Tian Tian grabbed a box of colorful watercolor pens, while Heng Heng clutched a small abacus inlaid with gold and jade, constantly fiddling with the beads with his little fingers.
Seeing what they had each picked up, Tian Yi smiled at Su Su and said, "It seems like Tian Tian will follow in your footsteps and become a designer with a paintbrush."
"Then Heng Heng will be like you, a shrewd businessman who knows how to tally accounts," Su Su tried to take the small abacus from Heng Heng, but he held onto it tightly. "He won't let go. Could he be a money-grubber even at this age?"
Their playful banter about the children's choices made everyone at the banquet laugh.
At this moment, no one noticed as a woman in a restaurant server's uniform suddenly rushed onto the stage, holding a hot pot filled with an unknown substance, and poured it directly towards the two children at the round table.
Tian Yi, with quick reflexes, blocked the steaming liquid the woman threw, shielding the two children.
A gasp swept through the guests, bewildered by what was happening.
The woman then hurled the hot pot she was holding at Qin Tian Yi, shouting, "Qin Tian Yi! You are not human! You seized all the Qin family's assets, crippled your own father, and got your own brother sentenced to death!"
Other servers and security guards rushed onto the stage and apprehended the frenzied woman.
Su Su, startled, picked up Tian Tian and then clearly saw that the woman who had suddenly splashed water at the children was Huang Xiuli, Tian Yi's former aunt.
Ever since Tian Yi cut off all financial support and avenues for his aunt's family, he hadn't seen Huang Xiuli. He wondered why she had appeared now.
Qin Zhaoye, seated in a wheelchair in the audience, pointed at Qin Tian Yi, who was drenched in water, and cried out with tears streaming down his face, "Rebellious son! You unfilial, rebellious son!"
An Jing was the first to react. She stumbled to the front and yelled at the restaurant manager, "Hurry and drag this lunatic away! What were you thinking, letting someone mentally unstable work as a server!"
Some of the Qin family elders also recognized Huang Xiuli and exclaimed, "Isn't this Zhaoliang's wife? How did she end up like this? Where are Zhaoliang and their daughter Yaxuan?"
"That's right, that's right," an elder stepped forward, adopting a posture of upholding justice. "Don't drag her away yet. Let her finish speaking. We've long wondered how the Qin Corporation, a thriving enterprise, was renamed overnight and broken up into several smaller companies. There must be a hidden story."
The security guards holding Huang Xiuli on stage hesitated, unsure whether to pull her away.
Su Su nervously held Tian Tian, feeling that the Qin family members present tonight seemed to have come prepared to gang up on Tian Yi.
Whatever they intended to do, her only concern was for the children and Tian Yi.
"How are you? What did she throw? Boiling water?" Su Su asked Tian Yi anxiously.
Tian Yi, shielding Heng Heng, stood up, patted the water off himself, and said to Su Su, "It's fine, it was ice water. Fortunately, we were having ice cream hot pot tonight, not the traditional kind."
Su Su breathed a sigh of relief. Ya Nan and Sophie also rushed onto the stage.
Su Su quickly handed the two children over to them and said to Tian Yi, "What are they trying to do? Settle old scores with you?"
Tian Yi removed his wet tailcoat and handed it to Su Su. "You and they take the children downstairs to safety. I'll handle this."
It seemed he had underestimated these old foxes of the Qin family. He shouldn't have invited them. In a moment of carelessness, he had allowed them to use the children's first birthday banquet as an opportunity to cause chaos.
Su Su had Ya Nan and the others take the children down. No matter what happened, she would face it with Tian Yi and not abandon him alone.
Tian Yi coldly eyed Huang Xiuli, who now resembled a common, vulgar woman. She was not on his guest list.
He asked in a cold voice, "Who brought you here?"
Seeing that her chance to throw a tantrum was gone, Huang Xiuli disregarded her dignity as an elder and knelt before him, crying bitterly and accusing him.
"You've driven your uncle to his death! I beg you, show mercy and spare us, your aunt and cousin, and return the property that rightfully belonged to your uncle! The Qin family was originally a harmonious, large family with many descendants... But why did you kill the old lady and cripple your father like this! I beg you... please stop!"
Her pleading voice evoked sympathy from the media reporters, business partners of Ao Xiang who were present, and social elites who were unaware of the situation.
Everyone began discussing why the wife of the once glorious second son of the Qin family had fallen to such a state, and whether Qin Tian Yi was too cruel.
Su Su was utterly ashamed of her words. She rushed in front of Tian Yi, shielding him, and said, "Huang Xiuli! What assets do you still have in the Qin family? Don't you have any idea how much money you embezzled from Qin Corporation? If it weren't for the kindness of the old lady and Tian Yi, your entire family would have been thrown in jail long ago..."
Huang Xiuli suddenly broke free from the people holding her and grabbed Su Su's arm, saying, "I know Tian Yi wasn't this bad originally; it's all your instigation behind his back. Ever since you married into our Qin family, you've caused chaos in the Qin household! Don't be so vicious, please let us go!"
Su Su was impressed by her ability to twist the truth. She tried to shake her off, but Huang Xiuli's grip was painful.
Qin Tian Yi kicked her away, put his arm around Su Su, and whispered, "She deliberately came to make trouble. There's no point in talking to her."
Taking advantage of being kicked by Tian Yi, Huang Xiuli pretended to be in extreme pain and repeatedly kowtowed to them, muttering, "I beg you, give me and my daughter a way to live... I beg you..."
Su Su was furious. She noticed many people in the audience were filming with their phones.
An Jing and Qing Chuan wanted to intervene but couldn't.
Tian Yi was also enraged, but his self-control was exceptional. He calmly addressed the restaurant manager, "Does your restaurant know how to handle such sudden incidents? If you don't deal with this, I'll have the police handle it. If this makes the news tomorrow, who will dare to spend a large sum to book your restaurant?"
The restaurant manager dared not hesitate any longer. He immediately signaled the security guards to drag Huang Xiuli out and ordered his staff to restore order.
At this point, several Qin family elders gathered around Qin Zhaoye, seemingly seeking clarification of the so-called truth, and addressed Tian Yi, "Qin Tian Yi, your father is here today. You must explain to everyone what happened with the bankruptcy of Qin Corporation. Was it your doing?"
Tian Yi walked down from the stage, his face ashen, and faced them with a powerful aura. "If you have anything to discuss, come to my office tomorrow. Today ends here. The birthday banquet continues."
The elders seemed a little afraid of him, but Qin Zhaoye, sitting in his wheelchair, pointed at him and snorted, "They fear you, but I don't! You are not my son; you are a scourge! I shouldn't have let you be born..."