Chapter 720: Chapter 622: Part 2

"My grandma laid down the law. She said that under modern law, marital property is jointly owned, and in a divorce, it must be split fifty-fifty. So, all the ancestral property should technically be considered marital property. She demanded to divorce my grandpa, separate out her half of the property first, and then he could take his own half and do whatever he wanted with it! After she said that, all the fight just went out of my grandpa. He just clutched his pipe and sat quietly off to the side, pretending not to see all the looks my dad was giving him!"

Xiao Man giggled at the story. Mrs. Wei was certainly a character; that was a brilliant way to handle the old man.

In her past life, Wei Ma had lost out because Mr. Wei caught her completely off guard. Through a mix of deception and emotional manipulation, he coaxed her into hiding it from his parents in Beijing and rushing through the divorce proceedings. Perhaps the elder Mr. Wei knew about it at the time, but he had been won over to his son’s side, and they only kept Mrs. Wei in the dark. But unexpectedly, Mrs. Wei had a fiery temper; upon hearing the news, she collapsed and died on the spot. The elder Mr. Wei was stunned, and he didn’t live much longer after that. The entire Wei Family fortune fell into Mr. Wei’s hands. He and his new wife had other children, and this new family had no room for the eldest son from his previous marriage. Moreover, Mr. Wei was extremely wary of Wei Zhenling, constantly afraid he would try to seize the assets from him. So, while he kept his eldest son close and entrusted him with important responsibilities, he probably would have been happy to see him ruined or even dead.

What he never expected, however, was that Wei Zhenling wasn’t blinded by greed and willing to turn on his own family like he was. Because Wei Zhenling had no desire to fight his own father, he had even lost all interest in business.

In this life, with Grandma Wei holding down the fort, Mr. Wei wouldn’t be able to stir up any trouble in the Wei Family—not unless he was prepared to give everything up, leave, and start over from scratch.

"Zhen Ting, if your dad refuses to cooperate and decides to leave the Wei Family to strike out on his own, how much of the ancestral fortune could he take with him?" Xiao Man asked curiously.

"My grandma’s response to that was, ’His grandfather and I are still alive and well. Our son is neglecting his filial duties, yet he thinks he can split the family assets? He won’t get a single cent!’"

"Grandma Wei is incredible! But still, your father has been managing the Wei Family business for so many years. If he had wanted to hide or transfer some assets, it wouldn’t have been that hard, would it?"

Wei Zhenling smiled and nodded. "You’re right, it wouldn’t have been difficult. But he’s lost that chance now. It would have been easy for him before, but he never did it. As you said, his position in the Wei Family was that of the Crown Prince. He was completely confident, never imagining anyone could possibly leapfrog him. So, up to this point, all he did was work tirelessly to make a lot of money for the Wei Family and acquire numerous assets, all of which are officially on the books. He never got around to creating a private stash."

"How can you be so sure he didn’t?"

"I’ve already had it checked. Actually, Shaojun told me last year that someone had seen my father with another woman and that I should keep an eye out. I didn’t really believe it at the time. My father... he’s a highly educated man, a role model. His relationship with my mother was excellent, and he was always very dedicated to my upbringing. In my mind, he was a good father and a true gentleman... But I knew Shaojun wouldn’t lie to me. So, purely for my mother’s sake, I planted someone in my father’s company. I had them monitor his movements and his financial situation and told them to quietly collect evidence of anything suspicious and hold onto it until I asked... When you guys ran into him on your outing, I got the news and immediately called a friend in Beijing to investigate further, telling him I needed hard evidence. By the time I took leave from work and got back to Qing City, my friend from Beijing had arrived. He brought dozens of crystal-clear photos, taken from every possible angle. Once my mother connected those with a few other recent incidents, everything became painfully clear. My mom took control of the company in Qing City, while in Beijing, my cousins, along with my grandparents, went straight to his door and confronted him and that woman face-to-face."

"So your dad used to be a teacher? For you to have turned out the way you have, it seems he deserves a lot of the credit. I’m surprised... He was actually quite successful at molding a person."

Wei Zhenling: "..."

’What exactly does she mean by "the way you have"? Go on, be more specific.’

But by then, they had already arrived at the Medical College, and the conversation came to an end.

Xiao Man had Wei Zhenling pull over. "I’ll get out here. Thanks! When you get back, please say hi to your mom and grandparents for me. And tell your mom to give me a call when she’s free; I can visit her this weekend."

"Alright. Be careful." Wei Zhenling watched Xiao Man hop out of the car, then opened his own door and got out too. "There’s a restaurant just up ahead. You’re really not going to treat me to a meal? It’s so late, your school cafeteria must be closed by now. Aren’t you going to eat dinner?"

"It’s not that I won’t, it’s just bad timing today," Xiao Man said with a smile. "Don’t worry about me. One of my upperclassmen saved me some food. You should head back. Your mom and grandparents are probably waiting for you to have dinner."

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