122: Chapter 122 The Chen Family is Enraged: How Dared to Treat Their Clan Like This?
The light of the holographic projection was suddenly extinguished.
The Jinghai Chen Family's century-old council hall fell back into oppressive gloom.
Only the echo of Chen Yuan's final taunt remained in the air: "Bring a coffin."
These four words were like a resounding slap, fiercely striking the spirit tablets of the Jinghai Chen Family's ancestors.
A deathly silence ensued, lasting for a full three seconds.
"Snap!"
A crisp cracking sound shattered the suffocating silence.
The priceless Chenghua Chicken Cup in Chen Tianba's hand was smashed violently against the blue brick floor, instantly turning into worthless shards of porcelain.
The scalding tea splashed out, rising in steam like a mocking ghost face.
"Rebellion…"
"Rebellion! That beast!"
Chen Tianba stood up abruptly, his chest heaving violently.
His face, usually as stern as an iron plate, was now the color of pig liver.
He pointed toward the direction where the screen had just disappeared, his finger trembling as if he had Parkinson's disease.
"How dare he?"
"How dare he speak to his elders like that!"
"That is his cousin! His own flesh and blood!"
"He actually threw him into a dog cage and filmed a video? And he wants to send it for the whole world to see?"
The roar echoed through the beams and pillars, shaking dust down from the ceiling.
The several collateral elders of the Jinghai Chen Family sitting below kept their eyes lowered, not daring to breathe a word.
But if one looked closely, they would notice the corner of Third Uncle Third Uncle's mouth curling into an extremely subtle, gloating arc.
This is a prominent family.
Such a huge scandal in the direct line.
The heir humiliated like a dog.
For the collateral branches that had been suppressed by Chen Tianba and unable to lift their heads, this was even more exciting than the New Year.
"My Chen Yu!"
A shrill wail came from behind the screen.
Zhao Ya, who had just been revived by having her philtrum pressed, rushed out with disheveled hair.
Her expensive custom-made qipao was wrinkled, her makeup was ruined, and her eyes were swollen like walnuts.
She threw herself desperately at Chen Tianba's feet, clutching his trousers tightly, her nails almost sinking into his flesh.
"Chen Tianba! Did you see it?"
"That bastard is torturing our son!"
Zhao Ya cried heart-wrenchingly, her voice shrill and piercing.
"He is feeding him to the dogs! Those are Zombie Dogs!"
"Chen Yu has never even suffered a scratch since he was a child; how can he endure this kind of suffering!"
"Save him! Quickly, send someone to save him!"
"Shut up!"
Chen Tianba kicked Zhao Ya away, his eyes full of irritation and violence.
"Crying, crying, crying! That's all you know how to do!"
"If it weren't for you spoiling him, would he have run to America to throw his life away?"
"It's fine now!"
"The whole world knows that the Jinghai Chen Family's heir is a piece of trash who only knows how to wet his pants!"
Zhao Ya was kicked to the ground but scrambled up like a madwoman.
She grabbed Chen Tianba's collar, her eyes as venomous as a vengeful spirit claiming a life.
"Chen Tianba! You coward!"
"Our son is about to die, and you're still worried about face?"
"Doesn't that Chen Yuan want money?"
"Give it to him!"
"Give him the company! Give him the old family home too!"
"As long as we can get Chen Yu back, give him everything!"
"Slap!"
Another resounding slap.
Chen Tianba used all his strength in this blow, causing blood to spill from the corner of Zhao Ya's mouth as she slumped onto the armchair.
"Give? What are you going to give?"
Chen Tianba straightened his ruffled collar, his gaze as cold and venomous as a snake.
"The Jinghai Chen Family does not belong to just us; it belongs to the whole clan!"
"Hand over the foundation to that bastard who was expelled from the family?"
"The ancestors would crawl out of their graves to strangle me!"
He turned around, his gaze sweeping across the room like a knife.
The collateral members, who had originally been watching the show, instantly felt a chill down their backs.
They sat up straight, putting away their gloating expressions.
"Listen to me carefully."
Chen Tianba's voice lowered, conveying an unquestionable ruthlessness.
"This matter is not just about Chen Yu alone."
"It concerns the face of the entire Jinghai Chen Family."
"If we just admit defeat like this, who will ever take the Jinghai Chen Family seriously in Jinghai or in China in the future?"
"Big Brother, what do you mean by that…"
Third Uncle Third Uncle asked tentatively.
"Send someone to America to take him out?"
"Take him out?"
Chen Tianba sneered.
"Haven't you watched the news?"
"That kid has an army now, has Gundams; even the FBI can't touch him."
"We send people over? That's just serving ourselves up on a platter!"
He walked over to the mahogany desk and leaned on it with both hands, a cunning light flashing in his eyes.
"If hard tactics don't work, then we'll use soft ones."
"Doesn't he want to be a hero? Doesn't he want to be a local emperor in America?"
"Then I'll make his backyard catch fire!"
"I will make it so he can never hold his head up in his life!"
Chen Tianba picked up the red secure phone on the desk and quickly dialed a number.
It was the private line of the head of the largest media group in the country.
"Beep—beep—"
The call connected.
"Hello, Old Wang?"
"It's me, Chen Tianba."
The moment the call connected, Chen Tianba's tone changed immediately.
It became sorrowful and indignant, as if he were an old father whose heart had been broken by an unfilial son.
"I need a favor from you."
"No, not a business matter."
"It's a family scandal."
Chen Tianba sighed, his voice choked with emotion.
"Tomorrow… no, right now."
"I want a trending topic across the entire internet."
"I've already thought of the headline."
"Call it—'The Shame of Overseas Chinese: Billionaire Chen Yuan Harms Kin to Seize Family Fortune, Worries Sick Grandfather to Death!'"
"Yes, that Chen Yuan."
"Dig up all the dirt on that rebellious son from when he was in Jinghai—the fighting, the brawling, the lack of education—everything!"
"If there isn't any, make it up!"
"Make it as disgusting as possible!"
Chen Tianba gritted his teeth, a malicious light flashing in his eyes.
"I want everyone in China to know."
"That Chen Yuan is an ungrateful, ancestral-forgetting wolf!"
"I want him to be condemned by thousands and ruined!"
"Money is not an issue."
"As long as you can smear his name, I'll pay whatever you want."
Hanging up the phone, Chen Tianba looked at the pitch-black night outside the window, a cruel smile curling at the corners of his lips.
Public opinion.
In this society ruled by law, it is the only knife that can kill without drawing blood.
No matter how impressive you are in America, Chen Yuan, you are still yellow-skinned after all.
As long as I ruin your reputation in the country and turn you into a street rat that everyone wants to beat, let's see if your so-called "Umbrella" can still hold up!
"Zhao Ya."
He looked back at his wife, who was slumped in the chair, dazed.
He ordered coldly:
"Stop crying."
"Go wash your face and fix your makeup."
"Tomorrow morning, we are holding a press conference."
"You are responsible for playing the part of a pitiful mother who is desperate for her son and persecuted by her stepson."
Zhao Ya froze for a moment.
Then, she understood her husband's meaning.
She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and the fire of revenge ignited in her eyes once again.
"Okay."
"I will play it well."
"I will make that bastard die without a burial place!"
Chen Tianba nodded.
He sat back in his chair and looked at the family photo on the table.
In the photo, the young Chen Yuan stood in the corner, his eyes gloomy.
"Fighting with me?"
"You're still too green."
Chen Tianba picked up the phone and dialed another number.
"Get ready."
"Muddy the waters."
"We are going to perform this play for 1.4 billion people to see."