"Open it!" Ye Shen commanded.
"Yes!"
The two bodyguards immediately opened the cardboard box.
Inside were ten bottles of red wine, each costing at least two hundred thousand yuan.
This single case was worth several million.
Ye Shen immediately outshone Zhang Fucai.
Zhang Fucai felt a pang of embarrassment.
Seeing the expensive wine Ye Shen had brought, Ye Father began to feel uneasy. He had never bought such fine liquor before.
This made Ye Father incredibly happy.
But this was not the end. Ye He, He Li, and other members of the Ye family's inner clan presented their gifts one after another.
Even Ye Cheng, the patriarch of the Ye family, brought a grand gift.
Ye Mother and Ye Xiaofeng beamed, their smiles stretching from ear to ear. Their joy stemmed not from the gifts themselves, but from how this occasion proved their status and standing among the inner clan members.
It was a matter of great prestige.
Within the entire Ye family, only Patriarch Ye Cheng commanded such influence.
Ye Mother and Ye Xiaofeng busily attended to their guests.
Ye Father also immediately began to greet everyone.
The villa's main hall was packed.
"Where are Yanran and Jiang Yi?" Ye Cheng asked.
"Yanran was busy at the company late last night and only returned this morning. She's still resting!"
Ye Mother said with a smile, "Jiang Yi should be here soon. He promised to come today for the old man's birthday. Please wait a moment; he'll be here shortly."
Ye Mother knew very well that everyone was here for Jiang Yi.
Without Jiang Yi, their family would never have commanded such respect, nor would the Ye family patriarch have personally attended.
"Xiaofeng, go check on your brother-in-law and hurry him over. So many people are waiting for him!" Ye Mother instructed Ye Xiaofeng.
Ye Xiaofeng acknowledged the request and walked towards the hall's entrance.
Just then, a figure walked in from outside.
It was none other than Jiang Yi.
Upon seeing Jiang Yi arrive, Ye Cheng, the Ye family patriarch, who was sitting on the sofa, and Zhang Fucai immediately rose and went to greet him.
The others also quickly gathered around.
Ye Father and Ye Mother were left aside.
Jiang Yi responded to everyone, without putting on airs.
While greeting the crowd, Jiang Yi's gaze fell upon Ye Shen.
Ye Shen was Jiang Yi's target for the day.
Jiang Yi had met Ye Shen once before and recognized him the moment he entered.
Seeing Jiang Yi staring at him, Ye Shen hurried over with a smile, shaking Jiang Yi's hand while saying obsequiously, "It's wonderful to see you today. We must have a good drink or two and not stop until we're drunk."
Jiang Yi remained silent.
This left Ye Shen feeling somewhat awkward.
"Let me introduce him. This is Ye Shen. He's also a member of our Ye family."
Ye Mother, thinking Jiang Yi didn't recognize Ye Shen, quickly came forward to introduce them.
Jiang Yi gave a soft "Oh" and then paid Ye Shen no further attention.
Ye Shen could only offer an awkward smile.
To break the awkward atmosphere, Ye Mother immediately urged everyone to be seated and instructed the servants to serve the food quickly.
Jiang Yi sat at a table with Ye Father, Ye Mother, Ye Xiaofeng, and Zhang Fucai.
Ye Shen, however, sat with Ye Cheng and the others at a wine table nearby.
"Ye Shen, did you offend Jiang Yi before?" Ye He asked in a low voice.
"How could I possibly offend him? I don't even know him," Ye Shen replied.
"Then why isn't he paying you any attention?" Ye He continued to ask.
"How should I know!"
Ye Shen was starting to get impatient.
"Ye Shen, you are my chosen heir, and you will become the future patriarch of the Ye family. To ensure the Ye family has strong backing, you must foster a good relationship with Jiang Yi."
Ye Cheng, the Ye family patriarch, said with a grave expression, "Jiang Yi's connections are incredibly powerful. He even knows Chairman Bai of the Provincial Chamber of Commerce. He's no ordinary person!"
After speaking, Ye Cheng continued, "You are of the same generation as him, so it should be easy for you to build a good relationship."
"Yes!"
Ye Shen nodded, raised his wine cup, and stood up from his chair.
Approaching Jiang Yi, Ye Shen, with a fawning smile, said, "Cousin-in-law, I'd like to toast you..."
"Cousin-in-law? Are you mistaken!" Jiang Yi said calmly.
"No mistake. I am Yanran's older cousin, and you are Yanran's husband, so naturally, you are my cousin-in-law," Ye Shen replied with a smile.
"Miss Ye and I are already divorced," Jiang Yi stated plainly.
Ye Shen didn't know what to say.
Ye Mother began to panic, fearing that Jiang Yi would directly say he would not remarry Ye Yanran.
If that happened, these inner clan members of the Ye family, and Zhang Fucai... would no longer show their family favor.
After finally achieving such prestige, Ye Mother was unwilling to let it go.
"Ye Shen, if we go by the generation names in the family tree, Yanran is one generation above you. You should call Yanran 'Little Aunt,' and Jiang Yi, 'Little Uncle-in-law.'"
Ye Mother finished speaking and looked at Ye Father, "Am I correct?"
"You are correct, but Jiang Yi is almost ten years older than Ye Shen. Calling Jiang Yi 'Little Uncle-in-law' feels a bit awkward!" Ye Father said helplessly.
Ye Father hadn't expected his wife to bring up the family tree.
If this were in the past, these Ye family members would have already exploded in anger.
Especially Ye Shen, who would have undoubtedly humiliated Ye Mother.
But now, all they wanted was to curry favor with Jiang Yi.
"Ye Shen, why aren't you quickly calling him Little Uncle-in-law!"
Ye He shouted at Ye Shen, "No wonder Jiang Yi was unhappy earlier. It's because you, kid, don't know how to respect elders..."
He Li also quickly urged Ye Shen on.
Ye Shen hesitated, then looked at Ye Cheng, the Ye family patriarch.
Ye Cheng nodded.
Ye Cheng felt somewhat indignant, but for the sake of securing a powerful patron for the Ye family in the future, he couldn't let it bother him.
"Little... Little Uncle-in-law..." Ye Shen stammered as he called out to Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi wanted to laugh but managed to suppress it.
Seeing the wronged expression on Ye Shen's face, Jiang Yi nearly lost control several times.
Ye Mother felt incredibly proud at this moment, while the inner clan members of the Ye family could only swallow their humiliation.
Seeing that Jiang Yi had not responded, Ye Shen had to steel himself and call out again.
"Mmm!"
Jiang Yi finally acknowledged him.
"Little Uncle-in-law, I toast you. I hope you will guide me more in the future."
After speaking, Ye Shen clinked his glass with Jiang Yi's, then drank it down in one gulp, as if wanting to swallow all his grievances in one go.
Jiang Yi also took a sip.
Now was not the time to settle scores with Ye Shen; he couldn't push him too hard, or else if Ye Shen were to die, people would surely suspect him.
Seeing Jiang Yi drink, the Ye family members felt much better.
With Jiang Yi's drink, the Ye family understood that he had accepted Ye Shen and, by extension, the Ye family's overtures.
Just then, Ye Yanran came downstairs.
She appeared to have dressed up deliberately.
Seeing so many people in the house, Ye Yanran remained calm, not showing any surprise.
She had already anticipated that Ye Mother would invite the inner clan members of the Ye family and Zhang Fucai.
"Little Aunt..."
Ye Shen greeted Ye Yanran with a cheerful smile.
Ye Yanran froze.