Return of the Celestial King

But as he spoke, Qin Tuo keenly caught the flicker of panic hidden in his eyes.

Qin Tuo snorted.

”Who says I’m lying? You know the truth better than anyone!”

Qin Hongjian, infuriated, slammed his teacup down on the table.

”Qin Tuo, what are you trying to say? If you have something to say, say it to my face!”

He was panting heavily, seemingly furious.

But Qin Tuo knew that most of his anger was just an act.

Qin Tuo smiled calmly, his voice laced with disdain.

”Isn’t it obvious what you’re up to? You want to take the family homestead for yourself. Once the development plans are announced, you can flip it for a hefty sum of money!”

The accusation was so shocking that Qin Hongguo and Luo Xianglan were struck dumb.

Although they had suspected as much, hearing Qin Tuo say it out loud made their hearts pound violently.

As for Qin Hongjian and his family, their faces turned livid.

Their plan, which had been so close to success, was completely ruined by Qin Tuo!

Qin Hongjian gritted his teeth, so furious he wanted to beat Qin Tuo to death.

Seeing their expressions, Qin Tuo sneered inwardly.

It wasn’t that he desperately needed the money—he wouldn’t care who got it otherwise—but Qin Tuo refused to let Qin Hongjian’s family take advantage of them.

There was no helping it; their family was simply despicable.

Qin Hongjian, his face contorted with rage, demanded:

”Qin Tuo, what is the meaning of this? How dare you slander me! Is that the kind of man you think your uncle is?”

Qin Tuo shook his head and chuckled.

”Whether you’re that kind of person or not, you know better than anyone.”

Qin Hongjian was utterly infuriated.

This time, the color drained from his face—it wasn’t an act. He was genuinely incensed by Qin Tuo.

Beside him, Zhang Caixia quickly chimed in.

”Qin Tuo, you’ve gone too far! As a junior, how can you slander your own uncle? But I suppose it’s not your fault. What else can we expect from someone with your upbringing!”

As she spoke, she hurried over to pat Qin Hongjian’s chest, helping him calm down.

Qin Wenwen and Qin Jun also joined in, hurling insults and taunts.

But Qin Tuo remained seated, his expression resolute.

His message was clear: he would not give up the homestead so easily today.

After sitting there for a long while, Qin Hongjian finally composed himself.

He asked in a hoarse voice:

”Qin Tuo, did you just say you saw the planning report at Prefect Xu’s house?”

Qin Tuo nodded.

It wasn’t a lie. He really had seen such a report at Xu Zhigang’s house.

He hadn’t paid it much mind then, but it had now inadvertently helped him expose this lie.

Seeing Qin Tuo nod in confirmation, a triumphant gleam appeared in Qin Hongjian’s eyes.

”I never thought you’d be such a little bastard, so full of hot air. You’ve been to the Prefect’s house? Who do you think you are? Someone like you, at the Prefect’s house? Why don’t you just say the Prefect invited you to dinner, too?”

As he said this, Zhang Caixia and the others beside him burst into loud, mocking laughter.

”Dad, don’t expose him! Let him have his moment. It’s not every day we get a show like this!”

”Ha, this is hilarious. An ex-con wants to go to the Prefect’s house? You should be glad the Prefect didn’t just have you arrested. What a daydreamer.”

Despite these taunts, Qin Tuo’s expression remained unchanged.

Instead, he thought for a moment and said reflectively:

”You’re right. The Prefect did invite me to dinner, actually. But I turned him down.”

His words left everyone stunned for a moment, before they erupted into even louder, more manic laughter.

”This kid’s gotten way too into his role! He really thinks he’s somebody!”

”Qin Tuo, oh, Qin Tuo... having a cousin like you is a disgrace!”

As Qin Hongjian’s family continued their vicious humiliation, Qin Hongguo and his wife squirmed in their seats, their faces bright red with shame.

Even Fang Hao, who had been silent until now, couldn’t resist looking up and saying coldly:

”I’ve met my share of bullshitters, but I’ve never seen anyone who can bullshit like you. Kid, do you even know who I am?”

Qin Tuo asked, his expression unchanging,

”Oh? Are you someone important?”

Fang Hao smirked, his voice dripping with arrogance.

”Let me tell you something, kid. Prefect Xu himself is coming here for dinner later, and my father will be dining with him. How about I take you over to make a toast? Broaden your horizons a bit?”

Qin Tuo laughed. This Fang Hao really thought too highly of himself.

He was about to nod and agree, just so he could watch the fallout and humiliate the guy later.

But beside him, Luo Xianglan saw things escalating. When she heard a powerful figure like Xu Zhigang was involved, she quickly stood up and grabbed tightly onto Qin Tuo’s sleeve.

”Son, you can’t make jokes like that!”

She then turned to Fang Hao, nodding apologetically with a placating smile.

She knew Fang Hao wasn’t just anyone; his family had connections to government officials.

If they offended him, how could an ordinary family like theirs possibly afford the consequences?

Qin Hongguo also said angrily,

”Son, stop talking nonsense and sit down!”

In Qin Hongguo’s eyes, they were just ordinary people. How could they possibly have any connection to the lofty Prefect?

Clearly, Qin Tuo was just spouting nonsense.

Just then, Zhang Caixia stood up to fan the flames. ”Let me be clear,” she said coldly.

”Let me be clear. We had no idea that area was slated for development. We just wanted to build a house so our family would have a place to live. I can’t believe you’d judge us with your own petty mindset. It’s truly disappointing!”

Hearing Zhang Caixia’s words, Qin Tuo’s parents looked ashamed.

Qin Tuo, however, was sneering inwardly.

’Keep up the act. Just keep it up.’

Zhang Caixia then added more fuel to the fire.

”How about this? We’ll give you an extra 100,000 yuan. You can take the money, rent a place to live, and you won’t have to live under someone else’s roof, depending on their charity.”

One hundred thousand yuan?

Qin Hongguo and Luo Xianglan’s eyes immediately lit up. They were tempted.

To them, 100,000 yuan was a fortune.

And just as Zhang Caixia had said, with that money, they wouldn’t have to keep staying in this villa.

After all, they wanted to be self-reliant, not live in someone else’s house.

This money would allow them to reclaim some of their dignity.

Qin Hongguo immediately nodded, ready to agree.

Seeing this, Qin Hongjian’s family breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Once this was settled, they would never have to deal with Qin Tuo’s family of three ever again.

’Poor relatives like them can go back to whatever hole they crawled out of!’