The atmosphere at the table shifted again as Xia Wenping's wife, Shujuan, spoke.
"Old man, our family has always been obedient to you, to the point of being described as servile. What do you mean by not wanting to see the two families fighting?"
"Besides, our family has never fought; it's Xia Wentao's family that's always been fighting!"
"They've already received the best resources from the Xia family, yet they still target us everywhere..."
As these words left her lips, Xia Taishan's face changed drastically, and his gaze deepened.
Xia Wenping, being timid, was startled to hear this and quickly said, "Shujuan, stop talking nonsense!"
"You..."
Li Shujuan let out an angry roar, "Xia Wenping, I'm truly fed up with you. Can't you act like a man and stand up for yourself for once?"
"What has our family done wrong? Why should they be bullied everywhere!"
"The old man repeatedly said he wouldn't show favoritism, but in the end, didn't he still side with the second son?"
"What do we have?"
"Most ridiculously, the old man even arranged a marriage for Bingqing. I thought it would be with someone from a prominent family, but it turned out to be a bumpkin from a mountain village!"
"Old man, you're trying to crush our family to death!"
Li Shujuan had completely lost her composure.
She roared, throwing a tantrum...
Xia Wenping initially wanted to stop her, but now that things had reached this point, it wouldn't be easily resolved with a few words. He slumped heavily into his chair, his face looking unusually grim.
Xia Taishan's old face was somber, exuding an unspoken authority.
At this moment, Xu Li's voice cut in loudly, "Everyone in the Xia family, young or old, must listen to the old man. Who do you think you are? Why shouldn't you listen?"
"And if you don't want to listen, you can get out!"
"Who's stopping you?"
"You..."
Slap!
Just then, Xia Taishan moved, slamming his palm onto the table.
The dishes on it rattled, making a crisp sound.
"Enough! Just eat. Why so much talk!"
Xia Taishan said in a deep voice, leaving no room for doubt.
After Li Shujuan had her outburst, she quieted down, listened to the old man, and returned to her seat.
Xu Li, however, still had that sinister, yin-yang demeanor, occasionally making strange noises and humming...
The dinner that night was, to say the least, very unpleasant for both families.
Finally, Xia Taishan kept only Xia Bingqing and Chen Fan, letting everyone else leave first.
Chen Fan felt a sense of déjà vu.
Could it be that tonight would be another passionate night?
Xia Taishan spoke, "Little Fan, wait for me downstairs. I'll talk with Qingqing first!"
Chen Fan nodded and responded casually.
Upstairs, in the study...
Xia Taishan looked at Xia Bingqing and slowly said, "Bingqing, to be honest, do you resent your grandfather?"
Xia Bingqing blinked in surprise and replied, "Why would I resent you? There's no reason!"
Xia Taishan gave a wry smile, "Naturally, it's because of the unfairness towards your family, always favoring your second uncle and the others!"
On this point, Xia Bingqing also felt that her grandfather hadn't acted correctly.
Silence...
Xia Taishan continued, "See? Aren't you still angry because of this?"
"I... I'm not!"
"Qingqing, speaking of which, have you ever considered if your father could hold onto the entire Xia family if he took over, given his personality?"
"This..." Xia Bingqing was momentarily stunned, unable to speak, because what her grandfather said wasn't unreasonable.