Tang Sihai smiled and asked, “Do you know why that was?”
Xiao Churan said blankly, “I’m not sure. Maybe my grandfather admired him or liked him? He never told me the specific reason, only that marrying Ye Chen wouldn’t harm me.”
Tang Sihai nodded, smiling, “If I’m not mistaken, your grandfather was Xiao Deyin, correct? Though ‘De’ refers to virtue, it’s actually a homophone for ‘gain,’ reflecting his parents’ hopes that he could escape poverty and live a prosperous life, isn’t that right?”
Xiao Churan looked at him in shock and asked, “You… how do you know?”
Tang Sihai smiled faintly, not answering her question, but instead asked, “Do you know what your grandfather did for a living when he was young?”
Xiao Churan thought for a moment and said, “When my grandfather was young, I heard he worked as a servant for a very wealthy family in Yanjing. Later, that family gave him a generous severance, and he used that money to return to Jinling and gradually start his own business.”
Tang Sihai nodded, “Indeed, your grandfather didn’t lie. And the family he mentioned was, in fact, the Ye family from Yanjing.”
“What?!” Xiao Churan was stunned, “My grandfather was a servant of the Ye family?!”
Tang Sihai said, “The term ‘servant’ may not sound pleasant, but it wasn’t slavery—it was more like a lifelong employee.”
He smiled and added, “But you’re right, your grandfather was indeed a servant of the Ye family.”
Xiao Churan felt her breathing quicken and asked Tang Sihai, “Then… does that mean Ye Chen is truly the young master of the Ye family?! Did my grandfather… did he recognize Ye Chen’s identity and that’s why he insisted I marry him?”
Tang Sihai nodded solemnly, saying, “Correct. Your husband, Ye Chen, is indeed the young master of the Ye family. His father was the Ye family’s second young master, Ye Changying, and his mother was An Chengqi of the American An family.”
“What?! It’s really true?!” Xiao Churan felt the world spinning. She had been married to Ye Chen for so long, yet she had to learn his true identity from someone else.
Tears instantly streamed down her face as she choked, “But… why didn’t he tell me? No matter what his identity is, he should have told me the truth…”
Tang Sihai shook his head, saying, “He couldn’t tell you.”
He then asked her, “Do you know why the young master lived in an orphanage for ten years?”
“Why?!” Xiao Churan was puzzled, “If he’s the young master of the Ye family, they surely had the means to give him the best life. Why leave him in an orphanage for so long?”
Tang Sihai said earnestly, “Because the young master carries a deep vendetta and faces a deadly threat!”
He continued passionately, “The young master’s parents were the pride of the Chinese people, dragons among men. Back then, they offended a very ancient and evil organization, one with over 300 years of history, with influence spread across the globe. His parents died at their hands!”
“And they’ve always wanted to eliminate him completely, to kill the young master as well!”
“Fortunately, his father had taken precautions. He knew he would eventually die at the hands of his enemies, so he arranged a proper escape route for the young master.”
“That was the ten years he spent in the orphanage. During those ten years, that evil organization searched tirelessly for the young master’s whereabouts, but they never imagined he was still in Jinling, living in the very city where his parents were killed!”
“The young master’s father once said that the most dangerous place is often the safest. The option everyone thinks is impossible is often the best choice!”
