Their animated conversation was suddenly interrupted by a roar of engine noise.
Steward Gong walked in briskly, making no effort to hide his disdain as he said, "Lin Jiang and the others are here."
Lin Zhengrong frowned slightly. "What are they here for?"
Just as the words left his mouth, a group of six walked through the front door, clapping as they came.
Leading them was a man with his hands clasped behind his back and his nose turned up to the sky—none other than Lin Jiang. "Third Brother, Yufei got legally married and you didn't even notify us of such a big event? Aren't you being a bit too distant? Did you not consider us part of the Lin family?"
To slap such a heavy charge on them the moment he walked in was a clear attempt to intimidate Lin Zhengrong right off the bat.
Refusing to be cowed, Lin Zhengrong stood up and replied indifferently, "It's just the marriage registration for now, we haven't held the wedding banquet yet. There was no need to make such a fuss."
The corners of Lin Jiang's mouth curled up. "When you get right down to it, you still didn't regard us as family."
"Dad, maybe Third Uncle thought Yufei married some insignificant nobody and was afraid of losing face, so he didn't tell us," Lin Changyun, Lin Jiang's eldest son, chimed in slowly.
Xiao Yang glanced over and saw that the other man was looking right back at him, his expression and gaze full of provocation.
He had seen people in a hurry to eat, and people in a hurry to travel, but he had never yet seen anyone in such a rush to get a beating.
"Third Brother, aren't you going to introduce us?" asked Lin He, the second eldest of the Lin family, with a sneer.
"Dad, no need for introductions. Young Master Xiao's reputation is already all over Jing City," said Lin Changong, Lin He's eldest son, as he walked over and dropped heavily onto an empty sofa, casually picking up an apple and taking a bite.
He looked Xiao Yang up and down before suddenly letting out a scoff. "Congratulations, bro. You actually managed to bag the belle of our Jing City. God knows what tricks you used."
"Second Brother, you can't put it that way. Maybe our dear sister Yufei fell for him at first sight?" Lin Changyang said with a light chuckle.
Lin Hai, the fourth brother of the Lin family who had remained silent until now, spoke up flatly. "Third Brother, your son-in-law has offended both the Ye family and the Pang family. Now both families have come to the estate, demanding an explanation from your son-in-law. Dad wants us to come get you and bring your fine son-in-law to the estate to give the Ye and Pang families an account."
Among the brothers of the Lin family, Lin Zhengrong was the third. The eldest was Lin Jiang, the second was Lin He, and the fourth was Lin Hai.
Among the younger generation, Lin Changyun was Lin Jiang's son, Lin Changong was Lin He's son, and Lin Changyang was Lin Hai's son.
The Lin family owed their wealthy lifestyle entirely to Lin Zhengrong. After making his fortune, Lin Zhengrong had not forgotten his roots, bringing all his relatives into the company to help out.
Yet as the company grew larger and larger, Lin Zhengrong found himself increasingly squeezed out and backstabbed by his own family. In recent years, these brothers, nephews, and cousins who owed their entry into high society to Lin Zhengrong treated him with less and less respect, sometimes even acting arbitrarily and making unilateral decisions.
At present, Lin Zhengrong's power within the company had been steadily carved up and hollowed out by the Lin family. If not for a few loyal subordinates desperately holding the fort for him, he would truly have become a commander with no troops left to command.
Most importantly, the Lin family had the shamelessness to take all the credit upon themselves, never pausing to think about who had lifted them up in the first place, completely devoid of any gratitude.
In truth, what hurt Lin Zhengrong the most was not this, but the fact that Old Master Lin and Old Madame Lin had always favored his brothers and nephews.
Whether before or after making their fortune, they had never cared about him, their third son, taking everything for granted and viewing it all as completely reasonable. No matter who made a mistake, it was always the fault of their third son.
As for Lin Yufei, they saw her merely as a convenient tool for a marriage alliance, frequently trying to force her and Ye Shaocheng together.
They had even once secretly accepted betrothal gifts from the Ye family behind their backs, which was why Lin Zhengrong's family had never set foot in the Lin Family Estate again, nor ever visited the old master and old madame since.
Lin Zhengrong said coolly, "I'm not going."
"If you don't go, they'll come over here directly," Lin Hai said. "Whoever caused the trouble should be the one to clean it up."
As he spoke, he glanced at Xiao Yang.
"Third Brother, if we go over now, things might not get too serious. If we really make the Ye and Pang families come here, it'll be a different story," Lin Jiang said with a light smile. "Don't let your son-in-law's trouble drag us down."
Xiao Yang dug into his ear with a finger and said, "You’ve said all this just because you want me to go over, right? Fine, I'll go."
Lin Zhengrong stopped him, his expression grave. "Xiao Yang, don't be rash. They're definitely up to something. Let me handle this."
"You handle it? Third Uncle, don't blame me for speaking bluntly, but with the Ye and Pang families joining forces, can you handle this? Don't end up dragging the entire Lin family's name through the mud." Lin Changyun sneered.
"This is no place for you to speak!" Lin Zhengrong said in a deep voice.
"Nothing's going to happen. I might not know how to play dirty games of intrigue, but when it comes to using fists, they're no match for me." A man should bear the consequences of his own actions; Xiao Yang did not want others taking the blame for him.
Lin Zhengrong stared at Xiao Yang for two seconds, slowly exhaled a breath, and his gaze hardened. "Then let's go together."
"Let's move. Stop wasting breath." Lin Jiang turned and walked out.
***
Before long, they arrived at the Lin Family Estate.
The estate strongly resembled the grand compounds seen in historical television dramas. A pair of stone lions stood on either side of the entrance, beneath soaring eaves and a hanging plaque.
The group passed through the front gate, crossed the front courtyard, and entered the main hall.
Sitting in the primary seats were two elders well past sixty, while the guest seats on either side each held a dignified-looking man, flanked by two burly bodyguards standing at attention.
Pang Zizhu stood off to one side, his head lowered in shame. Hearing people approach, he abruptly looked up, and the moment he saw Xiao Yang, his eyes instantly flushed red.
"Kneel!" Old Madame Lin shouted fiercely the moment Xiao Yang stepped into the hall.
Knowing the command was aimed at him, Xiao Yang ignored it entirely and casually sat down in one of the empty guest seats.
This sight made Old Madame Lin furious.
Old Master Lin frowned deeply and said coolly, "You must be Xiao Yang?"
"That's me." Xiao Yang's face was expressionless, revealing no emotion to the crowd as he sat like a stone monolith.
"Do you know your crimes?" Old Master Lin began his interrogation.
Xiao Yang gave a faint smile. "I'm not drunk. Young Master Pang, on the other hand, must have been sloshed, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to pull off the grand feat of stripping naked and crawling out of the hotel."
Teased like this, the members of the Pang family turned red-hot on the spot.
Pang Zizhu, in particular, wanted nothing more than to tear Xiao Yang into a thousand pieces.
His stunt from the previous night had long since spread across the internet. Despite the Pang family's frantic efforts to scrub and suppress the videos, it had done no good.
Now the entirety of Jing City, and even half of Daxia, knew of a character named Pang Zizhu.
Bang!
Pang Qing slammed a hand onto the armrest, stood up, and said in a heavy voice, "Old Master Lin, I'm giving you face by coming here to resolve this peacefully. Since your Lin family doesn't appreciate the gesture, there's nothing more to talk about. Let's go!"
Old Master Lin hurriedly tried to keep them. "Little Pang, calm yourself. I will definitely give the Pang family a satisfactory explanation for this."
Immediately after, he snapped at Xiao Yang, "Xiao Yang, apologize to Pang Zizhu right now!"