Chapter 440: Because of the Gu Family

Chapter 440: Because of the Gu Family

Everyone saw the alarm on Tang Jingbin’s face.

The table was so large that the five of them sat fairly spread out. Wu Chen sat beside Zhuang Xiaodie, Tang Xinbao beside Guo Qiqi. Tang Jingbin sat alone, with an empty chair between him and his nephew.

Tang Xinbao couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his Second Uncle wear an expression like that.

What on earth could be in those papers to make him react this way?

With that thought, Tang Xinbao twisted around and leaned over, craning to see.

Tang Jingbin slapped the thick stack facedown.

He didn’t so much as glance at his nephew.

His eyes stayed locked on Wu Chen.

A genuine sense of fear had risen in him.

If this dirt got out, there would be chaos!

The chain reaction it could set off might even be enough to partially reshuffle Modu’s entire balance of power!

“Didn’t I tell you already? I’m giving you a major gift, Mr. Tang.” Wu Chen held his gaze, still smiling. “Shuangqi Real Estate. Or rather, everything the Qi family owns. I’m giving it all to the Tang family…”

Tang Jingbin’s eyes were still wide, but his gaze flickered twice.

In truth, he understood exactly what Wu Chen meant.

Wu Chen had handed him the dirt!

In an ordinary person’s hands, this material was useless. If anyone found out they had it, it would only bring disaster down on their head.

But in Tang Jingbin’s hands, destroying Qi Min and Qi Jun would take no time at all.

And with a little maneuvering, seizing the Qi family’s assets wouldn’t be hard either.

Money mattered.

But life mattered more!

The richer people were, the more they tended to fear death.

Buying one’s life with money was all too common!

Whenever a rich man landed in serious trouble, even if the only deal on the table was commuting a death sentence to life imprisonment, he’d gladly hand over his entire fortune!

Let alone when his whole family stood to die.

And the dirt Wu Chen had provided was simply too thorough!

If Tang Jingbin wanted to, he could wipe out the Qi brothers completely while moving their assets, step by step, into the Tang family’s industrial chain.

The meaning of Wu Chen’s “gift” was crystal clear.

Tang Jingbin was certain he hadn’t misread it!

But…

Why?!

Just because Qi Min’s son Qi Chenghong had nearly struck Zhuang Xiaodie, Wu Chen was going to set off something this enormous?!

Dirt or no dirt, the Qi brothers had the Xiang family behind them!

The Tang family might be a shade stronger than the Xiang family, but on the whole, there wasn’t much between them.

The Xiang family was not to be provoked lightly!

Destroying the Qi family over something so trivial and making enemies of the Xiang family… if it sparked a war with them, the losses would be staggering!

And this was no longer just about money!

It touched on relations between great families.

On taking sides, on alignments, and much more.

So…

Just to settle a score on behalf of his woman, Wu Chen wanted to use the Tang family to cause an upheaval on this scale?!

Was this really a gift?

Wasn’t calling it a gift just a nicer way of putting it?

Wasn’t he using the Tang family as a weapon?

All manner of suspicions rose in Tang Jingbin’s mind.

But almost at once, he dismissed them himself!

Because he didn’t believe Wu Chen’s vision was that small.

If this were only about standing up for his woman, Wu Chen would surely have had better ways to deal with it.

He wouldn’t have gone to such an extreme.

Using the Tang family as a weapon didn’t seem like his style either.

More to the point, the scheme was far too obvious!

Tang Jingbin was no fool.

And Wu Chen certainly wasn’t one.

So if it was a scheme anyone could see through at a glance…

Could it even be called a scheme?

“Little Wu, what exactly… are you… trying to do?” Tang Jingbin asked again.

His tone was grave and deeply serious.

He had worked it out. Not the why, but this much: there was no way Wu Chen was doing all of this solely because of Zhuang Xiaodie!

She might have been the trigger.

But underneath, there had to be a far weightier reason!

Wu Chen kept smiling.

He was silent for a moment, glanced at Tang Xinbao and Guo Qiqi, then looked back at Tang Jingbin.

“Xiaobao, Qiqi, go out and stretch your legs for a bit!” Tang Jingbin said immediately.

He didn’t take his eyes off Wu Chen as he said it.

“Uh…”

“Then we’ll…”

Tang Xinbao and Guo Qiqi got up. They looked hesitant, yet didn’t dare hesitate for long.

They could both tell something was off.

Second Uncle had spoken, and neither dared ask a thing.

“Then we’ll head out for a while… There’s a cha chaan teng down the corridor. We’ll sit there for a bit,” Tang Xinbao said.

“Xiaodie.” Wu Chen turned his head, smiled, and gave her a look.

Zhuang Xiaodie said nothing and rose.

“Xiaodie~”

Guo Qiqi let go of Tang Xinbao, hurried two steps over to Zhuang Xiaodie, and hooked her arm.

During those days in Donghai, the two of them had gotten along wonderfully.

They were practically best friends already.

The two girls went first, with Tang Xinbao behind them, and the three of them left together.

Last out the door, Tang Xinbao turned back and pulled the heavy private-room doors shut.

Only Wu Chen and Tang Jingbin remained.

Tang Jingbin abruptly stood.

He picked up the bottle of red wine in one hand, hooking his own glass between his fingers, and took the documents in the other.

He walked around the huge round table and sat down right next to Wu Chen.

Wu Chen’s glass was empty.

Tang Jingbin’s still held a little under half.

“Little Wu, there’s no need to hold anything back with me. If you’re willing to give me these, it means you trust me. And I trust you! Brother Maoren and I have been on the phone plenty these past few days…” Tang Jingbin said as he filled Wu Chen’s glass.

He set the bottle down and tapped the documents on the table with one finger.

“Why?”

Wu Chen turned to look at him with a smile.

He half rose, picked up the bottle, and topped off Tang Jingbin’s glass in return.

Only after he’d set it down and settled back in his seat did he speak.

“Because of the Gu family.”

“The Gu family?” Tang Jingbin froze. His eyes flickered, and he fell silent, thinking.

But he could have racked his brains until his head split and still not seen what any of this had to do with the Gu family.

Wasn’t that far too roundabout?

Sending Qi Min, Qi Jun, and their entire family to prison or the grave… what could that possibly have to do with the Gu family?

The Qi brothers and the Gu family…

There was no connection between them!

None at all!

Of course Tang Jingbin couldn’t work it out.

Because he didn’t know what Wu Chen’s relationship with Gu Ruibo really was!

That was the most crucial link of all!

“Mr. Tang, what do you think would happen if you used… part of the dirt in these documents to deal with the Qi family as fast as possible?” Wu Chen asked. “I need every one of them either dead or in prison.”

He was extremely blunt.

“The Xiang family would go after Tang family assets,” Tang Jingbin answered, just as bluntly.

Wu Chen had said as fast as possible.

That meant no room for compromise, no explanations. Just strike!

Outsiders might read it as the Qi brothers having offended Tang Jingbin, offended him so badly that Second Master Tang had flown into a rage and acted.

But if he didn’t consult the Xiang family, didn’t give them a chance to mediate, and ignored even the basic rule that “even when you beat a dog, you look at its master,” the Xiang family would inevitably be enraged!

Great families lived and died by face!

The Xiang family would be sure to hit the Tang family’s peripheral assets first and strike back hard!

Only then would they come demanding an explanation!

“Then… Mr. Tang.” Wu Chen smiled again. “What if the Gu family stood with the Tang family on this and publicly rallied behind you, so that the Xiang family read it as a Gu–Tang alliance? What would happen then?”

“Huh?” Tang Jingbin was stunned all over again.

“If the Gu family… stood with the Tang family… then the Xiang family…” Tang Jingbin stared, speaking slowly as he thought it through. “They wouldn’t go to war with two great families at once over one Qi Min. They’d weigh the costs and gains, but…”

He didn’t finish the sentence!

But…

Why in the world would the Gu family wade into these muddy waters?!

The whole thing had started because Qi Min’s son had nearly hit Wu Chen’s woman.

That was all!

Had the Gu family lost its mind?

Why would it get dragged into a feud between great families over something like that?!

“Little Wu, you…”