The Su family's engagement party.
The spacious Su family courtyard was filled with thirty-six tables, each occupied by descendants of prominent and well-respected families in the locality.
They looked at the stunning and charming Miss Su Ya with regret in their eyes.
"What a pity for Miss Su Ya, such a beautiful woman pursued by the sons of the four major families, yet to marry a prisoner. Has the old master gone mad?"
On Su Ya's face, there was also a look of resentment as she reluctantly said to the old patriarch, "Grandpa, have you really gone mad? Just because he saved your life back then, you want to marry me off to a prisoner?"
Old Master Su's face darkened as he slammed the table, "Ya'er, do you really think your grandfather would harm you? As long as you marry Young Master Ye, you are destined to enjoy endless wealth and honor."
"Wealth and honor? Grandpa, his Ye family has been annihilated. What kind of wealth and honor can Ye Ling, a man just released from prison, bring me?"
Su Ya's eyes were filled with bitterness as she ignored the old patriarch's livid face and said angrily, "Grandpa, I do not agree to this marriage. I would rather marry a beggar than someone like Ye Ling!"
With a slap!
The old patriarch banged the table forcefully, collapsing to the ground, propping himself up with his hands, and letting out heart-wrenching sobs.
"I failed in my parental duties, causing such a farce that has humiliated Young Master Ye; I deserve to die a thousand times over!"
"Grandpa!" Su Rou rushed over anxiously, trying to console him while angrily saying to Su Ya, "Cousin, how can you talk to Grandpa like that? He has always cherished you tenderly, holding you close in his heart. Can't you fulfill Grandpa's last wish before he dies?"
Su Ya's face stiffened, then she retorted, "Su Rou, quit your pretense. Since you're so filial, why don't you fulfill Grandpa's wish and marry that prisoner, Ye Ling?"
"Me?" Su Rou's face turned pale, and after a pained look at Grandpa, she clenched her teeth and said, "Fine, I'll marry him!"
"I won't live much longer anyway, so I might as well use my life to fulfill Grandpa's wish!"
"Hehe, those are your words, in front of all these people, you can't go back on them now!" Su Ya's face lit up with a foolish grin.
And the on-looking Su family members all expressed their pity, "What a shame for this girl Su Rou, so beautiful, yet afflicted with congenital heart disease. The doctors said she might not live past this year!"
"Haha, isn't that perfect? A dying person and a penniless prisoner, a whore matched with a dog, aren't they a match made in heaven?" Su Tiande and his wife laughed heartily, content that as long as it was not their daughter Su Ya, it was cause for celebration.
"Hehe, sister Su Rou, I wish you and that prisoner an early birth of a noble child!" Su Ya sipped her red wine, her face aglow with a rosy sheen.
Su Rou bowed her head, squeezed out a forced smile, and raised her glass, "Thank you for your blessings, Cousin."
Everyone sneered, their eyes showing pity as if they were looking at a fool.
But Old Master Su forcefully tapped his cane and exclaimed loudly, "Good, good granddaughter, Grandfather acknowledges your filial piety, and I tell you, you will certainly enjoy endless riches and honor in the future!"
He took Su Rou's hand and led her to the front yard, where a young man with a strong posture, standing as straight as a rifle, was on the threshold. He was dressed in casual clothes, but there was a domineering look of scorn for the world in his eyes.
"Young Master Ye, I have brought my granddaughter over, she is the lady you are going to marry!"
Old Master Su bent over, patted his sleeve, and knelt down straight.
"Old Master, please get up!" Ye Ling extended his hand to help the old man stand and then looked at Su Rou and nodded, "Good, since you are marrying me, then I, Ye Ling, swear to heaven that from this day forward, no one shall bully you!"
"Good, I believe you!" Su Rou nodded gently. The man before her might be worthless, but his affection and care for her gave her a sense of warmth.
Just then, a voice full of mockery and ridicule came from behind them.
"Heh, you a prisoner, worse than a beggar, dare to spout nonsense here? Do you really think you're somebody?"
Su Ya looked at him with disdain, her eyes filled with scorn as if she were looking at trash, while Su Tiande stroked his beard and laughed, "Heh, I bet you don't even have a proper engagement gift, standing in our Su family's home, you're an embarrassment!"
Ye Ling, empty-handed, gave an apologetic fist salute, "Old Master, I have just come out from Far North Prison and haven't had time to buy a gift. Your birthday feast is in three days, I will make up for it then. I, Ye Ling, will never let my wife suffer any grievances!"
"Haha, you! Do you know how many dignitaries will come to the Old Master's birthday feast in three days? Each of their gifts is worth a fortune. Don't you dare bring some shabby gift that will make our entire Su family lose face!" Su Ya mocked, and her mother Zhao Yuelan added with a sneer, "Ye Ling, don't say I didn't warn you, at the birthday feast in three days, the Chen family's young master will also attend. The Chen family runs a large jewelry and jade business; their gift will surely be top-notch. When the time comes, if you, as another son-in-law, get outshone by the Chen's young master, that would be truly disgraceful!"
"The Chen family? They're just strutting around in a backwater like this. The gift I, Ye Ling, will give cannot possibly be worse than his!" Ye Ling waved his hand, his eyes full of contempt, and took Su Rou's hand to leave the Su family mansion.
At the entrance, an old jeep drove up. An honest and naive-looking man got out of the car and respectfully opened the doors for them.
Su Ya glanced at it and could not help but laugh scornfully, "An old clunker that stopped production over ten years ago, you're so poor you ride in this junk, and you still have the nerve to brag at our Su's house?"
"Dad, Ya'er is right, what were you thinking, choosing such trash to be our granddaughter's husband? The Su family's reputation will be ruined with him!" Su Tiande frowned and looked at the patriarch, speechless.
Old Master Su, however, was hunching over reverently, watching the jeep drive away.
Only after the license plate was out of sight did he turn around and curse, "A bunch of fools, you're blind as dogs! Someone who can ride in that kind of car is not someone you can afford to offend!"
Although the jeep had been discontinued on the market, it was still in production for the military.
And the license plate of this vehicle started with VA, which could only be used by the headquarters of the military region!