In that secluded, old villa, Liu Jianmin's brow furrowed. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "Not good, things might have been exposed. Let's leave quickly!"
With that, he grabbed his jacket and hurried towards the exit, with Huang Tingting close behind.
Liu Feiyan and Liu Guohao were still in a daze, their intelligence suggesting they hadn't quite grasped the situation.
However, just as Liu Jianmin reached the door, eight burly, strong bodyguards in black suddenly appeared before the entrance.
"Second Master, the Old Master has given orders for you to go to the main building immediately!" said the bodyguard leader.
"Tell the Old Master you'll have to go, I have an urgent matter and need to leave!" Liu Jianmin said, heading towards the garage.
"Apologies, Second Master, but the Old Master said you cannot go anywhere tonight and must go to the main building now!" The bodyguard leader quickly stepped forward and blocked him.
Liu Jianmin immediately roared, "How dare you, a mere bodyguard, try to stop me?"
"Second Master probably doesn't know, but the Old Master just ordered us to apprehend you. So please don't make things difficult for us. If we are forced, we will have to take action!"
The bodyguard leader spoke neither servilely nor arrogantly. They had followed the Old Master for many years and naturally only obeyed Liu Hongguo's commands.
Liu Jianmin knew he couldn't escape. He waved his hand and said, "Alright then, since that's the case, lead the way!"
Thus, the Liu Jianmin family of four, escorted by the bodyguards, reluctantly walked towards the main building.
"Listen to me, everyone. When we get to the main building, no matter what happens, deny everything. Do you hear me!" Liu Jianmin whispered sternly.
"Fine, we aren't that stupid. Now that only our branch remains in the Liu family, I don't believe that old man dares to do anything to us!" Huang Tingting snorted coldly.
In the main hall, Liu Hongguo, leaning on his cane, glared furiously at the Liu Jianmin family of four as they entered.
Xiao Yunlong sat down on the living room sofa. Liu Ruyan, likely tired from a day of travel, followed and sat next to Xiao Yunlong.
Before Liu Jianmin even stepped into the hall, Liu Hongguo, enraged, cursed, "Rebellious son, you truly court death!"
Liu Jianmin, however, feigned composure and retorted, "Old Master, what madness is this at this hour? You start scolding me the moment I arrive. Are you unwell?"
"You dare to talk back! Speak, what did you do to Mr. Xiao!" Liu Hongguo roared.
In reality, Liu Hongguo's fear far outweighed his anger. After all, Xiao Yunlong was the Zhenbei King of the Dragon Country. Although he was now considered half a son-in-law to the Liu family, the crime of plotting against the Zhenbei King was no small matter.
If Xiao Yunlong were to truly get angry, the entire Liu Jianmin family of four might lose their heads.
Therefore, although Liu Hongguo was angry, he was more afraid. After all, he only had this one son and grandson left. If they all died, this lineage of the Liu family would be extinguished.
Liu Jianmin naturally lacked this awareness. He snorted, "You ask me what I did to him? You've already removed me as acting president, and I've been staying at home these past few days, not even stepping out the door. How could I have done anything to him? Although this brat is our Liu family's live-in son-in-law, he is a ruthless individual. How would I dare to do anything to him?"
"To this day, you still dare to quibble!" Liu Hongguo trembled with rage and shouted, "Listen carefully, what is this!"
With that, the Old Master pressed the play button and once again played the conversation of the one-eyed man in public.
After listening, Liu Jianmin sneered, "Slander, this is pure slander. I don't even know the person on the phone!"
Saying this, Liu Jianmin pointed directly at Xiao Yunlong and said, "This Xiao fellow's origins have always been unclear. He's a live-in son-in-law of our Liu family, living off our support, yet he's still not satisfied. Now he's using such despicable means to slander me. His malicious intent is obvious; he wants to eliminate me completely and then gradually seize our Liu family group!"
"You... you damn it..." Liu Hongguo was so enraged he could barely speak.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Hongguo turned to Xiao Yunlong, bowed, and asked, "Mr. Xiao, what do you think we should do about this matter?"
Xiao Yunlong frowned. He didn't speak immediately but picked up his teacup and took a sip. Then he said, "Old Master, you should know that based on that recording alone, I don't even need to say anything more. I can directly eliminate him."
Liu Hongguo nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I know. This matter indeed requires an explanation to you. Mr. Xiao, please give your word!"
Xiao Yunlong glanced at Liu Ruyan, who had remained silent, and said, "Ruyan was raised by the Liu family after all. As her fiancé, I naturally have to consider her feelings. Old Master, you have also been on the battlefield and killed enemies. I respect you as a hero. For your sake, I will spare his life, but while his death can be avoided, his crimes cannot. Break both his legs!"
Throughout this, Liu Hongguo dared not even breathe heavily, as if a great mountain was pressing down on him. He was truly afraid that this Zhenbei King of the Dragon Country would get angry and start a massacre, in which case the entire Liu Jianmin family of four would surely die.
Hearing this, Liu Hongguo secretly breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand, "You four, take action. Restrain him, break both his legs, and apologize to Mr. Xiao!"
Huang Tingting angrily shouted, "You old fool, are you crazy? Jianmin is your own son! You're going to cripple his legs?"
Liu Hongguo roared, "I'm telling you, if he weren't my son, would he still be alive now? What are you four standing around for? Hurry up and act!"
The four bodyguards finally confirmed that the Old Master was not joking, so they rushed forward and pinned Liu Jianmin to the ground.
Liu Jianmin finally panicked, roaring repeatedly, "Old Master, you can't be serious, can you? You're actually going to break my legs for this useless son-in-law named Xiao? Hurry up and tell them to stop, do you hear me? Tell them to stop!"
Liu Hongguo remained unmoved, his expression a mixture of grief and disappointment.
The four bodyguards, after confirming their actions, raised their hands and brought down their palm strikes, breaking Liu Jianmin's legs on the spot.
Instantly, a pig-slaughtering scream echoed through the vast Liu family manor.
"You heartless old man, you are truly cruel. I will remember this hatred. If this hatred is not avenged, I swear I will not rest."
Liu Jianmin gritted his teeth, his bloodshot eyes turning to glare at Xiao Yunlong, "And you, this Xiao fellow, this useless son-in-law. I don't know what method you used to bewitch this old man, but I swear, one day I will kill you!"
Hearing this, Xiao Yunlong slowly stood up, walked up to him, and said condescendingly, "If you want revenge, you can, of course. But remember, this time I am showing leniency because of Ruyan and Old Master Liu. If there is a next time, it won't be this simple!"
After speaking, Xiao Yunlong flicked his hand and turned to walk towards the dining hall.
"Fine, then we'll see!" Liu Jianmin gritted his teeth and passed out.
"Carry him out!" Liu Hongguo quickly waved.
"Xiao, I've noted this debt today. Don't think you can do whatever you want and act recklessly just because you've bewitched this old man. I'm telling you, your arrogance won't last long. I will skin you alive, drink your blood, and eat your flesh. And Liu Ruyan, that slut and bastard, I will sell her overseas to become a slave to men!"
Huang Tingting roared fiercely.
Hearing this, Liu Ruyan, who had already followed to the dining hall, turned pale. Xiao Yunlong's gaze sharpened, and killing intent appeared in his eyes.
Seeing this, Liu Hongguo quickly roared, "If you don't get out now, I'll break your dogs' legs too!"
Huang Tingting and the others dared not speak further, only leaving with their hearts full of rage. Two servants then carried Liu Jianmin back to the old villa nearby.
The family's private doctor soon arrived and, after a while, stabilized Liu Jianmin's broken legs.
About half an hour later, Liu Jianmin slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he did upon waking was to shout, "Quick, call Chen Ruimin and tell him I agree to his proposal, to sell him fifteen percent of the group's shares. The price will be as he said before."
"You're going to sell both our group shares? But if we do that, we'll be completely kicked out of the Liu family group," Huang Tingting said.
"Do we have any status left in the Liu family now? Sell the shares, and then prepare a generous gift to visit your cousin Shang family."
"You mean we should seek refuge with the Shang family?" Huang Tingting frowned.
"That's right, seek refuge with the Shang family. We can't stay in the Liu family anyway. To overthrow that Xiao fellow and completely deal with him, we can only rely on the Shang family's strength. You are cousins with the second madam of the Shang family, she shouldn't just stand by and watch," Liu Jianmin gritted his teeth.
"But she is only a second wife, and her influence in the Shang family is limited. The Shang family, as one of the three ancient clans of Suzhou City, holds a respected position. They might not be willing to help us!" Huang Tingting said.
Liu Jianmin pondered, "Didn't that lame younger son of the Shang family fancy our Feiyan earlier?"
Huang Tingting said, "How can this be? Our Feiyan is a famous beauty in Suzhou City. As you said, that young son of the Shang family is lame. Can you bear to let Feiyan marry him and suffer such grievances..."
However, before she could finish, Liu Feiyan spoke up, "Mom, I'll marry him. I can marry that lame son of the Shang family!"
"But this way, Feiyan, you..."
"I don't care. All I want now is to figure out how to kill that bastard Xiao. This useless son-in-law has gone too far. If I don't tear him to pieces, I can't quell my hatred!"
Liu Feiyan clenched her fists and said through gritted teeth.