Murong Haotian"s face remained calm, and his words were light. "Oh, Xiao Ye, you care for Xiao Xi too much. I"m just chatting. There is no need for you to talk to me like that. I didn"t mean anything by it."
Murong Haotian"s statement did not seem harmful, so the others wondered if Murong Ye was making a fuss.
Murong Qingtian knew Murong Ye. Even though Murong Ye was too protective of Xiao Xi, he would never embarra.s.s Murong Haotian in front of so many people on such an occasion. Murong Qingtian"s eyes turned cold as he stared at Murong Haotian.
Murong Haotian still looked the same. The father and son were so protective and aggressive that he could say nothing more. Instead, he kept an innocent expression on his face.
Meanwhile, the housekeeper and servants brought all the dishes. There was a variety of foods, including animals that flew in the sky, ran on the ground, and swam in the water, that made up the wonderful dinner. When the dishes were ready, it was time for dinner.
Murong Qingtian raised his gla.s.s and took the initiative to stand up. "Tonight is New Year"s Eve. Our family gathers here every year. You are all busy with your daily lives, so the whole family doesn"t get many chances to reunite. Today, all the family members are gathered here. Let"s have a drink together."
As the head of the family, Murong Qingtian gave a speech, showing his firm leadership. After a few simple sentences, everyone stood up and raised their gla.s.ses.
"Let"s welcome Xiao Xi home." Murong Lanxi"s att.i.tude towards Murong Yunxi had completely changed since yesterday"s board meeting. She couldn"t help flattering Murong Yunxi on this occasion.
Murong Yunxi smiled and said modestly, "Thank you, aunt. I"m glad to return to this big family, and I"ll need your support and consideration in the future."
All the family members drank a gla.s.s of wine out of courtesy. As soon as the wine gla.s.ses were empty, Murong Jun told Murong Xu sarcastically, "On this occason, some people still drink no wine. I wonder whether they regard us as family or not. Maybe they don"t take the head of our family seriously."
Only Murong Yuncheng and Su Rui drank beverages out of the whole table. This statement seemed to be ambiguous, but people were aware of its meaning.
Murong Yunxi looked at Murong Jun. "Are you talking about me? Family members should be frank with each other. Now, who doesn"t consider me family?"
Murong Yunxi responded to Murong Jun"s words. Her words were straightforward and she had clearly made her point, but her tone had not been harsh. This statement didn"t directly confront Murong Jun. On the contrary, Murong Yunxi"s att.i.tude was unclear judging by her words. Everyone just felt confused, as her words left her enough room for manoeuvring.
Murong Xu had a decent relationship with Murong Yunxi. It was his eldest brother who targeted Murong Yunxi. Murong Jun"s words had confused him.
"Big brother, you may not know this, but Xiao Xi is really bad at drinking. I"ve seen it before. A little wine will get her drunk and make her lose her consciousness. Today is the first time that you"ve had dinner with Xiao Xi, so she won"t blame you for not knowing this. After all, few people could get drunk by drinking as little wine as she drinks."
Murong Xu smiled faintly in an effort to reconcile them. When he finished his words, Su Rui raised his head and sneered. "Then were you talking about me?"
Murong Xu was a little embarra.s.sed. He could not keep a low profile today. He tried to make everyone ignore his existence. After all, his contradiction with Murong Haotian hadn"t been resolved yet. The cold war between father and son was still ongoing. Unless it was necessary, he would certainly not make a sound in front of Murong Haotian. Fortunately, Murong Haotian chose to ignore him that day.
Murong Yunxi didn"t want to embarra.s.s Murong Xu any more. Thus, she told Murong Xu, "Brother Xu, say nothing more. I"m not angry. I"m new here today. It"s my fault for not making this clear in advance. Now, Cousin Rui is involved in our arguement. New Year"s Day is a happy day, so let"s skip these unhappy topics."
Murong Yunxi"s statement didn"t seem like surrender. It made people think that she was a considerate, decent woman. They all believed that she was a very sympathetic person.
Murong Jun"s face clouded and he narrowed his eyes as he stared at Murong Yunxi. Murong Haotian patted Murong Jun"s hand under the table, giving him a hint that he should calm down. A wise man didn"t fight when the odds were against him. There was no need for him to make a scene in front of all these people on such an occasion. People might think that their family intended to start a quarrel.
"Xiao Xi, Xiao Jun doesn"t know the facts. Don"t take it personally. We are all family. You are brothers and sisters. This is the Spring Festival, so we should all get along with each other. Xiao Jun, as a big brother, you should cherish your sister and learn from Xiao Ye. Everyone can see Xiao Ye"s affection for his sister."
Murong Haotian, who was a senior, resolved the quarrel between the young siblings. Murong Yunxi also made concessions and things seemed to come to an end. However, Murong Ye didn"t intend to leave Murong Haotian alone.
A mocking smile formed at the corners of his mouth, making people shiver. "As the old saying goes, if a leader sets a bad example, he will be followed by his subordinates. How can you ask your son to love his sibilings if you can"t even love your nephew and niece?"
Murong Haotian"s face suddenly turned dark. He scowled at Murong Ye. The rage in his eyes was like a thunder crashing against him.
"Xiao Ye, this time you went too far."
"Oh? Did I? I was just telling the truth. Oh, I forgot how harsh reality can be. That"s why people can"t accept it. However, if a person did something that they were too afraid to admit... "
Murong Ye stared at Murong Haotian with an ambiguous expression. Whether what Murong Ye had said was the truth or not, he was still openly humiliating his own uncle. Murong Ye"s behavior was abnormal and really confusing for everyone. What on earth had Murong Haotian done to offend Murong Ye and cause this conflict?
Poeple thought that Murong Ye was a person who never suffered any losses, so he would never be the first to provoke someone. However, once he was provoked by others, he would fight back fiercely and double his payback. Thus, people concluded that Murong Haotian must have provoked Murong Ye first.
Murong Haotian gradually found his edge and started to act like he was innocent. "Xiao Ye, I know that something bad happened to Xiao Xi today. You are in a bad mood, but there is no need to be mad at me. I don"t want to see such a thing happen to Xiao Xi either. It is New Year"s Day, so we should be celebrating. Come on, I propose a toast to you. We should leave those bad things behind. May all go well for you next year."
Murong Haotian did not wait for Murong Ye"s response. He drank one gla.s.s of wine in one gulp and completely showed his sincerity. If Murong Ye didn"t accept this, he would seem too petty.
As people waited to see how Murong Ye would respond next, his cell phone suddenly rang.
Murong Ye answered the phone with a stern expression, listened and hung up without saying anything. His face was expressionless.
Everyone paid close attention to Murong Ye"s movement and saw him suddenly stand up and raise his gla.s.s of wine. "Today, in front of everyone, I"d like to say one thing that I really mean. Now that Xiao Xi has returned to the Murong Family, she is one of us. Before she came back, some people did something that I don"t plan on finding out about. However, if they continue to harm Xiao Xi, then don"t blame me for being ruthless. In addition, you shouldn"t scheme over nothing. Even if Xiao Xi and I are no longer here, the Murong Family"s property will have nothing to do with you! Everything in the Murong Family was created by my father, Murong Qingtian. Everything in the Murong Gang no longer exists, and neither does the Murong Gang itself. All you have was left by the former Murong Gang. Everything else has nothing to do with you."
Murong Ye"s words made everyone"s faces darken. Murong Chengtian suddenly slapped the table and stood up. "If Big Brother didn"t insist on ending the Murong Gang, we wouldn"t still be fighting for the group. It"s Big Brother who cut us off. Shouldn"t we get a share of the new company?"
"Oh, Third Uncle... Before you say anything, you should ask yourself. Are you not getting enough money? The industries the Murong Gang left for you aside, the shares the Murong Family gave you were already a gift from my father. Moreover, if the Murong Gang still existed, you wouldn"t be able to sleep so soundly now. Your heart would be in your mouth, and you would live in fear all the time."
Murong Chengtian"s face was burning. When he heard Murong Ye"s words, he choked and felt a suppressive sensation in his chest.
"You are the largest shareholder now, so you can say whatever you want to say. n.o.body knows whether we"d have more or not if the Murong Gang still existed."
"Well, since Third Uncle likes to live day by day, how about you reorganize the Murong Gang? The past prestige of the Murong Gang must still be there, so it shouldn"t be so hard to reorganize it. Don"t drag us down with you, though. We have no intention of playing with our lives."
"Ha! It seems that our big brother is old and afraid of death! Why don"t you hand over the leader"s power then?"
Murong Ye smiled. "You finally said it, Third Uncle!"
When Murong Chengtian realized that he had said something wrong, he was stunned. He immediately turned to glance at Murong Qingtian.
Right now, Murong Qingtian was scowling intensely. The light in his eyes, which was as sharp and fierce as the cold wind in deep winter, hit his body with a piercing pain.
"Big brother, I didn"t mean that!" Murong Chengtian hastily bowed his head before Murong Qingtian. His words were not as confident as before.
Murong Qingtian finally stood up and glanced around the crowd. Then, his eyes fell upon Murong Chengtian.