Chapter 153: 153. Turn from guest into host?

“Who has the audacity to cause trouble at the Yuan family’s doorstep?”

“This is outrageous! Deliberately playing mourning music at the entrance of the Yuan family estate!”

“Mr. Yuan Sr., let us go teach those bastards a lesson!”

The Yuan family members were all indignant, clamoring at once.

“Let’s go take a look first,” Mr. Yuan Sr. said, narrowing his eyes slightly with a faint smile. But it was obvious to anyone that a flash of anger had just darted through the depths of the old man’s eyes.

The Yuan family is holding a grand banquet tonight, yet someone is intentionally playing a funeral dirge? If this isn’t a deliberate attempt to cause trouble, even a fool wouldn’t believe it!

“Wu Yanli, Yuan Lang? What do you think you’re doing?”

The crowd followed Mr. Yuan Sr. as he strode toward the estate entrance. They were soon face to face with a group of people dressed in mourning clothes, carrying a black coffin aloft. As their eyes met, Mr. Yuan Sr.’s smile vanished, his gaze fixed on the two people leading the procession.

One of them was a beautiful young woman in a black dress, holding a portrait of Yuan Ruoshan and weeping incessantly. It was none other than his second wife, Wu Yanli. The other was a young man with bloodshot, ferocious eyes. He was Yuan Ruoshan’s only son, Yuan Lang, who was supposed to be at the branch office in the provincial capital.

“Mr. Yuan Sr., my stepmother and I have come to demand an explanation for my father’s death!” Yuan Lang’s face was a mask of grief and fury. He raised a hand, signaling the funeral band behind him to stop playing. “My father was perfectly fine! Why did he have to die so mysteriously at the International Convention and Exhibition Center? And you, as the Yuan Family Patriarch, not only did you fail to seek justice for my father, but you gave all his assets away to an outsider!”

As he spoke, Yuan Lang’s breathing grew ragged. He pointed a trembling finger at Mr. Yuan Sr. and began to curse loudly. “I refuse to accept this! I think you’ve gone senile! You’re no longer fit to be the Family Head!”

A sudden silence fell over the crowd at his words, followed by a fierce uproar.

“Yuan Lang, what right do you have to come here and make a scene? Your father lost all his assets because he lost a bet with Lin Fan!” Yuan Tao stepped forward, glaring at Yuan Lang. “Besides, your father was bitten to death by poisonous insects released by that woman from Sakura Country, Iguchi Tama! What does that have to do with Mr. Yuan Sr.?”

“Hmph, don’t think we don’t know that you, Yuan Tao, have been acting as Lin Fan’s loyal dog for a long time! You even betrayed your own father time and again just to suck up to him!” Wu Yanli shrieked, wiping a tear from her eye.

“Yuan Tao, everyone knows you’re a good-for-nothing, yet you suddenly made the lumber mill a booming success! With your abilities, you are completely unworthy of managing that factory, let alone criticizing your own cousin!”

Turning her head, Wu Yanli puffed out her impressive chest beneath her black dress, her face a picture of tragic indignation. “You are all Ruoshan’s family! Are you just going to stand by and watch as this wretched old man conspires with an outsider to bully a widow and her orphan son?”

“Well said! I’m nearly eighty years old, and for a tiny little matter, you, Yuan Tianguang, sent me back to the countryside to be a farmer!” An old man in tattered clothes emerged from behind the coffin, trembling as he walked. It was Seventh Uncle, who had been banished to his ancestral village long ago.

“Ruoshan, my boy, you died so tragically! Open your eyes and look at these animals! They don’t even see us as family!” the old man wailed, draping himself over the head of the coffin and hammering on it with his fists.

“You’re all being completely unreasonable!” Yuan Tao retorted, both shocked and furious. “If Yuan Ruoshan hadn’t insisted on betting against Lin Fan, none of this would have happened! He signed a betting agreement! Seventh Uncle, you all knew about it!”

“Hmph! So what? My son’s life will not be lost for nothing!” Seventh Uncle’s face stiffened for a moment before he let out an angry snort and resumed his wailing and pounding with even more vigor.

“Enough nonsense! We came today to get justice for Ruoshan!” Wu Yanli screamed, her patience wearing thin. “Either Yuan Youwei and Lin Fan pay for my husband’s life with their own, or the position of Yuan Family Head is passed to Yuan Lang as compensation!”

Her words were met with stunned silence, which was quickly followed by a wave of derisive laughter.

What a joke. Yuan Ruoshan was just a member of a side branch of the Yuan family. Not to mention, he had died an ironic death at the hands of the woman from Sakura Country he had been fawning over. Even if he were still alive, the position of Yuan Family Head would never fall to his son, Yuan Lang.

“Wu Yanli, you must be dreaming!”

“How ridiculous! A mere side branch daring to contend for the position of Family Head?”

“By that logic, if another person from your family dies, why don’t you claim the title of Haicheng’s City Lord while you’re at it?”

In an instant, the air was filled with angry rebukes, scornful laughter, and merciless mockery.

“W-why can’t we? We’re all named Yuan!” Wu Yanli’s face flushed red as she stomped her feet and shrieked amidst the gales of laughter. Yuan Lang and Seventh Uncle exchanged a look, their expressions turning ugly.

“Seventh, you dare come here and cause trouble tonight because you have someone backing you, don’t you?”

The next moment, Mr. Yuan Sr., who had been chuckling in spite of himself, narrowed his eyes and looked past the coffin.

He didn’t believe Yuan Lang’s family would dare covet the position of Family Head on their own. The thought of Yuan Xiangjun, whom he hadn’t heard from in a long time, suddenly wanting to return with Mr. Han Sr. made his heart sink.

Mr. Yuan Sr.’s smile faded. He raised his voice and called out toward the space behind the crowd, “My good in-law, since you have arrived, why not show yourself?”

“Haha! Old Yuan, you’re as cunning as ever. A true old fox.”

As the voice fell, a group of people with an extraordinary air about them pushed through Yuan Lang’s group and strode forward confidently. At the forefront were an expressionless Yuan Xiangjun and her husband, Han Yiming. Standing before the couple was a white-haired old man with a face full of arrogance.

He was the head of the Han family from the provincial capital of the Southwest and the founder and leader of the Tianba Group. Wielding assets worth hundreds of billions, he was the renowned richest man in the Southwest, hailed as the Money King—Mr. Han Sr., Han Tianba himself!

THUMP!

“Mr. Han Sr., save us! Please, grant justice to this widow and her son!” Wu Yanli cried out, holding Yuan Ruoshan’s portrait as she dropped to her knees at Han Tianba’s feet.

“Mr. Han Sr., Yuan Tianguang is old and disgraceful, unworthy of being the Yuan Family Patriarch! In all of the Southwest provinces, you are the only one powerful enough to keep him in check!” Yuan Lang also knelt, looking up and laying on the flattery thick.

“Brother Han, what a tragedy for our family!” Seventh Uncle wept, walking up to Han Tianba with tears of sorrow and rage streaming down his face. “The Yuan family has produced a treacherous dog like Yuan Tianguang, who has lost his mind and helped an outsider deal with his own family! He’s the reason my son Ruoshan cannot rest in peace!”

“Outrageous! Simply outrageous!” Seeing this, Mr. Han Sr.’s smile vanished, replaced by a thunderous expression. His eyes bulged as he pointed at the silently smiling Mr. Yuan Sr., shouting with his spit flying, “Old Yuan, look at the mess you’ve made! If I hadn’t come here today and stumbled upon this, what would people think of my Han family’s in-laws?

“The people of the Southwest provinces have shown me great respect by calling me the Money King, Han Tianba! I will not allow anyone to tarnish my good name!”

After his stern tirade, Mr. Han Sr. helped Wu Yanli and Yuan Lang to their feet. “As your elder, I’ll make the decision for you today! The Yuan family must hand over Lin Fan and Yuan Youwei to take responsibility for Ruoshan’s death! And as compensation, Yuan Lang will be established as the heir of the Yuan family!”

His words plunged the scene into a deathly silence. The members of the Yuan family looked at each other, their faces aghast.

So, this old man Han didn’t come for a family visit after all. He came to act like the host and forcefully assert his dominance over the Yuan family!

“Thank you, Mr. Han Sr., for upholding justice for us! Otherwise, with the Yuan family’s overwhelming power in Haicheng, a widow and orphan like us would never have had a chance!” Wu Yanli said with a fawning smile, casting a triumphant, smug glance at Mr. Yuan Sr. and Yuan Tao.

“With Mr. Han Sr. standing up for us, I believe my father’s spirit in heaven can finally rest in peace!” Yuan Lang shouted, a flash of ecstasy in his eyes.

“Many thanks, Brother Han! Please accept my bow!” Seventh Uncle said, giving Mr. Han Sr. a deep bow.

The grandfather and grandson exchanged a discreet glance, unable to suppress the triumphant smiles spreading across their faces.

“Grandfather, when Xiangjun married into our Han family, she suffered a great deal of grievance and scorn from the Yuan family,” Han Yiming, who had been silent until now, suddenly said, taking a step forward. He stared at Mr. Yuan Sr. with a cold smirk. “Today, let’s just settle all the new and old scores at once. Have the Yuan family provide the full dowry that Xiangjun deserves!”

“That’s right! How am I, Yuan Xiangjun, any worse than that damn girl Yuan Youwei?” Yuan Xiangjun’s eyes blazed with resentment as she glared at Mr. Yuan Sr., whose face was steadily darkening. “Since she can control half of Yuandao Capital, then I should receive what is rightfully mine as well! You old thing, today you must give me half of the Yuan family’s assets, no matter what!”

As her words fell, the scene grew quiet once more.

Then, like a drop of cold water hitting hot oil, all hell broke loose.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep