It left a bad taste in Mother Ye's mouth when she saw Mrs. Lu holding Ye Zhen's hand. Glancing at her older daughter, who had been wronged, she comfortingly patted the back of Ye Qing's hand. "Mrs. Lu, there's something I have to talk about with Qingqing. My husband can make the decisions on the wedding.

"Sure, no problem."

Mother Ye gestured for Ye Zhen to follow with her to a room. Right after the door was closed, Mother Ye impatiently started her interrogation. "Ye Zhen, what's wrong with you? You were suppose to go abroad. Why did you go back to the Lu's without telling us?"

Ye Zhen didn't know what Ye Qing had told Mother Ye, but at this point, there was nothing she needed to hide.

"Lu Beichuan was the one that brought me back there. He already knows that I took older sister's place in marrying him, so there's no point in putting on act in front of him."

"He knows?" Mother Ye furrowed her brows. "How did he find out?"

Ye Zhen coyly answered, "How would I know how he found out? Not only that, he also knows that we tried switching back, and it was older sister that's been staying at the Lu family's villa during the past few days."

"This... Then... What...." For a long time, Mother Ye wasn't able to express any coherent thoughts.

If he already knew everything, would her Qingqing still be able to formally marry into the Lu family?

Ye Zhen looked at her and sighed. "There's nothing we can do about it now. Besides, the truth was bound to come out sooner or later. Since Lu Beichuan already knows the truth, everyone will eventually know about switch. Rather than make it hard to step down later, why don't we just be honest now? Once everything is laid out in the open, we can discuss and perhaps..."

Ye Qing, who had just entered the room, heard Ye Zhen's words and a fury that was hard to suppress rose up in heart.

She hadn't guessed wrong!

"I knew it! You've been harboring this thought since the very beginning! You never had the intention of giving the status of Mrs. Lu back to me. You lied to my face that you wanted to go abroad, then behind my back, you told Lu Beichuan the truth and had him go the airport to bring you back to the Lu's. Do you really think that by doing this you can rest easy?"

Ye Qing pointed at Ye Zhen and angrily said, "Ye Zhen, everyone knows that it was me, Ye Qing, that married Lu Beichuan. How dare you usurp my position?!"

"Ye Zhen, tell me, is your older sister speaking the truth?"

For some people, their hearts were biased, so of course, their words and actions would be biased too.

Ye Zhen coldly looked at the mother and daughter pair. They were glowering with self-righteous indignation. "Older sister, stop distorting the truth. I didn't usurp your position. I only took your place because you didn't want that position. And now that we're in the situation, you're trying to push all the blame onto me."

"Fine, I'll admit it. I was wrong before. I shouldn't have run off with Lin Zhan. At that time, I didn't know that the person he likes was you. Now that I know, I can't be with him anymore." Ye Qing tearfully looked at Ye Zhen. "This entire time, I've been considering your needs, but what about you? Have you ever thought about me?"

Hearing Ye Qing's words, Mother Ye was a bit stunned. "What? Lin Zhan likes Ye Zhen?"

Ye Qing nodded. "That's why I can't be with him. Zhenzhen, haven't you always liked Lin Zhan? I'm giving him back you now, so can you do the same by giving Lu Beichuan back to me?"

Ye Qing knew that Ye Zhen had always liked Lin Zhan. She could see it just from how Ye Zhen would look at Lin Zhan.

In the past, she had enjoyed how Ye Zhen had been envious of her for obtaining Lin Zhan's love and care. She believed that as long as Lin Zhan confessed to Ye Zhen, Ye Zhen would leave with Lin Zhan without any hesitation.

After listening to Ye Qing, Ye Zhen slightly furrowed her brow. "Isn't he in love with you?"

"The person he loves is the one that wrote him over twenty love letters, worked alongside him at his job, and tirelessly took care of his mother when she was in the hospital. You were the one that did those things." Ye Qing looked at her and quietly said, "If I hadn't discovered that you were the one that Lin Zhan likes, why would I return here? I can't steal your boyfriend from you. You're my younger sister and I hope that you'll be happy. I don't want you to entrust the rest of your life with someone that you don't like."

Ye Zhen had heard these words when she was eavesdropping outside the bathroom. But hearing Ye Qing saying these words to her now, she truly felt an indescribable feeling of hypocrisy.

Ye Qing took her phone out and called Lin Zhan. "If you don't believe me, I'll help you ask him!"

The call was picked up within two rings. WIthout waiting for Lin Zhan to speak, Ye Qing asked, "Lin Zhan, is the one that you like me or my younger sister?"

For a while, there was no sound from the other side of the call. The three people mutually stayed silent to listen. Finally, they heard Lin Zhan sigh and say. "Qingqing, let's talk about later, okay?"

Ye Qing sneered and hanged up. Looking at Ye Zhen, she said, "See, he doesn't dare to answer the question!"

Ye Zhen's eyebrows furrowed even more.

For now, let's not consider if Ye Qing was speaking the truth or not. What was up with Lin Zhan's attitude towards Ye Qing? In the novel, they had pledged undying love and to never leave each other. Why was he so hesitant in answering now?

Even if he had mistaken Ye Qing for her back then and found out the truth now, they had been together for three years in a loving relationship. How could feelings that had developed over three years not be deep enough? It had only taken a few words from Ye Qing to make him indecisive. What happened to being committed and faithful?

Scumbag!

Seeing that Ye Zhen was remaining silent, Ye Qing took a deep breath. Her eyes gradually turned red. "Zhenzhen, I'm sorry, really."

With the past being brought up, Ye Qing seemed as if she truly felt very guilty. "If I could have known earlier that the one he likes is you, I really wouldn't have competed with you for him and you wouldn't have taken my place in marrying someone that you didn't like."

Ye Zhen couldn't stand looking at Ye Qing's "I'm so pitiful and horribly wronged" look. Looking at this hypocritical little white flower, it felt as if she was looking at hazardous materials that shouldn't be approached.

"Can you... can you give me Lin Zhan's phone number? There something I want to ask him."

Ye Qing was thrilled. She knew it! Ye Zhen couldn't give up on Lin Zhan! Her tensed nerves immediately relaxed, but her face didn't betray the change in her emotions. "Okay."

As Ye Zhen dialed Lin Zhan's phone number, she looked at Ye Qing and Mother Ye and quietly said, "I want to talk to him in private."

Ye Qing very understandingly pulled Mother Ye out of the room with her as she left.

Lin Zhan picked up Ye Zhen's call after the two women left.

It was only after Ye Zhen heard a tired sound on the other end of the phone that she smiled and said, "Lin Zhan, this is Ye Zhen. The Ye Zhen that did all those things for you. I have a favor to ask of you."

Since Ye Qing so badly wanted to be the villain's wife, she could have it.

She would give her this spot in advance as well as the future of being behind the barred window of a prison cell.

***

Mrs. Lu discussed the wedding with Father Ye and Mother Ye all day and didn't say her goodbyes until it was dusk.

She looked at Ye Zhen, who was standing on the stairs, and said with a smile, "Qingqing, Beichuan will come here to pick you up on the 10th of the next month. At that time, you have to be prepared to officially become the Lu family's daughter-in-law."

Ye Zhen stroked the diamond ring on her ring finger and nodded. "Okay."

The news that the Lu family was preparing for a wedding spread like wildfire.

A starved camel is still bigger than a healthy horse. Although the current Lu family wasn't as impressive as its previous self a year ago before it had met with many setbacks, it had solid foundations and was still magnificent.

The timing of this wedding also came at a good time.

The news of Lu Shaoren's imprisonment had caused the Lu family's company's stock to plummet as well as causing widespread panic amongst the company's employees. Companies that they had previously collaborated with were indifferently watching from the sidelines.

But then, there was news that Lu family's successor, who had been in a coma for a year, was getting married. This piece of news utterly overwhelmed the news of Lu Shaoren's imprisonment.

At the same time, it eased the worries of side parties.

For the Lu family to still be in the mood for a wedding when Lu Shaoren had been imprisoned, it meant that the rumors were false. Otherwise, how could Old Master Lu and Lu Beichuan remain so calm instead of deeply troubled when their immediate family member was supposedly involved in a big criminal case.

***

Police station.

Lu Beichuan brought a lawyer along to see Lu Shaoren.

At this time, Lu Shaoren was wearing a prison uniform, and his appearance looked ragged and exhausted. As soon as he saw Lu Beichuan and the lawyer that he had brought along walking over here, he shouted to them as if he was grasping at his last straw. "Beichuan! I was framed! Get me the best lawyer!"

Lu Beichuan expressionlessly looked at him before meaningfully looking at the lawyer by his side.

The lawyer took out a pile of documents from his bag, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Lu Shaoren.

Lu Shaoren didn't accept the documents or look at them. He instinctively felt that this wasn't something good.

"What is this?"

Lu Beichuan didn't say anything.

The lawyer explained for him, "This is evidence of your tax evasion and illegal transfer of assets during the past year. The last page is for you to sign to unconditionally transfer your share of the company stocks."

Lu Shaoren stared at Lu Beichuan. "What do you mean by this?"

Lu Shaoren had rarely fulfilled his duties as a father. He had basically done nothing to educate Lu Beichuan on right or wrong as he was growing up. Thus, it went without saying that the father and son relationship between these two was nonexistent.

In the past years, Lu Shaoren had enjoyed himself and spread his wild oats. Who knows how many illegitimate children he had fathered? Before the accident, Lu Beichuan had turned a blind eye to Lu Shaoren's misdeeds. They were like two strangers. But after his car accident, Lu Beichuan realized it wasn't enough to turn a blind eye. The greed that could dwelled in the human heart would always be shocking.

"Return the assets that you took from the Lu family, and I'll plea with the judge for leniency."

"Plea for leniency? You think I'm responsible for the car accident too?"

"The electrice monitoring evidence I gave to the police is conclusive."

Lu Shaoren slammed his chuffed hands against the table. He glared at Lu Beichuan. "I'm your dad. How dare you..."

Lu Beichuan coldly swept his gaze over him. "Did you think of me as your son when you hired an assassin to kill me? Since you don't treat me as your son, why should I treat you as my father? You have plenty of other sons, so you don't need to care about me. Even though I only have you as my father, it was the same as not having a father, so why wouldn't I dare to do this?"

"Old Master definitely won't let you get away with this!" Lu Shaoren malevolently looked at him.

Lu Beichuan calmly said, "You ruined grandfather's hard work. Do you think he's going to let you off?"

Lu Shaoren's face paled. He sucked in his lips. "What... What do you mean?"

"You have more than one son, and grandfather also has more than one son. There are still people living in our ancestral home."

"No! He thinks those people aren't good enough! Otherwise, why would he let me manage the company for a year?!"

"He was giving you a chance to show your ability to him, but all he saw was your wild ambition." Lu Beichuan looked at the paper. "If you sign, I'll find the best lawyer for you and ask the judge to be lenient with your sentence. If you don't sign, I'll hand in all the evidence I have on your illegal acts of tax evasion and attempted homicide. What do you think? How many years of jail time will you be sentenced for?"

"You... You..."

"Since you're my father, I've only handed in evidence of your attempted homicide so far. But if you're not willing to sign, who knows what the future will hold?”

"You're threatening me!" Lu Shaoren grinded his teeth. "Do you think you can destroy me with just this? I'll tell you now, that's impossible!"

"If you're still expecting that Lin Zhan will save you, you should give up on that useless hope right now." Lu Beichuan sneered, "He's an unpresentable illegitimate child without any strong background. I didn't know about him in the past, but now that you brought him before me, do you really think I'm going to keep turning a blind eye to his existence? Thank you for showing me his potential so I can crush him before he matures."

Lu Beichuan's gaze was brooding as he continued, "In my eyes, your efforts were nothing. Your only mistake was that you didn't pull out my oxygen tube and allowed me to continue living."

Lu Shaoren eyes showed horror as he looked at his son, who he had lost the ability to deal with a long time ago. His hands subconsciously trembled.

"You thought that a comatose person wouldn't be able to do anything. Did it never occur to you that a comatose person could wake up on day? You already hired an assassin to kill me. Why didn't you take the final step? Well, grandfather is right. You're a useless disappointment." Lu Beichuan lightly mocked.

"Lu Beichuan... You... You..."

"Sign it or don't sign it. Do whatever you want."

The physical assets weren't the important part. The most important thing was the transfer of the company stock. Once Lu Shaoren signed away his company shares to him, Lu Beichuan would have majority control over the Lu family's business, and even Old Master Lu wouldn't be able to do anything against him.

"This is your only chance. If you want to stay imprisoned for the rest of your life..."

A war waged in Lu Shaoren's heart. Logic told him that he couldn't sign this agreement. Once he did, he would have nothing.

But, if he didn't sign, once he was charged with these crimes, he would be imprisoned for a decade or two. Life would be equally hopeless.

"Can you... can you get me out of here?"

The lawyer smiled and said, "Mr. Lu Shaoren, you're guilty of attempted homicide. We're not the prosecutor. It's the judicial officials that will make this decision, not us. We can only do our best to reduce your prison sentence."

"You're determined for me to serve a prison sentence?"

Lu Beichuan thought of Ye Zhen's earnest teachings. "If you do something illegal, you deserve to be punished by the law."

After saying all this, Lu Beichuan was already at the end of his patience. His tone was flat as he said, "If you don't sign..."

"Wait!" Lu Shaoren took a deep breath. "Will you let me off if I sign?"

Lu Beichuan coldly answered, "You don't have any other choice."

Lu Shaoren gritted his teeth. "Fine, I'll sign!"

The lawyer handed him a pen. Lu Shaoren hesitated a moment before signing his name on the document.

Lu Beichuan casually glanced at it. He didn't linger here and strode out of the police station.

The day after tomorrow was his wedding. He had more important things to do than waste time on Lu Shaoren.

He took out his phone and sent out a text message.

***

Ye Zhen, who had been eating, heard a text alert. She took out her phone and saw that it was a text message from Lu Beichuan. She wasn't too surprised when she read his message.

-- You don't need to wear high heels on our wedding day. I prepared flats for you.

Ye Zhen curled her lips. Was there any bride that didn't wear high heels on her wedding day?

She lazily responded, "Oh," before putting her phone away.

Ye Qing looked at her with a burning gaze. "Lu Beichuan?"

"Nope." Ye Zhen raised an eyebrow. "Just a text scam."

***

On the morning of the 10th, Lu Beichuan's eyelids kept twitching, but under Mother Lu's urgings to hurry up, he didn't have time to brood over it.

The wedding was held at a hotel. Because of the limited time to plan, the Lu family had simply reserved the entire hotel. The staff had been working on the wedding's decorations for the past half month. The seats on both sides were filled with relatives and friends of the Lu family and Ye family as well as close business partners.

Lu Beichuan was wearing a tux and standing tall on the stage. He was holding a bouquet and looking in the direction of the main doors. He looked handsomer than usual.

There were many people repeatedly congratulating Old Master Lu as well as Mrs. Lu. Mother Ye, who was sitting next to Mrs. Lu, couldn't conceal her happiness. Because of the Lu family, she was able to meet people today that she normally wouldn't be qualified to meet or talk to.

The main doors were pushed open. The bride was wearing a gorgeous wedding dress and high heels. With her hand around Father Ye's arm, she slowly walked towards Lu Beichuan.

Father Ye was in high spirits. There were countless guests here that had once looked down on his existence, but now it was their turn to look up at him.

As soon as he thought about how the Ye family would soon officially become in-laws with the Lu family, the smile on Father Ye's face became even more exuberant.

Stepping up onto the stage, Father Ye cleared his throat. Just as he was about to say a few words, Lu Beichuan coldly looked at the bashful blushing bride, who had her head lowered, and asked, "Where is she?"

The people close enough to hear his words were stunned. They didn't understand the meaning of Lu Beichuan's words.

Father Ye was the only one that quickly recovered and said with a smile, "Isn't Qingqing right here? Ah, this daughter of mine..."