The Rise of David
Copyright© 2025 by RichXpower
Chapter 49: Grass Roots
“Of course, I did. I am not a fool. But I only peeped through the red cloth so that the ginseng wouldn’t escape,” Frederick immediately explained.
His response only served to convince David and Josephine that he was cheated. Even William kept shaking his head, displaying a resigned smile.
Frederick was born in a well-to-do family and had never been in the real world, so he was still naive.
After all, no one would dare to offend the mayor’s son. Thus, he had no idea how cruel society could be.
That Audi outside the Sullivan residence alone would deter everyone from getting near him. In Horington, People would run away from him no matter where he drove that car.
“I believe that you are not lying. I mean it!” David’s tone turned serious suddenly.
Just as Frederick was staring at him confusedly, David laughed again. “But I don’t trust the farmer who sold you this. Maybe he cheated you.”
At that, Frederick shot him a glare. I knew it! He still doesn’t believe me!
“I will prove it to you right now! Let’s see whether it is authentic ginseng or not!”
In a panic, Frederick took the box and undid the cord.
After opening the box, he froze on the spot. It turned out there was merely a handful of grass roots inside. The thousand-year-old ginseng root was nowhere in sight.
“Hahaha...”
Upon seeing that, Josephine burst into a peal of laughter. She was laughing so hard that she almost shed tears.
William could not hold in his laughter too.
He paid a million for a few grass roots. That’s so pitiful.
“D*mn it. How dare he cheat me? I swear I will find him and sue him. This is unforgivable!”
Upon hearing them laughing at him, Frederick exploded with rage and smashed the box on the floor.
“Do you even know his name? And where does he live? How are you going to find him? That’s Yeringham, not Horington. Your father has no power there!”
David continued to provoke Frederick. The latter was rendered speechless, and he flushed angrily.
Unfortunately, he could not retort as David was stating the truth.
“All right, all right. Take it as a lesson learned, then. We all make mistakes in life. Let’s continue to savor the tea!”
William immediately tried to defuse the tense moment and save Frederick from the embarrassment.
He figured it would be troublesome if David and Frederick got into a fight. After all, he dared not offend the mayor’s son either.
“Mr. Sullivan, I still have a few hundred-year-old ginseng roots at home. Those are all authentic. I’ll have my chauffeur bring them here now!”
Ashamed by his foolishness, Frederick was eager to make up for it.
“Fred, there’s no need for that. I appreciate your goodwill!” William hastened to stop the younger man.
However, Frederick had already walked out to his car. While whispering to his chauffeur, he glanced at David occasionally. In the end, the chauffeur nodded and drove out of the residence.
Around twenty minutes later, he returned with a gift box in his hands. As he handed it to Frederick, he whispered something to the latter’s ear.
Excitement flitted across Frederick’s face, and he cast a scornful look at David.
Having signaled the chauffeur to wait outside with a wave of his hand, he walked toward William.
“Mr. Sullivan, these are some hundred-year-old ginseng roots. Please have them when you are free.”
That time around, Frederick personally opened the gift box and showed them the ginseng roots. They all seemed to be of good quality.
“Fred, you didn’t have to be so courteous, but since you’ve brought them over, I won’t rebuff your kind gesture!”
With that, William received the box.
“Mr. Sullivan, please take good care of your health. Don’t eat whatever others give to you, especially those from an ex-convict. Those who have been imprisoned are wicked people. Even after they come out of prison, their sinful nature will never change.”
Frederick was looking at David while saying that, not even bothering to mask his contempt.
Evidently, he had asked his chauffeur to investigate David’s background, which was how he came to know about David’s past.
“Frederick, what are you trying to imply? Not everyone who went to prison is a bad person. Please don’t simply make a judgment like that...”
Josephine was displeased as she knew Frederick was jeering at David.
Frederick’s expression darkened when he saw how protective she was toward David.
“Josephine, why are you attracted to this ex-convict? Why do you keep siding with him? Don’t you know my feelings for you? If we get together, your family will prosper forever in Horington. Imagine that. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Frederick, even though many people envy your status, I’m different. I’m not interested in you. Do you understand?”
Josephine cast an annoyed look at Frederick.
“Why? Why is that?” Enraged, Frederick grabbed Josephine’s arm.
“Which part of him is better than me? He’s an ex-convict! How could he possibly be better than me?”
His face contorted with rage as he thundered at her.
Josephine furrowed her brows from the pain. “Frederick, you are hurting me!”
As if he had lost his mind, Frederick maintained an iron grip on her, unwilling to let go.
“Fred...”
William’s expression hardened at that scene. That’s crossing the line! How could he injure my daughter before me!
“You’re courting death!”
At that moment, David narrowed his eyes as he exuded a menacing aura.
A second later, he clutched Frederick’s wrist forcefully.
Feeling an excruciating pain shooting up his wrist, Frederick shrieked, “Argh!”
His grip on Josephine’s arm loosened, and she seized the opportunity to hide behind David.
The next second, David thrust his arm forward, intending to land a punch on Frederick.
William’s heart sank, and he quickly yelled, “David, please don’t...”
Frederick’s the mayor’s son. The consequences will be unimaginable if he gets beaten. Moreover, if David doesn’t hold back his strength and accidentally kills him, we’d be doomed!
Fortunately, David stopped his punch in time upon hearing William’s words. Nevertheless, Frederick was so frightened that he wetted himself.
After all, no one had ever dared to lay a finger on him.
“I will kill you if you dare to touch Josephine again!” David warned and pushed Frederick abruptly.
Even though it seemed like a gentle nudge, the latter flew out of the pavilion and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Frederick stood up immediately, his gaze filled with venom. Staring at his wet pants, he was beyond embarrassed to linger around any longer.
“Bast*rd, you’re just an ex-convict! How dare you go against me? I will make sure you pay for this! Just you wait and see!”
Having spat a threat, he turned and left.
Once he was out of sight, William sighed in relief. “Luckily, you stopped in time. If you had punched him, the consequences would have been terrible! He’s the mayor’s son, after all!”
“I broke his wrist, though,” David remarked faintly.
He had long known about Frederick’s identity, but it did not bother him in the least.
“What?” William was dumbstruck.
“D-Did you say you broke Frederick’s wrist? This is bad!”
Josephine was startled too. “We’re doomed. He won’t let this slide so easily!”
The father and daughter duo was filled with apprehension.
“It seems like we will need to find Mr. Grange for a favor. Even though he has retired from the state government, I supposed he still has the connections. He should be able to help!”
The first person that crossed William’s mind was Walter.
Even though the Sullivan family was the richest in Horington, they were merely money trees in the eyes of the politicians.
“I don’t think we have to panic even if he’s the mayor’s son. Plus, it’s not like a broken wrist is incurable. As the mayor, his father should be a reasonable man.”
David was puzzled upon seeing how concerned William looked.
“The thing is, Frederick is too used to having his way all the time because of his social status. Although his father, Mr. Lowe, is an honest and upright man, he’s too busy with work to keep track of his son’s behavior. At the same time, no one around him dared to tell him anything bad about his son. That’s how Frederick has become so bumptious. I’ll go and get some pointers from Mr. Grange regarding this.” William left to find Walter after saying that.
“You shouldn’t have been so rough! We might be in trouble now!” Josephine shot David a helpless look.
“Well, that’s what happens when someone lays a finger on you!” the man said with a straight face while staring at her.
Upon seeing how protective David was of her, Josephine could not help but feel touched. After rolling her eyes at him, she suggested, “You better leave and lie low in the meantime. Let my dad consult Mr. Grange first. You should only return once they’ve settled that matter.”
Josephine then pushed David out of the residence, urging him to leave as soon as possible as she was afraid Frederick might bring some men over to take revenge.
Left with no choice, David let out a resigned sigh and headed home. Since the resources inside the Starry Compass were enough for him to cultivate for a full day, he did not go anywhere else.
The following morning, William gave David a call to invite him over to the Sullivan residence. As it was his future father-in-law’s order, he dared not defy it.
When David arrived at the Sullivan residence, he saw the older man had filled the trunk of a car with gifts.
“David, I’ll bring you to visit Mr. Lowe at his home. We should go over and apologize sincerely. Being the honorable man he is, I think he’ll forgive you,” William said.