"There were several palace collections that the Qing court recorded, and their prices were even more expensive." "Such a large number of highly valuable cultural relics could easily reach 200 million dollars even in the lowest bid, and that was 20 years ago." "Although my family business was on a relatively large scale at that time, the antique industry is capital-intensive. Our family's assets might be tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars, but a large part of it was inventory all around the world. It was hard for us to come out with 200 million right away." "Also, in the antique industry, you can't expect to liquidate inventory quickly. The more inventory you have, the more patient you have to be." "Because the antique industry is similar to the stock market. The worst thing that can happen is a concentrated sell-off that crashes the market. I can buy ten pieces of 14th-century porcelain at once, but there is no way I can sell ten pieces at once. The more I
Charlie hastily asked, "You must have read the Preface of the Apocalyptic Book, right? What exactly does it say?" Raymond replied, "The content recorded in the book is all-encompassing, but its real core is a map that needs to be deciphered from the text bit by bit. Back then, your parents were very interested in studying and deciphering the Preface. Thanks to your father, I studied it briefly too, but I wasn't good at the Oskian language because I was born and raised in the States. The content was too difficult and obscure for me to understand, and I soon lost interest in studying it." "After that, your parents left the States and returned to Oskia. I heard that they went to great lengths to search for the place mentioned in the book. Thankfully, they found the place after going through so much hardship. That place was where your father took the Apocalyptic Book." "Really?" Charlie gasped, astonished. "What's the place's name? Is it called the Longevity Haven?" "I don't know."
As a close friend of Charlie's father, Raymond hoped that Charlie would not repeat Curtis's mistakes, but Charlie's remarks made him realize that Curtis's and Charlie's lives had already been determined when Curtis decided to study the Preface of the Apocalyptic Book. Charlie's life was also destined to be full of dangers. Peace and serenity were a far-fetched dream for him. Thinking about this, Raymond sighed. "When I learned that people's destinies were divided into different levels, I thought that your father's fate of the dragon would bring him luck and joy, but from the looks of it, even if you have the fate of the ascending dragon, there are still difficulties and challenges everywhere." With a gentle smile, Charlie said calmly, "Now it seems that everything is fated." After that, he looked at Raymond and said respectfully with gratitude, "Thank you for everything you have done for me. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything later. You only need to stay here for one mo
Charlie huffed in surprise, "Wow, he's so bold. He can't wait to fuck your wife before your plane takes off." Bruce clenched his fists tightly and snarled indignantly, "Yes! That's what pissed me off the most! Actually, the bastard had already arrived at my house before I even arrived at the airport!" "Don't you want to man up and solve the problem?" asked Charlie curiously. Bruce abruptly burst into tears and wailed, "What can I do? No matter how pissed I am, I can't go against the Rothschilds! They are rich and powerful, but I only make a few million a year. Besides, it's hard for a middle-aged person like me to find a job now. If I stop working with them, I can't even find a job that pays 300 grand a year. I have no choice but to swallow my anger." "Hah!" Charlie laughed out loud. "You're really something." Then, something crossed his mind, and he asked, "By the way, you said that you installed cameras at home and filmed Malcolm going to your house. Did you get anything sp
In order to ease Raymond's problem and turn the passive situation into an active one, Charlie planned to have Bruce turn against the Rothschild family. However, he had to first find out how loyal Bruce was to the family before executing the plan. If Bruce was extremely loyal to the family, asking him to turn against the family would only make him feel unsure and skeptical. For this very reason, Charlie had purposely asked Bruce about his satisfaction and loyalty to the family. To his pleasant surprise, the marital affair between Bruce's wife and a member of the Rothschild family was exposed. Bruce's wife was cheating on him with a core member of the Rothschild family. Under such a circumstance, it seemed reasonable and natural to have him turn against the Rothschild family. After all, no man could hold on for too long when his wife cheated on him. Hence, Charlie kept manipulating him psychologically, letting him know that money was nothing compared to a man's dignity. B
"After you upload the video, you should immediately upload the video of Malcolm having an affair with your wife!" "Then, make another video in your office to explain why you want to attack the Rothschild family. Let them know that you will man up this time, and make the person who is sleeping with your wife pay the price!" "Remember, from now on, you are a fearless tiger! Use your sharpest teeth to bite their throats and never let go!" Shaking all over, Bruce howled almost fanatically, "Don't worry. I'll fight them to the end!" With a nod, Charlie instructed, "Include Mr. Cole in the first video and explain why the family imprisoned him here." "Yes, sir!" Bruce nodded without hesitation. "Roger that!" "You don't have to do it right away, though," Charlie said. "Send me up first and do what I just told you to do after I return to the cell." After that, he turned to Raymond and reassured him, "Once the video is released, I believe it will cause an uproar in the country. The
At this moment, a group of prisoners were taking turns to go to the bathroom in the cell to take a cold shower. It was because Charlie had demanded that they do everything they could to get rid of their body odor. These people didn't care about their hygiene. In addition, they had strong body odor and no deodorant. The smell emitted as these men crowded the bathroom was akin to a septic tank that had exploded. Gustavo approached Charlie as he wiped his hair and asked with a flattering smile, "Mr. Wade, have you met Bruce?" Charlie coldly snapped, "Listen, don't ask things you shouldn't ask." "Okay, okay..." Gustavo nodded repeatedly and then asked him with some concern, "I have something to ask you if you don't mind." "Go ahead," Charlie calmly said. Gustavo hastily said, "To be honest, I don't know what crime you committed, whether the trial has been held, and how long you will be sentenced after the trial. I may never be able to leave the prison. What if you get out one
"What wishful thinking." Charlie smirked, "Even if you manage to get out of here, do you think the police will not come after you when you don't return tomorrow? I bet the police will put out a global warrant for your arrest. How will you escape from the States by then?" "Also, your son now controls your entire family. If he knows that you have escaped, he will definitely try to kill you. Maybe all the killers in Mexico and the States want to kill you. You don't even know how many of your men are on your son's side. There is no one you can trust. Where do you think you can go?" "This is why I need your help," Gustavo said with a fiery look in his eyes. "You are capable and resourceful. I'm sure you can find a way to get me back to Mexico. When I return to Mexico safely, my family will support me to take power again. I'll repay you for your help! I can give you billions of dollars in cash as a token of appreciation. Or I can give you 10 billion dollars worth of cocaine! I can give y
Naturally, Jimmy couldn't care less about Julien's suggestion, even looking at him pointedly from head to toe while smirking in contempt, "What, do you think I'd just do what any nutjob tells me to do just because they're claiming to be the Rothschilds' heir apparent?"Julien nodded, still smiling. "Good point, but don't worry—it's the same whether you call him or he calls you."Jimmy laughed. "I was offering you a way out, but you want to keep pressing your luck? Since you don't care to back off, let's see how you're going to finish this fight."Then, he shrugged while pointing at Yolden. "Well, it's the perfect chance to measure Matilda's husband, I guess."Based on what he saw of Yolden, there was no way he would buy Julien's claims, and thus labeled him an impostor in his mind.An ordinary lecturer in Aurous Hill, being friends with the Rothschilds' heir apparent? Not to mention that there had been plenty of fraudulent cases outside the States where the Rothschild name was use
Jimmy was taken aback since he didn't recognize Julien at all, mainly because the Rothschilds had always kept out of the public eye.In fact, it was basically impossible to gather genuine information about the Rothschilds online, as it was a mix of press releases and gossip. Most online biographies would only be about the older generations or certain frivolous figures. Any information about key members like Steve would never be searchable online.Matilda was confused as well, not quite understanding who Julien was since he wasn't on the list of guests invited.Seeing that she was confused, Julien turned and smiled at Yolden, "So, Professor, shouldn't you introduce me to the bride?"Yolden finally remembered that and quickly nodded, "Sorry, it slipped my mind."Turning toward Matilda, he smiled, "Darling, this is Julien Rothschild… A friend of mine from the states…"Julien's full name left everyone within earshot gaping as the Rothschild name was way too famous across the globe.
Seeing that Jimmy was getting a little nervous, Charlie smiled and assured him, "Please, you have nothing to worry about. No one's going to do anything to you, but if you feel threatened in any way, you can call the cops. The Oskian emergency hotline is 110, by the way."Jimmy was slightly relieved as he could see that Charlie really wasn't trying to make things awkward for him, and he straightened his collar as he said, "Actually, I didn't mean to cause trouble—I'm pleased that Matilda has found true love once more, and if we can be friends, I can set aside my claim and stay for the rest of this wedding, offering the newlyweds our best wishes as a representative of my family."Still, his expression showed contempt as he turned toward Yolden. "Also, I'm really curious and looking forward to seeing what connections Professor Hart might have that you say could be better than Bill.""You'll see soon enough," Charlie smiled and nodded.Jimmy remained skeptical and scoffed, "I really do
If Charlie really did get Jimmy to stay, who knew what other rubbish Jimmy would spout.As for Jimmy, he was actually surprised Charlie was asking him to stay, and his instincts told him that Charlie definitely didn't mean well.Not only that, he was on foreign soil—wouldn't he be defenseless if Charlie called in his friends to beat him up?Hence, he shook his head without hesitation as he said, "I'm sorry, but my sister-in-law is quite keen for me to leave, so I have no reason to stay and add to her problems. And it is her big day. I can afford to let her save face instead of spilling the beans on her all at once.""Oh, but you were complaining about the lack of important people just now!" Charlie quickly interjected. "It just so happens that we have a big-shot on his way here, and he's a good friend of the groom. When I told him about you over the phone, he said to keep you here no matter what it took, since he would like to talk to you face to face."Jimmy frowned. "What, are y
And with those words, Jimmy turned to leave.Despite threatening Matilda, there was no such agreement, and he knew that Matilda was well aware of that.Regardless, the only strategy he had in mind when he came to Oskia was harassment. As such, he simply came up with a lie to make Matilda look bad in public. All it took from there was just for one person to relay what he had said—even if it were all lies, Matilda's character would still be called into question.He made himself very clear so that Matilda would understand that if she didn't give in, his family would keep hounding her to take their two pounds of flesh. Even if she wouldn't surrender the stateside estates and human resources of Smith Group Corporate Law, they would still claim a sizable chunk.But if that failed too, they would just have to destroy Matilda's reputation along with Smith Group Corporate Law.Either way, they were not letting her off easy!And reading that much from Jimmy's behavior, Matilda snapped co
Jimmy didn't expect Matilda to break down the share ownership of Smith Group Corporate Law to such detail, and he hollered as he was starting to feel embarrassed, "Now, you're just being irresponsible, Matilda. My father gave my brother a million to start the law firm in the first place, and they had agreed that the family would have a stake, albeit only at 49%, to not deny your decision-making as a startup. Or are you denying it?"Matilda immediately became furious and snapped, "Bullshit! That was just a loan of one million, and the agreed term was three years. However, your brother returned it in one! I even asked him to return the money with every single one of his siblings watching, since you might all get skeptical, yet suddenly, you're calling it an investment?""You said he's returned it? Well, what proof do you have?" Jimmy quickly shot back. "Our entire family can testify that the money hasn't come back to us!""So, this is how you're going to play it?" Matilda smirked. "Th
In the first place, Jimmy had come to Oskia to claim a stake in Smith Group Corporate Law, ideally strong-arming Paul and Matilda into splitting the firm in two, with Jimmy taking everything in the States while Paul kept what was left.The way Jimmy saw it, Paul and Matilda were going to be permanently residing in Oskia anyway. There was no way they could manage things over in another country properly, so it was basically returning the firm to the rightful owner.Naturally, Jimmy also knew that despite bearing the Smith family name, the success of Smith Group Corporate Law was all the work of Jimmy's brother and Matilda. Jimmy's father had helped to a certain extent, but that extent of financial support wouldn't amount to an investment at all. No judge in the world would support his claim to the law firm's shares.Therefore, when he learned that Matilda was remarrying, he thought he could seize the moment to cause a scene. Nothing could be better if she and Paul decided to sacrifice
Jimmy deliberately raised his voice as he said coolly, "Oh, but I didn't want to intervene. It's you and your mother who left the States in a split second, taking with you the law firm which bears the Smith family name. Don't you think such behavior is inappropriate?"Seeing the surprised reactions of the guests, Paul promptly retorted, "The law firm uses the Smith family name, but it is my parents' legacy! They worked blood and sweat to build it from the ground up, and as their only son, I have a veto when it comes to decisions. Or did we need your permission to move to Oskia?""Where's your conscience, Paul?" Jimmy pursed his lips. "Even if you don't know how Smith Group Corporate Law was founded, is that the case for you? It would have been a joke if it weren't for my father's connections!"Hell, it's no exaggeration that it was my father who fought to expand the law firm across America, and just using the family name means you're borrowing the family's influence. The family hono
The blonde man's voice drew everyone's attention in an instant.Despite his foreign appearance, he spoke Oskian fluently and walked with a haughty gait, almost as though he was above the rest.Paul's expression turned grim the instant he saw him, and he hurried over with Charlie.Still, before Paul could speak, Charlie stopped him, frowning at the man as he said, "Don't you think it's inappropriate to come slinging personal attacks at someone else's wedding?"The man clearly didn't know Charlie, and he wasn't worried, seeing that he was young.Snorting in disdain, he asked, "You must be from the groom's family, yes? Please tell him that he doesn't deserve my sister-in-law.""It's up to the happy couple to decide that," Charlie retorted quietly. "Deserving someone is no issue as long as they both love each other."The man pursed his lips and looked pointedly around him. "Just look at how simple this wedding is. Forget picking an unassuming city like Aurous Hill—is there a single