After being forced into a marriage of convenience, a master of metaphysics manipulates a cold and al

"...Who stole it?"

Ye Bai was taken aback.

"Your brother!"

Shen Lu gritted her teeth, like a little tiger about to explode.

"my brother?"

Ye Bai opened his eyes wide, about to ask another question, when a familiar voice entered his ears.

"Ye Bai, are you determined to go against the Ye family?"

Following the sound, a man with bandages wrapped around his face walked over; it was none other than Ye Xuanyuan.

"Big brother? What are you doing here?"

Ye Bai stood up, genuinely surprised this time.

Ye Xuanyuan's fall yesterday was quite severe; Ye Bai estimated that his nose was probably broken.

Given Ye's eldest son's image-conscious, vain, and carefree personality, he should be staying home and recovering from his injuries during this period.

But unexpectedly, it resurfaced after only one day.

"Hehe, this must be the Qin family's fearless new son-in-law?"

"Let me see what it looks like...tsk tsk, it's pretty ordinary!"

Just then, a soft laugh came from the side, and several more people walked over.

The leader was a beautiful woman, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

She was wearing a red dress and had a tall, graceful figure.

However, she has narrow, elongated eyebrows and a slightly pointed chin, giving her a foxy, alluring air.

Her eyes sparkled, captivating and mesmerizing.

Upon seeing the beautiful woman arrive, a burning desire clearly flashed in Ye Xuanyuan's eyes.

"Young master, this woman is Zhu Daji, the eldest daughter of the Zhu family, one of the four great families of Jingzhou..."

Shen Lu was so angry that her eyes widened, and she began to complain to Ye Bai.

Through Shen Lu's explanation, Ye Bai finally understood what had happened.

The item Qin Wanqing sent them to retrieve was an ancient painting.

It is an authentic work by a master of the Song Dynasty, and is not only priceless but also extremely rare.

Whether for collection or as a gift, it is an excellent choice.

Qin Wanqing had spent a lot of money to ask Feng Tianji to acquire it for a long time before she finally came across such a painting.

Unexpectedly, Ye Xuanyuan somehow learned of this news and came here to intercept it.

Moreover, the price offered was extremely extravagant, with a direct increase of 30%!

If it's something cheap, 30% isn't much.

However, the painting itself was incredibly valuable, and this 30% suddenly became a huge sum of money.

However, according to the rules, since Qin Wanqing asked the antique shop to help acquire this painting and even paid a deposit in advance, the antique shop cannot sell it to anyone else.

Unfortunately, the shop owner, Feng Tianji, was not in the shop today, and the antique shop manager dared not offend Zhu Daji and Ye Xuanyuan, so he took it upon himself to unilaterally break the agreement with Qin Wanqing.

Of course, this is also because Shen Lu is just a bodyguard for the Qin family.

In terms of status and position, he is not even worthy of carrying the shoes of the eldest daughter of the Zhu family and the eldest son of the Ye family.

“From childhood to adulthood, I’ve always enjoyed competing with Qin Wanqing for things. If she sets her sights on something, I’ll snatch it from her.”

“Go back and tell her that this painting is mine now. And her man will soon be mine too.”

Zhu Daji didn't interrupt Shen Lu, but waited until the other party finished speaking before giving Ye Bai a flirtatious wink.

"...What do you mean? You stole the painting, and now you want to steal mine too?"

Ye Bai's eyes widened in surprise, so much so that he didn't swallow his tongue.

Are all the wealthy families in Jingzhou this brazen? Stealing other women's husbands at the drop of a hat?

"Rob you? What kind of daydream are you having! That's hilarious!"

Zhu Daji was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I've realized it, you and Qin Wanqing are truly a perfect match! Queen Qin is so arrogant, thinking no one in Jingzhou can compare to her. And you, kid, also have an incredibly high opinion of yourself. It really proves the saying, 'Birds of a feather flock together'!"

Zhu Daji's face was full of mockery, then her smile vanished, and she sneered, "Why don't you take a piss and look in the mirror? Someone like you, a toad trying to eat swan meat? Only Qin Wanqing would be so desperate as to eat a mere adopted son of the Ye family!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Bai breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "It's fine as long as you don't try to take me away. You don't have a husband-killing fate, so what's the point of marrying you?"

"Ye Bai, shut up! Who gave you the audacity to speak to Miss Zhu like that!"

Before Zhu Daji could speak, Ye Xuanyuan sternly rebuked her.

"Xuanyuan, your adopted brother is quite arrogant, even more so than you, the legitimate young master of the Ye family. It seems your Ye family's parenting has failed!"

Zhu Daji's pretty face turned cold, and the Zhu family bodyguards stepped forward, surrounding Ye Bai and Shen Lu, their eyes flashing with fierce light.

Shen Lu was not very tall, but she was very brave. Not only was she not afraid, but she also glared at him angrily.

It's just that because of her adorable appearance, her lethality is really negligible; she's a classic example of cute yet fierce.

"Ye Bai! Don't forget who you are, and get out of here! I've already given that painting to Miss Zhu as a gift!"

Ye Xuanyuan's face was gloomy, and there were faint traces of blood seeping from the gauze, clearly indicating that the wound had been torn open by the anger.

"Xuanyuan, I love your domineering aura. You're truly the man I snatched from Qin Wanqing!"

Zhu Daji gently took Ye Xuanyuan's arm, her smile as radiant as a flower, her demeanor incredibly charming.

"So the man you were going to steal earlier... was him?"

Ye Bai opened his eyes wide and finally realized.

"You probably don't know why Xuanyuan suddenly broke off the engagement, do you? Besides not wanting to be cursed to death by Qin Wanqing, there is actually another reason."

"He wants to become the son-in-law of my Zhu family! Xuanyuan, don't you think so?"

Zhu Daji giggled incessantly, becoming increasingly smug.

"Yes! I have never liked Qin Wanqing from beginning to end."

"The only one I truly love is you, Miss Zhu!"

"In front of you, Qin Wanqing is not even qualified to carry your shoes."

Ye Xuanyuan nodded without hesitation.

"You dare insult my young lady like this, you surnamed Ye!"

Shen Lu was furious and rushed forward to attack.

Ye Bai's eyes also turned cold, but he still stopped Shen Lu and said calmly, "Big brother, don't you think it's going too far to belittle your sister-in-law like this in front of outsiders?"

He truly had no idea that there was such a hidden story behind this broken engagement.

He and Ye Xuanyuan usually had no communication, and the Ye family never allowed him to come into contact with these core matters.

But upon closer reflection, this is not surprising.

"They are driven by profit and will stop at nothing to achieve it."

This was a comment his master made when he first saw Ye Xuanyuan.

At that time, Ye Bai had not yet learned the Xuanmen techniques, so he naturally could not see it, but he remembered those words very well.

Only after he mastered physiognomy did he realize that his master's assessment back then was somewhat conservative.

Or, just say the nice things.

In addition to the two sentences mentioned above, two more sentences should be added.

"Heartless and ungrateful, worse than a beast!"

For the sake of profit, Ye Xuanyuan would not hesitate to break off the engagement, let alone betray his parents.

"Oh my, did I hear that right? Xuanyuan, this adopted son of the Ye family is lecturing you!"

Zhu Daji began stirring up trouble in a sarcastic and insinuating manner.

"You really think of yourself as a member of the Ye family? Last time I called you a servant of the Ye family, and that was a nice way of putting it."

"To put it bluntly, you're just a dog kept by the Ye family! A stray dog ​​at that!"

"Have you ever seen an owner who cares about their dog's feelings?"

Ye Xuanyuan's gaze turned sinister as he coldly snorted.