Huangfu Qinyuan surveyed the assembled crowd. "Second Uncle, do you still not trust me? In all these years, have I ever caused any trouble? Those people are nothing but mere clowns."
Hearing Huangfu Qinyuan's reply, the elder breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good, that's very good."
For a prominent family like the Huangfu clan, the channel was of paramount importance. If the channel were compromised, it would result in a significant loss for the Huangfu family.
"Clowns? Heh, a mere clown could make you lose the entire South China ports. You're not ashamed to say such things," a middle-aged man sitting on the sofa remarked, mockingly taking a sip of tea.
Huangfu Qinyuan's expression instantly changed. His gaze fell upon the middle-aged man. "Huangfu Lin, what do you mean by that?!"
This middle-aged man was Huangfu Qinyuan's elder brother, Huangfu Lin.
Huangfu Lin put down his teacup and looked up at Huangfu Qinyuan. "Don't you, my intelligent brother, know what I mean? You can't even control your own woman, and your business is snatched away by a bunch of clowns. You're truly disgracing the Huangfu family!"
"Huangfu Lin," Huangfu Qinyuan gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with rage, his fists clenched tightly.
To have his wounds exposed in front of so many people was unbearable for Huangfu Qinyuan.
"What? Does my clever brother intend to lay hands on me, his elder brother, in front of the family?" Huangfu Lin's lips curled into a smile as he saw the other's anger. He stood up and provocatively faced Huangfu Qinyuan.
Huangfu Qinyuan stepped forward in anger, truly wanting to teach his elder brother a harsh lesson.
The onlookers remained silent, a hush falling over the scene.
The discord between the two Huangfu brothers was no secret within the top families.
"Stop!"
Just then, a stern voice echoed from the villa's staircase.
The sudden sound made Huangfu Qinyuan, who had raised his fist in anger, freeze. He looked towards the stairs and quickly called out, "Father!"
The others also bowed respectfully to the elder on the stairs.
"What is this place? What kind of behavior is this?!" The elder's gaze, sharp as a hawk's, fell upon the two brothers.
"Father, it is my fault. Qinyuan has brought shame upon the family. It is I, his elder brother, who has failed," Huangfu Lin bowed and admitted his mistake.
But who could not discern that Huangfu Lin was targeting Huangfu Qinyuan?
Huangfu Qinyuan glared at Huangfu Lin.
However, before he could retort, Huangfu Youcheng waved his hand impatiently. "Enough, all of you, be quiet."
"Yes," Huangfu Lin glanced at Huangfu Qinyuan with a mocking look.
Seeing Huangfu Lin's gaze, Huangfu Qinyuan wished he could rush forward and strangle him right then and there.
Huangfu Youcheng slowly descended the stairs and approached Huangfu Qinyuan. "Qinyuan, how did the matter go?"
Huangfu Qinyuan quickly replied, "Father, everything has been handled. The goods should have successfully departed the port by now, and before long, the South China ports will return to Triumph Shipping Group."
Hearing Huangfu Qinyuan's answer, Huangfu Youcheng frowned slightly. "Should have? Did it successfully depart or not?"
Huangfu Qinyuan immediately took out his phone. "Father, I'll call Dong Zihua right now. He's at the port."
Huangfu Youcheng remained silent, implicitly agreeing.
This shipping route was particularly crucial, and no mistakes could be tolerated. Even Huangfu Youcheng stood still, waiting for Huangfu Qinyuan to confirm the news.
However, when Huangfu Qinyuan dialed Dong Zihua's number, no one answered.
"He might be busy. I'll call again," Huangfu Qinyuan explained and redialed.
But just like before, there was no answer.
At this, Huangfu Qinyuan began to panic. He ignored the curious glances of those around him and continued to call Dong Zihua.
But as before, the call went unanswered.
"Qinyuan? Could something have gone wrong?" the elder who had questioned Huangfu Qinyuan earlier asked again.
"No, no, it won't," Huangfu Qinyuan sounded flustered, still frantically dialing.
But no matter how many times he called, for half an hour straight, his phone grew hot, yet still, no one answered.
"Father, perhaps, perhaps he forgot his phone. Please rest assured, he promised me last night that there would be no problems," Huangfu Qinyuan quickly explained to Huangfu Youcheng.
"Hmph, I say, second brother, if something goes wrong on your end, you know the consequences. Even Father won't be able to protect you then," Huangfu Lin said mockingly from the side, having watched the unfolding drama.
"Impossible! There can't be any problems on my end!" Huangfu Qinyuan retorted.
He was fully aware of everything that had happened in Jiangcheng yesterday, so there was no possibility of error.
However, at this moment, a middle-aged man rushed into the hall in a panic. "Master, Master, something terrible has happened!"
"What is it?" Huangfu Youcheng asked with a slight frown.
The middle-aged man held a mobile phone in his hand, seemingly displaying some news.
Huangfu Youcheng took the phone and looked at the news headline.
"Mysterious Tycoon Donates Priceless Artifacts Worth Billions to Jiangcheng Museum!"
Clicking on the news, he saw photos of artifacts, including porcelain, bronzeware, and many jade pieces and calligraphy paintings.
When Huangfu Youcheng saw a bronze square ding, his hand began to tremble, and his face instantly turned extremely grim.
Huangfu Qinyuan, standing not far away, asked, "Father, what happened?"
Hearing Huangfu Qinyuan's voice, Huangfu Youcheng's angry gaze fell upon him.
Feeling his father's stare, the middle-aged Huangfu Qinyuan couldn't help but take two steps back.
"What happened? Look for yourself!" With that, Huangfu Youcheng raised his hand and threw the phone in his hand at Huangfu Qinyuan's face.
Huangfu Qinyuan quickly caught the phone, ignoring the stinging pain on his face, and looked at the content on the screen.
In an instant, Huangfu Qinyuan's face turned as dark as ink.
"This, how is this possible?"
"How is it possible? I want to ask you! Didn't you just confidently say there would be no problems, that it should have already departed? Then what are these things appearing in the Jiangcheng Museum?!" Huangfu Youcheng demanded.
Jiangcheng Museum?
Everyone exchanged glances. Some had already taken out their phones and seen today's trending news.