Ye Chen didn’t have a particularly fond impression of Ye Changmin.
As a child, he only remembered that before his parents left the capital, this aunt of his was like a firecracker, constantly clashing with his mum and dad.
The next time they met, she’d already had a scrap with his mother-in-law.
That encounter had been especially tense, Ye Chen even considering that if Ye Changmin didn’t back down, he’d have her confined to a village in the city for two years.
So when the old man spoke up for Ye Changmin, Ye Chen didn’t take it to heart.
Seeing his cool reaction, Ye Zhongquan knew Ye Chen still harboured some resentment towards her.
So, while Ye Changmin was still out of the room, he said earnestly, “Chen’er, there’s a lot you might only have seen part of. Your aunt and your father were close in the early days, your mother treated her well too, but later, when the whole Ye family turned against your parents, I didn’t stand up for them either. Back then, your aunt, to protect herself, did indeed go against your folks.”
With that, the old man let out a long sigh, “At that time, the Ye family was on edge, everyone looking out for themselves, just like at Ye Ling Mountain. People only cared about saving their own skins, no one thought about their parents or siblings. That’s probably a fixed tradition for everyone in the Ye family except your father.”
Ye Chen couldn’t help but recall his childhood.
Before they left the capital, his parents had indeed been ostracised by the entire family.
Leading the charge was his eldest uncle.
Back then, with his parents openly at odds with the Rothschild family, not a single Ye family member stood by his father. When his uncles and aunts ganged up on him, the old man never once spoke up for justice.
It was strikingly similar to what happened at Ye Ling Mountain.
The Ye family had never been a united clan. A truly united family puts loved ones first, interests second, banding together against even the fiercest foes, fighting to the bitter end.
The Ye family, though, was more like the dying court of a feudal dynasty, everyone obsessed with protecting their own patch, unmoved even if the nation fell, as long as their little plot was secure.
Ye Changmin joining his uncle against his parents was partly the Ye family’s DNA, partly self-interest. Ye Chen didn’t want to judge right or wrong, but it still stuck in his craw.
Even the old man wasn’t exempt.
Sure, he hadn’t personally driven Ye Chen’s family out, but by letting others pile on his parents and not lifting a finger to stop their departure, he’d left a lingering thorn in Ye Chen’s heart.
This time, Ye Chen sighed faintly, “I don’t want to judge the past’s rights and wrongs. If I had to, I’d say it was an era of all villains, not a single good soul.”
Ye Zhongquan felt a bit awkward.
How could he miss the meaning in Ye Chen’s words?
Ye Changying had left the Ye family intending to cut ties, to keep his conflict with the Qing Breakers from dragging them down.
He hadn’t told the family the truth, instead openly warring with the Rothschilds to force that separation.
It showed he’d long seen through the Ye family’s nature, knowing that once he took on the Rothschilds, they’d ditch him for their own sake.
