The rooftop fight with the First Elder ended in a draw. The old man slipped away into the night after Han Mufeng's reinforcements crashed the party and scattered the Ghost Squad. But Ye Chen wasn't fooled. He could feel it, a setup was coming. The Ye Family didn't just throw punches; they ruined reputations.
Three days later, the city's top dogs gathered for the "Grand Charity Gala for the City's Elite" at the Starlight Hotel.
Su Yan had no choice but to show up. She was the new Chairperson of the Su Group now, after all. She looked stunning in emerald silk, but kept glancing at the door. Ye Chen insisted on being her plus one, even though the Su family hated the idea.
"You shouldn't have brought him, Yan'er," Zhang Li muttered as they walked in. "You're the Chairperson now. With this… 'bodyguard' beside you, you look cheap. People are already gossiping, saying you bought your position with some 'secret backer.'"
Ye Chen said nothing. He wore a plain black suit, no designer label, no fuss. He followed Su Yan by half a step, eyes always moving. He didn't care about the jewelry or the champagne. He was counting exits and scanning faces for threats.
The ballroom was packed with the city's power players. Lin Feng was there, too, the Lin Group's heir, the same guy who'd tried to pick the Su Group's bones when they were down.
"Chairperson Su," Lin Feng said, gliding over with a smirk and a glass of champagne. He didn't even glance at Ye Chen. "I heard some mysterious dragon swooped in and saved your company. Shame, really. I was looking forward to buying your factory for next to nothing. But never mind. Tonight's all about charity, isn't it?"
Then the main event started, the auction for the "Blue Heart of the North," a diamond necklace worth ten million dollars.
"Bidding starts at five million," the auctioneer called out.
People jumped in fast. The price shot up to eight million. Lin Feng raised his paddle. "Nine million! And I'll give it to Chairperson Su, as a little token of sympathy. She married a man who can't even buy her dinner."
The crowd burst out laughing. Su Yan's cheeks turned bright red.
"Nine million, going once…"
Ye Chen stepped forward. No paddle. Just his voice. "Ten million."
The laughter stopped cold. Everyone froze.
Lin Feng spun around, his sneer ugly now. "Ten million? You? Ye Chen, do you even know what ten million looks like? Security! This guy's a fake. He's crashing our auction with money he doesn't have."
Security guys, hungry to impress Lin Feng, started moving in.
"Hold on," Ye Chen said quietly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "I'm not just bidding. I'm making my own donation."
He opened the box. Inside sat a brooch, a simple silver phoenix, its eyes tiny, uncut rubies.
The room exploded in laughter again. "A silver brooch? Looks like something you'd find at a flea market!" Lin Feng cackled. "It's not even worth fifty bucks!"
The auctioneer, old but sharp, barely glanced at the brooch before his lip curled. Then he looked again. His hands started trembling. He fished a loupe out of his pocket, breathing uneven.
"This... this is..." His voice just about gave out on him.
"What's the matter? Toss it already!" Zhang Li barked from the side.
"Quiet!" the auctioneer snapped, eyes wild now, half-crazed with fear and wonder. "This isn't just a brooch. This is the Empress's Seal, the Ye Family matriarch's insignia. Lost in the Great Purge ten years ago. You don't understand. This is worth more than anything in this room. It carries the weight of a Royal Command!"
The whole room seemed to freeze over. Lin Feng's grin vanished.
"Ye Chen, where did you get that?" Su Yan whispered, clutching her chest like her heart might leap out. "That's your family name, isn't it?"
"It was my mother's," Ye Chen said quietly, eyes fixed on the ballroom doors. "Tonight it was bait."
Suddenly, the doors didn't just open, they blew apart. Smoke rolled in, and through it strode a woman, tall and regal, wrapped in a military trench coat over a cocktail dress. Her eyes looked like they could cut steel. Twelve men in tactical gear followed right behind, moving like they shared a single heartbeat.
Ye Qing. The Ice Empress of the North. Ye Chen's sister. The only one who stood by him while the rest of the family turned their backs, working from the shadows, hiding in the military.
"Who decided to call a security check?" Her voice sounded like frozen glass shattering.
Lin Feng, desperate to look important again, stepped forward. "I did! Ye Chen stole that heirloom"
He never finished. Ye Qing moved so fast no one saw it. Lin Feng spun across the floor, jaw breaking with a crack. He crashed into a table, glass and blood everywhere.
"You dared say his name?" Ye Qing's voice dropped to a whisper that made the lights flicker.
She strode past the gaping socialites, past Zhang Li, who looked ready to faint, and stopped right in front of Ye Chen. The woman who commanded armies dropped to one knee.
"Brother," she said, voice trembling for the first time. "I searched the world for you. I should've guessed you were right here."
Ye Chen helped her up and almost smiled. "You're late, Qing'er."
"The First Elder tried to block the pass," she said, dashing away a tear before her mask slid back into place. Then she turned, eyes landing on Su Yan. "So, you're the one who kept my brother in a kitchen for three years?"
Su Yan felt her lungs seize up. The force coming off Ye Qing was almost physical.
"She kept me alive, Qing'er," Ye Chen said, steady and proud. "Treat her as you'd treat a Sister-in-Law of the Ye Family."
Ye Qing gave Su Yan a quick bow. "Sorry for my rudeness. If you're his, you're my family, too."
Then she faced the rest of the room. "You all treated my brother like dirt in this city. You mocked him. Framed him. Called him a burden."
She nodded to one of her men, who stepped up holding a tablet. "I just bought every company you people represent. By tomorrow, you'll all work for the Dragon Group. Want to keep your jobs? Get on your knees and beg the Master of the Ye Family for forgiveness."
One by one, the city's so-called elite dropped to their knees. Zhang Li hit the floor first, face twisting with terror and a spark of greedy hope.
Ye Chen didn't even look at them. His eyes were on the security cameras.
"They're watching, aren't they?" he asked his sister.
"The Capital has the live feed," Ye Qing said. "The Elders are losing their minds. They know you have the Empress's Seal. They know the Dragon's back."
Ye Chen stepped over broken glass and Lin Feng's limp body. He stared into the nearest camera.
"Tell the First Elder to stop hiding behind his Ghost Squad," Ye Chen said, his voice booming through the hotel. "I'm coming to the Capital. I'm not here to join the table. I'm coming to burn it down."