As for Qin Feng, the person Qin Dingshan least wanted to see right now was him. Qin Feng, knowing his place, turned and returned to the main residence.
Thus, at this moment, the empty and cold hospital room was left with only Qin Dingshan and the butler, an image of utter solitude.
Qin Dingshan felt extremely anxious, not only about the Qin Family’s current predicament but also worried about its future.
Qin Feng was diagnosed with azoospermia and lacked the ability to reproduce. Qin Yu, being a daughter and once married, would be like water poured away. As things stood, the only person who could inherit the Qin family’s estate was Qin Han alone.
However, Qin Dingshan was always suspicious. Although he liked his grandson Qin Han, who was dutiful and mature, he kept several reservations. It was not that Qin Han had done anything wrong, but Qin Dingshan feared that Qin Han might monopolize power and take control from his hands too soon.
Money above all, power above all—that was always Qin Dingshan’s principle. To him, lineage was as insubstantial as clouds; only when power lay in his hands could he rest assured.
Now, he needed to think of a way to find someone to balance against Qin Han, so that he could sit in the position of Family Head for a few more years.
Clearing his mind of the urgent tasks at hand, Qin Dingshan’s temples throbbed with pain, and his resentment towards An Yiqing and Gu Yelin deepened. He was no fool—at the last An Family banquet, right after Qin Fang and Qin Jia had offended An Yiqing, they met their fate that very night. In the highly guarded Qin Private Hospital, to spirit away two living persons unnoticed could only be the work of the all-knowing Gu Yelin; Qin Dingshan did not consider anyone else. Moreover, with the Qin Family being a major clan, there were few in Xuandu City who dared to commit such an act.
The ones who had rid themselves of Qin Fang and Qin Jia must have been An Yiqing and Gu Yelin!
Although Qin Fang and Qin Jia had no blood relation to the Qin family, it was Qin Dingshan’s face that had been slapped. Ever since Qin Jia got involved with An Yiqing, there hadn’t been a day of peace in the Qin family.
At this moment, Qin Dingshan’s hatred for An Yiqing ran bone-deep. Thinking back to the phone call from Tutian Xiaoquan seeking cooperation, a hideously venomous look flashed in his eyes, and a sinister plan began to take shape in his mind.
In the evening, inside the An Family Villa, after dinner, everyone gathered cheerfully in the living room, watching TV together on the couch.
The coffee table in front of the couch was filled with fruits and snacks, with the elders seated on the main sofa and others scattered around. Ye Chenghong and Kong Shuyan joined Old Master An in watching the evening gala and playing chess at the same time. Old Lady An, Shao Fang, and Kong Shi chatted gleefully about which celebrities looked beautiful and which performance was good. As for the younger ones like An Yiqing and her siblings, as well as Zhang Yuksheng, they sat cross-legged on the soft, warm carpet, chatting casually and watching TV.
As the TV broadcast lively gong and drum sounds, the sound of firecrackers from outside the villa grew louder and louder. Although the use of firecrackers and fireworks was banned in parts of Xuandu City, it did not dampen the joy and enthusiasm in people’s hearts, and both adults and children ran out into the yard to joyously set them off.
As the gala reached its climax, Old Lady An and the other women in the household stood up and headed to the kitchen to cook dumplings, following the Northern Xuanjin tradition.
At that moment, An Yiqing’s phone suddenly rang. It was from an unknown number.
The first floor was too noisy, so she stood up, quickly walked upstairs, and returned to her bedroom.