Chapter 163 Do You Feel Any Guilt?

"Happy birthday, Madam Hong. This is a jade hairpin collected by my family for centuries, an imperial treasure once used by the noble consorts of the Tang dynasty. Please accept it."

"This is a legendary diamond ring crafted by Tiffany. Don't let its five-carat size fool you; its clarity and color are of the absolute highest grade in the world. There are only two such rings in existence, and the other one is in the hands of a princess."

"Madam Hong, I wasn't sure if you liked famous paintings, but this authentic piece by Tang Bohu is my most treasured antique painting. I truly hope you will like it."

"This is the property deed to a courtyard house in the Imperial Capital. My family doesn't have as many antiques as theirs, so I had no choice but to offer these worldly goods. I bought this courtyard house two years ago for 600 million."

...

To save their own lives, the tycoons of Hannan generously presented priceless treasures.

The relatives and guests of the Chen family stared with eyes wide and jaws slack, feeling so unsteady on their feet they could barely stand.

Not a single item gifted by these twenty-plus Hannan tycoons was worth less than 300 million. Adding it all up, wasn't Lin Shuyu receiving tens of billions in gifts today?

Dai Yanqiu, previously the wealthiest person present in the Chen family hall, had a company whose market capitalization hadn't even reached 1 billion back before it went public.

The gifts sitting in front of Lin Shuyu were equivalent to the total value of ten such companies of his. Although Dai Yanqiu had previously boasted quite loudly, he knew deep down that he would never be able to earn this much wealth in his entire lifetime.

Lin Shuyu was even more bewildered than the members of the Chen family.

When these Hannan tycoons finished presenting their gifts and stood there somewhat nervously, Lin Shuyu immediately waved her hands in a panic and said, "No! I absolutely cannot accept these gifts!"

"They are simply far too precious."

"Madam Hong, what are you saying?" Shen Chong chimed in loudly from the side. "We present these gifts to you out of fear that they might not even be worthy of someone of your stature."

"Please just accept them, Madam Hong," Liang Zhanpeng also stepped forward to persuade her.

"Indeed! Madam Hong, if you do not accept them, we will smash these gifts to pieces right here on the spot."

"Compared to Madam Hong's happiness, these gifts truly amount to nothing."

"Madam Hong, we beg you to accept them!"

In the end, these Hannan tycoons actually resorted to pleading with Lin Shuyu. At this sight, even a fool could tell that something unusual was going on.

"What is going on here? They are just Hannan tycoons giving a gift, why must they debase themselves so much?"

"Could it be that Hong Yu has some kind of dirt on them? Otherwise, there is no reason for them to suck up to Lin Shuyu like this."

"Dirt? Are you an idiot? It might make sense if one or two tycoons had dirt on them, but there are over twenty of them. How could Hong Yu possibly get dirt on all of them at once?"

"Besides, who knows how much influence these Hannan tycoons wield behind the scenes? Do they really need to fear having dirt held against them?"

"Then what on earth is going on? From head to toe, I cannot see a single thing about Hong Yu that should make them afraid."

"Heh, say no more. The facts are right before your eyes now. It's normal that you don't understand. If you did understand, you'd probably be one of Hannan's top tycoons yourself."

In a difficult position, Lin Shuyu looked toward Hong Yu once again.

Without saying a word, Hong Yu stood up and actually pulled Lin Shuyu along as he walked toward Elder Chen.

Seeing Hong Yu make a move, the Hannan tycoons immediately cleared a path for them.

Elder Chen wore a look of utter dejection. Originally, all those gifts were supposed to be his—worth several billions, nearly ten billion in gifts!

If their Chen family had secured this batch of gifts, they would have secured a prominent footing not just in Huaizhou, but in all of Hannan!

"Grandfather, Sister Xiaoyu and Brother-in-law are coming!" Seeing Elder Chen with his head bowed, missing the sight of Hong Yu leading Lin Shuyu toward him, Chen Yingying immediately gave a reminder.

Chen Yingying was naturally a gold-digger; had Wang Qi not constantly misled her before, she certainly wouldn't have targeted Hong Yu so relentlessly.

Now that the reality was laid bare before her, Chen Yingying quickly adjusted her mindset and stance. What used to be insults like matrilocal son-in-law, good-for-nothing, and beast were now promptly replaced by the address of brother-in-law.

Hearing Chen Yingying's call, Elder Chen rallied his spirits and stood up.

Hong Yu glanced briefly at Chen Yingying before turning his gaze to Elder Chen. "Grandfather, Xiaoyu and I traveled thousands of千里 from Fengzhou to Huaizhou specifically to offer birthday congratulations to you."

"Although the gifts I brought you are neither gold and jewelry nor priceless antiques, they truly represent my sincere heart."

"Those tea leaves were bought with borrowed money, and I had to run through over a dozen tea houses to finally acquire them. You may think these tea leaves are cheap, and that my time and energy are worthless."

"But now that these Hannan tycoons are here, you are entirely welcome to ask them just how valuable my time and energy truly are!"

Hearing these words from Hong Yu, Liang Zhanpeng knew that Hong Yu was about to flex his status.

Therefore, he quickly shouted loudly, "Mr. Hong's energy is worth a thousand pieces of gold, and Mr. Hong's time is a priceless treasure!"

"The countless priceless gifts we are presenting today are simply to have Mr. Hong spare a little of his time to handle a few matters for us."

"Therefore, no matter the quality of Mr. Hong's tea leaves, the mere fact that Mr. Hong spent his time and energy to purchase them makes these tea leaves truly priceless!"

Shen Chong sneered, "Heh, I have truly had my eyes opened today."

"Is there actually someone in this world daring to disdain items gifted by Mr. Hong?"

"It seems the slap I delivered earlier was well worth it. Hopefully, it knocked some sense into this old man."

Elder Chen did not dare to utter a sound. With his head bowed, his eye sockets grew somewhat red.

Seeing her grandfather treated like a child, Lin Shuyu suddenly felt a pang of sympathy and gently tugged at Hong Yu's sleeve.

"Hong Yu, let it go. Grandfather didn't mean it."

"Didn't mean it?" Hong Yu sneered. "I'd say he meant it entirely."

"To begin with, the ginseng Chen Shufen brought was fake, yet he insisted it was real."

"Just to protect Chen Shufen's face, he spouted nonsense and spinned wild fairy tales, dragging my and Xiaoyu's dignity and reputation through the mud as if they were worthless."

"What's even more ridiculous is that he treated the tea leaves sent by that old servant of the Liang family as if they were supreme treasures. Yet the tea leaves I brought were scattered across the floor like garbage. With that kind of shallow vision, no wonder the Chen family has always remained a marginal, shabby little clan!"

Elder Chen felt his limbs turn cold as his entire body trembled.

Hong Yu continued with a sneer, "Grandfather, do not forget that Xiaoyu is your granddaughter as well."

"As for me, even though I am a matrilocal son-in-law, I still count as a grandson-in-law, do I not?"

"To safeguard your daughter's pride and to cozy up to that steward, did you really have to go to such lengths? Did you ever stop to think how Xiaoyu and I would feel?"

"Grandfather, do you feel any shame at all?"