"Brother Ze, how about we just drop it? We found the bracelet, there's no need to make things ugly," Ye Zisu quickly advised Gu Ze.
If the surveillance footage were to be revealed, her carefully crafted persona would shatter, and she'd be completely finished!
"Su Su, you're just too kind. Don't worry, with me here, I absolutely won't let her bully you again," Gu Ze reassured her.
Ye Zisu thought: *No, I'm not reassured at all!*
The butler quickly retrieved the surveillance video and played it for everyone to see via projector.
The surveillance footage recorded both video and audio.
It showed Ye Zisu forcibly dragging Madam Yu to the backyard, then aggressively and self-righteously revealing the Ye family's unspeakable secret. All of this was played out before everyone's eyes.
Yu He was the biological daughter of the Ye family?
Yet, the Ye family had always announced to the public that she was an adopted daughter!
The diamond bracelet had been accidentally dropped during the struggle, snagging on Madam Yu's canvas bag!
A commotion erupted.
"Ye... Zi... Su!" Ye Jianming trembled with rage.
When Gu Ze announced he would play the surveillance footage, he had seen Yu He hadn't left and assumed she was causing trouble again.
To his surprise, it was his supposedly proud, well-behaved daughter who had exposed his lies!
And it was being broadcast publicly!
The Ye family's company was finished!
In the business world, reputation was paramount. Regardless of the Ye family's original reasons for announcing Yu He as adopted, they were now seen as dishonest!
"Dad..." Ye Zisu's eyes widened as Ye Jianming glared at her as if he could devour her, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
She then looked at Qin Meimei, whose gaze was as sharp as if she were looking at an enemy.
She had only acted on impulse and spoken out of turn, but she had managed to offend both the Gu and Ye families completely!
Ye Zisu didn't know what to do, her last hope resting on Gu Ze. But when she met his eyes, she saw not only shock but also disappointment.
"Is everything you said true?" Gu Ze asked, incredulous.
He didn't necessarily care about Ye Zisu's identity, but she had never told him about this.
He had just publicly humiliated Yu He based on her background, and now he realized he was the one who had been made to look like a fool.
"Brother Ze, I..." Ye Zisu's face shifted through a spectrum of red, green, and white, a veritable kaleidoscope of emotions.
Unsure how to face the situation, she simply rolled her eyes back and feigned unconsciousness.
A small commotion ensued. The guests thought the banquet was about to end, but little did they know, it was just beginning.
The projected video suddenly went black, and then another recording flickered onto the screen.
"Madam, I beg you, spare us, mother and daughter. We truly said nothing..."
In the recording, a mother and daughter, bound and tied, were pleading with Qin Meimei. The background was the same as the previous video, the backyard. It was clear it was from the same surveillance camera, but the timestamp was from earlier.
The banquet hall erupted in another wave of murmurs.
Qin Meimei's expression changed drastically. Disregarding her image, she rushed forward and yanked the projector's plug.
"Who played the surveillance footage?!" she snarled at the butler.
"I, I asked Xiao Li to play it," the butler stammered, a look of panic on his face. Hadn't this surveillance footage been deleted earlier? How could it have suddenly reappeared?
At that moment, a large group of reporters and media outlets stormed into the banquet hall.
"Madam Gu, please tell us, what mistake did the mother and daughter in the video make to be treated this way?"
"Madam Gu, are you aware that restricting someone's personal freedom is illegal?"
"Madam Gu, where are the mother and daughter now?"
The scene descended into chaos.
The guests, having witnessed the unfolding drama, wanted no part in the ensuing scandal and began to leave.
Qin Meimei's meticulously planned celebration for her son ended in disarray and successfully landed her on the front page of the news the next day.
Following the Gu family's scandal was the Ye family's embarrassing downfall.
What was more painful for Ye Jianming than becoming the laughingstock of the city was that the Gu family severed all remaining cooperation with the Ye family's company, leading to their bankruptcy.
When he had taken over the family business from his father, he had promised to operate it well and ensure the Ye family held a prominent position in Bei City.
Instead, the Ye family had gone bankrupt under his management!
Ye Qichen, the eldest young master of the Ye family, immediately returned to the country upon hearing the news. He transferred a sum of money from his personal company account to the bank, saving the Ye family villa and preventing them from becoming homeless.
"Brother, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was so enraged by Yu He at the time that I spoke out of turn. Brother, please, don't turn me out."
Ye Zisu, with tears streaming down her face, knelt on the floor.
She could pretend to faint for a while, but not forever. Seeing her elder brother return, she immediately got up to play the victim and apologize.
With her elder brother back, he wouldn't stand by and watch the Ye family go bankrupt. Life here, no matter what, was better than living in a remote, undeveloped area.
She didn't want to return with Madam Yu!
If she went back, there would be no hope.
Ye Qichen didn't look at her. Instead, his gaze fell on Yu He, who stood to the side.
She had changed into a fitted, beige qipao. Her expression was serene, and she sipped her tea as if uninvolved, her demeanor exuding an air of elegance that betrayed no trace of rustic crudeness.
Was this his biological sister?
She was completely different from what he had imagined!
He then looked at Ye Zisu, who was kneeling on the floor crying dramatically. She lacked the bearing of a wealthy young lady from a prominent family.
Indeed, there was no comparison without suffering.
"Dad, do you know where you went wrong in this matter?" Ye Qichen asked Ye Jianming.
For the head of the family to be questioned by his son in public was a profound blow to his dignity.
Normally, Ye Jianming would have exploded with rage. Even if this son was the pride of the Ye family, he would have disciplined him severely, emphasizing respect for elders.
But now, he sat slumped on the sofa, silent as a statue, seemingly still reeling from the reality of the Ye family's bankruptcy under his stewardship.
"Your biggest mistake was trying to be clever and announcing to the world that your sister was adopted!" Ye Qichen stated sternly.
Yu He paused her tea-drinking and looked up at Ye Qichen.
He had referred to her as "sister," not by name.
It seemed this family wasn't entirely filled with imbeciles.
"Brother, please, for the sake of our seventeen years of siblinghood, please don't cast me out. I really can't bear to leave you all."
Ye Zisu stepped forward and clung to Ye Qichen's leg.
She wasn't foolish; she understood Ye Qichen's words, though seemingly directed at Ye Jianming, were also meant for her to hear!
"Is it that you can't bear to leave us, or that you can't bear to leave Brother's money?" Ye Zizheng said with disgust. "How did I not realize you were such a white lotus before?
He had even believed her words in the past and gone to trouble Yu He.
Ye Zisu was momentarily choked. Seeing that appealing to Ye Qichen was futile, she turned to Ye Jianming.
"Dad, please, help me persuade Brother. I'll do anything you say. Please, help me persuade Brother not to cast me out."
"Get out! My Ye family has no daughter like you!" Ye Jianming kicked her away.
He was enraged whenever he saw Ye Zisu now. If he hadn't spoken carelessly at the Gu family's event, would they have ended up in this situation?
"Mom, Mom, please speak up for me. Didn't you always say that harmony in the family brings prosperity? Please help me persuade Brother not to cast me out."
Ye Zisu crawled towards Cheng Lizhu, knowing her mother was the most soft-hearted...
Cheng Lizhu looked at the child she had raised for seventeen years begging her, and indeed felt a pang of reluctance.
But showing leniency to her would be akin to cruelty towards Yu He.