
Han Tianzheng asked with worry, "Taoist Master Gongsun, could it be that Boxiao's affinity is still not enough?"
Taoist Master Gongsun was sweating profusely by now.
This shouldn't be happening...
They had clearly rehearsed this many times beforehand!
Taking a deep breath, he ordered Ji Boxiao, "Put more strength into it! You have to bang your head until it bleeds!"
"What?"
Ji Boxiao's body gave a slight jerk. Are you sure you're not trying to kill me?
Taoist Master Gongsun said sternly, "Do it!"
Steeling his heart, Ji Boxiao slammed his head heavily against the ground with a loud thud, and it began to bleed.
Ouch~~
Seizing the opportunity, Taoist Master Gongsun pinched a hand incantation, his face turning red as he stomped his feet hard and roared, "Hear and obey my urgent command, decree!"
Snap!
Good news: the incense finally burned.
Bad news: only a single stick burned, and it only lasted for three seconds!
Biting the bullet, Taoist Master Gongsun declared, "As long as it burns, it counts as passing the test! Congratulations, Family Head Han!"
Han Tianzheng looked thrilled—his daughter was finally saved!
Taoist Master Gongsun offered a reminder, "Second Young Master Ji, why haven't you paid your respects to your father-in-law yet?"
Clutching his head, Ji Boxiao was just about to bow to Han Tianzheng.
"Pfft!"
A burst of laughter suddenly erupted from the crowd!
Chapter 5: Why Don't You Come Be My Han Family's Son-in-Law?!
Swish!
Everyone turned toward the sound, their gazes locking onto Ye Tiance.
Clutching his head, Ji Boxiao rebuked, "What are you laughing at?"
Ye Tiance answered truthfully, "I'm laughing at how hard you tried, banging your head until it bled. Was it really necessary?"
The corner of Ji Boxiao's eye twitched.
He hadn't wanted to try that hard either, but Taoist Master Gongsun was simply incompetent.
Still, he put up a stubborn front: "Bled-out kowtows represent my utter sincerity, and Elder Han acknowledged me as the destined person, making the incense burn!"
Ye Tiance said indifferently, "The incense burning was caused by other tricks, and has nothing to do with Elder Han. When people die, the lamp goes out—stop trying to drag the dead into this!"
Han Tianzheng suddenly barked, "Cease your nonsense!"
His daughter's bride selection was of paramount importance and allowed for no interference.
"No matter!"
Taoist Master Gongsun stroked his beard, took two steps forward, and sneered at Ye Tiance, "You keep claiming the burning incense was caused by other tricks? Very well, why don't you come down, kneel, and kowtow to test it? I'm just afraid that even if you bash your brains out, it'll still be completely useless!"
"Kowtow? There's no need for that!"
Ye Tiance said indifferently, and casually snapped his fingers.
Snap!
The next second!
Snap! Snap! Snap!
The three incense sticks on the offering table burned at a speed visible to the naked eye, bursting into actual flames!
Everyone present looked dumbfounded, as if they had seen a ghost!
Taoist Master Gongsun's eyeballs nearly popped out of his head!
After a long moment, Han Tianzheng finally snapped out of it, grabbed Ye Tiance's hand, and said excitedly, "Good son-in-law, what is your name?"
Ye Tiance: "Uh..."
Seeing this, Ji Boxiao grew anxious.
He hurriedly gave Taoist Master Gongsun a shove, and the latter hastily chimed in, "Family Head Han, you've misunderstood. He is not your son-in-law!"
Han Tianzheng retorted, "Didn't you say whoever made all three incense sticks burn meant my late father acknowledged him as the Han Family's son-in-law?"
Biting the bullet, Taoist Master Gongsun explained, "Actually, the person your esteemed father acknowledged was Second Young Master Ji, but... that manifestation was delayed, causing the incense to burn a minute late, which just happened to let this brat pick up a loophole!"
Everyone present: "......"
Realizing how far-fetched this excuse sounded, Taoist Master Gongsun added hurriedly, "Besides, I can see this brat has a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, lacking both fortune and destiny. Elder Han would never acknowledge him."
Ye Tiance sneered, "If your skills are lacking, stop scamming people and cheating them out of their money!"
"Fulcrap!"
Taoist Master Gongsun raged, "This humble Daoist has studied the arts on Kunlun Mountain for over sixty years, reading yin and yang, discerning feng shui, and knowing destinies! Are you, a mere wet-behind-the-ears punk, qualified to say my skills are lacking?"
Ye Tiance pulled the marriage contract from his bag.
And slapped it directly across the old man's face: "You keep claiming Elder Han didn't acknowledge me, then what is this?"
"A marriage contract? You... how do you have this?"
Taoist Master Gongsun flipped open the contract, his entire old face instantly filling with shock.
He had been loudly insisting that the guy wasn't acknowledged by Elder Han, but not only did the man have a marriage contract, it even bore Elder Han's personal signature!
If this wasn't an acknowledgment, what was?
At that moment, the old man felt his face burning fiercely!
Ji Boxiao felt even more like crying without tears. After exhausting so much effort, hadn't he kowtowed for nothing?
At this moment, Han Tianzheng said with displeasure, "Young man, I originally thought you were my daughter's destined person, but it turns out you're just another fraud forging marriage contracts. How disappointing!"
"Forging marriage contracts? What do you mean?"
Ye Tiance was clueless.
"Still playing dumb?"
Han Tianzheng instructed Steward Wang behind him, "Bring those pieces of junk over and let him have a look!"
"Yes!"
Soon, Steward Wang carried over a large chest.
Ye Tiance looked closely and saw that the chest was densely packed with marriage contracts of all shapes and styles.
What on earth is this?
Everyone present was equally stunned!
Han Tianzheng explained, "To not keep it from you all, before my late father passed away, he revealed that he had indeed arranged a marriage for Yunyun in his early years, but unfortunately he drew his last breath before he could disclose the identity of the groom.
However, word leaked out, and that very night, a whole bunch of people came to my house carrying marriage contracts to fulfill the engagement. If those marriage contracts were real, I, Han, would naturally honor them, but those dozens of marriage contracts were all forged! They simply treat the Han Family's marriage contract like child's play, and it took a tremendous amount of effort on my part to suppress the whole affair!"
With that, he stared at Ye Tiance sternly and said, "I never expected that so long after the fact, you'd still resort to such backward tactics to pull off a scam. Do you really take the Han Family for something you can push around?"
Ye Tiance broke out in a cold sweat.
Good grief, how was he supposed to know that people had actually formed gangs to forge marriage contracts for bride-scamming?
He explained, "Whether my marriage contract is real or fake, Family Head Han will know at a glance!"
"No need to look!"
Han Tianzheng waved a hand impatiently and said, "Our Han Family doesn't welcome swindlers. Be on your way!"