"Aunt, aren't you talking nonsense? Everyone knows Jiang Yi was brought here by me to treat Grandpa, not Xiao Yanran." Xiao Jianren was a bit anxious.
"If you don't believe me, ask Jiang Yi!" Xiao Cuiying said.
Hearing this, Xiao Jianren turned his gaze to Jiang Yi.
"Jiang Yi, you tell me yourself, did I bring you to treat Grandpa?" Xiao Jianren asked.
"No!" Jiang Yi smiled faintly and said, "Actually, Yanran brought me here to treat Grandpa. I didn't tell you this before, but now that things have come to this, I can only tell you the truth!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jianren was dumbfounded! Xiao Jianren finally understood that he had been toyed with by Jiang Yi from the very beginning.
Xiao Jianren trembled with anger.
"Jiang Yi, you need to think clearly. If you follow me, you'll have wealth and status for life. But if you follow this woman, you'll get nothing! Don't forget, she's a fake, she's not the eldest daughter of the Xiao family at all!" Xiao Jianren stared intently at Jiang Yi.
"I have no interest in wealth and status!" Jiang Yi looked at Xiao Jianren and continued, "Also, there's something you definitely don't know yet. I might as well tell you everything! Xiao Yanran is not a fake, she was originally the eldest daughter of the Xiao family."
"I didn't tell you the truth before because you still had some value. Now, you've lost all your value, so it doesn't matter if I tell you."
Xiao Jianren sat down on the sofa, trembling with rage. This outcome was completely unexpected for Xiao Jianren. After all his planning, he had ended up making wedding clothes for others.
"Jiang Yi, I'm going to kill you!" Xiao Jianren roared at Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
"Many people have wanted to kill me, but in the end, they were the ones who suffered. You should think carefully."
Xiao Jianren gritted his teeth in anger.
"Hmph!" Xiao Defu, who was not far away, let out a cold laugh.
"I never imagined we would all fall into this kid Jiang Yi's hands. But Jiang Yi, don't celebrate too early. Even if Xiao Yanran becomes the family head, so what? She has nothing. Do you really think everyone will obey her orders once she becomes the family head?"
Jiang Yi's brows furrowed slightly. This was indeed a problem.
"Yanran, don't worry!" Xiao Cuiying said, then she directly took out the Xiao family's genealogy and handed it to Ye Yanran. She said, "You are now the head of the Xiao family. From now on, you will be in charge of the genealogy. Anyone who disobeys your orders can have their name directly crossed out from the genealogy and be expelled from the Xiao family!"
Upon seeing the genealogy, everyone's expressions changed. With the genealogy in Ye Yanran's possession, the Xiao family members would no longer dare to oppose her casually! With the genealogy, Ye Yanran now held the power of life and death!
"Impossible!" Xiao Defu said in a deep voice, "More than twenty years ago, when our Xiao family had an incident, the genealogy was already destroyed. I personally saw it burn to ashes in the great fire."
"The genealogy you saw was fake! Grandpa had foresight and knew that someone would try to get their hands on the genealogy back then, so he prepared a fake genealogy in advance. For years, the real genealogy has been kept by me. Now it can finally be returned to its rightful owner!" Xiao Cuiying said.
With the genealogy falling into Ye Yanran's hands, the last hope for Xiao Defu and Xiao Wenbin, father and son, was dashed.
"Everyone, listen to me!" Ye Yanran swept her gaze across the crowd and said, "From now on, I can let bygones be bygones regarding past events. I hope you all behave yourselves, otherwise, I will not be merciful!"
With Ye Yanran's opening statement, she had already intimidated everyone.
"However, there is one thing I will absolutely not let go of!" Ye Yanran continued, "Years ago, my parents were brutally murdered. Although so many years have passed, I will still thoroughly investigate this matter. I will not forgive the culprits who killed my parents."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Defu's expression began to become uneasy. Xiao Defu's subtle change was immediately noticed by Ye Yanran! Ye Yanran soon understood that Xiao Defu must have been involved in the events of that year. Ye Yanran's next course of action would be to investigate Xiao Defu.
"Family head, if there is anything you need us to do, please just ask!" the Xiao family members quickly said to Ye Yanran. Ye Yanran becoming the Xiao family head was the best opportunity for these clan members to curry favor with her.
Soon, many Xiao family members surrounded Ye Yanran, all starting to flatter her. Meanwhile, Xiao Defu, Xiao Wenbin, and Xiao Jianren wore somber expressions. Many of those who had previously followed them were now starting to pledge allegiance to Ye Yanran. And Ye Yanran did not refuse the flattery of these clan members! Although Ye Yanran knew that many of these Xiao family members were not good people, at this moment, there was no need to worry about that. Having sufficient power within the Xiao family was the most important thing. Ye Yanran's situation forced her to act this way.
"Yanran, looking at the entire Xiao family, only you are qualified to be the family head. In just a few days, you have controlled the entire Xiao family. Even I don't have this ability," Xiao Cuiying said.
"Everything I have today is thanks to Jiang Yi's help. I haven't done anything myself!" Ye Yanran said.
"Yanran, even if all of this was done by Jiang Yi, he is merely someone you utilized, isn't he?" Xiao Cuiying winked at Ye Yanran. Ye Yanran immediately understood. Xiao Cuiying's intention in saying these words was to enhance Ye Yanran's prestige among the clan members, to let everyone know that Ye Yanran was an all-capable person. This way, no one would dare to harbor ill intentions towards Ye Yanran. But Ye Yanran worried that Jiang Yi might misunderstand, misunderstand that she was using him. Ye Yanran glanced at where Jiang Yi had been standing, wanting to see Jiang Yi's expression, only to find that Jiang Yi had already disappeared. She scanned the entire courtyard but could not find Jiang Yi. Jiang Yi had quietly left much earlier. This made Ye Yanran feel very lost.
"It seems Jiang Yi has some self-awareness. Knowing that Yanran has become the Xiao family head, he feels he is not worthy of you and doesn't want to stay here to humiliate himself, so he left on his own!" Xiao Cuiying said with a cold smile.
Ye Yanran's delicate eyebrows furrowed.
"Yanran, don't worry. With your current status and position, you will surely find someone who is a good match for you," Xiao Cuiying said, holding Ye Yanran's hand. "I have already secretly found someone for you. He is no ordinary person. In the entire capital, only he can be worthy of you. If you two get together, it will surely help the Xiao family regain its former glory."