As the carved doors of the clan meeting creaked open in the morning mist, thirty-six gazes landed in unison on the dragon jade pendant on Lin Aotian's chest. Sandalwood incense mixed with the scent of moss after rain drilled into his nostrils, and he noticed that the nine-clawed golden dragon embroidery on the head elder's cuffs had two more folds than it had three years ago--that was the highest specification for the East Sea Lin Clan's collateral elders, and now it appeared to be lacking in substance in front of him, the heir to the main lineage.
"Ao Tian, do you know that the side branches have jointly impeached you on three counts?" The Grand Elder's voice was like an old piece of cotton wool soaked in water, soft but with a sting, "Abusing the mother clan's shipping rights, privately seizing the assets of the side branches, and forcing the same clan's enterprises to delist."
On the beams of the council chamber, the eyes of the gilt carved dragon glowed coldly in the morning light. Lin Ao Tian suddenly laughed softly, his fingertip crossing the East Sea Laws on the desktop: "Have the elders ever flipped through Article 230?" He drew out the yellowish contract that was clipped in it, "In the main vein privilege that was personally approved by grandpa twenty years ago, it is clearly written that 'in case of a crisis, you can call on the resources of the mother clan for self-defense'."
A few elders in the front row exchanged words, the eldest elder's fingers tapped out a sharp rhythm on the edge of the table. Lin Ao Tian swept over the second uncle who was hiding in the corner, the other party was wiping the corner of his forehead with a handkerchief, his ruby cufflinks looked like bloodshot eyes in the shadows.
"As for privately checking the accounts--" Lin Ao Tian pushed over the USB flash drive, "The evidence of Starlight Capital's transfer of benefits to the side branch is all here, what should happen according to the law, I think the Elder knows better than me." He suddenly looked at his second uncle, "Uncle Zhen Guo had three bottles of glucose yesterday in the hospital, is his body okay?"
Second Uncle's handkerchief clenched violently into a ball, his knuckles turning white. Last night, he tried to evade the clan council's interrogation by pretending to be sick, only to be dismantled on the spot by the private doctor sent by Lin Ao Tian. The air pressure in the council chamber continued to go down with the Grand Elder's silence until the side door was suddenly pushed open and the attendant barged in holding an expedited telegram.
"An incoming call from the Indonesian Ministry of Mining!" The valet's voice was trembling, "The nickel mine project was officially awarded to the Huading Group, and Starry Capital's mortgage contract was ruled invalid!"
The red seal on the telegram was particularly blinding in the morning light, the Grand Elder's body leaned back violently, leaning on the back of the carved chair. Lin Ao Tian noticed that the golden dragon embroidery threads on his cuffs were loose, where was half of the might he had during yesterday's impeachment.
"Since the evidence is conclusive," Lin Aotian got up to straighten his cufflinks, the dragon embroidery clearly visible in the sunlight, "I'll take my leave first--Huading has to sign a merger and acquisition agreement with the Blackstone Fund in the afternoon, so I really can't get out of it."
When he walked out of the council chamber, Chen Mo was leaning on the stone table by the bamboo forest, holding a kraft paper bag in his hand." Zhou Jianbang is waiting for you at the hospital." He whispered, "Su Qing just went to see him and stayed for forty minutes."
Lin Ao Tian's footsteps paused, remembering the scene he saw last night at Zhou Group: Zhou Jianbang was lying on his desk writing his resignation letter, and the age spots on the back of his neck were several more than they were three months ago. That old fox who used to turn the tide in the business circle was now like a tiger with its teeth pulled out, only able to reminisce about the past from his hospital bed.
The smell of disinfectant water in the hospital room is pungent, Zhou Jianbang is staring at the ceiling, hearing the sound of pushing the door before turning his face, the vase at the bedside is inserted with a wilted red rose -- Su Qing's favorite variety.
"Lin Shao is here." The old man tried to prop himself up, but was pressed down by Lin Ao Tian's raised hand. Noticing the family portrait on the bedside table, Su Qing stood in the center in her bachelor's degree, and Zhou Jianbang's suit and tie were tied crookedly, like the way he looked when he attended Lin Aotian's university graduation ceremony.
"Uncle Zhou," Lin Aotian suddenly opened his mouth, "I have always remembered the matter of blocking the knife for me in the alley back then." He pulled out a check from his inner pocket, "This is thirty million dollars, you go to Switzerland to recuperate for a while."
Zhou Jianbang's finger traced over the check and suddenly laughed softly, "Qing Qing asked me this morning if you still hate her." He looked out the window at the sycamore trees, the leaves rustling in the autumn wind, "Actually, back then, she shattered that bracelet because she heard your second uncle say... That your mother's relic was a fake."
Lin Ao Tian's pupils suddenly contracted, and memories came flooding back like a tidal wave -- the night before the engagement banquet, the second uncle did come to his apartment, holding a forged appraisal report, saying that the jadeite bracelet was a glass product. He suddenly remembered Su Qing's reddened eyes when she dropped the bracelet, so she was not a gold-digger, but was being exploited for her trust.
Cell phone in the pants pocket vibration, Chen Mo sent a message: Blackstone Fund representatives have arrived at the Huading Building, accompanied by a woman wearing jade bracelet. Lin Aotian got up to say goodbye, Zhou Jianbang suddenly grabbed his wrist, the callus on his palm rubbed over his dragon jade pendant: "Aotian, some things don't wait until you lose it before you regret it."
In the conference room on the top floor of Huading Mansion, the clouds outside the floor-to-ceiling windows were pressed low. Upon seeing the woman wearing the jadeite bracelet walk in, Lin Aotian's breath jolted -- it was the style his mother used to wear back then, even the ice cracks on the bracelet were exactly the same.
"Mr. Lin, this is the president of Blackstone Fund Asia Pacific, Ms. Tang Wei." The interpreter's voice rang out, the woman stretched out her hand, the bracelet between her wrists made a crisp collision sound, "Ms. Tang heard that Mr. Lin is fond of jadeite, and specially wore the family heirloom 'Ice Dragon out of the Sea' to the appointment."
Lin Ao Tian held the other party's hand, it was cold to the touch, "Miss Tang's bracelet is very similar to my family mother's old belongings." He noticed Tang Wei's pupils contracting slightly, instantly realizing that this was no coincidence -- those who could know of the existence of the "Ice Dragon out of the Sea" were only the very few who participated in his mother's funeral back then.
"Mr. Lin is joking," Tang Wei laughed softly, flipping open the folder, "Let's talk about the merger and acquisition. Blackstone is prepared to acquire 15% of Huading's shares at $88 per share, a price ..."
"I'm afraid Ms. Tang has made a mistake." Lin Ao Tian suddenly interrupted, his fingertips crossing the tablet, "What should be talked about is not an acquisition, but a cooperation--Huading wants to acquire Blackstone's Australian iron ore mine for 12 billion dollars." He looked over at Tang Wei's suddenly taut mouth, "By the way, as a reminder, your father's loan from the Donghai Shipbuilding Group back in the day should also be repaid, right?"
The atmosphere of the conference room instantly froze, Tang Wei's nails pinched deep into her palms. She finally understood that the young man in front of her had long since not been the "newly rich" written on the data, but a ruthless character who dared to pull the teeth out of the mouth of a tiger like Blackstone's century-old capital.
"Mr. Lin really is a good tactician." Tang Wei suddenly smiled, pulling out a photo from her inner pocket, "But before we talk about cooperation, I think you should take a look at this."
On the photo, Su Qing was standing in Starlight Capital's office, talking in a low voice with her second uncle's secretary. Lin Ao Tian's line of sight fell on her wrist, the emerald bracelet that had been re-glued after it had been shattered was in plain sight -- something he had thrown into the Huangpu River with his own hands three years ago.
"Is Ms. Tang threatening me?" Lin Ao Tian's voice cooled down, the dragon jade pendant glowing faintly on his chest, "You should know that the Donghai Lin Clan's reverse scales cannot be touched."
Cold sweat suddenly seeped out of Tang Wei's back, she recalled the rumors she heard at the clan meeting: last week, a side branch elder had talked about Lin Ao Tian behind his back, and the next day, he was found to have embezzled public funds and fled overseas overnight. And the young man in front of her at the moment was looking at her with eyes like a mole cricket, like the legendary Eastern dragon that was vindictive.
"I'll reconsider the cooperation program." Tang Wei hurriedly packed up the documents, leaving a sentence before she left, "That bracelet, which Starlight Capital bought from the black market, is said to be... Stained with the blood of your mother's housekeeper back then."
When night fell, Lin Ao Tian stood on the top floor of Huading Mansion, looking at the flickering lights at his feet. A message from Zhou Jianbang was stored in his cell phone, with only a few short words, "Qing Qing went to London, looking for Ming Xuan." He touched the jade tablet left behind by his mother, and the word "Dragon Royal" was faintly hot in the night light.
Chen Mo's footsteps sounded behind him, "The Old Mansion called, the clan will officially appoint you as the next patriarch of the East Sea Lin Clan."
"Got it." Lin Ao Tian looked at the Huangpu River in the distance, the lights of the freighters were linked together like a bright dragon swimming on the river, "Inform down, hold the Huading global strategy conference tomorrow." He suddenly laughed lightly, "Just say... Dragon Emperor Business Journey, officially set sail."
His cell phone vibrated and a text message from an unfamiliar number popped up, "Lin Aotian, we're waiting for you in London." The sender showed that it was Zhou Mingxuan, and the attached location was near Cambridge University. Lin Aotian hooked his lips and threw the phone into the inner pocket of his suit -- it seems that this capital game across Asia and Europe has just kicked off.