Chapter 1633: Chapter 1935: Deception (Part 3)
Seeing the situation, Lin Ziyang hurriedly turned his gaze to his grandfather. However, upon seeing the latter’s hesitant and conflicted expression, he felt utterly disappointed. At this point, Lin Rong was still considering; would he really have to sacrifice a pair of eyes?
Thinking of this, Lin Ziyang couldn’t help but shout out, "I’ll speak, I’ll tell everything. This was all orchestrated by the Lin Family; the Lin Family designed a scheme to deceive the Zhu Family out of their fortune."
"Ziyang, shut up!" Lin Rong’s expression turned anxious as he hurriedly rebuked. Unfortunately, Lin Ziyang had already spoken, and even if he wanted to stop him, it was too late.
"Finally, someone speaks the truth." Zhu Qian said calmly, but everyone could discern the underlying anger in his tone.
"Ling Chen, you may leave now. This is a private matter of the Zhu Family; let us handle it ourselves."
Upon hearing Zhu Qian’s words, Ling Chen nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave the front hall. His task had been completed, and there was no need for him to intervene further.
...
The next day.
At eight o’clock in the morning, Ling Chen had just gotten up and finished washing up when he heard a series of ’knock knock knock’ sounds coming from outside the door. When he opened the door, he saw Zhu Qing standing outside, her delicate face adorned with a faint smile.
"You seem to be in a good mood." Ling Chen said with a smile.
"Thanks to you. Come on, the Family Head and Uncle are waiting for you in the front hall."
In no time, the two of them arrived at the front hall of the Siheyuan. Upon entering, they saw Zhu Qian chatting with Zhu Houchang, both with smiles on their faces.
Seeing Ling Chen enter from outside, Zhu Houchang and Zhu Qian both rose to welcome him, a treatment that hadn’t been received prior. "Mr. Ling, we are truly grateful to you for this; without you, the Zhu Family might have remained in the dark."
"You’re too kind. If it were just me, I wouldn’t have been able to expose the Lin Family’s conspiracy; it was thanks to everyone’s cooperation." Ling Chen said.
When Zhu Qing mentioned the Zhu Family’s failed investments the other day, Ling Chen found it peculiar. He considered himself a somewhat successful businessman, with many enterprises and investment projects, each yielding considerable profits. However, the Zhu Family had consecutively failed in several projects, which was abnormal. Either their luck was exceedingly poor, or someone was deliberately sabotaging them. With this in mind, he asked Hu Fei to investigate.
However, the Lin Family was very cautious; all traces of the investment company’s initial involvement had been meticulously wiped clean. Fortunately, Hu Fei was skilled enough to find some faint clues. But despite having some leads, there wasn’t enough concrete evidence, so Ling Chen had a quick idea to take a risk and try something.
Last night, the phone he handed to Zhu Qian didn’t have any so-called evidence, only some leads and his message to Zhu Qian, hoping the latter would cooperate with him to stage a drama to expose the Lin Family’s conspiracy.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Qian’s acting was so convincing that Lin Rong and Lin Ziyang were both shocked.
"Family Head, may I ask how you will ultimately handle the Lin Family issue?"
"The Lin Family will repay double the amount they swindled from the Zhu Family." Saying this, Zhu Qian’s face was full of smiles. The Zhu Family had previously been burdened with huge debts, and all hard-earned money was being siphoned by the Lin Family. Now, without the debt issue, the Zhu Family accounts even have additional funds, enough for better development. As the Family Head, he was naturally pleased.
"Ling Chen, we really owe you thanks; had it not been for your help, who knows how long the Lin Family would have continued deceiving us." Zhu Qian sighed, "I reflected on what you said last night and found it quite sensible; as times are evolving, our Zhu Family should also keep up, instead of clinging to old rules. If the Zhu Family had more talents proficient in other areas, we wouldn’t have been fooled by the Lin Family. You were right, in this matter, the Zhu Family was like a fool, being deceived while still feeling thankful."
"The Lin Family was indeed bold enough to try swindling the Zhu Family, without realizing what kind of status the Zhu Family holds. If things had gone really wrong, no matter how wealthy, the Lin Family would have met a dead end."
Zhu Houchang nodded and said, "From now on, our Zhu Family will have no relations with the Lin Family. Given this incident, it’s estimated that the Lin Family will have a hard time recovering in the short term."
"Family Head, the Zhu Family’s business model indeed has issues; although this time, a significant amount of money was recovered from the Lin Family, you should think about how to operate efficiently. If you are interested, I can introduce some projects, while not bringing exorbitant profits, they will have reliable annual yields. Of course, if you don’t trust me, you can cultivate financial talents to aid the Zhu Family’s financial management."
"Ling Chen, it’s not a matter of not trusting you; after all you’ve done for the Zhu Family, we already consider you not as a client but a friend. But because of the Lin Family issue, we’re somewhat apprehensive, so please understand; we must thoroughly discuss to plan the future directions for the Zhu Family."
Listening to Zhu Qian’s words, Ling Chen laughed and replied, "It’s alright, I’m merely offering a suggestion; how you proceed is up to the Zhu Family, I won’t interfere." Pausing slightly, he then transitioned, "Family Head, I’ve been with the Zhu Family for several days, but there are many matters awaiting me at the Dragon Tiger Hall, and I feel it’s time I take my leave."
"Alright, then I won’t keep you." Zhu Qian said, "I know you came to the Zhu Family hoping to inquire about the Netherworld Snake. Unfortunately, I couldn’t offer much help, but last time you mentioned the Dark Pavilion; perhaps I can provide some leads."
Ling Chen’s eyes brightened, and he hurriedly asked, "What kind of leads?"
"Previously, I told you the Dark Pavilion sends a gift to the Zhu Family once a year. The Zhu Family’s security is fairly decent, yet the Dark Pavilion always delivers the gift right to the doorstep, while not a single presence is detected. For this reason, we specially investigated to figure out who exactly delivers the gift. Since there’s only one opportunity per year, I tasked the Zhu Family’s top experts to personally handle it and lurk nearby. One night, more than twenty years ago, during the late hours, someone quietly crept into the Zhu Family and dropped off the items, then swiftly departed. The expert responsible for surveillance noticed the person was adept at concealing themselves, with techniques resembling us. Therefore, the individual could effortlessly infiltrate the Zhu Family."
"However, I sent out a Heavenly List assassin from the Zhu Family that time, though the opponent was very strong, they couldn’t evade his sight. Because I had ordered not to alert the enemy, the Heavenly List assassin stayed hidden, and secretly tailed the person to determine their whereabouts. In the end, through that person, we discovered a location, which should be the Dark Pavilion’s secret base."
