You Brought This Upon Yourselves
Liu Qianxiu lowered his gaze toward the documents in his hand.
The family representatives had begun discussing the revelations among themselves.
He lifted the file.
The paper made a crisp sound.
Then he swept his gaze across the conference room.
Silence fell instantly.
“That should also serve as my explanation for the incidents of the past few months,” Liu Qianxiu said evenly.
Those incidents were precisely why the representatives of the Liu family’s branches had demanded his return to Austria.
One of the representatives whose auction houses had been involved spoke up.
“Then how do you intend to deal with your father and brother?”
Cai Qingliang looked toward the man, nodded slightly, and smiled.
“The police are already outside.”
Silence fell again.
Not only Liu Fengmian and Liu Qingyuan, but every representative at the table stopped speaking.
All eyes turned toward Liu Fengmian.
His brows drew together sharply. His face darkened as he stared at Liu Qianxiu.
“They’re only a few paintings! I’ll compensate everyone! What exactly are you trying to do?”
At last, he could no longer control himself.
He was furious.
And frightened.
Liu Qianxiu, by contrast, remained as calm as still water.
Liu Fengmian could not read his thoughts.
In truth, he had never understood this son.
When Liu Qianxiu was very young, he had witnessed his mother jump to her death.
Afterward, he underwent psychological counseling for some time. Once the counseling ended, he never returned to the Liu residence.
Instead, he followed his grandfather to Austria.
Liu Fengmian eventually remarried.
For many years, he barely saw his son.
When they finally met again, Liu Qianxiu had already grown into an adult. He sat quietly beside his grandfather, elegant and distant, listening as representatives from the various Liu family branches reported on their businesses.
That was when Liu Fengmian first felt threatened.
Because of that fear, he arranged to have Liu Qianxiu assassinated.
The attempt failed.
The police even traced the intermediary he had hired.
But the investigation suddenly stopped. The entire matter was quietly abandoned.
Afterward, his father died.
The position of family head passed to Liu Qianxiu.
Liu Fengmian swallowed his anger for several years.
Eventually, he devised another plan.
First, he arranged for genuine paintings to be replaced with forgeries. This would turn the representatives of the Liu family’s branches against Liu Qianxiu.
Then they would demand that Liu Qianxiu return to Austria.
Once he arrived, Liu Fengmian would have him poisoned.
Everything had initially unfolded according to plan.
Two weeks earlier, Liu Fengmian had received word from his informant that Liu Qianxiu had died in the hospital.
He had even succeeded him as family head.
Yet just as Liu Fengmian was preparing to exercise his new authority, Liu Qianxiu appeared before him, completely unharmed.
The entire affair felt like a farce.
He had been a puppet in Liu Qianxiu’s hands.
But Liu Qianxiu was not someone who played with people merely for amusement.
There had to be a purpose.
And it had to be far more serious than what was happening now.
Liu Qianxiu raised his eyes toward Liu Fengmian.
In that brief interval, his father seemed to have aged considerably. The lines between his furrowed brows had deepened.
Liu Qianxiu set down the documents.
His expression remained tranquil.
“Since you’re willing to compensate everyone for the paintings,” he said, “you might as well compensate me for my life too.”
Liu Fengmian’s eyes widened.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“You aren’t dead! Why should I pay with my life?”
His voice grew hurried. He became so agitated that he started coughing, his face turning red.
Hearing the disturbance, the police waiting outside entered the conference room.
They presented arrest warrants to Liu Fengmian and Liu Qingyuan.
Then they handcuffed them both.
Liu Qingyuan stared in disbelief.
His eyes darted anxiously toward his father.
“Dad!”
He called again in panic.
Liu Fengmian stood with his hands cuffed. His eyes remained fixed on Liu Qianxiu.
His voice turned icy.
“You promised your grandfather that you would never move against us!”
“If you couldn’t honor that promise, you were supposed to step down as family head!”
“All the representatives of the Liu family are here! Are you planning to defy your grandfather’s dying wishes?”
The family representatives looked at one another.
Liu Qianxiu remained seated.
His dark eyes were unfathomable.
He looked across the room at his father, his expression unchanged.
“Grandfather told me not to move against you.”
“I haven’t violated his wishes. I left you alone for all these years.”
Liu Fengmian’s jaw trembled.
Liu Qianxiu watched the tiny change in his expression.
A faint smile touched his lips.
“I haven’t done anything to you.”
“You brought this upon yourselves.”
“You destroyed yourselves.”
When Liu Qianxiu first promised his grandfather that he would leave Liu Fengmian and his family alone, he already knew they would never willingly remain beneath his authority.
Liu Fengmian had tried to kill him once.
He would certainly try again.
From the moment the forged-painting incidents began, Liu Qianxiu had been turning their plans against them.
After arriving in Austria, he drank the poisoned tea for three days, allowing Liu Fengmian to lower his guard.
A week later, he staged his death in the hospital.
Afterward, he collected evidence of Liu Fengmian’s attempt on his life.
At the same time, he spread word on the black market that someone was interested in purchasing the genuine paintings.
As expected, Liu Fengmian took the bait.
Once father and son had exposed themselves, Liu Qianxiu returned from Austria.
He gave the Liu family representatives the explanation they had demanded.
And he removed Liu Fengmian and Liu Qingyuan completely.
Once and for all.
— To be continued in Part 3 —
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The fact that his grandfather made him promise to not touch his father and his mistress and illegitimate son really disgust me. Even after the father try to kill him previously too. Horrible!
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