Free Web NovelChapter 198: IF I HAVE FAILED YOU, THEN SAY IT.
For the briefest of moments, the room seemed to hold its breath.
Guiying himself sat perfectly still.
Beside him, Liuxian’s fingers quietly tightened around his hand beneath the table.
Fang Guobin lowered his eyes to the page.
"To my grandson, Xue Guiying, I bequeath full ownership of the Chaoyang Commercial Complex, including all current tenancies, associated revenue and future development rights."
The silence lingered for scarcely a heartbeat before whispers broke out across the hall.
"The Chaoyang Commercial Complex?"
"Surely not..."
Before anyone had fully processed the words, Fang Guobin continued.
"I further bequeath forty percent controlling shares in Xue Holdings."
Several people froze where they sat.
Someone audibly inhaled.
Another simply stared at the lawyer as if convinced he had misspoken.
Fang Guobin’s voice never wavered.
"I further bequeath the Hainan coastal estate, including all associated structures, land and rights."
The whispers rapidly became voices.
"Impossible. Surely this is a mistake."
"Forty percent?"
"Did I hear that correctly?"
Without pausing, the lawyer continued reading.
"I further bequeath the complete Xue family art collection, presently housed within the east wing of the family residence and valued at its most recent assessment at approximately sixty-eight million yuan."
Margaret’s eyes widened.
An elderly aunt covered her mouth in disbelief.
Someone near the back muttered in a hoarse whisper,
"The art collection alone is worth more than anything presented..."
Fang Guobin lifted the final page.
"I further establish a personal trust in the name of Xue Guiying, the details of which have been separately filed, the principal amount of which exceeds all other individual bequests contained within this will."
The hall exploded.
"This is absurd!"
"Forty percent controlling shares?"
"The commercial complex too?"
"Has he lost his mind?"
"How can one child receive all this?"
Margaret stood so abruptly that her chair nearly toppled backwards.
"This distribution is entirely disproportionate!"
She looked directly at Xue Mingzhan.
"I understand affection, but this goes beyond affection. The entire family has been made unequal before our own eyes."
Another relative rose.
"The legitimate grandsons receive a trust while he receives practically an empire!"
A third voice followed.
"How can anyone possibly think this fair?"
The protests overlapped until individual voices became impossible to distinguish.
Throughout it all, Guiying looked almost as stunned as everyone else.
His lips parted slightly as though he meant to speak, but no words came.
Slowly, almost instinctively, he turned to look at his grandfather.
Xue Mingzhan merely watched him quietly.
Beside Guiying, Liuxian remained seated, though his grip on Guiying’s hand tightened once more.
Only ShangYan appeared entirely unmoved.
His expression remained calm, betraying nothing.
Xue Mingzhan slowly raised a hand.
The arguments did not cease immediately, but they gradually weakened until the hall fell into uneasy silence.
His voice was calm.
"Everything named in that document belongs to me."
His gaze travelled steadily across the room.
"I spent my life building it."
He paused.
"I require nobody’s permission to decide where it shall go."
Silence.
No one answered him.
Fang Guobin waited respectfully before unfolding one final document.
"There remains one final declaration by Patriarch Xue Mingzhan."
The atmosphere instantly became tense again.
Many eyes drifted towards Guiying.
Others watched Xue Mingzhan himself.
Fang Guobin began to read.
"By the express instruction of Patriarch Xue Mingzhan, effective upon his retirement or passing, the position of Head of the Xue Family shall pass to his son, Xue ShangYan, who shall thereafter assume all rights, responsibilities and authority pertaining thereto."
For one impossible second...
Nobody reacted.
Then chaos erupted with twice the force of before.
"What?!"
"An illegitimate son?"
"This is unacceptable!"
"Absolutely unacceptable!"
Margaret shot to her feet again.
"No."
Her voice echoed through the hall.
"No, Patriarch. This cannot stand."
She pointed openly towards ShangYan.
"You would place an illegitimate son at the head of the Xue family? What explanation are we expected to give to the outside world? Every prominent family in the country will laugh at us."
Others rose almost immediately.
"The family’s reputation will be ruined."
"How can an illegitimate son become the face of the Xue family?"
"What precedent does this set?"
"This will become the scandal of every banquet and every business gathering."
Someone’s gaze shifted towards Deyong.
"And what of the legitimate branch?"
"Has all of Deyong’s service counted for nothing?"
The scraping of another chair silenced several nearby conversations.
Deyong had risen.
His expression was pale with anger, every trace of composure stripped away.
He looked directly at his father.
"Father."
His voice remained level, but only through obvious effort.
"I have never once questioned your authority."
No one interrupted.
"I have followed every instruction you have given me. I have devoted my entire life to this family and to its prosperity."
His jaw tightened.
"If, in your judgment, I am unworthy of succeeding you, then I would rather hear those words plainly from your own mouth."
The room became so quiet that even breathing seemed loud.
"But today you ask me to stand before our entire family while an illegitimate son is named above me."
He did not look at ShangYan.
His eyes never left Xue Mingzhan.
"You ask me to endure that humiliation in silence."
Another murmur swept through the hall.
Several relatives nodded immediately.
One elderly uncle struck his cane sharply against the floor.
"He’s right."
Margaret’s expression hardened further.
Deyong continued.
"If ShangYan’s abilities surpass mine, then say so."
"If I have failed you, then say it."
"But do not expect me to pretend that this decision carries no consequence."
For the first time since the reading began, genuine emotion showed plainly across his face.
"It is not only my dignity that has been wounded today."
"It is the dignity of the legitimate branch itself."
Across the hall, ShangYan finally lifted his eyes.
His expression remained infuriatingly calm.
He neither defended himself nor challenged Deyong.
He simply sat in complete silence.
The contrast only fuelled the anger spreading through the room.
Voices rose again from every direction until they blended into an indistinguishable wall of outrage.
Then Xue Mingzhan stood.
He did not slam the table.
He did not shout.
He simply rose to his feet.
The effect was immediate.
The shouting gradually died away until the hall once again fell silent.
His eyes rested first on Deyong.
Then on ShangYan.
Then on every other face present.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet enough that everyone leaned forward to hear it.
