Chapter 143: The Zheng Family of Pengcheng

In Pengcheng City, the Zheng family villa.

Covered in bruises and cuts, Zheng Shitian stood outside his father's study. His heart was filled with anxiety, his right hand suspended in mid-air. He wanted to knock, but he had not yet gathered his mental preparedness, trapped in an agonizing state of hesitation.

Spearheaded by the Zheng family, the jade exhibition had not only been designed to increase revenues, but also to lay the groundwork for expanding the Zheng family's market share in Yunhai City.

Ambitious and driven, Zheng Shitian knew this was a test from the family. If the event succeeded, the family would hand over more industries for him to manage. Instead of succeeding, however, the event had completely backfired, playing right into the hands of the An family and allowing them to acquire an imperial green jadeite valued at half a billion.

What was most infuriating was that he had been forced to fork over almost all of his private savings to pay for the raw stone on behalf of the An family.

Damn it, the An family had scored a massive windfall this time, acquiring an imperial green jadeite and a vast quantity of high-grade jadeite without spending a single penny. The mere thought of Ling Tian and An Qi made Zheng Shitian's teeth itch with hatred. An Qi had to be his, and as for Ling Tian, he had to be eliminated by any means necessary.

Ultimately, Zheng Shitian gave a soft knock. He knew he had to report the outcome of the event to his father, and if he wanted to claim An Qi and get rid of Ling Tian, he had to leverage his father's power.

Despite being the eldest young master of the Zheng family, Zheng Shitian's wings were not yet fully fledged.

"Come in!" a deep, resonant voice echoed from within.

Hearing that familiar voice, Zheng Shitian involuntarily shivered. Every time he faced his stern father, he felt an immense sense of tension. This time, returning in failure before he even stepped through the door, cold sweat was already breaking out all over him.

Taking several deep breaths in succession to steady his state of mind, Zheng Shitian pushed open the door and entered the study.

Zheng Shirui, head of the Zheng family, was around fifty years old, born with a naturally solemn expression that exuded a "strangers keep out" aura. At this moment, he sat erect in a hardwood armchair, holding a teacup in one hand while a laptop sat nearby, playing a news broadcast about the An family's acquisition of the imperial green jadeite.

"Father!" Zheng Shitian called out, bowing respectfully. He maintained this posture, waiting for Zheng Shirui's response.

Zheng Shirui cast a cold glance at Zheng Shitian and let out a chilling cold snort.

That single snort sounded like a thunderclap, nearly scaring Zheng Shitian out of his wits and causing his legs to tremble uncontrollably. Once he lost his father's favor, Zheng Shitian's life would be effectively over. He was well aware that he had several illegitimate half-brothers; though lacking legitimate status, they still posed a massive threat to him.

"Sit!" Zheng Shirui gave Zheng Shitian a cold look before his gaze drifted back to the computer screen.

Trembling, Zheng Shitian took a seat, then raised his head and said in a low voice, "Father, the event failed this time. I ask for your punishment."

"Useless trash, you are absolute trash. The family has poured so much effort and resources into nurturing you, but what return have you given the family? Failure, a monumental failure." Zheng Shirui slammed his hand hard onto the desk, glaring coldly at Zheng Shitian.

"Father, please listen to my explanation." Zheng Shitian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looking at Zheng Shirui with trepidation.

Zheng Shirui let out a cold snort and said, "I'll give you a chance to explain. I hope your answer satisfies me."

Hearing this, Zheng Shitian quietly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "Father, this failure wasn't due to my incompetence. Everything was originally under my control, but who could have foreseen that a guy named Ling Tian would suddenly crash the scene? His eyesight is terrifyingly accurate. Any raw stone he chose was guaranteed to contain jadeite, and of extremely high quality at that. The imperial green jadeite was discovered by him..."

Zheng Shirui listened to Zheng Shitian's explanation with a solemn expression, remaining silent. Instead, he continued watching the reporter's broadcast. Since the reporter had not been present at the jade exhibition, the report focused entirely on news regarding the imperial green jadeite and the An family.

Unsure of what his father was thinking and not daring to ask, Zheng Shitian could only maintain a bitter expression and wait quietly.

Suddenly, someone pushed the door open without warning, handed a stack of documents to Zheng Shirui, and immediately turned and left.

Taking the documents, Zheng Shirui read through them carefully before slamming them heavily onto the floor. He then stood up and began pacing back and forth across the study, his expression extremely gloomy and his eyes flashing with a terrifying light.

Zheng Shitian, familiar with his father's habits, knew that whenever his father was deep in thought, he liked to pace with his hands clasped behind his back. Thus, he was burning with curiosity about what was in those documents, but seeing his father's intimidating expression, he wisely kept his mouth shut and awaited his fate.

After pacing for five minutes, Zheng Shirui returned to his seat, picked up his teacup to take a sip of Longjing tea, and then fixed his gaze on Zheng Shitian. In a deep voice, he said, "This matter indeed cannot be blamed entirely on you. According to the intelligence I just received, Ling Tian is no ordinary character. He arrived in Yunhai City not long ago, and on his very first day there, he managed to offend both the Li family and the Gu family, two of the four great aristocratic families of Yunhai City. Most incredibly, Ling Tian is actually on good terms with the Nangong family and the Situ family as well."

Zheng Shitian was equally baffled. Just who was this Ling Tian to be playing such a ruthless game? Although the so-called four great families of Yunhai City were somewhat inferior to the major clans of Pengcheng, they were still formidable aristocratic families nonetheless. For Ling Tian to offend two of them consecutively and still manage to live quite comfortably, what on earth did he rely on?

Could it be because of the Nangong and Situ families? Impossible, because he had befriended the Nangong and Situ families *after* offending the Li and Gu families.

"Father, this man acts decisively and with absolute calm. It seems as though everything is within his control. He is truly a difficult opponent to deal with, and furthermore, he even dared to lay a hand on me. Look at what he did to my face." At this moment, Zheng Shitian, still bruised and swollen, felt so wronged he was on the verge of tears. As the dignified young master of the Zheng family, being beaten to such a state meant that if word ever got out, he would never be able to show his face in society again.

With a grave expression, Zheng Shirui said, "No matter how formidable Ling Tian's abilities are, he is no match for us. He is merely holding the upper hand temporarily."

"Father, I implore you to avenge me! By hitting me, he is giving zero respect to the Zheng family. If you don't find a way to eliminate him, our family's reputation will inevitably suffer," Zheng Shitian said excitedly. Hating Ling Tian to the bone, his greatest wish was to see him dead.

After a brief moment of thought, Zheng Shirui said in a deep voice, "How many times have I told you? Never act impulsively when facing a crisis; you must use your brain. The Li family and the Gu family in Yunhai City hate Ling Tian even more than we do. Based on the intelligence we have, I can conclude with certainty that the Li and Gu families will definitely make a move against Ling Tian."

"Father, are you implying that we should use a borrowed knife to kill someone?" Zheng Shitian asked.

Zheng Shirui nodded, casting a glimmer of approval in Zheng Shitian's direction as he said, "We share a common enemy with the Li and Gu families of Yunhai City. We can fund and support them, letting them take the lead in dealing with Ling Tian. Moreover, Ling Tian is on good terms with the Nangong and Situ families. Once Ling Tian is killed, it will inevitably trigger a struggle among the major families of Yunhai City, and when that happens, we can step in and take advantage of the chaos."

Over the past few decades, as the Zheng family's power expanded, they had always wanted to find an opportunity to extend their influence into Yunhai City, but they had been met with fierce resistance from the four great families, preventing them from ever succeeding. If the deeply rooted aristocratic families of Yunhai City descended into internal conflict, their strength would inevitably be depleted, presenting the Zheng family with the perfect opening.

Hearing this, Zheng Shitian's eyes lit up instantly, and a look of pleasant surprise crossed his face as he exclaimed, "Father, I understand your meaning now! This is a strategy of killing two birds with one stone!"

"Furthermore, although the Black Union, one of the four major underground syndicates, hasn't had much interaction with Ling Tian yet, as a syndicate that rose to power through the true underworld, they will inevitably get dragged into this storm. The Black Union has ambitions far greater than ours. If it weren't for the deterrent force of the Yunhai City Security Bureau, the Black Union would have wiped out those major families long ago. Therefore, they will not let this golden opportunity slip by."

Zheng Shitian offered a flattering laugh and said, "Father, your tactical genius is truly unmatched. In my opinion, even if the four great families of Yunhai City banded together, they wouldn't be a match for you."

Flattered into supreme comfort, Zheng Shirui said proudly, "That goes without saying. A bunch of frogs at the bottom of a well, how could they possibly compare to a true aristocratic clan like ours? If not for the fear of sustaining heavy losses, I would have made a move against the four great families of Yunhai City long ago. Now the opportunity has arrived, and all we need to do is give it a little push, and everything will fall naturally into place."

As he spoke these words, Zheng Shirui's face flushed red, clearly excited to the utmost limit.

It seemed he already considered Yunhai City to be safely within his grasp.

"Shitian, the family shifted the core of its business away from jade jewelry into other sectors a few years ago. You should study hard during this period and make preparations for the future."

Zheng Shitian felt as though he was hearing the most wonderful words of his life. He knew this meant that once the industries of Yunhai City's four great families were seized by the Zheng family, he would be the first person chosen by the family to be dispatched there. Hurriedly standing up, Zheng Shitian declared to Zheng Shirui, "Father, rest assured. I have failed once, but I will never fail a second time."

"I hope you won't make me regret my trust again. Alright, go down and get some rest. Don't go see your mother for now; if she sees you injured this badly, she will only worry." Zheng Shirui nodded with satisfaction.

Not long after Zheng Shitian left, the middle-aged man who had just delivered the documents re-entered Zheng Shirui's study. Standing respectfully beside Zheng Shirui with lowered head, the man awaited instructions.

Pondering for a moment, Zheng Shirui commanded, "Go to Myanmar immediately. Contact the local factions there, and even if we have to temporarily cede a portion of our profits, we must reach a consensus with them to completely cut off the An family's supply source. We must also find a way to choke off their domestic supplies as well. This time, I am going to crush the An family completely."

Without a word, the man nodded, turned around, and left the room.

Zheng Shirui gazed indifferently at the ambitious image of An Qi on the computer screen and sneered, "The An family? I'll let you be smug for a little longer. Once your supply chain is cut off, you can hold out for three months at most. When that time comes, you will have only two choices: either be crushed by me, or hand over your family's assets as An Qi's dowry and deliver them straight to the Zheng family."