Actually, after learning about Jiang Lu’s identity, Liu Yutong had already had the Lin family investigated.
The Lin family of the imperial capital had once been aristocrats among the city’s elite. When the old Lin patriarch was alive, a single stomp of his foot could shake the entire Fourth and Ninth Ring Road. Unfortunately, he passed away early, leaving no worthy successor, and over the years, the family had declined steadily.
But as the saying goes, a starved camel is still larger than a horse.
Though the Lin family no longer enjoyed its former glory, its foundations remained. In particular, the Lin family’s marital alliances, though now less visible on the surface, still carried unbreakable bonds of kinship.
The most typical example was Lin Yi, the only daughter of the late eldest Lin brother.
Lin Yi was the only child of Lin Dong’s elder brother. After her father died, she followed her mother back to her maternal family.
Her mother’s maiden name was Shen, hailing from the Shen family of the imperial capital.
The Shen family was true top-tier aristocracy. Old Mr. Shen was a legitimate descendant of revolutionary founders; though long retired from the front lines, his former students and subordinates were scattered across the country.
The current generation of the Shen family was especially accomplished: the eldest served in a ministry commission, the second in the military, and the third in a state-owned enterprise—each holding real power.
Lin Yi, as the Shen family’s granddaughter, had grown up under their roof and was said to be deeply favored by Old Mr. Shen.
At just twenty-six or twenty-seven, she was already a department-level director.
More crucially, Lin Yi was the head of content regulation at the main bureau—a chokehold department that could strangle countless entertainment companies, a position of genuine authority.
This time, when Dragon View Media’s web series got blocked, the connections moved by those young masters from the imperial capital might well have been coordinated with Lin Yi’s approval.
Of course, this was just speculation.
But one thing was certain: if this Lin Yi connection could be established, the blockage would cease to be a problem.
The other was the Zhou family, the clan of Lin Feng’s late mother.
Lin Feng’s biological mother was born a Zhou, from the Zhou family of the imperial capital.
Though the Zhou family was not as eminent as the Shen family, they were an old-school established lineage with generations of influence, their network deeply rooted and intricate within the imperial capital.
Unfortunately, Lin Feng’s mother died young, and his father, Lin Dong, remarried an outsider, Jiang Lu, who came from a second marriage. This provoked the Zhou family’s displeasure, and over the years, they had virtually cut ties with the Lin family.
But that didn’t mean the Zhou family would completely abandon Lin Feng.
After all, Lin Feng carried half the Zhou family’s blood. If something truly serious happened, the Zhou family couldn’t stand idly by.
Of course, this also showed how pragmatic those big families were. Once the Lin family declined, they gradually kept their distance.
Still, the Lin family could still be leveraged now.
Gao Min was currently a first-grade police inspector.
At her age, having reached that rank in Bright Pearl City was exceptionally rare.
But to climb higher, ability and merit alone were far from enough; one needed a patron to pave the way with connections.
Any single thread connected to the top-tier circles of the imperial capital was worth more than ten years of hard grind in the provinces.
As for herself, she didn’t need such things.
Her own empire she had built with her own hands, relying on no one.
Her sister Gao Min was different.
Gao Min operated within the bureaucratic system, where resources were essentially about who you knew.
Uncle Li’s connection, to be blunt, had any direct relation to Gao Min?
He had given Gao Min opportunities only because of Liu Yutong’s influence.
She couldn’t keep running to Uncle Li every time.
If the Lin family’s connections could still be used, then use them now.
The younger generation of the Lin family seemed destined to achieve nothing notable—except for that Lin Feng from yesterday, who at least showed some courage and responsibility.
Since the Lin family was bound to fade, it was better to take their relational resources, rather than waste them, and use them to benefit her sister Gao Min.
After all, Jiang Lu owed them; come to think of it, that could be counted as the Lin family’s debt.
As for herself, she still maintained: she had no intention of acknowledging family ties.
The Lin family was the Lin family; she was just herself.
The Dragon Alliance was the Dragon Alliance, needing no one’s backing.
Yun Cheng, standing nearby, seemed to instantly grasp his boss’s intention, and couldn’t help but feel moved inside.
His boss had never been as cold-hearted as the rumors made her out to be. Her softness was always reserved only for those closest to her.
Miss Gao Min was her biological sister, one of the few blood relatives she had. Though she said she wouldn’t claim family ties, she had already paved the way for Gao Min.
It wasn’t just Gao Min—all of them, who had followed her from the beginning, had never been treated stingily.
That was why, whether it was him or anyone else in the Dragon Alliance, they were unwaveringly loyal to her.
A faint trace of relief stirred in Yun Cheng’s heart.
Sometimes he wondered: if he had never taken his brothers to seek out the boss, what would he be now?
He had actually had that dream.
In the dream, there was no boss. He still had his dyed yellow hair, leading his brothers in street fights over territory, drifting day after day, until he got caught in some crackdown and ended up in prison. When he came out, the world had changed, and he knew nothing, becoming like a lump of mud, a discarded piece of scrap society had left behind.
That kind of hopeless life—he didn’t want a single day of it.
Luckily, it had only been a dream.
The boss was right in front of him, hadn’t disappeared.
“Alright, I’m getting sleepy. Yun Cheng, you should rest early too. There’s work tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Yun Cheng turned to leave. Just as he reached the door, Liu Yutong’s voice came again from behind.
“Oh, one more thing.”
He looked back.
Liu Yutong looked at him. “You really don’t want to go to BS Province?”
Yun Cheng paused briefly, then shook his head.
“Boss, I’m not leaving, and I don’t want to leave.
“I don’t have grand ambitions. Being by your side gives me peace of mind. Let the other brothers expand the territory; I just want to stay here and be your bodyguard.”
Liu Yutong nodded.
“Understood.”
“Then take some time to hand over your duties. I’ll send someone else.”
In her heart, she felt a little sorry for Yun Cheng.
Strictly speaking, he was the de facto second-in-command of the Dragon Alliance. In terms of seniority and prestige, he could have filled a key role, like the deputy head of the group.
But on second thought, maybe this was for the best.
Without too much ambition or too many desires, such people often lasted the longest.
Since he wouldn’t leave, the future arrangements would have to fall on Yu Xin.
The Dragon Alliance Group was expanding rapidly, even becoming somewhat bloated.
She was also planning to restructure the organization.
By then, she would gradually step back from day-to-day matters, only controlling the overall direction. For the person responsible for executing specific tasks, she had originally had two candidates in mind: Yun Cheng and Yu Xin.
In terms of ability, Yu Xin was indeed superior, but Yun Cheng was the founding contributor. With proper training, he might have stood on his own.
Now that Yun Cheng had explicitly declined, it saved her from having to agonize over that choice.
“Alright, you may go now.”
“Goodnight, boss.”
