While Qin Dingshan was being tormented to the brink of tears by An Yiqing’s second and third senior brothers in the mental institution, within the Qin Family’s study, some deliberately concealed truths were being revealed.
"Mr. Tutian, we have cooperated very well this time, and I hope we can continue to work together amicably in the future."
A tall man sat in the darkest corner of the study, his voice deep and tinged with a chilling glint that made one shudder upon hearing it.
His gaze was profound, his black eyes filled with an icy aura, as he stared unblinkingly at the small-mustached man sitting in front of him.
This small-mustached man was none other than Tutian Xiaoquan!
He lightly touched his mustache with his hand and then revealed a meaningful smile, "What you’re saying is hardly worth mentioning, Young Master Qin. Now, the Tutian Family and the Qin Family are allies in the same boat. Naturally, we will continue to work together in the future. With the financial and influential power of the Tutian Family, coupled with the Qin Family’s and your own astuteness, given time, not only will An Yiqing and Gu Yelin bow down to us, but even the Ancient Martial Arts Families of the Gu Family and the Guh Family will also succumb to us."
As if envisioning the future where the Tutian Family would reign supreme, Tutian Xiaoquan’s face revealed an ambitiously triumphant smile.
Qin Han slightly lowered his eyes, the long lashes casting a dense shadow below, concealing the mockery in his dark eyes very well.
"You’re right, Mr. Tutian. We are allies. In the future, the whole of Xuandu City and Xuanjin will be ours," he nodded and echoed in a low voice.
Tutian Xiaoquan was very pleased with Qin Han’s compliment and couldn’t help but exclaim, "Young Master Qin is truly a wise man. The traps you have set up during this time have been exquisite. First, you stayed in Country Jin on the pretext of official duties, leaving Patriarch Qin to fend for himself in the hospital, which made him hate An Yiqing to the bone and do something outrageous. Then, you had me put pressure on him, followed quickly by your timely return to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Not only did you earn a good reputation, but you also made Qin Dingshan willingly enter the mental institution. Ha, Qin Dingshan really is getting old, and he didn’t suspect a thing."
Listening to Tutian Xiaoquan’s praise, Qin Han’s lips curled into a coldly mocking smile.
"It’s not that the old man has aged, but that he will never believe I have the capability and ambition. After all, how could a bastard who struggled to survive in the Qin Family for more than a decade and served as his dog turn and bite its master?" Qin Han lowered his head, casually dusting off non-existent dust from his clothes, his tone brimming with sarcasm.
How many years had he been waiting for this opportunity? Qin Han couldn’t remember anymore.
Ever since he was brought back home by the eldest Qin from the outside as a child, his life had been filled with darkness. In this ruthless Qin Family, his status as an illegitimate child was even more lowly than that of a servant. How many times had Xiao Shulan, Qin Yu, Qin Jia, and Qin Fang beaten him with feather dusters when Qin Dingshan was not paying attention, denying him food.
Qin Han remembered clearly, on his tenth birthday, the always domineering Qin Fang even mixed his urine into his birthday cake!
In front of so many guests, even though he knew Qin Fang had tampered with the cake, he could only force down the disgust and consume it! That was the most humiliating memory of his life, and it was then that another aspect of his personality came to light.
From that moment on, Qin Han struggled ceaselessly between being submissive and obedient and being sinister and ruthless. His true nature was conflicted, unsure of how to act. But the years of humiliation and darkness had made the second personality’s consciousness grow stronger. Even sometimes, without the original personality’s permission, the sinister and ruthless Qin Han would emerge on his own.