Chapter 1632: Chapter 1934: Deception (2)
"Don’t rush to get angry, listen to me first. Years ago, your Lin Family joined forces with the Zhu Family for investments, which ended in a complete loss. As a result, the Zhu Family borrowed a large sum of money from your Lin Family to proceed. Later, you continued to lend considerable amounts to the Zhu Family. The principal along with interest has now amassed to an astronomical number, one difficult for the Zhu Family to repay quickly with their income. Using this as leverage, your Lin Family tied the Zhu Family closely to you, then secretly used the Zhu Family’s strength to tackle competitors, thus enabling the Lin Family to develop and expand rapidly. Lin Family Master, am I wrong?"
Lin Rong said in a deep voice, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I had someone investigate those companies the Zhu Family invested in. They are actually secretly controlled by your Lin Family. The so-called investment failures were orchestrated by your Lin Family as nothing more than an act. You used this to deceive the Zhu Family’s savings over many years, then lent the swindled money back to the Zhu Family. Honestly, I admire your tactics; it’s quite the profitable venture without risk."
Ling Chen laughed and said, "Unfortunately, the Zhu Family remains oblivious, believing in your talk of investment failure. The Zhu Family has focused solely on nurturing internal talent for years, none are proficient in finance, so there’s no way for them to discern truth from fiction. To them, your Lin Family has been in commerce for generations, and is a renowned business family in Dengzhou City, unlikely to deceive them in this aspect. That’s why I said earlier, the Zhu Family is quite naïve. If not for this, their situation wouldn’t be so strained."
"Nonsense," Lin Ziyang shouted angrily, "Ling Chen, stop trying to sow discord here, nobody will pay attention to your words." With that, he turned to Zhu Qian and said, "Sir Zhu, this man’s too presumptuous, are you still going to tolerate him?"
Zhu Qian quietly observed Ling Chen, remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "I want to hear him out. Ling Chen, everything requires evidence; how can I believe you based just on your words alone?"
Ling Chen pulled a phone from his pocket, stood up, and walked over to Zhu Qian, "Here, my friend just sent me this information. There’s records of all six companies your Zhu Family invested in. Additionally, my friend found an internal share allocation document. From the allocation, you can see the Lin Family is the major shareholder of these companies. However, they’ve remained behind the scenes, keeping you none the wiser. Look, it’s all here, you can take a close look. If there’s anything you don’t understand, I can arrange for a financial expert to explain the Lin Family’s methods to you."
Zhu Qian accepted the phone from Ling Chen and, as he read the information on the screen, his expression grew increasingly displeased. After a while, with a loud bang, Zhu Qian stood abruptly from his seat, glaring angrily at Lin Rong beside him, and gritted through his teeth, "Lin, how could I have trusted you, yet you dare to conspire to deceive my Zhu Family and cheat us out of our money?"
Feeling Zhu Qian’s rage, Lin Rong’s expression finally changed, stammering, "Zhu... Zhu Qian, don’t believe his words, it’s not like that, you... let me explain."
"Hmph! The evidence is clear, what more could you explain? What, are you trying to deceive me again? Guards!"
As Zhu Qian’s words fell, over a dozen Zhu Family disciples swiftly charged into the front hall.
"Lin, I’ll give you a chance to confess. If you don’t want to die, you’d better honestly clear this up. Otherwise, neither you nor your grandson will walk out of here alive."
"I... I..." Lin Rong opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. In all the years he’s known Zhu Qian, he has never seen him so angry. Seeing his cold eyes, he senses that Zhu Qian isn’t joking. If he can’t provide a clear answer, he might not get out alive.
"Sir Zhu, this is all a misunderstanding, please don’t listen to him." After a moment of shock, Lin Ziyang reacted first, hastily speaking.
"Don’t listen to him? What, should I keep listening to you and be deceived?" Zhu Qian said coldly, "Does your Ling Family think our Zhu Family is easy to bully?"
"No, no, not at all," Lin Rong quickly said, "Zhu Qian, things aren’t as you think. Investment failures are quite normal, it’s not our Lin Family scheming to cheat the Zhu Family’s assets."
"Lin Rong, at this point, will you still not tell the truth?" Zhu Houchang raised his brow and said, "Fine, if so, don’t blame us for turning our back." With that, he drew a flying knife from his body and headed directly toward Lin Ziyang.
Seeing Zhu Houchang’s action, Lin Ziyang’s expression changed dramatically. He hurriedly stepped back with a pale face and asked, "What... what do you plan to do?"
"The Zhu Family has many ways to deal with enemies, one method is gouging their eyes out. I’ll take out one of your eyes first to see if your grandfather will speak the truth. If he continues to find excuses for the Lin Family, then I’ll gouge out both your eyes. Ziyang, this won’t be pleasant, brace yourself."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ziyang jumped in shock, disregarding everything and dashed outward. However, someone had long been watching his movements, and as he tried to flee, two Zhu Family disciples swiftly approached, pinning his arms on either side, forcibly restraining him, leaving him unable to move.
Zhu Houchang walked up, holding the flying knife, and said indifferently, "Ziyang, don’t blame me; blame your grandfather, who refuses to save you."
Watching the gleaming knife flick before him, Lin Ziyang’s face turned as white as a sheet, trembling uncontrollably.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, please, save me," Lin Ziyang shouted loudly.
Lin Rong gritted his teeth, turned to look at Zhu Qian, "If you want to use this method to coerce our Lin Family, fine, then as you wish. From now on, the debts between the Zhu Family and Lin Family are entirely written off, are you satisfied? Release him!"
"Is that all?" Ling Chen interjected with a smile, "Lin Family Master, you’re too naïve. Your Lin Family did so much wrong to the Zhu Family and dare to say you want it all written off? Moreover, the Lin Family clearly owes the Zhu Family, how can you talk about writing it off? It seems you’re still hoping to turn a big matter into a little one. Unfortunately, do you really think the Zhu Family is so easy to deceive?"
Zhu Qian stared emotionlessly into Lin Rong’s eyes, silent but gestured to Zhu Houchang. The latter immediately understood, gripping the knife and slowly brought its sharp tip closer to Lin Ziyang’s eye.
