“They asked me… if the Wu family were to band together, preferring to risk the death of their entire family rather than let our Su family take advantage, what would I do…”

In the hall, Ning Yi posed this question. Although it left many somewhat puzzled, in a way, it was a preemptive strike. Born into a merchant family, everyone had some interest in business matters. After the imperial merchant incident was revealed, people couldn't help but imagine themselves in Ning Yi's position, wondering what they would do, or imagining themselves on the opposite side of Ning Yi. Such fantasies were always consequence-free.

Some in the Su family even felt that if the Wu family had held out a little longer in that situation, they could have found a way to break the deadlock. After all, the danger of having their family property confiscated and being executed sounded like a scare tactic, with low probability. The Wu family's eventual compromise only proved their lack of a fighting spirit… Wasn't that the case? Even a Son-in-Law was willing to stake everything and fight like that, yet the Wu family had no courage at all, allowing him to turn the tables. They really didn't know how the Wu family had managed to hold the position of head of the cloth merchants.

To some extent, everyone tended to believe that Ning Yi had many backup plans, all of which were ruthless and vicious. Everyone had imagined many scenarios in their minds. Therefore, when Ning Yi asked this question, many people were already eager to hear the answer, exchanging glances or whispering to each other. Su Wenxing and others naturally didn't want him to divert the topic, and shouted: "Ning Liheng, don't beat around the bush! Today we are talking about you and that Nie Yunzhu. Everyone, Second Sister just gave birth…"

Su Zhongkan also said: "Don't try to distract us with irrelevant talk. I'm telling you, the family law is here today. No matter how powerful you are outside, you can't run wild here…"

Many people from the second and third branches started shouting noisily. Ning Yi sat there, looked around, and laughed: "Look, they really thought about it… You all shut up!" His tone suddenly turned stern, and after a moment, he laughed again, "It's all the same, Second Uncle, it's all the same… Look, they really went to think about it, hahahaha, have you thought about it? And Wenxing, what about you? Did you think about it?"

"Look at yourselves now." The words were still noisy, but although some people wanted to interrupt him, most people were still listening to what he said. Ning Yi leaned back in his chair, took a breath, but his eyes were clearly disgusted. Then, he said slowly, word by word: "Look at what you all look like now! The Wu family, the Xue family, the Lou family, and you all, what kind of things are you all."

"Ning Yi, you're being presumptuous!"

"Betting your life against others? Is that what people like you do? People like the Wu family? Why even think about that? Haven't you already done everything you should to help me? What's the matter today? Which one of you dozens or hundreds of people standing here doesn't know it? What are you doing now? A *鸿门宴* (Hongmen Banquet)? A joint trial? Just you? What the **** are you doing with all this disgusting and despicable stuff? You're like chickens when dealing with outsiders, and like wolves and dogs only when dealing with your own family. You have no ambition to expand, and only when the main branch, like Tan'er, a woman, earns a territory, you feel it's your right to get a share. You! You, you, you, you, and you!"

Ning Yi had already stood up, his eyes cold, his finger almost pointing all the way across Su Zhongkan's face: "You people are worse than ****! Su Wenxing, you come here! You tell me what you can do?"

"Too presumptuous!"

"Grab him!"

Having already said such words, some of the two elders above could no longer sit still. As Su Zhongkan loudly shouted for the servants to come and grab Ning Yi, there was a bang, and Ning Yi pulled out his saber and stuck it into the coffee table next to him. The blade went in more than halfway, piercing out from below. His eyes stared at the two guards who were about to rush over, and the two guards dared not rush forward for a moment. Su Zhongkan was already trembling with anger: "You, you, you, you… you're rebelling…"

Turning back, Ning Yi slowly sat down, one hand on his knee.

"I'll tell you what you can do. You are good for nothing but spoiling things. When you see a benefit, you want to get a share. If you get less, you still feel resentful. When Tan'er and I were planning how to deal with the Xue family and the Wu family, you were thinking about how to deal with Tan'er, because you know that you can't do anything, but at least you can make trouble for your own family. You can't accomplish anything, but you can ruin things. You are like maggots, like beggars blocking the door at a wedding feast. If you don't give them money, they smash their own heads, making the wedding unpleasant. You are that kind of people…"

"Su Wenxing, why don't you dare to come over? Are you afraid I'll hit you? Then what is it that you're hiding over there? Lou Jinlin, you know him, right? He used to have dealings with the Su family. Fang La rebelled, and he joined Fang La, becoming the number one merchant in Hangzhou at that time. He collected Green Forest bandits and raised domestic slaves. Last year, near the New Year, he captured Tan'er. In less than an hour, in his house, in a place like this, I beat his eldest son to death in front of all his family members, and blew his head off with one shot!" Ning Yi reached out and slammed his hand on the armrest of the chair. "He was standing further away than you are now!"

The surroundings were silent. Although everyone knew roughly what happened to Ning Yi in Hangzhou, the detailed specifics that Su Tan'er and others revealed to the outside world were ultimately not many. Of course, even the most ferocious person wouldn't really go crazy in their own home. Everyone was just a little shocked. Ning Yi spread his hands, and his tone had turned mild.

"Come over here… In this situation, no matter what I do to you, everyone's perception will be detrimental to me. Aren't you people all claiming to be geniuses overflowing with talent? If it were me, I would provoke me at all costs to make me lose control, and everything you want to do would be legitimate. Which one of you people isn't the same? You're afraid of even taking a beating to accomplish things, but you can talk shamelessly about fighting to the death with others. Now, back to the beginning, you know what we can do if they want to fight to the death. I'll tell you, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, if there are more than a hundred people, they won't be able to fight to the death, because you kind of useless wastes who are good for nothing but spoiling things are in every household. If someone wants to rush forward, there will definitely be people like you who want to drag them back. Does everyone understand what I'm saying now?"

After he said this, everyone calmed down a bit. Naturally, no one agreed with him, and some people around him were muttering softly. Su Yunfang, who had been watching him from the side, shook his finger and said slowly, word by word: "We're not talking about this now. What does this have to do with you keeping women outside?"

He watched calmly, and now he finally brought the topic back, looking at Ning Yi with a smile that wasn't a smile. Ning Yi also smiled: "I thought it was the same thing, Third Uncle… Su Wenxing, you come here, I'll tell you…"

"Say what you have to say, who knows if you're crazy…"

Su Wenxing still wanted to struggle a bit, but Su Zhongkan shouted: "Wenxing, you go over! I want to see what he can do!" He had also realized that Su Wenxing's shrinking back was ultimately showing weakness. In this kind of situation, Ning Yi dared to act like this. Would he really dare to make a move? With his father's support, Su Wenxing gritted his teeth, puffed out his chest, and suddenly walked out: "I'll see what you can…" Then he saw Ning Yi's eyes.

As he walked out, Ning Yi was already smiling, holding onto the chair and standing up. But in a short blink of an eye, that smile combined with a pair of indifferent eyes. The next moment, almost before anyone could react, Ning Yi did what everyone thought he couldn't do.

The chair whistled up, and under Ning Yi's forceful swing, it smashed hard towards Su Wenxing's head.

With a loud bang and countless chaotic sounds, Su Wenxing only raised his hand to block it hastily. Blood spurted out, and the sky was filled with flying chair fragments. Su Wenxing's body crashed into the pillar behind him. At this time, the two servants who had come over wanted to pounce on him, and the two men of the same age who had been following Su Wenxing were both frightened and staggered back. Ning Yi had already stepped forward, and one guard reached out but didn't grab his clothes. Ning Yi, facing Su Wenxing, who had not yet fallen down, stepped sideways and stomped down on his knee.

With a "crack" sound, his leg twisted and deformed, the bone protruding out, and it had already been broken.

"You! Really! Dare! To come over!"

The chair that Ning Yi took was actually used to hit Su Wenxing.

The scene was chaotic for a while. Some people pounced on him, some people screamed, and the blood and Su Wenxing's painful shouts were mixed in a chaotic mess. The two guards had already entangled Ning Yi, but immediately, the coffee table with the knife stuck in it was swung up by Ning Yi and smashed hard on the back of one of the guards, knocking him to the ground. When the scene quieted down after a moment, Ning Yi was already holding the saber, using the back of the blade to beat the other guard away. Seeing that he was already in a position to kill, the Su family members dared not step forward. Ning Yi grabbed a chair and put it in front of Su Wenxing, sitting there holding the knife and looking at Su Wenxing's bloody and miserable state. Su Zhongkan and others surrounded Su Wenxing from behind and said: "What are you going to do…"

At this time, more guards and servants also gathered inside the house, and someone shouted: "Murder! Murder!" Su Yunfang roared: "You can forget about walking out today…"

Ning Yi leaned down, looked at Su Wenxing, and didn't know how much consciousness Su Wenxing had left: "Now we can talk about whether it was the Xue family or the Wu family who contacted you these past few days, or both. Are you going to tell me, or am I?"

Su Yunfang said: "From beginning to end, you've been beating around the bush—"

"If I'm not mistaken, Miss Nie should still be a virgin!"

Ning Yi stared at Su Yunfang. These words were sudden, but everyone in the hall heard them clearly. A strange silence descended here.

"The backers behind her are me, the Cheng Princess Manor, and Right Minister Qin Siyuan. If she really wanted to pursue the things you did today, she could arrest those women, including you, and throw you into jail at any time. Eight times!" Ning Yi grabbed something and smashed it on Su Wenxing's face, who was already bleeding from his head. The thing rolled a few times in the blood, and it was a wooden plaque of a guest from the Kang Prince's Mansion.

"But none of this matters. I just want to talk to you about what you bunch of wastes are doing!"