Chapter 230

Chapter 230: Chapter 229 "Fine... fine, you bastard, you’re just someone who was driven out by the Luo family. Daring to be so arrogant, just wait and see..."

Zhang Yun cursed furiously, stepped into his Audi sports car, and left the entrance to the old mansion. Ye Tianchen did not make another move; he knew his mother, Luo Yan, would definitely stop him, and this was not the time for trouble. It was better to go in and see his grandmother.

"Young master, you shouldn’t have hit him. Zhang Yun is a petty and vengeful man, and with the eldest young master steering the family absent, the Luo family is almost entirely under the control of Zhang Yun’s mother and your eldest uncle. Now that the old lady is critically ill, they will certainly think of profiting from this!" Uncle Wang said with concern after seeing Ye Tianchen slap Zhang Yun.

"Tianchen, maybe you should leave first. I’ll go in for a quick look and then come out..." Luo Yan also expressed her worries.

Despite not having returned to the Luo family for twenty years, Luo Yan knew her brother and younger sister’s character very well. The younger sister, who was also Zhang Yun’s mother, was always domineering and overbearing, so much so that she wanted to get involved with the underworld when she was younger, which showed her arrogance. As for Luo Yan’s brother, Ye Tianchen’s eldest uncle, he was also a harsh character. It was he who first proposed to drive Luo Yan out of the Luo family, and his intentions were clear to everyone. He was afraid that Luo Yan would get together with Ye Hong and win their father’s approval. At the time, the grandmother had already sided with Luo Yan. If their father had approved too, it was likely that Ye Hong would have become the Luo family’s son-in-law, which would have reduced his chance to take control of the Luo family and become its leader.

It must be said that Luo Yan’s father, Luo Yansong, was a very dignified and capable man. Although he did not agree with Luo Yan and Ye Hong’s marriage, he was still very strict in educating his offspring and in discipline. He was not a dictator either. In front of all the Luo family members, he had made a statement: The leader of the Luo family does not necessarily have to be someone with Luo family blood. Our Luo family needs a capable leader, not a waste.

It was this statement that frightened Luo Yan’s elder brother. He thought that as the eldest grandson of the Luo family, his father could only pass the position of the family leader to him. With the family’s status and heritage, he believed it was enough for him to squander for a lifetime. Being born into wealth and status, he deemed himself a billionaire from birth. Little did he know his father, Luo Yansong, would say such a thing, and knowing his father’s personality, if he said it, he would do it. That was when he felt a sense of crisis. He had become much more disciplined over the years, always helping to manage the Luo family’s affairs, but his essential nature of being lazy and arrogant did not change.

"Mom, it’s okay. Let’s go in and see grandmother," Ye Tianchen said with a smile.

"But..."

"Let’s go, Mom..."

Ye Tianchen interrupted his mother’s words and pushed her through the old mansion’s gate. Zhang Yun’s appearance had already angered Ye Tianchen somewhat, but he also did not want to make a scene. After all, it would embarrass his mother, and she would not allow him to do so. However, he did not want these people to provoke him again, or he would not mind teaching them a lesson to seek some justice for his mother.

Luo Yan also knew the situation was urgent. They had already reached the doorway, and there was no room for hesitation. Still, she felt somewhat sad inside. After so many years, her brother and sister were still against her. She wondered what they were thinking. No matter what, they were born from the same root. Why the urgent need for such hostility?

Ye Tianchen, Luo Yan, and Uncle Wang entered the old mansion together. Inside, some of Luo Yan’s cousins, her father’s contemporaries, were present. They were Madam Luo’s children and naturally stood by her side during her critical illness.

Several cousins were surprised to see Luo Yan return but did not stop her. They all knew that Madam Luo’s most beloved granddaughter was Luo Yan. In her final moments, she naturally wanted to see Luo Yan, and no one wanted to cause trouble at this time, lest they become a target for public criticism.

Ye Tianchen glanced at the several people present, all older than his mother. He did not address anyone, for although they did not stop his mother, their eyes betrayed a certain rejection, suggesting that they too were involved in the decision to drive Luo Yan out of the Luo family.

Large families have their own sorrows. The greatest sorrow is descendants vying for family wealth, leading to rivalry and conflict, even to the point of brothers turning against each other, which is not uncommon in large families.

Luo Yan’s father, Luo Yansong, was the helmsman of the Luo family. Naturally, the first thing he considered was to pass the position to one of his three children. In terms of selecting the leader of a large family, gender had long ceased to matter—capability was the criterion. This created the most important reason for Luo Yan being ostracized by her elder brother and younger sister. Another reason was that Madam Luo, a person with a truly heavyweight status in the family, doted on Luo Yan. This made many who coveted the position of the family leader feel even more threatened by Luo Yan.

So, after learning that Luo Yan had fallen in love with Ye Hong, she almost faced opposition from the entire family. Moreover, some added fuel to the fire with exaggerated rumors, claiming that Luo Yan had already promised herself to Ye Hong for life, which eventually forced Luo Yan to be driven out of the Luo family. She even had a three-palm oath with her father, Luo Yansong, severing their father-daughter relationship.

Today, Luo Yan had returned to see Madam Luo, who was nearing the end of her life. Many people felt a renewed sense of crisis, even more so than twenty years ago. Back then, Luo Yan’s father, Luo Yansong, was young and hardly considered who the next helmsman would be. But twenty years later, Luo Yansong had aged and had to contemplate this issue.

Perhaps only Ye Tianchen’s father, Ye Hong, knew what even Tianchen and his younger sister Qianwen did not: their mother Luo Yan had once been a talented woman, a graduate of the Finance and Management Department at Longteng University, a notable figure at the university, a woman of both beauty and intelligence. Yet, over the years, she had supported Ye Hong from behind, being the epitome of a virtuous wife and loving mother.

It was because Luo Yan’s uncles, as well as her older brother and younger sister, understood that Luo Yan was a very intelligent and capable woman, that they were so worried. If Luo Yan had not been driven out of the Luo family, who knew how much turmoil she could have stirred up? Take her uncles, for instance; naturally, they had almost no chance of becoming the helmsman of the Luo family, but they would strive for their own children.

"Grandma, Grandma... it’s Yaner, I’m back... Do you feel any better?" Luo Yan was already kneeling by the bed, tightly holding the old lady’s right hand, tears clearly streaking her face, yet she still forced a smile as she called out.

In the middle of the room, on the bed lay an old lady nearly a hundred years old, thin as a rake, her complexion also pale. Anyone could tell that she was breathing her last. This was not illness, but the natural end of life, with all her organs failing. Ye Tianchen immediately extended his Superpower Perception; he could sense the faint dissipation of the old lady’s life force, about to flicker out.

"Yaner... is it really you, Yaner?" the old lady weakly opened her eyes, a hint of joy sparkling within. She tried to sit up but lacked the strength in her body.

"It’s me, Grandma, it’s me, I’m Yaner... I’ve come back, I’ve come to see you, you’re going to be fine..." Luo Yan, unable to hold back her tears, could sense the little time the elderly had left.

Twenty years had passed since their last meeting, and now that they were reunited, the old lady was on the brink of departing this world. How could one not be heartbroken, especially when Luo Yan recalled her childhood, being dearly loved by her grandmother, who had single-handedly raised her and her two siblings, cherishing her the most. Luo Yan cried uncontrollably, remembering a kind old lady who never let wealth or poverty blind her to the importance of family, always holding her loved ones as the most important aspect in her heart.

"It’s good you’re back, good you’re back... Have you been happy these years?" The old lady’s vision was already blurry, but she clung tightly to Luo Yan’s hand as she asked.

"Happy, Grandma, I’ve been very happy!" Luo Yan, not bearing to watch the old lady struggle for breath, turned her head away as she spoke.

"Well, that’s good... Grandma didn’t support you in vain. What a woman needs is a man who loves her, a happy family—that’s more important than anything..." The old lady persisted, insisting on speaking a few more words to her dearest granddaughter.

"Mhm, Grandma, you won’t have anything wrong with you, you definitely won’t... You’re going to get better!" Luo Yan nodded, forcibly squeezing out a smile as she spoke.

The old lady said nothing, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She no longer had the energy to speak. Being able to see her dearest granddaughter in her last moments was more than enough for her. She struggled to raise her right hand, seemingly wanting to say something, or perhaps to ask someone to fetch something.

"Grandma, don’t move. Tell me what you want to do, Yaner will do it for you..." Luo Yan said anxiously.

"I know, Madam Luo, I know, I’ll be right back..." At this moment, Uncle Wang quickly left the room, seemingly in a hurry to fetch something.

Ye Tianchen watched the old lady close her eyes and gasp heavily, waiting, persevering, wanting to complete her final wish; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to pass on in peace. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or a monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)