She goes crazy, he'll cover for her; the darling of the group is someone no one dares to mess w

Han Yi's voice trembled uncontrollably, and he subconsciously shrank further into the kang (a heated brick bed).

After his initial panic, Han Shuo was overwhelmed with rage.

He pointed at Han Xi's nose and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Han Xi! Are you determined to wipe me out? I am your fourth uncle! Can't you see the contributions I've made to the Han family over the years? Just because of that little bit of money, you want to send me to prison?"

"contribute?"

Han Xi walked slowly into the room, his trench coat sweeping across the shards of glass on the floor with a crisp sound.

He didn't look at Han Shuo, but instead focused his gaze on Han Yi. "Does Third Uncle think what you've done deserves to be called a contribution?"

Han Yi avoided his gaze and forced himself to remain calm, saying, "Xiu Jin, let's talk this out. We're all family, there's no need to make a scene. We're both getting old, if we end up in jail, our lives will be over..."

"family?"

Han Xi chuckled, found a wooden chair against the wall and sat down, crossing his legs in a languid posture, but his eyes were as cold as ice. "When you two colluded to make the Mamba mining area's accounts flawless and shifted the losses to the group, did you never think that you were family?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Han Shuo: "When you used the Han family's name to do business with the Mamba warlords, smuggling weapons and drugs and making huge profits, almost dragging the entire group into a money laundering case, did you never think that you were family?"

Han Shuo's face turned pale and then red, his lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He hadn't expected that Han Xi knew even these most private matters so clearly.

Han Xi turned his gaze to Han Yi: "And Third Uncle. Those affordable housing projects that Han's Construction undertook, you mixed scrap iron into the steel bars and added water to the cement, just to save on material costs. Last year, a building in the east of the city collapsed, killing three workers. You paid off the families and shifted the blame to the project manager. Do you really think you can keep these things a secret forever?"

Cold sweat beaded on Han Yi's forehead, trickling down his cheeks and dripping onto his faded shirt.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but found that his throat was blocked and he could not make a sound.

The room fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the ticking of the old-fashioned wall clock, which pounded on everyone's nerves.

The wind outside the window whipped up fallen leaves, which lashed against the window frame, making a whistling sound, as if they were crying.

“I know you all want money.”

Han Xi's voice softened slightly, but it still carried an undeniable force: "The Han family has no shortage of money to provide you with a life of luxury. You can make demands, ask for shares, or set conditions, and I will agree to them all."

He stood up, walked up to the two men, and looked down at them: "But you shouldn't have resorted to any means necessary, and you shouldn't have used the Han family and the entire Han clan as tools for your own enrichment, even at the cost of crossing the line of the law."

Han Shuo's shoulders slumped completely. He squatted on the ground, burying his hands in his messy hair, and let out a suppressed sob: "I know I was wrong... Xiu Jin, I really know I was wrong..."

He looked up, his face streaked with tears. "Please, let me go this time. I'll return all the money. I don't want anything else. I just want to live a peaceful life..."

Given the amount of property he embezzled and the illegal transactions involved, if convicted, he would face at least life imprisonment.

He's 56 years old this year. If he goes to prison, he'll never be able to get out for the rest of his life.

Han Yi also pleaded, "Xiu Jin, for your grandfather's sake, please let your fourth uncle off the hook. We promise we'll never interfere in the company's affairs again. We'll go abroad to retire and never come back..."

Looking at their disheveled appearance, Han Xi felt no pity, only a deep weariness.

He had known since childhood that there was discord within the Han family, but he never imagined it would come to this.

He remained silent for a long time, so long that Han Yi and Han Shuo's hearts were in their throats, before slowly speaking: "You still have another path to take."

The two immediately looked up, their eyes gleaming with a desperate glint, as if they had grasped at a last straw: "What way? We'll agree to anything!"

Han Xi looked out at the dark night sky and said in a deep and clear voice, "The new mining project in Africa will need five years to start production."

“The conditions there are harsh, the environment is terrible, and someone needs to keep an eye on things. Go there, get the project up and running, and if everything goes well in five years, you can come back.”

"Non-Africa?!"

Han Shuo's face darkened. Why was it Africa again?!

Han Xi noticed his hesitation, paused, and added, "This is your last chance. If you do this well, I might consider giving you the evidence I have. But if you try anything funny or run away halfway through..."

Han Yi and Han Shuo exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and hesitation in each other's eyes.

They had heard of the mining areas in Africa, where there was not only war, but also malaria and various infectious diseases. Going there to work was no different from being exiled.

But compared to imprisonment, this seems to be the best option.

"Okay... let's go."

Han Shuo gritted his teeth and said, his voice filled with a do-or-die determination.

Han Yi nodded, a relieved expression on his face.

Han Xi didn't say anything more, turned around and walked out of the room.

Jiang Bei immediately followed and asked in a low voice, "Boss, are we really going to let them go?"

"Send someone to keep an eye on it."

Han Xi's voice was as cold as ice, "They are not allowed to step out of the project for five years. If there are any problems with the project, they will be sent directly to meet the Mamba warlords."

Jiang Bei's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly nodded, "Yes."

The next morning, Han's Group's announcement caused a stir on the front page of the financial section.

The group withdrew its criminal lawsuit against Han Shuo and instead sought economic compensation. Han Shuo will return all the misappropriated property to make up for the group's losses.

"It seems that family is still the closest. Han Xi has finally softened his heart."

“I knew it. No matter how much trouble we cause, we can’t actually send Uncle to jail.”

"Han Shuo is lucky; he was able to settle such a big matter privately."

There was much discussion outside, with most people believing that Han Xi let Han Shuo off the hook out of consideration for family ties.

Only the core management of the Han Group knew that from that day on, Han Shuo and Han Yi's names disappeared from the group's address book, and no one ever saw them again.

In the bedroom of the hillside villa, warm yellow light filled the room.

Fang Li leaned against the headboard, watching Han Xi sit on the edge of the bed, carefully massaging her feet.

His movements were very gentle; his fingertips lightly kneaded her ankles with just the right amount of pressure.

"They...really went to Africa?"