Translator: Silavin
“However, before I announce who will succeed me in the future, there’s something I need to do for him, to make up for my guilt towards him over these years!” Lin Huarong continued, then slightly turned his head. His gaze fell on Lin Aoqing.
“*Tsk tsk,* Old Master Lin has been in a coma for over ten years. During this time, Lin Aoqing has been managing the Lin Family. It seems Old Master Lin intends to hand over his position to him.”
“He finally tasted the fruits of his labour, from an abandoned child to the Family Head of the Lin Family. From now on, he’ll enjoy a life of wealth and glory…”
“It looks like we need to curry favour with Lin Aoqing now…”
At this moment, the gazes of the surrounding guests were fixed on Lin Huarong and Lin Aoqing.
“Father,” Lin Aoqing said, though confused. At this point, Old Master Lin was just short of handing over the position of Family Head to him. He was naturally extremely excited, and immediately bowed, saying insincerely, “Father is now more vigorous than ever. Please continue as the Family Head for a few more years. Let your child rest a bit longer…”
“Hehe,” Lin Huarong’s lips curved into a cold smile, he added, “Aoqing, let me ask you a question, how does that sound?”
“I’m all ears, Father!” After inwardly cursing the old man for talking too much, Lin Aoqing still showed a face full of sincerity.
“Tell me, if there was a wealthy man who, because he had no children, adopted a pitiful orphan, but later, that wealthy man had a Son of his own. This should have been a cause for celebration. However, the adopted orphan became jealous and harboured resentment from then on. However, he kept hiding his true feelings, meticulously planning for many years. Not only did he use schemes to make the wealthy man drive out his own Son, but he also poisoned the wealthy man, wanting to take control of the wealthy man’s Family…”
Lin Huarong spoke as if he was talking about something unrelated to himself, his tone frighteningly calm.
Hearing his words, many guests became indignant, loudly cursing.
Lin Huarong paused, and suddenly asked Lin Aoqing, “Aoqing, if it were you, how would you deal with that orphan?”
“I…” At this moment, Lin Aoqing‘s face no longer had any trace of joy. His face was covered in cold sweat, his eyes darted around, seemingly searching for a countermeasure.
“Such a person is worse than pigs and dogs. They should be executed!�� Someone shouted, and immediately, voices erupted.
“Right! Such a person should be put to death!”
“Simply killing him might be too lenient! In my opinion, he should be thrown into a snake pit and let the snakes devour him to death!”
“He must be made to suffer a fate worse than death!”
Though evil people in the world have always been detestable, what people hated most were those who were ungrateful.
“Brother Lin, today is your seventieth birthday. I haven’t given you my gift yet. Now, I present it to you. I hope you’ll accept it with a smile!” At this moment, Li Yuanfei’s voice suddenly rang out, causing many to frown.
They did not quite understand why he would choose to give a gift at this crucial moment.
“Many thanks to Brother Li!” However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, not only was Lin Huarong not angry, but he actually seemed somewhat excited, showing genuine gratitude towards Li Yuanfei.
At this point, some people sensed the unusual atmosphere.
Soon, under everyone’s gaze, from among the Li Family members, a middle-aged man removed the mask stuck to his face and walked out. However, what puzzled many was that this middle-aged man was not holding any precious gift, he just walked straight towards Lin Huarong.
“What does the Li Family mean by this?”
“Is Li Yuanfei planning to cause trouble at this moment?”
“Mocking Old Master Lin like this might spark a war between the two Families!”
Many guests began to whisper among themselves. However, they soon noticed that after this middle-aged man walked out, Old Master Lin’s body began to tremble, and tears welled up in his eyes.
As the middle-aged man came closer, many people got a clear view of his appearance. Some of the older generation immediately trembled.
“Hey, why does this person look so similar to Old Master Lin?”
“He… he’s Lin Aotian! Old Master Lin’s Biological Son!”
“What? He’s Old Master Lin’s Biological Son? How come we’ve never heard of him before?”
“It’s said that over ten years ago, Lin Aotian made a mistake and was angrily driven out of the Lin Family by Old Master Lin. Since then, there’s been no news of him…”
Amidst the discussions, the identity of this middle-aged man was revealed. Many people’s hearts stirred, recalling the story Old Master Lin had just told.
The adopted orphan, Lin Aoqing, wasn’t he the orphan adopted by Old Master Lin?
The one driven out of the Family, wasn’t that Lin Aotian, Old Master Lin’s Biological Son!?
The poisoning and harm matched Old Master Lin’s condition.
He had been bedridden for over ten years, which was something everyone in Spreading Cloud City knew about now.
Connecting all of this, everyone’s hearts trembled violently… Could it be that the despicable orphan in Old Master Lin’s story, the one who had made them so indignant, was Lin Aoqing!?
Gradually, everyone in the banquet hall fell silent, and all eyes turned to Lin Aotian, who had walked up to Old Master Lin.
Under everyone’s gaze, Lin Huarong and Lin Aotian looked at each other, both visibly emotional, their eyes glistening.
“Father!” Lin Aotian knelt on both knees, respectfully kowtowing three times to Lin Huarong.
“My Boy, you’ve suffered all these years!” Lin Huarong’s hands trembled as he helped the latter up, a tear finally sliding down his cheek.
At this moment, Lin Aoqing, who had been lowering his head, turned ashen. His eyes were filled with murderous rage.
As he exchanged a look with Lin Shiyun, not far away, many people began to gather.
Although their movement was not big, following Lin Aotian’s kneeling, the atmosphere in the entire birthday banquet hall became tense.
“Rise, a Son of my Lin Family does not kneel easily!” After helping Lin Aotian up, Lin Huarong looked towards Lin Aoqing, and a cold, disgusted voice slowly came from his mouth, “Lin Aoqing, do you want me to take action myself, or will you resolve this on your own!?”
With these words, the expressions of many guests became interesting.
They wanted to see if Lin Aoqing would obediently surrender, or would he completely tear off his mask and make a last desperate final stand?
It was worth noting that over these past ten years, all matters of the Lin Family, high and low, had been managed by Lin Aoqing. After more than a decade of development, Old Master Lin’s power had actually long been hollowed out, with only a group of old subordinates remaining loyal to him.
If it came to a fight, who would prevail was still uncertain!