Chapter 53: 53. Everyone tells lies with their eyes wide open?

“You! You!”

Seeing the old scoundrel act so shamelessly, reneging on his word without any regard for his status, Mrs. Xue was so shocked and furious she was fit to burst.

An icy chill spread across Yuan Youwei’s Yu Rong as she ground her teeth in frustration. The only piece of evidence had just been swallowed by Mr. Wang Sr. They could take him to a hospital and have it surgically removed, but who in all of Haicheng could possibly force him if he refused to cooperate? They had completely exposed the man, but a moment of carelessness allowed him to brazenly deny everything.

Damn him! I could just kill him!

“What’s wrong with me? Without evidence, you are openly slandering my, Wang Tianchuan’s, good name! Everyone here can bear witness to that!” Mr. Wang Sr. sneered, forcing down his discomfort. “Lin Fan, Yuan Youwei, you have crossed my line time and time again!”

He snatched the long box and the herb back from Lin Fan’s hands, shouting with such force that spit flew from his mouth. “This White Dragon Grass is a treasured heirloom of the Wang family! How dare you twist the truth? Do you really think my Wang family is afraid of the Yuan family?”

“That’s right! I’ve seen that White Dragon Grass since I was a child. It’s our family heirloom!”

“We only brought it out today for our esteemed guests to appreciate, and you dare to scheme for the Wang family’s treasure?”

Several Wang family members, exchanging knowing glances, joined in the shouting, all of them insisting that the herb belonged to their family.

Just then, a self-righteous voice called out from outside the hall. “I, Yuan Ruoshan, can testify! I have seen this item at the Wang family home before.”

Yuan Ruoshan, his face a mask of solemnity, strode into the hall and cupped his fists in a salute to the crowd. He then turned, his eyes filled with derision, and fixed his cold gaze on the silent Lin Fan.

“Lin Fan, Yuan Youwei, what are your intentions? How dare you accuse the Wang family of stealing from you?” he boomed. “Get on your knees! Kowtow and admit your mistake! If you fail to satisfy Mr. Wang Sr., don’t even think about getting up!”

These words sent a shockwave through the entire hall. Yuan Youwei and Mrs. Xue were stunned. The other magnates of Haicheng Pharmaceutical exchanged meaningful glances.

“Yes, I, Song Qingming, have also seen it! I can testify for Mr. Wang Sr.!”

“I can testify as well!”

“Lin Fan, Yuan Youwei, kneel and admit your fault now!”

One after another, people stood up to join the chorus of condemnation, all siding with the Wang family. No one was a fool. If even Yuan Ruoshan wouldn’t stand up for Lin Fan and Yuan Youwei, there was no reason for them to embarrass the Wang family. Besides, this was a golden opportunity to curry favor with Mr. Wang Sr. What did a few blatant, conscienceless lies matter?

In the side hall, Su Gang shivered, his voice trembling with excitement. “Damn, he truly is one of the four giants. Only a major figure like Mr. Wang Sr. could turn a situation like this around!”

Zhang Meili and Yang Tingting also broke into smiles. As they looked through the window at Lin Fan’s group, it was as if they were looking at corpses.

“Yuan Ruoshan is the vice president of Yuandao Pharmaceuticals. The fact that even he is speaking up for the Wang family just shows how unwelcome Lin Fan and Yuan Youwei are in their own family,” Su Mengqing said, clenching her fists with a vindictive smile.

Good. This is very good. As long as Mr. Wang Sr. sticks to his story that the White Dragon Grass is a family heirloom, and Yuan Ruoshan and the others corroborate it, Lin Fan and Yuan Youwei won’t be able to talk their way out of this! So what if everyone knows the herb was stolen? Even if this gets back to Mr. Yuan Sr., they’ll have no choice but to swallow this bitter pill and suffer in silence!

In the main hall, Yuan Youwei snapped back to reality, her Yu Rong turning ashen. “Yuan Ruoshan! You are my third uncle! How can you lie through your teeth and twist right and wrong like this?” she cried out, pointing at the sneering Yuan Ruoshan, her eyes turning red.

The betrayal from her own family felt like a vicious stab in the back.

It hurt. A raw, bleeding pain!

“Hmph, so now you remember that I’m your third uncle?” Yuan Ruoshan said with a humorless smile, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses. Behind the lenses, his eyes were filled with hatred and disgust. “You’d rather promote an outsider than give me, Yuan Ruoshan, a second glance! And when my father was sent back to the countryside by the old man, did you ever once speak up for him? I knew you were bringing Lin Fan to the Wang family to cause trouble, so I came here specifically to stop you disgraceful pair!”

BOOM!

His heartless words, delivered with a cold, familiar face, struck her like a bolt of lightning. Yuan Youwei bit her lip so hard it nearly bled, her heart turning to ice.

In the face of self-interest, kinship and blood ties were completely worthless!

“You’ve gone too far! All of you, you’ve gone too far…” Mrs. Xue’s eyes filled with sympathy as she held Yuan Youwei steady. She turned, her breathing ragged, her cold eyes blazing with fury. She wanted nothing more than to teach these bastards who twisted the truth a lesson!

“How have we gone too far? You’re the ones who have gone too far! Daring to come to the Wang family’s home and slander Mr. Wang Sr.!”

“Hmph, what more do you have to say for yourselves? Get on your knees and kowtow!”

“Yes, kneel and kowtow!”

“Kneel! Hurry up and kneel! If you don’t satisfy Mr. Wang Sr. and the rest of us, you won’t get away with a single kowtow less!”

The roars and jeers rose and fell, crashing through the hall like a torrential storm. Mr. Wang Sr.’s eyes were filled with mockery and disdain. The crowd laughed triumphantly. Even the four in the side hall, including Su Mengqing, wore smiles of gloating satisfaction.

Yuan Youwei and Mrs. Xue huddled together, their faces etched with resentment and despair. It seemed they had no choice but to accept this bitter defeat. In that moment, they both turned to look at Lin Fan, secretly hoping he could work a miracle and expose the true faces of these despicable people.

One second passed, then two, then three… Finally, Lin Fan’s jaw clenched as he stepped in front of Yuan Youwei and Mrs. Xue, shielding them from the piercing glares.

He had a thousand ways to force the old man to admit the truth. But after some consideration, Lin Fan decided he would make the man confess of his own accord.

“Yuan Ruoshan, you and the others claim to have seen this White Dragon Grass at the Wang family’s home before?” he began. His gaze slowly swept across the room as he shook his head. “Then why didn’t any of you say a word when the Yuan family was desperately searching everywhere for a White Dragon Grass? Or is it that you, Yuan Ruoshan, the Wang family, and all you magnates of Haicheng Pharmaceutical… were content to simply watch Mr. Yuan Sr. die?”

The raucous hall fell abruptly silent. Every shout, every jeer, every demand died on their lips. Mr. Wang Sr.’s expression flickered. The other pharmaceutical magnates froze, staring at one another in stunned silence.

Damn it, this kid isn’t as stupid as he looks. He found the weak spot in one move! If they admitted to knowing, it would be the same as admitting they held ill intentions toward Yuan Tianguang, the Chamber of Commerce Chairman! Damn him, he’s trying to drag everyone down with him!

“Lin Fan is right!” Mrs. Xue, jolted into action, loudly demanded, “The Yuan family exhausted every resource searching for the White Dragon Grass! Why did you deliberately hide this information?”

“Yuan Ruoshan, do you realize the consequences of this? You wanted to see Grandfather die!” Yuan Youwei had also recovered. Her Yu Rong was now filled with grief and an icy fury as she stared down her uncle. “If you dare to lie for the Wang family again, you won’t even be able to keep your position as vice president!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep