"Miss Liu, you're being far too greedy!"
Lin Dong's face had darkened to its extreme.
To mobilize the entire Lin family's strength and utilize all their connections to prop up someone who wasn't even a blood relative?
The words sounded simple enough, but Lin Dong knew better than anyone the weight they carried.
Though the Lin family was no longer what it once was, the goodwill from the late patriarch's time, the marriage ties, and the lingering connections with families like the Shen and Zhou families were the foundation of the Lin family's standing in the imperial capital.
This was what still allowed the Lin family to be called "noble," not merely "wealthy."
If he actually followed Liu Yutong's suggestion, wouldn't that be handing the Lin family over to an outsider?
From then on, would every Lin family descendant have to kowtow to this outsider?
And what would be the difference between that and the Lin family becoming her subordinate, being legitimately swallowed up by her?
Jiang Lu was also stunned when she heard her daughter's conditions, her face filled with disbelief.
She had come to see her daughter to make up for eighteen years of neglect, to acknowledge her as her own child. Even if it meant paying any amount of material compensation, she was willing without hesitation.
But the condition her daughter proposed was far too sensitive—it practically touched the taboo of a family like the Lin family.
To prop up someone outside the clan, using the entire family's resources—what did that even mean?
It was like dismantling the Lin family's ancestral tomb to fill someone else's foundation.
How could her husband possibly agree? And she couldn't force him to agree, either.
Besides, Tongtong—clearly controlling the massive Dragon Union's power, with thousands of armed enforcers under her command, a ruler in Pearl City by sheer force—could it be that she still wasn't satisfied and wanted to extend her reach into...
Thinking this, Jiang Lu shuddered violently and dared not continue.
Setting aside her daughter's identity, Jiang Lu felt her daughter was a bit "dark" herself. If something really went wrong, once exposed, not only would Tongtong be irredeemably ruined, but the entire Lin family would be dragged down with her.
At this thought, she couldn't help but speak.
"Tong... Tongtong, why don't you think this over again?"
"In terms of material compensation, I'll give you whatever you want, and the Lin family will give you whatever they can... but this condition really is too harsh."
Beside them, "Assistant Gao" was also stunned that her sister would make such a sharp demand. It genuinely shocked her.
Though she knew her sister was doing it for her sake, the method itself, the terms—wasn't it all too transactional?
She was a senior inspector, reaching this point through her own efforts, with some help from her sister, of course, but she truly didn't want to turn a sincere family reunion into a cold, profit-driven exchange.
Even less did she want to put her sister and the Lin family in a bind.
If she'd known her sister would come down this hard, she might not have even come to acknowledge her parents.
At worst, both sides would part bitterly, or even fall apart altogether.
With that in mind, Gao Min, while pouring them tea, deliberately hinted for her sister to ease up.
But Liu Yutong remained unmoved, directly dismissing her. "If you have nothing else to do, get out. No need for you to pour tea here."
Gao Min: "..."
She was about to speak when Yun Cheng came over, gesturing to Gao Min. "This way, please."
It was the first time Gao Min felt so powerless and suffocated in front of her sister. When her sister was assertive, even she, as an older sister, couldn't get a word in.
Finally, she obediently followed Yun Cheng out of the office.
Watching Gao Min's figure disappear through the doorway, Liu Yutong shook her head slightly.
Her sister was good in every way, but too soft-hearted, with a naive, dogmatic streak.
Why shouldn't they take what they could get?
Since her sister couldn't bring herself to do it, she would play the villain instead.
At least her sister had already heard the important parts.
Lin Dong and the others were surprised to see Liu Yutong treat her own assistant like that. Before they could recover, Liu Yutong spoke again, her tone even harsher.
"Mr. Lin, let me ask you one more time: can this deal be done or not?"
"To be blunt, how much is the Lin family's remaining influence really worth? The old patriarch passed away years ago. Is there anyone in the third generation of the Lin family capable of shouldering the family?"
"Your nephews and grandsons—either they're lost in pleasure, have no ambition, or are mediocre in ability. Not one of them is worth a damn, let alone capable of reviving or maintaining those complicated relationships."
"In a few more years, when those who owe favors to your patriarch grow old and pass on, who among their descendants will remember the Lin family?
The Shen and Zhou families are already distancing themselves from you because of the Lin family's decline. In a few more years, they may not even bother meeting you."
"When that happens, what will the Lin family still be? Even if you have a bit of money, you won't be able to hold your place in the imperial capital's elite circles. By then, the family's pride in being a great noble house will be nothing but a joke."
"What I'm asking you to do—prop up one person—is not asking you to work for free. It's to let those nearly expired connections realize their final worth.
Perhaps, if I'm in a good mood and grateful for the Lin family's contribution, I might even give you a helping hand."
"Think it over. Don't give me any nonsense about the honor of a capital family. Honor doesn't put food on the table."
Lin Dong opened his mouth to argue but found he didn't know how to refute.
The connections left by his father, the accumulated goodwill, the relationships that could tip the scales at critical moments—was there anyone in the Lin family's current generation who could carry that burden?
His son, Lin Feng, though loyal and kind-hearted, was too straightforward, too impulsive, like a kid who hadn't grown up—he couldn't lead the way.
As for the younger generation, Lin Shen, Lin Zheng, and others—they only schemed over family wealth, bickering among themselves. Put them on the real stage, and none of them could hold their own.
Liu Yutong's words were harsh, but true.
The current generation of the Lin family indeed had no one capable of carrying the torch.
Those connections, those relationships, everything the old patriarch had spent his life building—if no one took over, within ten years, even less, they'd amount to nothing.
By then, the Lin family would no longer be able to call itself a great noble house. Without a single person in the system who could speak up, what "nobility" would remain?
Of course, there was one exception: Lin Dong's brother's daughter, Lin Yi.
But Lin Yi didn't need the Lin family's support. She had the Shen family behind her, and she was excellent enough on her own.
It was even questionable whether Lin Yi still considered herself part of the Lin family.
Lin Dong hadn't expected this twenty-year-old girl to have such a thorough grasp of their family's situation in such a short time.
Her words hit the nail on the head, without mercy.
But having the entire family's strength used to prop up someone else... he still couldn't get past that mental hurdle.
After all, she didn't bear the Lin surname!
Of course, if she were willing to change her surname and be entered into the Lin family genealogy as a descendant, he might consider—perhaps treat her as the next generation's leader and cultivate her accordingly.
After all, he had seen firsthand just how capable and resourceful she was. She truly was impressive.
But before he could even voice that condition,
Liu Yutong seemed to see right through him, speaking up in advance. "As for changing my surname and things like that, forget it. My surname is Liu. I like it just fine, and I'm used to it. As for the Lin family genealogy, we're not interested in it, so don't try to use that as a bargaining chip with me."
