Chapter 36: Master Chen the Second

After leaving the auction, Ye Fei and Chen Yu got into a Toyota Alphard together. The vehicle moved quietly along the street, but inside the car, the silence was almost oppressive.

After a while, Chen Bozhong finally opened his parched lips and said, "Mr. Ye, thank you—"

Before he could finish, Ye Fei raised his hand, interrupting him with a lazy tone. "I'm an easygoing person, but I detest offending elders. I don't really understand how influential your Uncle Chen is, but whatever that Situ fellow said really annoyed me, so if I've made an enemy, so be it."

As he spoke, he gazed out the window, a chill rising in his heart. "Besides, my senior sister's troubles are my troubles."

Chen Bozhong nodded slightly. He had merely wanted to thank Ye Fei, but with Tenglong Chamber of Commerce at its zenith, offending them likely meant no end of future troubles.

As for how Ye Fei managed to pay that three billion, both Chen Yu and Chen Bozhong tacitly refrained from asking. Some things are better left unsaid.

"Now, isn't it time you told me why you brought me to this auction?" Ye Fei asked, with a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Chen Bozhong sighed and said in a somber voice, "Mr. Ye, there are four great families in Hangzhou. Are you familiar with them?"

"The Gao family, where Gao Yangwei comes from, is one," Ye Fei replied. "But the others, I don't know."

"That's right, the Gao family counts as one of the four, though it's only risen to prominence in the last couple of years, apparently due to the guidance of a mysterious figure, which secured them the fourth spot," Chen Bozhong explained. "The third is the Yu family, which controls all the ports in Hangzhou."

Ye Fei nodded, signaling for him to continue.

"The second is the Qin family, the city's gray family—several generations of underground emperors have come from them. Most of the KTVs, bars, and mid-to-high-end venues are under their sway."

Ye Fei couldn't help but ask, "Qin Feiyang—what's his place in the Qin family?"

"Direct heir, personally groomed," Chen Yu said, crossing her fair legs and leaning back as she lit a cigarette, her voice soft. "A few days ago, the guy who attacked you in the KTV was called 'Ghost'—he's someone the Qin family trained."

"You've looked into this so thoroughly?" Ye Fei smiled.

"No need for investigation—your senior sister used every resource and favor she had to protect you, fearing you'd die in there. In doing so, she exposed all her cards, so from now on, she'll need protection herself." Chen Yu smiled slyly.

Ye Fei frowned.

"But don't worry—unless Wangu Group completely collapses, no one will dare lay a hand on her. Not even the Qin family."

Ye Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Bozhong then continued, "The top family, of course, is the Chen family. The four great families have stood in Hangzhou for nearly thirty years, their networks spread throughout the city, holding a significant share of local resources. If the Tenglong Chamber of Commerce wants to enter Hangzhou, they must find someone to rely on."

"And that reliance is none other than the Chen family."

"That's why my uncle said the targeting of Wangu Group was due to the convergence of all favorable factors," Chen Yu exhaled as she flicked her ash, her tone calm. "To put it plainly, this is a deadlock—unsolvable."

"Oh?" Ye Fei said. "You mean not only will Wangu Group be replaced, but they'll also be made an example of, like the proverbial chicken killed to warn the monkeys?"

"Exactly." Chen Yu nodded. "So your senior sister coming to ask my uncle and me for help is unrealistic. It's not that we don't want to help—we can't help. Because both of us... have been cast out of the family."

"Had this been six months ago, my uncle could have settled everything with just a word."

Ye Fei pondered for a few seconds, then asked, "Why?"

"It's related to the poison," Chen Yu sighed, murmuring, "Years ago, my uncle single-handedly elevated the Chen family to its current position, earning the respect of all. But in the face of tempting interests, even the most united family can have its hidden darkness..."

She then recounted the story to Ye Fei as a third party.

Originally, the Chen family was just an ordinary family in a small fishing village near Hangzhou. To feed his family, Chen Bozhong's father, Chen Guochang, resolutely set out as a merchant and, in just over a decade, laid the foundation for the family's future.

After that, Chen Bozhong rose quickly. As a young man, he inherited Chen Guochang's boldness. In an era when business opportunities were scarce, he leveraged his courage and acumen to repeatedly win great achievements for the family, leading them to their current heights and earning himself the renowned title of "Second Master" on the streets.

Chen Bozhong became the family head, while the aging Chen Guochang enjoyed a household full of children and grandchildren. The Chen family flourished.

But at the height of their prosperity, disaster struck from a clear sky.

The poison manifested.

Chen Guochang, still robust, was the first to fall—slipping into a coma. Next was his wife.

The family spent heavily to hire renowned doctors from across the region, but no one could determine the cause. All they could do was use expensive medicines to keep them alive.

At their wits' end, Chen Bozhong's own brother—Chen Yu's uncle—stood up with a pile of evidence from who knows where, accusing Chen Bozhong's son, Chen Xiangming, as the culprit behind the poisoning.

The supposed motive: to help Chen Bozhong eliminate all direct descendants and seize the family fortune.

The entire Chen family was shaken. Hangzhou was abuzz with the scandal.

Chen Xiangming, branded the chief culprit, had long since fled, his whereabouts unknown.

Before Chen Bozhong could even investigate, the family stripped him of his position as patriarch under the pretext of "the father's debts are the son's to pay" and expelled him.

Overnight, all his close allies deserted him. Chen Yu's branch, trying to protect Chen Bozhong, suffered as well.

It all happened so quickly. The ever-trusting Chen Bozhong had no chance to fight back before everything was taken from him. The moment he left the Chen family, the same mysterious poison that plagued the family began to afflict him as well.

The poison.

Those two words became the Chen family's nightmare. No one knew its origin.

But all the blame was heaped upon Chen Bozhong's branch.

This was why Situ Feng dared to be so arrogant at the auction.

How could a traitor accused of plotting against his own blood not be reviled by all?

Even though the name "Second Master" once resounded across Hangzhou, an unanswerable accusation was enough to break even the mightiest reputation.