Chapter 42: Why Not Speak to My Mother Instead

The private jet had just touched down on the Ke family’s helipad when a crowd swarmed around it.

At the head of the group was Ke Bingjun’s most trusted head butler. He bowed to Ke Xianbai and said, "Second Young Master, the clan members are waiting for you in the main hall. The Master has ordered me to bring you home."

Ke Xianbai gave a faint, mocking scoff. "Is my dear elder brother dead yet?"

The butler was speechless.

The relationship between the eldest and second young masters had been like this for over twenty years. Yet, the butler still couldn't get used to the second young master’s sharp tongue.

"After emergency surgery performed by specialists, the Eldest Young Master is now out of danger and is currently recovering in the hospital."

"So he isn't dead," Ke Xianbai said, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Call me back when he dies next time."

The butler was speechless once more.

He let out a dry, forced laugh, unable to respond to such a comment. He just wanted to get this ancestor of a man home as quickly as possible.

Several cars were parked outside the main hall. As Ke Xianbai walked inside, he couldn't help but sneer, "It seems I wasn't called back for a funeral banquet, but specifically for a trap set in my honor."

Inside the hall, the head of the Ke family, Ke Bingjun, sat in the seat of honor, with the family’s elders arranged below him according to their seniority.

Ke Xianbai strode in, showing no surprise at the room full of people. "Father, what a grand occasion this must be for everyone to be gathered here."

Before Ke Bingjun could speak, one of the elders, emboldened by his seniority, impatiently scolded Ke Xianbai in Cantonese, "Ke Xianbai, you are becoming increasingly insolent! This is Hong Kong, not the mainland. You should speak Cantonese when addressing your elders!"

Ke Xianbai cast a glance at the man and took a seat, which made the man so furious he was practically blowing his mustache in rage. If not for Ke Bingjun’s presence, he would have ordered someone to throw Ke Xianbai out on the spot.

"Elders? I take after my mother. If you have any opinions, Uncle, why don't you go and discuss them with her?"

Ke Xianbai’s mother had passed away long ago, and this remark was clearly a curse upon Ke Bingping.

Before Ke Bingping could erupt, the man in the seat of honor spoke slowly, airily brushing aside the unpleasant opening. "Xianbai is young and hot-headed. Second brother, as an elder, you shouldn't hold it against a junior."

Ke Bingping was left speechless.

The words were stuck in his throat, neither swallowed nor expelled.

"Respecting the old and cherishing the young"—in the Ke family, there was only "cherishing the young," but considering Ke Xianbai was well into his twenties, he was hardly a child. His older brother was truly biased.

He scowled and said, "I can let this go, but let’s see how you talk your way out of what happened to your brother!"

"My brother?" Ke Xianbai asked, puzzled. "What does my brother have to do with me?"

"Are you going to tell me that the attack on your brother wasn't orchestrated by you?"

Ke Xianbai’s gaze swept from Ke Bingjun in the seat of honor down to the elders below. He squinted and leaned back. "Cases require evidence, Uncle. Don't go around spreading nonsense without proof. Don't you agree, Second Aunt?"

The woman was startled by the sudden question and hurriedly looked away, not daring to meet his eyes.

Ke Bingping shot a sidelong glance at his wife and muttered, "Coward."

Ke Xianbai laughed, deliberately ignoring Ke Bingping’s remark. "Since Second Aunt won't speak, I'll take that as her agreement with me."

At this point, Ke Bingzhong, who had remained silent in the hall, spoke up: "Xianbai, the people who attacked your brother were very familiar with his itinerary and the Ke family’s security team. Therefore, it could only have been done by someone from within the house."

Ke Bingzhong might as well have shouted Ke Xianbai's name aloud.

The inner hall went quiet for two minutes. Everyone was watching Ke Xianbai, whose face remained unreadable. Suddenly, he let out a laugh, as if he had just heard an enormous joke.

"Third Uncle, there are so many people in the Ke family. Why assume it was me? I could just as easily say that Second Uncle wants to fight our branch for the family fortune, so he intends to wipe us brothers out one by one."

"You!" There was no love lost between the branches of the Ke family, and Ke Bingping had always harbored ambitions of seizing power and wealth. But having it stated so bluntly by Ke Xianbai made him panic. "Ke Xianbai, you are not allowed to talk nonsense without evidence!"

"So even Second Uncle knows this is a matter of evidence." Ke Xianbai gave him a lazy glance. "Me, Second Uncle’s family, Third Uncle’s family, and even those two youngsters—everyone is a potential suspect."

Seeing they were no match for Ke Xianbai, they turned their gaze toward Ke Bingjun.

Ke Bingjun looked at his flamboyant second son and said in a deep voice, "One of the thugs who attacked Yichen dropped this."

With a single look from Ke Bingjun, the head butler standing behind him immediately produced a wooden token and handed it to Ke Xianbai.

When Ke family members came of age, the family issued a custom-made wooden token representing their identity. To protect the clan, the family also provided a private militia, which could be mobilized upon coming of age using this token.

Ke Xianbai stroked the token.

It was custom-made by the Ke family; there was no such thing as a forgery. The moment he saw it, Ke Xianbai knew it was genuine.

Compared to the token representing him as the Second Young Master, this one had fewer engravings, but it was undoubtedly from his own men.

He tossed the token back onto the table and looked at Ke Bingjun, saying with measured calm, "The token belongs to my men, but I did not order them to do this."

"The evidence is right in front of you, and you still say it wasn't you?" Ke Bingping was still holding a grudge over being rebuked earlier.

"Enough." Having held power for many years, Ke Bingjun exuded an invisible pressure. His gaze swept over the crowd of people with their various hidden agendas before finally landing on Ke Xianbai. "You haven't been back to Hong Kong for years; it is time you tightened your control over your subordinates."

"Big brother..."

Ke Bingjun looked at Ke Bingping, who reluctantly swallowed the rest of his words.

Everyone present had come hoping to destroy Ke Xianbai, or at the very least, tear a piece of flesh off him. But since the eldest son of the main branch had survived two gunshots, the matter was simply brushed aside. Even if they were dissatisfied, the two uncles had no choice but to leave, and the incident of Ke Yichen’s attack was settled just like that.

Only the father and son remained in the inner hall.

Ke Bingjun had always doted on Ke Xianbai. He withdrew his pressure and asked in a gentle tone, "When do you plan to move back to Hong Kong to stay and keep your father company?"

Ke Xianbai lowered his eyes, fixing them on the wooden token on the table, and curled his lips into a smile. "If I move back, some people might not be able to sleep at night."

With that, he rose and walked out.

Ke Bingjun sat in the hall, watching Ke Xianbai’s retreating figure with deep thought.

When Ke Xianbai walked out of the inner hall, Tang Huan, who managed affairs for him in Hong Kong, was already waiting at the door.

After getting into the car, Tang Huan said, "Boss, the people are already waiting for you at the dark hall."

"No rush," Ke Xianbai closed his eyes. "First, go to the hospital and visit my dear elder brother."