A large hand seized He Zhongchen’s wrist, the one holding the gun, and twisted it hard!
"AHHH!!!"
He Zhongchen let out a piercing scream. His wrist bent at an unnatural angle, and the pistol in his hand CLATTERED to the floor.
Outside the main hall, the servants, startled by the gunshot, rushed to the doorway and craned their necks to peek inside.
With one hand locked firmly on He Zhongchen’s wrist, He Xinli turned and barked at the servants in the doorway, "What are you looking at? All of you, scram!"
Seeing the furious He Xinli, the servants shuddered and scattered in an instant.
The main hall fell quiet again, leaving only He Zhongchen’s pained groans.
He Xin Town remained seated, unmoving. He stared blankly at the still-smoking bullet hole in the table beside him.
’This rebellious son... he actually fired a gun.’
After a long moment, He Xin Town slowly turned his head to look at He Zhongchen, who was kneeling on the floor, his face beaded with sweat from the pain.
The last trace of warmth vanished from his eyes, replaced by a chilling indifference.
Then, He Xin Town slowly rose to his feet. With his hands clasped behind his back, he walked step by step until he stood before his kneeling second son.
"You... have disappointed me so greatly."
He Zhongchen looked up, his face streaked with tears, his lips trembling as if he wanted to speak.
He Xin Town gave him no chance, continuing, "I don’t blame you for stealing money from the mill. I don’t even blame you for your opium addiction. Those are all trivial matters."
"After all, the He Family’s estate is vast. We have more than enough to support your opium habit for a lifetime."
Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope flashed in He Zhongchen’s eyes.
But He Xin Town’s next words instantly extinguished that light.
"But you were not content. You were too greedy. Some things are yours to take only if I give them to you."
"If I do not give them, you cannot snatch them!"
He Zhongchen was finally jolted to his senses. The numbness from the opium was shattered by sheer terror.
He endured the excruciating pain in his right wrist and cried out, his words choked with sobs, "Father! Father! I know I was wrong!"
Then, He Zhongchen frantically turned his head to plead with He Xinli, "Second Uncle! Please let go! It hurts! It really hurts!"
He Xinli didn’t move. He simply looked at his older brother, awaiting his decision.
After a long silence, He Xin Town’s voice rang out again. "Your older brother will be the future Patriarch of the He Family. He will be the owner of the Dingsheng Flour Mill, and in the future, he will be a great industrialist in Yun Port City."
Hearing these words, the expression on the kneeling He Zhongchen’s face grew increasingly rigid.
He Xin Town continued, as if speaking to He Zhongchen, to himself, and even to the great He Family as a whole. "Your sister-in-law will be the sole matriarch of the He Family. No one can dispute that, and nothing can change it!"
He Xin Town looked down again at his kneeling second son, his eyes holding nothing but an almost cruel calm.
"Therefore, for the future and stability of the He Family, I, as your father, must personally do what your older brother cannot."
A sharp CRACK of bone breaking echoed through the spacious hall.
"AHHH!!!"
He Zhongchen let out a heart-wrenching scream and suddenly pitched forward.
His right leg was twisted at an unnatural angle. Before He Zhongchen could even catch his breath, there was another CRACK! His left leg was snapped in the same way.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"
A scream even louder than before echoed through the main hall, lingering for a long time.
He Zhongchen’s body convulsed in agony, his face a mess of tears and snot. He had completely lost feeling in both legs, leaving only a searing, all-consuming pain.
And all the while, He Xinli kept his hands clamped firmly on He Zhongchen’s, preventing him from even struggling. He could only endure the agony.
After doing all this, He Xin Town drew back his foot and once again clasped his hands behind his back. He looked down upon his second son, his voice as calm and placid as still water.
"Zhongchen, from now on, you are not to appear before your older brother and sister-in-law."
"I will have someone send you back to our ancestral home. Your third uncle is there. He will take care of you for the rest of your life."
He Zhongchen was already on the verge of death from the pain, but upon hearing he would be sent back to their ancestral home, it was as if the last ounce of strength was drained from his body.
Their ancestral home was in a rural town outside Yun Port City... There was nothing there but a few dilapidated houses, a few acres of barren fields, and a bunch of distant relatives who were dirt poor.
’A life that idle... it would be more agonizing than death.’
The thought of this outcome was too much. Overcome by a rush of rage and despair, He Zhongchen’s vision went black, and he fainted.
He Xin Town looked at his second son, curled into a ball and unconscious on the floor. Then he raised his head and shouted toward the door, "Someone, come!"
A few servants scurried in, trembling with fear.
He Xin Town pointed at He Zhongchen on the floor. "The Second Young Master accidentally fell and broke his legs! Quickly! Go find a doctor immediately!"
In these chaotic times, what had allowed He Xin Town to inherit the He Family’s business from his ancestors and build upon it? It was, of course, his business acumen and his connections.
He had followed his father on trade routes since he was eight. By fifteen, he could manage the ledgers on his own. By twenty, he could already sit at the negotiating table, smiling while skillfully cornering his opponents for a thirty-percent profit margin.
The directors of the Yun Port City Chamber of Commerce, the foremen of the southern docks, even a few captains in the city guard—all of them received generous gifts from the He Family during the holidays.
But all of that was far from enough. He Xin Town was also a formidable martial artist in his own right.
As an Anjin Martial Artist in Yun Port City, he wasn’t considered top-tier, but his strength was more than enough to deter any petty thugs who didn’t know their place.
More importantly, a man who achieves great things must be ruthless. He Xin Town had never been a soft touch. He had carved a bloody path for himself in the world of business and defended his family’s fortune in these chaotic times by showing no mercy when it was required.
’As for sons, I have plenty. I won’t miss this one.’
Who was the most important person in the He Family now? It wasn’t him, He Xin Town, nor was it his eldest son, He Zhongpeng. It was his new daughter-in-law who had just married into the family today: Lu Nianshu.
The two brothers, He Xin Town and He Xinli, now wished they could worship her like a goddess in a temple.
Just look at the scene at the wedding today. The bank executives, who were usually so high and mighty, were all trying to outdo each other in their attentiveness.
And then there were the compradors from the foreign firms, who usually looked down their noses at everyone. They were all wreathed in smiles, practically begging to sign contracts on the spot.
「The next day, the man in Yanjing was crowned Emperor.」
Lu Yun sat in the main seat, a newspaper in his hand. The front-page headline was the news of the coronation.
After reading for a moment, Lu Yun placed the paper on the tea table beside him and pulled something from his coat.
It was the piece of Immortal Flesh, wrapped in dark gold satin. This piece was reserved for his family.

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