The capital city, the imperial court.
After Guan Yingjie returned to the capital, his grandfather Guan Cheng summoned him to his study.
As soon as Guan Yingjie entered the study, he found Mu Wanzhi and Zhong Yuan there as well.
He was somewhat puzzled.
"Come and sit down, we were just talking about you."
An aged voice came from Guancheng.
"yes."
Guan Yingjie walked over and sat down.
"I heard you went to the East China Sea?" Guan Cheng asked.
"Yes, Grandpa."
"Your body hasn't fully recovered yet; it's not good to wander around."
"I think I'm mostly recovered."
"You went to the East China Sea to find that little girl from the Hu family, right?"
Guan Yingjie hesitated for a moment; "I just want to go out for some fresh air."
The old man chuckled; “Xiao Jie, you can’t fool me with your tricks. I heard that girl is dead. Your trip must have been in vain.”
“Grandpa, although she is dead, we were legally married. I still need to deal with her estate in Donghai.”
Guan Yingjie secretly dug up Hu Ling's grave, but only ashes were found inside. He couldn't do DNA testing, and the words of the assassin Lin Yi made him believe that Hu Ling was dead.
Guan Cheng coughed.
Then I took a sip of tea.
“We were just talking about this, Xiao Jie. You don’t need to worry about that girl’s inheritance. Our family is not short of money.”
Guan Yingjie looked at his grandfather with some disbelief. The old man was the type who wouldn't do anything without a profit. Although Hu Ling's inheritance wasn't much for their family, every little bit counted. How could the old man say such a thing?
“Grandpa! This won’t do! I am her legal husband, and her inheritance should go to me. But she gave it to a gigolo. If word gets out, where will we officials put our faces? This is a matter of face, not money.”
Mu Wanzhi interjected, "Guan Yingjie, we all know about what happened between you and Hu Ling back then. You two can no longer be considered husband and wife. It's unreasonable for you to try and take her inheritance now."
Guan Yingjie snorted; "Legally we're not divorced yet, so how can we not be considered husband and wife? I won't allow her to give her property to someone else without my consent. No matter what you say, I don't want to hear it. I only know that I must take back what belongs to me!"
Guan Cheng sighed.
“Xiao Zhi, you’ve all seen the situation. I’ve tried to persuade the old man, but he’s like a stubborn mule and won’t listen to me.”
Mu Wanzhi sneered inwardly. Is this what you call persuasion? It was just a casual remark; given Guan Yingjie's stubborn nature, of course he wouldn't listen.
The reason she came today was to help Chen Zhe with a favor and mediate the matter between him and Guan Yingjie. After all, Guan Yingjie had saved her son's life, and she owed him a favor. Just then, Zhong Yuan called her. Zhong Yuan had the same idea. He wanted to get information about the treasure of Qingyun Mountain from Chen Zhe, and he also wanted to do Chen Zhe a favor. One wanted to repay a favor, and the other wanted to do a favor, so the two hit it off and came to talk to Guan Yingjie on the occasion of the old man's birthday.
Guan Cheng outwardly agreed, but in reality, he did not put in any effort; he was just saying it casually.
The two were fooled by the official and made a wasted trip, so they could only say goodbye and leave.
Stepping out of the official's gate.
Zhong Yuan sighed; "This old man seems easy to talk to, but he doesn't actually help. What a pity about my set of blue and white porcelain..."
To get Guan Cheng's help, Zhong Yuan brought out all his family's heirlooms. The old man accepted the gifts, but he didn't help at all.
Zhong Yuan was heartbroken. As he left, he looked longingly at his blue and white porcelain. Guan Cheng casually said to him, "Xiao Yuan, thank you for your birthday gift."
Guan Cheng was more than 20 years older than Zhong Yuan, so there was nothing wrong with calling him "Xiao Yuan". The problem was that this was not a birthday gift at all, but something to ask him for a favor.
But after he said that, there was no way to get it back. He could only suffer in silence, unable to express his bitterness.
Mu Wanzhi patted Zhong Yuan on the shoulder; "Uncle Zhong, this is my fault. I thought that since the old man is celebrating his 90th birthday, he would be easier to talk to, but I didn't expect him to be like this."
Zhong Yuan sighed again; "How can you blame yourself? I know he has this kind of personality. When I was little, my dad wouldn't let me come to their house to play, saying that their house was tacky. Sigh, if my dad knew that I gave him this set of blue and white porcelain, he would definitely be so angry that he would crawl out of his grave and beat me."
Seeing Zhong Yuan's pained expression, Mu Wanzhi felt a little guilty, since it was her suggestion to come and beg Guan Cheng.
"Uncle Zhong, let me call Chen Zhe and talk to him about that matter for you."
Hearing that Mu Wanzhi was willing to help, Zhong Yuan's eyes lit up; "Great, great!"
...
In the study.
Guan Cheng was playing with the set of blue and white porcelain. Although he was 90 years old, he looked very healthy.
"Grandpa, do you really think I shouldn't take back what belongs to me?"
Guan Cheng chuckled and gently put down what he was holding. “The two of them came to beg me. I didn’t want to pay them any attention, but I’ve had my eye on this treasure for a long time. When I was young, I asked Zhong Xu for it, but he was so old-fashioned that he said I didn’t appreciate it and dismissed me. Now that I have the chance to get it, how can I miss it?”
Upon hearing Guan Cheng's words, Guan Yingjie turned his gaze to the set of blue and white porcelain.
Then he laughed.
No wonder the old man acted out of character and asked him to give up his inheritance; it turns out that's why.
Guan Cheng said, "I know you won't listen to me given your personality, so I pretended to agree. When you started making a fuss, I said I couldn't handle it. They've already delivered the things, how can you take them back?"
Guan Yingjie laughed heartily; "Grandpa, you're so clever, you got your hands on the treasure without lifting a finger."
"Of course! You have to use your brain when you do things. The reason our government has achieved its current status is all thanks to this!"
Guan Cheng pointed to his head; "Think about things with this in mind, don't be reckless. I've heard about what you did in Donghai. You were too impulsive, going directly to their door to demand it. It shows you have no class at all. What do you think that old man from the Hu family will think? You have a share in the inheritance, but doesn't the Hu family have one too?"
"Well... Old Master Hu didn't say anything, nor did I see him send anyone over. He probably won't compete with me for this."
"Heh, you're wrong! That old man is even more cunning than me. Do you know why he didn't go over and argue with you?"
"Why?"
Guan Yingjie asked.
"That's because the things that kid named Chen Zhe has are all fake. He has no share in the Hu family girl's inheritance at all."
Guan Yingjie was stunned when he heard this; "Really? I've seen that transfer agreement, it's definitely real."
"The transfer agreement is real, but it's just an empty shell. The real estate of the Hu family girl is in the foundation. That girl is smart. She made arrangements for her property a long time ago. Apart from her own children who have the right to inherit, no one else can take it. The old man of the Hu family probably found out about this, which is why he didn't go and fight with you."
Guan Yingjie was shocked for several seconds; "Grandpa, how did you know?"
"Hehe, how would I know? Ever since that girl from the Hu family stabbed you, I've been wanting to get revenge, but I haven't been able to do anything about it. That old bastard Hu Kui said he'd cut ties with that girl, but you can't believe a word he says. That girl is his only bloodline. If I really did something to her, I'd probably face a furious backlash from the Hu family. Weighing the pros and cons, I could only send people to keep an eye on her. Over the years, she's eliminated many of my pawns, but I still have a general understanding of her situation."
Guan Yingjie nodded; "I see. So what should we do now? Are we really going to give up?"
"Hehe, give up? Of course we can't give up. That girl knows how to make money. Over the years, according to my estimate, her assets are probably around 50 billion. How could we possibly give up so much money?"
Guan Yingjie was shocked again; "Grandpa, how could Linglong Club be worth so much money?"
"So you have no right to speak if you haven't done your research. Do you think she only owns Linglong Club? She has a lot more businesses. 50 billion is a conservative estimate. This girl's business acumen is astonishing even to me."
At this point, Guan Cheng sighed.
"If she had truly wanted to marry you back then, we could have rested easy with her in our household. Why did she resist so fiercely? I just can't understand it."
Guan Yingjie hesitated for a moment, then said, "Grandpa, this is my fault."
Guan Yingjie then recounted the drunken ramblings he made during his wedding night.
Upon hearing this, Guan Cheng's face changed drastically; "What!!! You bastard!"
He couldn't help but slap Guan Yingjie across the face, pointing at him angrily; "You good-for-nothing, more likely to ruin things than get anything done! How could you say such a thing?"
Guan Yingjie covered his face.
"I thought the situation was settled and she couldn't resist anymore, but when I saw that look of disgust on her face, I couldn't help myself..."
"You bastard!! Looks like you didn't take that knife for nothing! If I were you, I would have stabbed you too!"
“Grandpa, logically speaking, if Hu Ling knows, then that old bastard Hu Kui should know too, but I haven’t heard anything about him doing anything to our family since I woke up.”
The fact that the entire male branch of the Hu family was wiped out is a serious matter, and the official family was involved. This is a deep-seated grudge, and Hu Kui would definitely seek revenge once he found out. Therefore, Guan Yingjie is a little confused.
Guan Cheng frowned and thought for a moment.
"Go and call your father here. I have something to ask him!"
"Oh well!"
Guan Yingjie hurriedly left the house.
...
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