Chapter 72

Chapter 72: The Mysterious Private Room

“101 million.”

Third Master Ji leaned forward, unwilling to give an inch. Distinguished guest or not, he didn’t care. He only cared that if he got that vial, he could finally secure a place before the Ji family’s Old Ancestor.

For years, he’d been pressed down until he could barely breathe.

He wanted out.

What was 100 million? Compared to the Ji family’s fortune, it was nothing.

The hall rippled with shock. Ji Chang An and Madam Ji looked worse by the second.

Ji Chang An stood, voice carrying a warning wrapped in courtesy. “Third Uncle…”

That single title was a reminder: don’t offend the Ji family’s noble benefactor.

But Third Master Ji had no mind to listen. That private room had existed for decades. No one had ever seen anyone go in. Who even knew if anyone was truly inside?

And with the Ji family’s current status, who could threaten them?

The thought made him bolder.

“Chang An,” Third Master Ji said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “your third uncle is doing this so Old Ancestor can be happy for a few more years.”

Who didn’t want to live longer? Old Ancestor wouldn’t be unhappy if she knew she could.

Ji Chang An’s jaw tightened. His gaze drifted back to the second-floor room, complicated and uneasy.

The young man at the window was gone now, but the lights still burned.

They hadn’t left.

“That Old Ancestor has a lot of say in the Ji family?” Qiao Qing Yan asked softly.

“She still holds 20% of the Ji family’s shares,” Si Jin Nan replied. “And they’re original shares. Not Ji Group—Ji family shares.”

Qiao Qing Yan arched a brow, smiling as if amused. “You know quite a lot.”

“As someone from the Si family, it wouldn’t be strange,” he said, accepting the tease without embarrassment.

Back when Su Zi Chan married into the Ji family, the Si family had learned these things. Even though Ji Chang An had pushed the Ji family to new heights over the years, Old Ancestor still held real authority.

And now that she was so old, the power in her hands had naturally become something everyone wanted to seize.

“When Madam Ji entered the family,” Si Jin Nan continued, “Old Ancestor Ji promised her: once she had her first child, Old Ancestor would gift 5% of the shares to that child. The second child would get another 5%… and so on.”

But clearly—

Those shares were still in Old Ancestor’s hands.

Qiao Qing Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Madam Ji’s child line is dim. It’ll be hard for her to have a child.”

Si Jin Nan’s gaze snapped to her.

“And even if she does,” Qiao Qing Yan added, voice matter-of-fact, “it’ll be hard for the child to be born safely.”

Si Jin Nan stared. “You can read faces?”

The suspicion in his tone was obvious. She was a washed-up celebrity—how could she know something like this?

Was she playing with him again?

Qiao Qing Yan didn’t bother answering. If she explained, he wouldn’t believe her. If she didn’t, he’d at least stop asking.

Downstairs, the room on the second floor raised their paddle again.

“150 million.”

They added nearly 50 million in one breath.

Third Master Ji’s face darkened. “160—”

“Third Uncle,” Ji Chang An cut in sharply, smile gone, voice low. “Watch your words.”

He didn’t dare let Third Master Ji continue. The consequences were something even he didn’t want to imagine.