Thirty kilometers away from Yang City, on Taiping Mountain, several tombstones stood solemnly among the mountains. About a dozen people stood in front of a new tombstone, their faces full of sorrow.

A man knelt there, staring at the name and picture on the tombstone, his tears dripping onto the ground like a gushing spring.

"Mother, I was not filial; I was unable to show my filial piety," he lamented.

After his utterance, the man knocked his head against the ground three times, each knock accompanied by a loud thud.

"Xiaofeng, one cannot resurrect the dead. You should mourn and move on! Also, here's something your mother asked me to give you," said a middle-aged man standing behind him, handing over a letter.

"Thank you! You all can leave now. I want to spend some time alone with my mother," he replied, casually accepting the item, without eager to open it.

The crowd nodded, sighed, and left.

The man sat there motionlessly, like a log, until the ringing of his cell phone pulled him back to reality.

"Hello!" he answered softly.

"Yefeng, you good-for-nothing, do you know what time it is? You better get back here quickly. Today is grandfather's 80th birthday. Can you handle screwing it up?" A woman's voice echoed from the other end of the phone, sounding pleasant, but exuding a strong sense of dissatisfaction and disgust.

"Oh, I'll be there soon!" he tranquilly replied.

After a while, Yefeng rose, boarded the bus, and slowly made his way towards Yang City.

The man is named Ye Feng, and he is the son-in-law of the Yang family in Yang City.

Being called a son-in-law was actually an exaggeration, because he was merely used by the Yang family as a tool for ushering in good luck and was not a real son-in-law.

Three years ago, Ye Feng's mother suffered from a severe heart disease – heart failure!

She needed two hundred and thirty thousand in medical expenses, so for that money, Ye Feng became the so-called son-in-law of the Yang family.

On the way, Ye Feng pulled out the letter given to him by a neighbor, opened it, and read it slowly.

The moment he saw the words on the paper, Ye Feng felt a jolt of disbelief at its contents.

In the letter, it said:

My dearest Feng, by the time you read this letter, I will no longer be here. I have a secret that I've been hiding for over twenty years that I need to tell you!

As a child, you asked me why you didn't have a father. I never gave you a real answer even when you grew up.

You have a father, but he did something unforgivable to us, your mother and you. I didn't want to forgive him in my lifetime, so I never told you.

...

I'm sorry, my child, for depriving you of a father's love from a young age and the constant uncertainty of our daily life.

But now it's okay, as I am gone, you can meet him, he can give you everything you want.

And I'm sure he really wants to meet you. There's a phone number I've left written above. If you want to acknowledge him, just call this number.

Your mother loves you, stay alive...

After reading the letter, Ye Feng understood the background and cause of the matter, his shock difficult to stifle.

So his parents were lovers in their university years. When they graduated, his father did something that deeply hurt his mother. As a result, his pregnant mother left him.

Later, his father remarried and had a child. The two did not contact each other for more than a decade.

However, a few years ago, his father's family was involved in a car accident. His wife and child died on the spot, and his father became physically disabled.

Since his father had no offspring, he somehow managed to find his mother. He was eager to recognize Ye Feng and his mother, but, however, she did not forgive him.

It wasn't until before her death that she wrote this matter in a letter and had it given to Ye Feng by a neighbor.

After reading this letter, Ye Feng found it difficult to calm down.

Nevertheless, at this point, Ye Feng did not feel lucky to know about his father, but rather he was extremely angry.

"This scumbag, who hurt my mother, only remembered about our existence when he realized he had no heir... "

Ye Feng cursed this father he had never met countless times in his heart.

If it weren't for this damn father, his mother wouldn't have had to work so hard, worn herself out, and left him so early.

If it weren't for this damn father, he wouldn't have grown up fatherless, receiving scorn and ridicule from others.

If it weren't for this damn father, he wouldn't have had to act as someone else's stand-in for luck, leading a life worse than a dog's.

After a long time, Ye Feng calmed down slightly. He didn't make a phone call but was about to put everything away quietly when he suddenly noticed a black-and-white jade pendant in the envelope, something his mother used to wear frequently.

After hanging the jade pendant around his neck, Ye Feng headed straight towards the Yang family in Yang City.

The Yang family is a secondary family within Yangcheng with a modicum of fame and their own business enterprises.

The Yang family, in recent years, has been known for two main events. The first being that their family bore an unparalleled beauty, Yang Menghan, known as the first beauty of Yangcheng.

The second situation also pertained to Yang Menghan. Three years ago, the first beauty of Yangcheng, Yang Menghan, suddenly fell ill with a mysterious disease. She had become extremely skinny, hideously ugly, and ended up marrying a useless son-in-law to exorcise the sickness.

Upon entering the house, a middle-aged woman immediately stepped forward and slapped Ye Feng fiercely.

"You good-for-nothing, how dare you make us wait for more than an hour!"

The one who spoke was his mother-in-law, Yang Menghan's mother.

A middle-aged man standing to the side was also watching him with cold eyes, his face expressing great displeasure.

"Mom, it's okay that he's late, why hit him?"

A woman then walked out from a room on the other side and spoke indifferently.

This woman was Ye Feng's wife in name - Yang Menghan.

Yang Menghan was tall and had fine features. Her shiny black hair hung down her back like a waterfall, and her suit accentuated her perfect figure.

Unfortunately, today was a particularly inopportune day. Today was not only the day of the funeral of Ye Feng's mother but also the eightieth birthday of the patriarch of the Yang family.

The rules of the Yang family were strict - for the old patriarch's eightieth birthday, all key members of the Yang family had to attend, including Ye Feng, who was seen as an auspicious instrument.

And so, Yang Menghan and her family had waited for him for over an hour, causing their extreme anger.

"I am sorry, I got delayed due to some issues!" Ye Feng apologized.

Ye Feng received a slap and had no complaints, because after three years, he was already accustomed to it.

"What's the matter? What purpose could a useless person like you have? What could be more important than Grandfather's 80th birthday?"

His mother-in-law was very angry, pointing at Ye Feng's nose and incessantly scolding him.

For the past three years, their family's situation with the Yang Clan was not good. Coming late would inevitably result in further difficulties, hence they vented their anger on Ye Feng.

Confronted by his mother-in-law's sharp interrogation, Ye Feng knew that no matter his response, a bout of scolding was unavoidable, so he chose to stay silent.

"Alright, since we are here, stop dawdling and let's get in the car and leave!"

At this moment, a middle-aged man stood up and addressed the few present.

The man was Ye Feng's father-in-law, Yang Menghan's father.

The old patriarch of the Yang family had five children, three sons and two daughters, with the father-in-law being the third child.

"Just like this? Look at what he is wearing, people will think he's a beggar. Won't this embarrass our family? He is a jinx!" pointing at Ye Feng, the mother-in-law's face filled with disgust and disdain.

Ye Feng's mother had just been buried that day, hence he still had some dirt stuck on his clothes. Looking like a coal miner covered in dirt, people couldn't help but detest him.

"Go change your clothes quickly!" His father-in-law glanced at him and sighed.

Both the father-in-law and the mother-in-law felt ashamed for accepting such a useless son-in-law. However, given Yang Menghan's situation back then, no one wanted to marry her just for good luck.

In the entire Yang family, only Yang Menghan's attitude towards Ye Feng was somewhat decent because during her time of illness, only Ye Feng was willing to stay by her side and care for her.

Despite this, she too looked down on Ye Feng from the bottom of her heart, as Ye Feng was a country bumpkin, and she was once the most beautiful woman in Yang City. How can she be willing to marry a useless country bumpkin?

Once Ye Feng changed into clean clothes, the family set off for a certain hotel in Yang city at a fast pace.

On the road, Yang Menghan said to Ye Feng, "Inevitably, there will be some difficulties and targeted embarrassments after our arrival. Speak less and don't embarrass us!"

"Alright!" Ye Feng nodded nonchalantly.

In no time, the four of them reached a high-end hotel famous in Yang city and proceeded towards one of its luxurious private rooms.

"Yo, third brother, I thought your family couldn't afford the gift and decided not to come!"

Just as they entered, a harsh voice suddenly sounded.

Ye Feng looked up. The person was Yang Menghan's fourth uncle, who was currently the son the patriarch valued the most. He held significant financial power in the Yang family, and was also the organiser of the patriarch's grand birthday celebration this time.

"Little brother, your family really doesn't take our father's grand birthday celebration seriously, do they?"

Then another middle-aged man spoke. This person was Yang Menghan's eldest uncle, the patriarch's eldest son.

"Forget it, whether they come or not doesn't matter. Anyway, their family just freeloads on food and drinks when they do show up..."