Fu Hua was completely flustered at this point, he hadn't expected Old Master Fu to show such regard for the seemingly unremarkable young man, Shen Yuan, to the extent that he was willing to bequeath the ancestral home to him.
This ancestral house, located in the old city, was not of great value in itself.
But to the Fu family, it was where Old Master Fu had lived since he was a child, and where he started his journey to establish the influential Fu Family. Thus, this house held a significant meaning for Old Master Fu.
The fact that Old Master Fu wished to gift the ancestral home to Shen Yuan showed the level of importance he attached to Shen Yuan, a consideration that may be no less than that afforded to his eldest son, Fu Hua.
Though Fu Hua was the eldest son of the Fu family, Old Master Fu had more than one son. The brothers had been covertly fighting for succession rights for a long time, even causing signs of division within the Fu family.
Unwilling to see his children and grandchildren in conflict, Old Master Fu returned to his old home and retreated from worldly affairs. Yet, the true control of inheritance would still depend on Old Master Fu's will.
A few days ago, the usually robust Old Master Fu suddenly fell chronically ill, causing great distress to the entire Fu family. Despite seeking medical help everywhere, the nature of Old Master Fu's illness remained undiscovered.
The brothers instinctively knew that Old Master Fu must be nearing his end and that the successor of the Fu family would be decided within the next few days.
Hence, during these days, Fu Hua and his brothers did everything they could to please Old Master Fu, hoping to win the inheritance rights.
Being the eldest son of Old Master Fu, Fu Hua was well aware that a dying man would be nostalgic. Thus, he secretly initiated the search for Shen Yuan to retrieve the ancestral house.
After driving Shen Yuan away, he could easily bring Old Master Fu back to the ancestral home, talk about the old times, and touch upon emotional ties.
As long as he pleased Old Master Fu, and being the eldest son, his claim to the inheritance would be as steady as Mount Tai.
But he never expected to fall aggravatingly short in his attempts to suck up to Shen Yuan.
Old Master Fu, who was willing to give the ancestral house to Shen Yuan, would undoubtedly rage at Fu Hua's unauthorized action to drive away Shen Yuan. Without a doubt, this would influence his rights to succession.
At this moment, Fu Hua finally understood why Shen Yuan had asked him whether it was Old Master Fu's decision to have him move out or it was his premature decision.
It turned out that Shen Yuan had long seen through the workings of the Fu family and chose to hold his peace out of respect for Old Master Fu.
But Fu Hua had simply dismissed Shen Yuan back then, assuming that Shen Yuan was threatening him using Old Master Fu's power.
Having realized this, Fu Hua regretted not giving himself a good slap on the face.
"Mr. Shen, please wait!"
Fu Hua quickly followed Shen Yuan, who had just walked out of the gate, his usual arrogance completely dispelled, his face showing a humble smile instead.
"I have offended you, Mr. Shen, out of ignorance. I beg for your forgiveness this time."
Shen Yuan glanced indifferently at Fu Hua, who was following closely, without any intention of stopping.
"Such arrogance before and humility now, it's laughable when you think about it."
Fu Hua's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly adjusted his mood and continued to smile.
"You are right, Mr. Shen."
Fu Hua, having mingled in the business world for many years, paid little heed to his dignity.
Verbal sarcasm was irrelevant. As long as he could inherit the Fu family, what did it matter if he was humiliated by Shen Yuan?
Fu Yu stood at the entrance of the courtyard, looking on with astonishment at the scene before her.
Through Fu Hua's words, Fu Yu also realized that the young man holding a kitten was Mr. Shen, the one to whom Old Master Fu had bestowed the ancestral house.
If Old Master Fu had taken a liking to him, Shen Yuan must certainly have remarkable qualities, which did not surprise Fu Yu.
But what she didn't expect was that her eldest brother, who was a big shot in the business world, would be so obsequious to this young man, to the point of being humble.
"Could this Mr. Shen truly be an eminent figure living in seclusion?"
Fu Yu tried hard to figure it out but couldn't correlate the handsome young man holding the kitten with the eminence of a great man.
This display from Fu Hua left Shen Yuan somewhat astonished at his thick-skinned nature, but Shen Yuan no longer had the energy to get involved in Fu family's affairs.
His only acquaintance was Old Master Fu; he didn't want to deal with anyone else.
Without responding, Shen Yuan continued to hold Bai Xue and walk away, which made Fu Hua extremely anxious. If this news reached Old Master Fu's ears, his succession rights would be utterly ruined.
At this point, Fu Hua couldn't afford to keep anything concealed. He hurriedly signaled Fu Yu at the gate and continued to speak:
"Mr. Shen, my father has decided to bestowed this courtyard upon you. This is my father's heartfelt kindness, please accept it."
Having caught on, Fu Yu readily echoed, although she didn't understand why Shen Yuan was angry.
"You must be Mr. Shen, right? My father specifically instructed me to transfer this courtyard to you, insisting that you must accept it."
Shen Yuan waved his hand dismissively, "It's not right to accept a reward without having done the deed. Don't bring this matter up again."
Fu Yu was momentarily taken aback before saying hastily, "This is my father's dying wish. Please do accept, Mr. Shen!"
Hearing these words, Shen Yuan's steps paused as he turned to Fu Yu, "Dying wish?"
Fu Yu's fair face revealed a sad expression.
"Our father has been bedridden with a severe illness for a week, and his condition has been deteriorating despite numerous treatment attempts. Several renowned doctors have already issued critical condition notices.
Handing over the ancestral house to you was his last dying wish. He hopes you will accept his kindness."
Stunned by this, Shen Yuan barely kept his composure, for he had not expected Old Master Fu, who was in good health just a few months ago, to be critically ill now.
He quickly glanced at the somewhat guilty Fu Hua, and immediately understood why Fu Hua attempted to reclaim the ancestral house behind Old Master Fu's back.
However, at this point, he had no time to bother about these trivial issues, and simply asked Fu Yu directly:
"Where is your father now?"
Being a long-time friend and the first person on his path of cultivation he could call a comrade, Shen Yuan felt an obligation, both emotionally and rationally, to visit him.
Moreover, Shen Yuan was intrigued with what could have possibly happened that caused a man halfway into the threshold of cultivation to fall critically ill within a few days.
Fu Yu hesitated, unsure if she should disclose the information to Shen Yuan.
However, Fu Hua, who stood beside her, had no such constraint. Seeing signs of Shen Yuan's change of heart, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold onto his position as the heir if he rejected again.
"Our father is indisposed and has been residing at home. If you wish to see him, Mr. Shen, I can take you to him right now."
As he said this, Fu Hua promptly opened the door to the black luxury sedan parked by the road, and invited Shen Yuan to enter the car with a respectful look.
Without any hesitation, Shen Yuan got into the back seat.
Fu Hua also wanted to sit next to Shen Yuan, but thinking about Shen Yuan's dislike for him, he gestured for the beautiful Fu Yu to sit in the back, and he took it upon himself to drive the car.
The car slowly drove in the direction away from the old city.