Zhuang Minghao did not tell anyone about his plan to crash Quan Jiu's car. He immediately dismissed the group of people who accompanied him.
After being informed that the car owner was Chu Rong, he became even more apprehensive. He even felt an inexplicable certainty that even if Chu Rong was a ruthless person, he wouldn't come to his home for revenge, right? Obviously not.
Therefore, after the incident, he had been hiding at home, trying to avoid trouble. Although he believed that the Zhuang family would not fear someone from the outer city, it was easier to dodge an open arrow than a hidden dart.
Just as he was feeling smug, the Zhuang family suddenly encountered a crisis. Overnight, their market value evaporated by over three hundred billion yuan, a devastating blow to the entire family.
Currently, all the important members of the family were gathered in the conference room, urgently discussing how to resolve the problem.
What made him despair was that this crisis came inexplicably, even leaving them bewildered. The stock suddenly plummeted, business partners withdrew their investments, fled, or cut off contact. Some cooperative factories were even more outrageous, ceasing operations entirely, leading to immediate shortages of manufactured goods.
Almost overnight, the vast Zhuang family's entire industry seemed to have been put on pause by an invisible giant hand, or rather, an end key.
The Zhuang family was not without connections. After much inquiry, they managed to gather some fragmented information: they had been targeted.
Zhuang Wanchong's first reaction was that it was one of the other three major families. The families below them were no match and could not possibly shake the Zhuang family. Moreover, the actions were so swift, leaving them no time to react before everything was halted. This not only required immense financial resources but also solid connections and influential backgrounds.
In short, the person capable of bringing down the Zhuang family in one fell swoop was either the Quan family, the Qu family, or the Bai family.
Once Zhuang Wanchong concluded this, he questioned everyone: had anyone offended anyone surnamed Quan, Qu, or Bai? The answer was no. These were all major families. Even a slight argument between two families would send ripples through the new city. With a four-way balance of power, they all understood that provoking each other would lead to mutual destruction.
Finally, when Zhuang Wanchong could not get any answers and saw his eldest son's eyes flickering, he turned his attention to his eldest son.
"Who exactly did you offend for me? The Quan family? The Qu family? Or the Bai family?"
Zhuang Minghao was still unwilling to admit that the family's downfall was due to his own actions. He believed he had merely been deceived by that woman, Liu Zhixi. Furthermore, no one in the car had been harmed, so how could this possibly lead to the family's ruin?
He was unwilling to believe it, and also afraid to believe it, because he feared that he would become the sole culprit for the entire family, and his esteemed status and powerful position would be gone forever. He could not bear such responsibility.
"Dad, what could I have done? You know my usual activities. I don't get involved much in company matters. Aren't you and the uncles managing everything?" He refused to admit it.
Seeing that his son dared not look at him, Zhuang Wanchong's heart turned cold. He knew his useless son too well. Besides women and his buddies, the boy had no brains. He had once doubted if this was his biological son and even had a paternity test done on Zhuang Minghao. The result was that he hadn't been mistaken for another child, nor had he been cuckolded; he was indeed his son.
He, who had achieved great success in the business world, and his capable wife, had surprisingly given birth to such an idiot.
"Aren't you going to tell the truth? What exactly have you done behind my back?" Zhuang Wanchong glared at Zhuang Minghao, slamming his hand heavily on the table. Zhuang Minghao flinched, stammering unconfidently, "I haven't done anything."
Seeing their elder brother so certain, the uncles' eyes turned red with anger. They pointed at Zhuang Minghao's nose and roared.
"At a time like this, you're still hiding things. What's happened has happened, and we need to think about how to salvage the situation. But who is the enemy, where are they, we know nothing. Do you want to watch the entire family be destroyed from now on?"
These words finally jolted Zhuang Minghao awake. Yes, the more he concealed now, the less opportunity he would have.
Thinking this, he became less afraid, but still whispered timidly, "It seems to be the Chu family from the outer city. Last night, while driving around the outer city, I had a minor fender bender with their car. He... he seems to have held a grudge."
"Nonsense." Zhuang Wanchong knew his son too well and could tell he was lying at a glance, but the matter was definitely related to the Chu family.
He tried to suppress the rage that was about to surge to the top of his head, his voice trembling as he questioned, "I'll ask you one last time. Tell me the truth, what exactly happened? Would a minor fender bender make him want to destroy us? Do you take me for a fool?" The more he spoke, the higher his anger level rose, as if he were about to explode.
The uncles, aunts, and various management personnel also pressed him with questions, looking as if they wanted to strip Zhuang Minghao bare.
Zhuang Minghao was also terrified. He shrank back into his seat, stammering as he explained the cause and effect of the incident.
After he finished speaking, all the voices in the room seemed to have been paused. Everyone looked at him with varied expressions, but all were too angry to speak.
Zhuang Wanchong stared blankly for a long time, disbelieving, "So... for a woman, you were incited by her few words and went to crash into someone else's car?
What were you trying to do by crashing the car? Were you trying to kill that woman named Quan Jiu? Do you know who she is? Have you investigated her background? Have you ever considered why Liu Zhixi has always been indifferent to you, but suddenly called you, expressing her love and willingness to marry you?"
Zhuang Minghao was already stunned by fear. He admitted that the moment he received Liu Zhixi's call, he had been overly excited. He had acted impulsively, making a decision he would later regret. He hadn't investigated anything; he had simply believed Liu Zhixi and wanted to impress her. Thus, he had his subordinates track the whereabouts, and that evening, he personally went to crash into the car.
Yes, to show his sincerity, he had gone himself.
His silence made Zhuang Wanchong understand completely.
Zhuang Wanchong looked up at the ceiling, his face expressionless. After a few seconds, like a wind-up toy, he began to move.
He grabbed the ashtray beside him and, with a ferocious expression, smashed it towards Zhuang Minghao's head.
"I'll beat you to death, you beast! Giving birth to you was the biggest mistake I ever made in my life. What are you still alive for? Go and die."
The ashtray hit Zhuang Minghao's head like a stone, again and again. Zhuang Minghao was first stunned, then hurt, then scared. He curled up in his seat, covering his head with his hands, crying out in agony. But the ashtray still hit him, and large amounts of blood soon flowed from his head.
Only then did the people around them try to intervene, pulling back the berserk Zhuang Wanchong. Zhuang Minghao was already disoriented, only feeling a warm current on his scalp flowing downwards.
After the pain, an uncontrollable rage surged within him. He kicked Zhuang Wanchong hard in the stomach, "I'm your son. If you want to beat me to death, I'll beat you to death first."
The enraged Zhuang Minghao, like a young beast, grabbed the ashtray beside him and retaliated against Zhuang Wanchong.
His actions were even more brutal than Zhuang Wanchong's. After smashing the ashtray a few times, it flew out. He resorted to his fists and feet, kicking, punching, and cursing, completely losing control.
Five or six strong young men desperately held him back. After a prolonged struggle, they finally subdued him and pinned him to the ground.
At this point, everyone looked at Zhuang Wanchong, who had fallen into a pool of blood and was unconscious.
Zhuang Minghao, having calmed down, was also terrified. He stared blankly at the person in the pool of blood, who seemed both familiar and strange. His consciousness gradually blurred, and with a sway of his body, he also collapsed.
The Zhuang family descended into chaos.
The pillar of the family had fallen and was being rushed to the hospital, his life uncertain. The others, looking at the now worthless shell of the Zhuang family, took what they could and transferred what they could. The family had already become a scattered mess. It was only through the efforts of the direct uncles that the situation was stabilized, allowing the Zhuang family to barely cling to life.
But it was merely a lingering breath.
After much deliberation, the few remaining members unanimously decided to seek peace with the Chu family.