The atmosphere in the room grew colder with each passing second.
In that moment, Nan Xiuming finally understood what it meant for a minute to feel like a year.
It was incredibly difficult.
Nan Zi'an and others like him watched with anxious hearts. Under normal circumstances, if their father had suffered such humiliation, they would have stepped forward to say a few words and ease the awkwardness. They remained silent, not out of unwillingness, but out of fear.
Nan Xiuming had long anticipated that given Chu Fan's personality, he would never let the Nan family's past transgressions go unpunished. Humiliation was inevitable. He had warned everyone beforehand:
"If you do wrong, you must bear the consequences!"
"Nothing new can be built without breaking the old!"
"No matter what happens, you will act as if you see nothing. No one is allowed to interject a single word!"
"Even if he hits me, none of you should show any anger on your faces!"
"Otherwise, you will be expelled from the Nan family!"
It was only because of this warning that Nan Zi'an, despite the difficulty of speaking, had not secretly signaled his wife to speak up. He knew that if his wife spoke, even if Chu Fan disregarded the elder, he would still show some courtesy.
Three minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Nan Xiuming, being older and frail, found it hard to endure. His body trembled, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead. Despite this, he continued to wait. He repeatedly comforted himself, believing that Chu Fan was testing him. If he passed the test, he would be forgiven and could then leverage his relationship with Chu Fan to connect with the Lou King.
Undeniably, Chu Fan's composure had reached an apex. The entire table was focused on him. He seemed oblivious, continuing to eat and drink.
The only person whose thoughts differed from the others was Nan Baixuan. Ever since Chu Fan appeared, her gaze had been fixed on him. The shift in his status had a profound impact on her. She remembered how contemptuously Chu Fan had looked at her when they first met. Now, he was someone her own grandfather had to treat with respect.
While surprised, Nan Baixuan's prejudice against Chu Fan had not only persisted but intensified. She believed that Chu Fan's arrogance stemmed solely from a stroke of luck, having connected with Shangguan Hongyu, the Lou King. Otherwise, how could he possibly have the standing to make her grandfather bow his head? She completely forgot that the Lou King himself acted like a subordinate before Chu Fan. Who was clinging to whom was self-evident.
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
The wine in Nan Xiuming's glass swayed violently. The back of his clothes was already soaked with cold sweat. The Nan family members sat on pins and needles. These thirteen minutes felt as arduous as several years.
Qin Xue, who had been waiting, saw Chu Fan put down his chopsticks and felt it was time, as the elder was about to collapse if it continued. She gently nudged Chu Fan's arm and whispered, "Xiao Fan, that's enough!"
Chu Fan turned his head to look at Nan Xiuming, who was on the verge of fainting.
"It seems you are determined to gain forgiveness!"
Nan Xiuming nodded with difficulty, "Sir, please forgive us. We know we were wrong!"
Chu Fan chuckled softly.
"Firstly, I can tell you very clearly that your Nan family is not worth my anger!"
"The reason I am sitting here today is mainly because of my little aunt!"
"You know very well how you treated her before!"
"My aunt doesn't want to pursue it, but that doesn't mean I won't!"
"Next, it depends on your performance."
"If you dare to oppress my aunt again, then I'm sorry, you know the consequences."
Nan Xiuming, with most of his body already in the grave, nodded obediently like a child to the scolding from the young Chu Fan. After a brief exchange with Qin Xue, Chu Fan stood up and left. The Nan family members watched him leave with longing eyes. All the methods they had prepared were rendered useless.
Qin Xue suddenly remembered something she needed to say and quickly got up to chase after him.
"Xiao Fan!"
Chu Fan stopped. "What is it, little aunt?"
"This, this..."
Qin Xue hesitated.
Chu Fan smiled. "Little aunt, just say what you need to say. Why be so formal with me!"
"Thank you, Xiao Fan!"
"You've gone to such lengths for me!"
Chu Fan immediately showed a look of disgust. "Little aunt, this is the first and last time you say this. If I hear you say this again, I will be angry!"
"If it weren't for Nan Zi'an treating you reasonably well, I would have asked you to leave the Nan family long ago!"
"I know!"
Qin Xue nodded. "It's precisely because Brother An treats me well that I've endured all these years."
"Let's leave this matter for now. I wanted to ask you about something else!"
"What is it?"
"This medicine you gave me earlier, what was it called?"
Qin Xue understood her own condition very well. The poison that had eluded countless efforts and funds was gone after taking Chu Fan's medicine. She hadn't experienced any discomfort recently. Examinations also showed that all the toxins in her body had been cleared. Her internal organs, damaged by the poison, were now filled with vitality, and she felt more energetic each day than the last.
As the manager of a pharmaceutical group, Qin Xue knew that if this medicine could be produced, it would not only benefit the public but also make Yuxue Pharmaceutical the leader in the pharmaceutical industry. She had wanted to discuss this with Chu Fan for a long time. The reason she hadn't was because there were many uncontrollable factors with medicine. She needed to test the medicine herself to confirm it had no issues before proceeding. Investing too much capital and manpower too hastily, only for the medicine to have problems, would turn all efforts into nothing. Having observed and tested it to this extent, Qin Xue was confident that the medicine had no issues, which is why she finally spoke up.
"It's called the Nine Revolutions Returning Spirit Pill!"
Qin Xue nodded. "Xiao Fan, do you have the prescription for the Nine Revolutions Returning Spirit Pill?"
"Your medicine, little aunt, I personally tried it, and it's excellent. I thought if it could be developed and produced, it would surely free countless patients from suffering!"
Chu Fan frowned slightly and asked, "Little aunt, didn't you receive the prescription for another medicine called the Blood-Breaking Pill earlier?"
"The Blood-Breaking Pill is more suitable for the general public and easier to produce!"
Chu Fan had considered all aspects when he initially planned to help Qin Xue with his resources. Compared to the Blood-Breaking Pill, the Nine Revolutions Returning Spirit Pill was indeed more complex. However, the medicinal ingredients for refining the Nine Revolutions Returning Spirit Pill were already extinct in the outside world, and even alternative ingredients were very scarce. In contrast, the Blood-Breaking Pill was relatively simpler.
"What Blood-Breaking Pill? I don't know!"
Qin Xue looked confused.
Seeing that his aunt genuinely seemed unaware, Chu Fan explained, "Before I moved away from Wan Shu Mountain, I had written the prescription for the Blood-Breaking Pill. I intended to give it to you, but you weren't there, so I gave it to Xiao Xuan to pass on to you. Didn't she give it to you?"
Qin Xue shook her head. "Xiao Xuan never gave me any prescription."
Hearing this, Chu Fan felt a wave of helplessness. He had known the girl was unreliable and regretted giving her the prescription in the first place.
"It's alright. I'll write another one and send it to you!"
Qin Xue nodded. "It's possible she just forgot. I'll ask her when I get back."
Returning, Qin Xue walked up to Nan Baixuan.
"Xuanxuan, did your cousin give you a prescription earlier?"
Mentioning this, Nan Baixuan suddenly remembered that such a thing had happened, and her expression changed slightly.
"Where is the prescription?"
"I, I..."
Nan Baixuan didn't know how to respond.
"What prescription?"
Nan Zi'an approached.
"Xiao Fan said he had written a prescription for a medicine called the Blood-Breaking Pill to help us develop our business. I wasn't there at the time, so I gave it to Xuanxuan to pass on to you."
"What? Blood-Breaking Pill?"
Nan Zi'an exclaimed, startling Nan Xiuming and the others into approaching.
Upon hearing about the Blood-Breaking Pill prescription, Nan Xiuming excitedly said, "The Blood-Breaking Pill was created by the God of Medicine and has been lost to time. If we truly have this prescription, it will be only a matter of time before the Nan family dominates the pharmaceutical world."