Chapter 391: Memories of That Year

Twenty years ago.

The Ye family, council hall.

"Ye Xueqing, stand against the wall for me!"

The old Patriarch of the Ye family was furious, like an old lion in a complete rage, looking at Ye Xueqing before him with a sense of disappointment that she had not lived up to his expectations.

He had four children in total: Ye Yutian, Ye Yuyang, Ye Yushan, and Ye Xueqing.

Ye Xueqing's monstrous talent made the old Patriarch dote on this youngest daughter alone; he had never even spoken a harsh word to her.

In his eyes, his youngest daughter, Ye Xueqing, was enough to guarantee the Ye family another hundred years of glory, and he had long since regarded her as the next head of the Ye family.

But now, he discovered that his youngest daughter was actually pregnant, and he didn't even know when it happened!

"Speak! Who exactly is the father of this bastard!" the old Patriarch roared, his eyes full of fury.

"I don't know."

There was no expression on Ye Xueqing's face; one could not tell if she was sad or happy.

She stood there quietly, like a snow lotus on a high mountain, unstained by dust.

"You don't know?" The old Patriarch laughed in extreme anger. "It's your own child, and you don't know who the father is?"

"Mm," Ye Xueqing nodded.

"You wretch!"

The old Patriarch raised his hand and slapped Ye Xueqing directly across the face; five finger marks instantly swelled up on her fair cheek.

"You have brought complete disgrace to the Ye family!"

The only daughter of the Ye family head, pregnant out of wedlock, and not even knowing who the father was—this was simply a laughingstock!

Even if Ye Xueqing had brought any random man home, the old Patriarch wouldn't have been this angry; he hadn't planned on marrying this daughter off anyway, and raising a live-in son-in-law was no issue for the Ye family.

Ye Xueqing held her head up stubbornly, showing no intention of bowing.

"I am not lying. I truly do not know why I am pregnant, nor do I know who the father of the child is."

"You still dare to talk back!"

The old Patriarch was incensed, clutching his heart, his face turning livid with rage.

His eldest son, Ye Yutian, hurriedly stepped forward to soothe him.

"Father, Little Sister is blinded by love and wants to protect her sweetheart; that is only human nature. Please don't be angry."

Having calmed down, the old Patriarch's gaze was like a blade, his tone incomparably cold.

"Investigate! Even if you have to turn the entire capital upside down, you must find that man for me!"

"Yes, Father!" Ye Yutian said in a deep voice.

"As for you, go and kneel at the entrance of the ancestral hall. You will not get up until you know you are wrong!"

The old Patriarch stared fixedly at Ye Xueqing, the more he looked, the angrier he became.

As long as Ye Xueqing was willing to bow her head to him as her father, he wouldn't have been this angry.

Couldn't find the father? Then they could just remove the father and keep the child; that was no issue for the Ye family. But Ye Xueqing refused to say a single soft word from beginning to end.

Ye Xueqing didn't say anything more and walked toward the door.

As she passed by Ye Yutian, a look of sorrow flashed across her face.

"Big Brother, is the position of family head really that important to you?"

A look of unnaturalness flashed across the face of the then-young Ye Yutian, but it quickly returned to normal.

"Little Sister, what are you saying? As long as you name that wild man and apologize properly to Father, the position of family head will definitely still be yours! After all, everyone has seen your talent with their own eyes. I, as your big brother, am truly ashamed and heartbroken that you would do such a thing!"

Ye Xueqing glanced at Ye Yutian, walked toward the Ye family ancestral hall, and knelt down at the entrance with a thud.

This kneeling lasted for five days and five nights.

Five days later, the father of Ye Xueqing's child was found.

A man with handsome features was brought into the Ye family, bound hand and foot.

There wasn't a single patch of uninjured skin on his body; he had clearly suffered a brutal beating, yet even so, it could not hide the perfect contours of his features.

It could be said that this man was an absolute beauty, but he was not a job-changer; he was just an ordinary person with no strength to truss a chicken.

Ye Yutian threw the man in front of the old Patriarch.

"Father, I have investigated. Judging from the time Little Sister became pregnant, the only one who had the opportunity to make her pregnant is this guy! His name is Lin Xiao, and Little Sister has secretly contacted him several times! They have likely already pledged their lives to each other in secret!"

The old Patriarch walked slowly to Lin Xiao. Having held a high position for many years, he was filled with the majesty of a superior; the mere aura he exuded caused Lin Xiao, an ordinary person, to spit out a mouthful of blood on the spot.

If the old Patriarch hadn't intentionally restrained himself, the aura he released alone could have crushed Lin Xiao to death right there.

"You are the man who was with my daughter?" the old Patriarch asked coldly.

"Who is your daughter?" Lin Xiao's mind was full of question marks. These people had inexplicably beaten him up and then tied him up; he had no idea what was happening right now.

"You got her pregnant, and you still dare to ask me who my daughter is?"

The old Patriarch's aura erupted instantly, blowing Lin Xiao away. He suppressed the urge to kill Lin Xiao with a single slap and had someone bring Ye Xueqing over from the ancestral hall.

"Well, do you recognize her now?"

Ye Xueqing had been kneeling for five days and five nights, and there was not a trace of color on her face.

"It's you, Miss Ye?"

Lin Xiao was astonished. He knew Ye Xueqing; he was an elementary school teacher, and when Ye Xueqing passed by, she had helped save a few children. After a few encounters, they could be considered acquaintances.

But he had no idea that Ye Xueqing was the only daughter of the Ye family head, and as for getting her pregnant, that was even more absurd!

With his strength and status, how could he possibly have any entanglement with Ye Xueqing?

Ye Xueqing also had some impression of Lin Xiao. Seeing him dragged here, she roughly understood what was going on.

"I'm sorry, I've implicated you, Teacher Lin." Ye Xueqing's voice was somewhat hoarse.

Lin Xiao wanted to say something more, but was directly interrupted by Ye Yutian at the side.

"Father, I have already invited several physicians. Little Sister is five months pregnant; it can be fully determined whether this child is Lin Xiao's or not!"

As the old Patriarch nodded, several physicians filed in.

They first established a bloodline link from Ye Xueqing's belly and then connected it to Lin Xiao.

The bloodlines connected without any obstruction, perfectly natural!

With this, it was confirmed that the child in Ye Xueqing's womb was indeed Lin Xiao's!

Lin Xiao was stunned on the spot. He hadn't even been in a relationship, yet now he was suddenly told he had a child?

"Ye Xueqing! What else do you have to say?" The old Patriarch's face was incomparably livid.

Lin Xiao was just an ordinary person. If Ye Xueqing hadn't been willing, there was no way Lin Xiao could have touched her using any means, let alone gotten her pregnant!

That left only one explanation: Ye Xueqing had gotten pregnant by Lin Xiao of her own volition!

Ye Xueqing didn't explain anything, just looked up at Ye Yutian.

It was obvious that she had been schemed against by Ye Yutian, schemed against by her own brother.

Her own brother, even if it meant sending her to a stranger's bed and getting her pregnant, was determined to seize the position of family head.

Ye Xueqing suddenly felt that the Ye family... was quite meaningless. Since her big brother wanted the position of family head so much, then she would just give it to him.

She walked forward and helped Lin Xiao up.

"I have nothing to say. Lin Xiao and I are truly in love; I hope Father will grant us your blessing."