As soon as Qin Zhengze arrived home, the old butler came up to him and said in a low voice, "Young Master, Master... is not in a good mood. Why don't you go and see him?"
The old butler grew up with Master Qin since childhood. He was initially Master Qin's study companion and assistant, and later became his butler. In modern society, it's no longer fashionable to call someone "Master," but he still can't get used to it.
Qin Zheng casually handed his coat to the nanny and said nonchalantly, "Not in a good mood? Didn't his grandson come back? Aren't you enjoying family time?"
If Ruan Bei or Qin Gu were here, they would be utterly astonished to see Qin Zhengze's face.
This man was a spitting image of a mature version of Qin Gu. He should be over forty years old, but he looked only in his thirties.
However, compared to Qin Gu, who was just coming of age and full of vigor and spirit, his features still carried the immaturity and naivety of a young man.
Qin Zhengze's appearance and temperament were obviously more mature and steady. His eyebrows and eyes were relatively strong, and he had a dignified and imposing presence. However, the nonchalance he showed when he was chatting and laughing softened his coldness and made him look about 70-80% like Qin Gu, who usually didn't care about others.
He changed his shoes and walked into the house, clearly heading towards his study.
The old butler smiled wryly and followed Qin Zhengze, continuing to persuade him: "He's old and said things in anger. Why are you getting angry with him?"
"That's what you're saying."
Qin Zheng stopped and turned to the old butler: "Uncle Yu, please speak fairly. Who's holding a grudge against whom? My mother has been gone for so many years, and now I have nowhere to vent my grievances. How can you accuse me of something?"
The old butler was speechless. This guy was good enough if he didn't make others feel bad, let alone feel wronged?
That's what he thought, but he couldn't say it like that. He had watched the young master grow up, and he couldn't be tough on him; going against him would only make things worse.
Just then, he mentioned the old lady, and the old butler followed his lead and advised, "The old lady's death anniversary is approaching. You should bring the eldest son back so he can pay his respects. If the old lady knew this in the afterlife, she would surely be happy."
When it came to his deceased mother, Qin Zheng couldn't say anything harsh, but it was even more impossible for him to compromise like this.
He stroked his chin and suddenly chuckled: "My mom? She's probably reincarnated by now. She doesn't have anyone to wait for. If she had been early enough, she might have started dating by now."
"Hey! Young master, you can't say such things!" The old butler was so frightened that he quickly looked around. When he didn't see his master, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Young Master, you know the Master can't stand this kind of thing. Please, please restrain yourself and don't upset him."
Qin Zheng snorted coldly, his expression mocking.
Now you're putting on airs, why didn't you do this earlier?
Knowing full well that his mother's death anniversary was approaching, he still let Qin Zhengping's family come back. Who can he blame for making trouble for himself?
The old housekeeper couldn't persuade him, and he was in a bad mood, standing there anxiously.
Ever since the eldest young master's family returned, the young master and the master had a fight for some reason and haven't spoken properly since. Today, they even said those kinds of things.
Young Master Mingming had long since stopped caring about the eldest young master's existence. In the past, when he came back for the New Year, he would pretend not to see him. But this year, for some reason, things suddenly turned out like this.
He definitely couldn't pass on those angry words; if he did, the young master probably wouldn't even come home.
He originally intended to have a good talk with the young master first, to make him lower his head in front of the master. There's no such thing as a grudge between father and son that lasts overnight. But he hadn't witnessed the young master's temper in a long time, and experiencing it again was something he simply couldn't understand.
Qin Zhengze had been watched grow up by the old steward and had great respect for him. Seeing the old man with white hair and a hunched back standing in front of him, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"Alright, I'll go see him tomorrow. You should go and rest first."
"Alright, alright." The old butler finally breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help muttering, "Don't fight, please don't fight."
The father and son are both over a hundred years old combined, and their arguments are still quite frightening.
Qin Zhengze had a headache. He didn't want to argue. Apart from his own father, who would dare to nag in front of him?
With his current status, he can have someone drag away anyone who displeases him with just a glance, but he can't call for his father to be dragged out as well.
Unfortunately, the old man is already quite old, and instead of enjoying his retirement at home, he doesn't even bother to care about bringing Qin Zhengping's family back. The old man still insists on meddling in their affairs.
"No arguing." If he can't afford to offend him, he'll just stay away. If the old man is unreasonable, he'll just leave. He can leave the old house to himself and argue with whoever he wants.
"Hey, it's good that you're not arguing. It's almost New Year's, and the family should be harmonious." The old housekeeper kept nagging him to have some late-night snacks before going upstairs, but Qin Zheng declined a couple of times and sent the old man to rest first.
Old people don't need much sleep. Old Master Qin is used to getting up early, and he listened to the old housekeeper say nice things to him while drinking his porridge.
In front of the old man, the old butler embellished Qin Zhengze's words from the previous night, hoping to ease the tension between the father and son.
Old Master Qin put down his spoon: "Alright, I know his temper too well. You're just trying to appease me."
Having said that, the old man's expression visibly softened.
After a while, he checked the time: "You said you'd come today? What time is it already?"
Just as the old housekeeper was about to speak, the nanny brought people in. The corners of Old Master Qin's mouth had just lifted slightly, but when he saw Qin Zhengping's smiling face, that smile instantly disappeared.
Qin Zhengping was blocked from seeing this scene by the nanny, and just like the previous few days, he brought his son to the old man to curry favor.
Old Master Qin was thinking about Qin Zhengze, who had promised to visit him, so he sent the father and son away after only a few words, using the excuse that he was tired.
Qin Zhengping was completely bewildered. Usually, they would stay for at least half an hour, but today they hadn't even exchanged more than two words.
He hadn't gone far when he bumped into Qin Zhengze, who was walking in his direction, and Qin Zhengping's heart skipped a beat.
"Second brother, you..."
No matter how much he disliked Qin Zhengze, he couldn't show it at this moment. He forced a smile, but before he could finish speaking, Qin Zhengze had already walked past him without even glancing at him, as if the father and son didn't exist at all.
Qin Zhengping's smile immediately vanished. Qin Shen shrank back, thankful that he hadn't yet called out "Uncle," otherwise he would have been ignored like his father and lost all face.
Qin Zheng walked past the father and son and went straight into the small hall where the old man was staying. After entering, he sat down opposite him and asked, "You wanted to see me?"
Old Master Qin said irritably, "I'm your father, shouldn't you come to see me if there's nothing wrong?"
Qin Zheng leaned back and rested his arm on the armrest of the chair: "Serves me right, here I come."
The old man stammered a couple of times and casually started a conversation, but neither father nor son were good at chatting and heart-to-heart talks, so they ran out of things to say after a few sentences.
The old man was still thinking about that matter. After hesitating for a long time, he finally brought it up indirectly: "Isn't my eldest grandson's birthday coming up? He should be nineteen by now, all grown up."
They've arrived.
Qin Zhengze knew that he wouldn't be allowed to go back so easily today. He picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, which made the old man very anxious. Then he said leisurely, "It's still early. His birthday is in March."
The old man was secretly pleased to see that he didn't explode. He immediately said, "We didn't have a big celebration for his eighteenth birthday. It's unfair to the child. Why don't you take him back and we'll hold a ceremony for his birth?"
Before his son could reply, he continued, "Kids this age are prone to going astray. You were practically turning the world upside down back then. Now he's all alone, without any elders to look after him. How can we just leave our child like this?"
Qin Zheng put down his teacup, a half-smile on his face: "You don't need to worry about that. He's found new parents now, and he calls them 'Dad' and 'Mom' so happily every day."
"What?" The old man was shocked. His grandson, who was so big, had become someone else's child.
"Explain yourself! What happened?"
"What else could it be? That kid Qin Kunkun is eager to become someone's live-in son-in-law, no, live-in son-in-law."
"Qin Kunkun?" Old Master Qin was puzzled. "Isn't his name Qin Gu?"
"His boyfriend gave him this nickname, and he's been calling him that for years. I think it sounds better than his real name." This was just something he said to Grandpa Qin; Qin Gu's real name was given to him by his maternal grandfather.
Grandpa Qin couldn't stand the word "boyfriend." He was a grandson, not a granddaughter, so why would he talk about having a boyfriend?
The father and son had argued about this before, and the old man still couldn't suppress his anger when the topic came up again.
"Bring him back to me right now."
The old man stomped his cane and said angrily, "You've been tricked into coming here, and you're not worried? You'd be happy if your son really got lost."
"I'm not going," Qin Zhengze replied immediately.
Grandpa Qin grew anxious: "If you won't go, I'll send someone else! How can my grandson like men? Isn't that crazy?!"
Qin Zheng slammed the teacup down on the coffee table, his smile vanishing: "When I was dating, you looked down on my wife's family background. When my son is dating, you call him crazy."
The old man paused, about to speak again, when Qin Zhengze stood up with a cold smile, looking down at him: "You and my mother were a perfect match, childhood sweethearts, but what happened?"
The old man seemed to have suffered a huge blow, and instantly slumped into his chair.
Qin Zheng lowered his eyes and said coldly, "I promised An'an that Qin Gu would live the life he wanted. He doesn't need to bear anything from the Qin family unless he is willing to do so."
The old man, leaning on the armrest, his eyes filled with resentment, murmured, "Ask him, let him ask him, my Qin family has such a large fortune..."
Who wouldn't want that?
Qin Zhengze smirked: "Even if he's willing to inherit the Qin family, so what? Are you going to force him to break up with the person he likes?"
The old man's lips trembled, and he dared not say anything more unpleasant, but he still couldn't accept it: "It's a boy!"
What's wrong with boys?
Qin Zhengze didn't really think it was a big deal that his son was gay. The child was even younger than him, and he had managed to win over such a good kid. Qin Zhengze himself felt a little guilty.
However, it's clear that you can't reason with the old man; every time you try, you end up arguing. What's the point? It's quite pointless.
"I'm just telling you, please don't get involved in Qin Gu's matter, and please don't do anything to that family. Otherwise, if he wants to retaliate, I will only stand on his side."
"Also, those things you have, you can give them to whomever you want."
Qin Zhengze's expression was indifferent. Although the old butler hadn't told him, he couldn't be kept in the dark about the news in the old house.
Most of the Qin family's business was transferred to Qin Zhengze's name when he took over. His mother also had a considerable number of shares in the Qin Group, which were all given to him.
However, the old man still holds some shares in the Qin family and other assets, including the old mansion, which together are worth tens of billions.
"As long as they can handle it, just give them what they want."
Tolerating the existence of Qin Zhengping's family is the greatest respect he can give his father. Dreaming of dividing up the Qin family's business is just wishful thinking!
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