Chapter 266: Stealing a Chicken Only to Lose the Rice

The two of them walked into the courtyard, both following the example of others, doing whatever they were supposed to do.

But at the final step—when it was time to go to the mourning hall to pay respects to the photograph—they were blocked again!

"You cannot go in," the members of the Zhu Family blocked their path.

"Why?" Sheng Hanyu asked.

The person hemmed and hawed, unable to provide a reason, but insisted they simply could not enter.

It was infuriating.

Everyone else could enter; only the two of them were barred.

Wang Yong now regretted not bringing a few sharp-tongued people along; according to his temper, he would have just gone up and beaten them, but his boss didn't agree.

"Heh."

Sheng Hanyu sneered and said loudly, "Your family's rules are truly strange. You send out obituaries to guests to invite them to pay their respects, but when people arrive, you won't let them inside. Are you inviting them or not?"

"If I am an unwelcome person, why not just not invite me at all? You invite me but won't let me through the door. Everyone, judge for yourselves: what exactly is Zhu Yiwen trying to do?"

The subordinate panicked; he hadn't expected that by blocking them, he would cause big trouble for the Head of the Family.

"Please don't shout, go on in."

The young miss was inside, and his purpose in blocking Sheng Hanyu was to prevent him from seeing her, but it would be even worse if he shouted so loudly that all the guests heard.

Sheng Hanyu entered as he wished, and Shi Ran was very happy to see him: "I just asked the servants if Uncle would come. They said he wouldn't; they were lying after all."

"Of course I would come. Today is Alisha's funeral, how could I not come?"

Sheng Hanyu squatted down, took a beautiful transparent box from his pocket filled with "colored stones," and handed it to Shi Ran: "A gift for you."

"Wow, such beautiful stones! Thank you, Uncle."

The little girl put them in her pocket.

Sheng Hanyu told her: "These aren't stones; they are candy."

"Really?"

Children all like novel things, and this was the first time Shi Ran had seen such candy, so she couldn't help but take it out of her pocket to look again.

"Do you like them?"

"Mm, I like them."

His daughter's beautiful face was like a copy-paste of Shi Youxuan's, but her eyes were exactly like his own. Sheng Hanyu stared at Shi Ran without blinking, unable to get enough of looking at her.

A servant from the Zhu Family came over to remind him: "Mr. Sheng, you haven't paid respects to Alisha yet."

Without needing a signal from Sheng Hanyu, Wang Yong chased the person away: "Get lost, get lost, you don't need to worry about this here."

Wang Yong stood guard at the door, and no one could get in.

The mourning hall had become a place for Sheng Hanyu to meet his daughter.

"Ranran, do you like those gifts?" Sheng Hanyu was unwilling to call Shi Ran by her nickname.

He was satisfied that the little girl followed Shi Youxuan's surname, but her nickname was Xiaozhu, which was a homophone for Zhu, and he didn't want to call her that.

The little girl said sweetly: "I like them."

"As long as you like them. Have you finished playing with those? If you have, Uncle will have someone send you some more, but this is a secret between the two of us. You can't say that Uncle sent them, otherwise, you might be thrown out by Mommy."

"Mm, okay."

The father and daughter were so busy chatting that they both forgot about paying their respects to "Alisha."

Before they had spoken many words, there was a commotion outside; A Qing was leading people to force their way in.

No matter how fierce Wang Yong was, he was no match for so many people alone and was subdued. A Qing led people in and said: "Release our young miss, get out." He was extremely rude to Sheng Hanyu.

Shi Ran was displeased. She put on the airs of a young miss, blocked the space between the two, and scolded A Qing: "How can you be so fierce to a guest? If this gets out, won't outsiders say our family has no upbringing? Uncle is Auntie's brother, so of course he can be here. If anyone is getting out, it should be you."

It was the first time Sheng Hanyu had been protected by a girl, and she was a little girl not even five years old.

His heart was full of pride. She was his daughter after all; blood is thicker than water, and even the way she scolded people was exactly like him.

"Young Miss, this is the Head of the Family's wish."

A Qing brought up Zhu Yiwen, and a moment later added: "It is also the Madam's wish."

"I don't care, I don't believe it. You all get out, get out."

A little girl is still a little girl; she couldn't keep up the facade of authority for long. Once A Qing brought out the Head of the Family and the Madam, she started to act stubborn.

The guests outside were watching, and since this wasn't the Zhu Family, A Qing couldn't go too far. In the end, he could only retreat outside, watching helplessly as Sheng Hanyu and the young miss chatted and laughed.

Sheng Hanyu accompanied his daughter as they stood in the family position, returning bows to those who came to pay respects to "Alisha"!

When someone asked, Wang Yong explained: "Mr. Sheng is Alisha's brother; they are close relatives."

Zhu Yiwen's scheme backfired; he hadn't managed to anger Sheng Hanyu, and instead, he had let him claim a kinship.

When the funeral ended, almost everyone in the business world of L Country knew that the suddenly emerged business star Sheng Hanyu was a relative of the Zhu Family.

Zhu Yiwen was so angry he nearly vomited blood.

But this was not the end.

Immediately afterward, rumors spread like wildfire that the abnormal rise in Xuanran stock a few days ago was all orchestrated by Zhu Yiwen, with the goal of driving away Sheng Hanyu to become the new owner of Xuanran Silk, and to monopolize the silk industry in L Country, imitating the Jiao Family to reap huge profits.

Once this news spread, it immediately stirred up a thousand ripples and caused a massive uproar in L Country.

The common people were all cursing the Zhu Family, and the good reputation Zhu Yiwen had built up over many years was destroyed in an instant.

The reason was simple: during this stock rise, many people had entered at high prices and were then left stranded at the ceiling!

People had lost everything, and there were even those who jumped off buildings. Now that it was suddenly exposed that all of this was Zhu Yiwen's doing, people immediately found a vent for their anger.

The road leading to the Zhu Family Mansion and the company headquarters was packed with people.

People were holding banners and slogans, blocking the road to protest.

On their shirts and the slogans they held, it was written: Return our hard-earned money!

Firmly oppose the Zhu Family manipulating the stock market!

Send Zhu Yiwen to Prison!

A life for a life, pay back what is owed!

The court is also very lively.

Suddenly, lawsuits flew in like snowflakes; half accused Zhu Yiwen of maliciously driving up stock prices, and half accused the Securities Regulatory Commission of ineffective supervision and colluding with the Zhu Family.

The law does not punish the masses.

If it were only one or two people, the court could completely refuse to accept the cases, but with so many people suing together, they cannot refuse.

……

Zhu Zhai, Study.

A Qing suggested to Zhu Yiwen: "Head of the Family, those police officers are useless; shall we have the military come over?"

"No, wait a little longer; you go out." The public's resentment was already very intense; inviting the military would only add fuel to the fire and confirm that they were bullying others by relying on their power.

Zhu Yiwen frowned; for the first time, he felt the terror of Sheng Hanyu.

The protesters outside have been sitting there for a whole day, refusing to leave no matter what is said, insisting on being paid back!

How can he pay them back?

The money was all earned by Sheng Hanyu, yet now he has become the victim; his brother Wang Yong sent people everywhere to say that Xuanran Silk was seized by Zhu Yiwen.

Zhu Yiwen has plenty of money and great influence; his elder brother, being a newcomer, is simply no match for him.

He originally wanted to have affordable silk cover the whole country so that everyone could benefit, but now it seems that is impossible.

They even said to wait and see, as the silk company is now in Zhu Yiwen's hands and prices will rise immediately!

The dignified underworld is now playing the role of a weak, pitiful, and helpless vulnerable group, yet no one thinks they are talking nonsense; instead, everyone believes them.

The common people are now all on Sheng Hanyu's side, treating him like a living Bodhisattva who saves the suffering, while Zhu Yiwen has instantly become a heartless villain.