"Perhaps, I really will kill you."
The moment the dignified head of the Wen family uttered the word "kill," the surrounding air seemed to drop several degrees.
"Then I must thank you, Uncle, for sparing my life?"
Chen Luo smiled and poured Wen Tao another cup of tea, feeling much more relaxed.
Although this future father-in-law was shouting threats, judging from his words just now, he had passed the test and was at least not in danger of being forced to separate the couple.
"call."
Wen Tao gently blew on the teacup, but instead of drinking the tea, he put the teacup down.
"Do you think I'm too strict with Wan'er and the others, even causing Wan'er such a serious mental illness, and that I'm a cold-blooded and ruthless feudal patriarch?"
When Wen Tao suddenly said that, Chen Luo nodded instinctively.
"You are an honest person. However, even tigers don't eat their cubs. But sometimes, for the sake of the bigger picture, we have to make decisions that we know we will regret."
As he spoke, Wen Tao gently unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his left shoulder.
There was a glaring gunshot wound on his left shoulder, just centimeters away from the carotid artery.
"Uncle, what's wrong?"
"This is a tradition of my Wen family, and it's not something that only Wan'er's generation has experienced."
"Back then, in order to temper our generation of children and grandchildren, our ancestors sent all the direct descendants of the family, regardless of gender, to join the army on the southern frontier battlefield."
"I was assigned to a grassroots company as an ordinary soldier in the first batch to rush to the battlefield."
"On my first battlefield experience, I killed two enemies, but was hit by three bullets and was critically wounded."
"In the end, a total of eight members of my Wen family went to the battlefield, and only three of them returned alive."
"Even the leaders of that time praised my Wen family for being a family of loyal martyrs, and from then on they took good care of my Wen family."
As Wen Tao finished speaking, he buttoned his shirt back up, a hint of sorrow in his eyes.
Brothers and sisters went to the battlefield together; eight went, and three returned—how tragic!
"Chen Luo, you are Wan'er's man. Although we are not married yet, I at least consider you half a member of the Wen family."
"You must understand that the Wen family has paid a huge price to achieve its current status. It was earned by the countless lives sacrificed by our ancestors."
"Now that we hold such a high position, every step our family takes is like walking on thin ice, surrounded by enemies. Therefore, every generation of the Wen family head would rather use the most ruthless means to make his children and grandchildren successful than let future generations ruin the Wen family's business and reputation."
"Tell me, was what I did right or wrong?"
Hearing this, Chen Luo hesitated.
Is this the right thing to do or the wrong thing? Or rather, there is no right or wrong to judge this matter.
Wen Tao is merely the executor; he is the father and also the head of the Wen family. He cannot allow the family to decline because of familial affection.
"call!"
Taking a deep breath, Chen Luo slowly spoke.
"Uncle, I cannot judge whether what you did was right or wrong."
"I don't have the vision to judge the life and death of a family and the contradiction between morality and common sense."
"All I know is that this method has caused great harm to Wan'er, so I cannot agree with this approach."
He stared intently at Wen Tao, who then drank the completely cold tea.
The tea turned a little bitter after it cooled down, but Wen Tao still smiled.
"Alright, you've passed the second test as well."
"Uncle? Was I testing you too?"
"Yes, I want to see if you would also weigh this matter too rationally."
Wen Tao reached into his pocket and took out two photos, placing them on the tea table. One photo was of Wen Wan, and the other was of a handsome young man.
“This is my eldest son, Wen Shao.”
It turns out that he is Wen Shao, the eldest son of the Wen family, and also Wen Wan's biggest enemy on her road to seizing the throne.
“I asked him the same question, and his answer was yes.”
He believed that the law of the jungle was a given, and that sacrificing some of his children for the future of the Wen family was worthwhile.
"This brother-in-law really does have a ruthless air about him."
Chen Luo sighed, and Wen Tao reached out and pointed at Wen Shao's photo.
"Logically speaking, such a temperament is indeed worthy of being the next head of the Wen family. But do you know why I openly and secretly allow my children, including Wan'er, to engage in the struggle for the throne?"
After asking this question, Chen Luo lowered his head and fell into deep thought.
"No rush, think about it slowly."
Wen Tao remained in that position, watching Chen Luo as he frowned in thought.
After pondering for an unknown period of time, Chen Luo tentatively spoke.
"Is it because such a tradition is too inhumane?"
"Clap!" Wen Tao clapped his hands and laughed.
“Not bad. I didn’t expect that you would have thought of something that Shao’er couldn’t understand.”
"The iron-fisted tradition of many years has indeed enabled the surviving members of the Wen family to become successful, but such a tradition is like drinking poison to quench thirst. In the end, after several generations, the direct descendants will inevitably wither away rapidly, which will intensify the internal struggles, and the Wen family will eventually perish."
"Regardless of right or wrong, the Wen family urgently needs to transform itself. Both its family traditions and internal management need to be changed."
"Such a transformation is very dangerous and could very well destroy the Wen family."
"Besides, I'm old and can't think of any better solutions. Also, if Wen Shao succeeds to the throne, he will definitely follow the tradition, and he is ruthless by nature, which will surely intensify the internal struggle."
At this point, Wen Tao reached out and pointed to Wen Wan's photo.
"The reason I value Wan'er so much is that, despite her extremely severe psychological trauma, she is the most humane among the direct descendants of this generation, and the only one who has the potential to make a change."
"And now, with you added to the mix, I witnessed your entire struggle with Yelena. You are a Cao Mengde-like person, possessing both decisive and ruthless methods and a bold and unrestrained true nature."
“You have amplified Wan’er’s humanity and emotions to an extreme, making her more able to be with her through thick and thin and walk side by side.”
“I seem to see the future hope of the Wen family in you two.”
"That's the real reason I've come to see you today."
Hearing this, Chen Luo finally understood Wen Tao's intention.
To put it bluntly, the Wen family has reached an extremely dangerous point to some extent.
If Wen Shao succeeds to the throne and continues the tradition, the Wen family members will end up killing each other. In that case, they will surely perish within three generations. There are many enemies eyeing the Wen family, and once they show any weakness, they will naturally attack them all.
"Uncle, I understand."
Chen Luo nodded seriously, then his tone suddenly changed.
"However, since you came specifically to see me, you've already been tested twice."
"Next, you should start assigning me the task for my third test, right?"
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