“Don’t fall for her. She’s very likely your older sister or younger sister.”
When Jiang Nian heard those words, his heart was still fluttering, and he didn’t understand what they meant at first.
His mind and eyes were filled with the beautiful, adorable young lady before him: her rosy cheeks, sparkling eyes, and infectious smile.
Jiang Nian had grown up in the capital. His family was wealthy, and the friends and classmates around him were all scions of rich families. Naturally, he had seen more than his fair share of beautiful women.
But whose spawn was Jiang Nian, after all? He was the son of Jiang Xun, who had once managed to rob his way across the entire martial world despite carrying a reputation as foul as dog shit. Jiang Nian’s face resembled Jiang Xun’s by at least seventy or eighty percent.
Since he himself was so good-looking, his standards were naturally higher as well. Ordinary people truly found it difficult to meet them.
And even if they did, they might not necessarily be his type.
As Jiang Xun’s spawn, he was, to some extent, a little narcissistic. This was the legacy of excellent genes, as well as the composure he had developed from being treated kindly by those around him because of his appearance since childhood.
Jiang Nian had never felt attracted to a girl before, but he had taken an instant liking to this young lady.
Just look at her beauty, her bearing, her fair and rosy skin, and those features that seemed faintly similar to his own. For someone narcissistic by nature, there was nothing more alluring than excellence resembling oneself~
Then Jiang Nian suddenly came back to his senses.
Hm? Similar features?
Only then did he react to what the attendant had just said.
“Don’t fall for her. She’s very likely your older sister or younger sister.”
Jiang Nian went completely blank. His feet abruptly stopped as if nailed to the floor, and he stiffly turned back toward the attendant.
“Older sister or younger sister?”
The attendant gave him a sympathetic look, yet seemed not the least bit surprised.
That was when Jiang Nian suddenly remembered.
Oh, right! This was his biological father’s family-reunion hotel. Other than the staff, who else would appear here?
Eighty percent of the people here were probably his half-siblings.
Poor Jiang Nian. His first stirrings of romance had barely begun to bloom before being battered by a violent storm—and for such an utterly humiliating reason at that.
Jiang Nian’s face flushed crimson. When he thought of how he had just felt attracted to a girl who might share his bloodline, this honest young man wished he could burrow straight into a crack in the ground.
The young lady, however, was cheerful and friendly.
Her name was Jiang Yi. The moment she saw Jiang Nian’s face, she understood everything.
With a smile, she came over and asked, “New here?”
Jiang Nian’s face was bright red. “Hm? Y-yes!”
Seeing his shyness, Jiang Yi found him amusing. Among her biological father’s spawn, there was actually a child as honest and innocent as this one.
She said, “My name is Jiang Yi. What’s your name?”
“Jiang Nian!”
Jiang Yi sighed. “Then from now on, you’ll be Jiang Nian the Third.”
Jiang Nian was startled. “Why? A name bestowed by one’s parents and closest kin—how could it be changed so casually?”
“There’s nothing we can do,” Jiang Yi said. “All the brothers and sisters have names in the same style. There are already two others ahead of you named Jiang Nian.”
“I’m the same. There are five people with my name, too, so in public, I have to call myself Jiang Yi the Fifth.”
Jiang Nian was dumbfounded. “It can be like this? Then, then can’t you choose different names?”
Jiang Yi waved the attendant away, indicating that she could take him to the dining hall herself. As they walked, she explained the situation to Jiang Nian.
“There’s Jiang Si, Jiang Pan, and Jiang Buhui. You know how education wasn’t nearly as widespread back then as it is now. When each of our mothers named us, their feelings were more or less the same.”
“Besides, those names hold tremendous meaning for them. Who would willingly change them? Wouldn’t changing the name be letting down the years of yearning their mothers had poured into them?”
“Ah, well. We’ll just have to make do.”
Jiang Nian was utterly bewildered. Ever since he had checked into the hotel, everything here had seemed wrong. Every little detail challenged his worldview.
He had a bad feeling, but he was also intensely curious, so he couldn’t help asking, “Um, I originally wasn’t planning to stay at this hotel.”
“But when I went to other hotels, the moment I walked in, they asked whether I wanted a room and a meal, or whether I was here to look for my father. What, what is going on?”
Jiang Yi wore an expression of complete indifference, as if this were perfectly ordinary.
“What else could it be? Our dad committed too many sins back in the day.”
“Especially during the past two years, after his first batch of children began reaching adulthood. People coming to look for their father have been arriving in an endless stream.”
“Our dad does acknowledge his own spawn, and he won’t mistreat anyone who comes to claim him. Later, there were simply too many people. To keep young men and women with little experience in the martial world from suffering outside or running into unnecessary trouble, every hotel in Zhanyue City would casually ask any boy or girl between sixteen and twenty years old.”
“If they said they were looking for their father, they would be sent straight here.”
“Truly astonishing…” Jiang Nian couldn’t help murmuring.
Jiang Yi nodded in agreement. “Right? Looking for your father has practically become an entire industry. Only our dad could pull off something like that.”
If Jiang Nian had heard such an outrageous tale as an outsider, he could only have exclaimed how damn impressive it was. But one of those tadpoles was him, so all he felt was shame.
The two of them chatted as they arrived at the hotel’s dining hall.
The dining hall occupied the entire third floor. It had floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides, offering the best view of the lake, and its furnishings and decorations were breathtaking.
That evening’s meal was a buffet. Jiang Nian saw the serving tables piled high with delicacies from every region, including foreign-style dishes and imported tropical fruit.
He had once been lucky enough to taste imported fruit. It was far sweeter than the fruit produced in Great Qi, but because of the high transportation costs and the considerable damage along the way, it was extremely expensive.
Here, however, it was stacked in heaps for anyone to take as they pleased.
Despite that, there weren’t many people in the dining hall. Aside from the attendants, there were fewer than thirty guests in total, counting the Jiang family’s children and the maids and servants accompanying them.
Jiang Yi was clearly a regular here. The moment she entered, someone called out to her, “You’re here, Jiang Yi the Fifth.”
Jiang Yi nodded. “Mm. What’s good today, Buhui the Third?”
Jiang Nian broke out in a cold sweat as he watched from the side. Anyone who didn’t know them would have thought the two were trading insults and would start fighting the next second.
Yet neither of them showed anything unusual on their faces. After exchanging greetings, they went their separate ways.
Only then did Jiang Nian gain a straightforward understanding of just how astonishing the things his father had done back in the day truly were.
But clearly, Jiang Nian had still overestimated himself.
After they got their food and found a window-side table, they chatted while eating. Then they overheard the conversation at the table beside them.
Three girls were seated at the neighboring table. According to Jiang Yi, they were newcomers as well, having arrived only a few days ago.
Unlike Jiang Nian, who was discreet and knew to ask about things he didn’t understand instead of showing off, making it unlikely for him to embarrass himself, these three were different.
Jiang Yi watched the trio sitting together and even prompted him to look over.
The three girls wore the uniforms of different sects. Thanks to the Martial World Gazette, even though Jiang Nian belonged to no sect and had never traveled far from home, he had seen the uniforms and distinctive weapons of the various sects in newspaper photographs.
The three girls’ outfits belonged respectively to the Emei Sect, the Wuji Sect, and Medicine King Valley.
They appeared to hold fairly high positions within their sects. Each had an arrogant expression and was accompanied by a maid.
Thanks to their fathers’ excellent bloodlines, every young man and woman present was strikingly handsome or beautiful. Even those whose mothers’ looks had dragged them down were at least above average—there wasn’t a single unattractive one among them.
The three pretty, fresh-faced girls looked adorable despite their spoiled and overbearing personalities.
The girl from the Wuji Sect spoke first. “Come to think of it, we’ve known one another for several days now, but we still don’t know how things have been for the two of you in your respective sects.”
The Emei Sect girl replied, “Thank you for asking, Sister. My life in the sect has been fairly comfortable. The Emei Sect has always been especially accepting of women. Though I’m rather mediocre and incapable, my mother had some connection with the sect leader and is her biological niece. Ever since I was little, my senior and junior sisters have treated me with care and deference, so I haven’t really suffered.”
“I just wonder whether you two sisters have had a difficult time all these years.”
As she spoke, she even put on a worried expression. Before the others had said a word, she was already looking at them as though they had endured untold hardships.
The current leader of Emei was naturally no longer Abbess Yuqing. This girl’s mother had once been one of Emei’s core disciples. After her aunt rose to become sect leader, her mother’s status had naturally risen with her.
As the sect leader’s biological niece—and with the sect leader having no children of her own—the girl’s status in Emei should, in theory, have been quite high. Naturally, she had enough to boast about and was not afraid of comparing herself with anyone.
But what were the three of them really after? They had come here precisely to outdo one another.
Hearing this, the Medicine King Valley girl smiled as well. “Thank you for your concern, Sister. My mother is the valley master’s biological younger sister. I’m more curious about how things have been for you in your sect. You must have been raised very well to have such a magnanimous temperament and worry about us.”
The girl from the Wuji Sect was naturally unwilling to be outdone. She smiled and said, “Both of you have truly illustrious backgrounds. Seeing how composed you are, I can rest assured.”
“As for me, there’s nothing much to say. My mother is merely the daughter of an elder—not worth mentioning.”
But who didn’t know that, after the Wuji Sect had been struck by the Flame Saint Cult, it had gone into decline? Internal strife had grown severe, and in recent years, the sect had even begun to fracture. The current sect leader was nothing more than a puppet; it was the various elders who actually divided the power among themselves.
After the first round, the three of them had fought to a draw.
They wore sweet smiles, but the fighting spirit around them had only grown stronger.
The Medicine King Valley girl was the first to smile and say, “Speaking of which, I really didn’t expect an Emei disciple to come looking for her father at this point in time.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the Emei girl asked unhappily.
The Wuji girl picked up the thread. “There were quite a few Emei disciples who had a history with Father back then. A few years ago, the younger generation of your sect even came in a group to look for him. It was quite the spectacle.”
Seeing the Emei girl’s displeased expression, the Wuji girl put on a fake conciliatory look. “Don’t be angry, little sister. I only heard it from my older brothers and sisters. If you don’t like me mentioning it, I won’t say anything more.”
Although she claimed she would stop, she still couldn’t resist adding, “A few years ago, little sister wasn’t that young either. It would have been much more convenient to come with your older brothers and sisters and look after one another. Yet you waited until now. I suppose your mother’s position in the sect—hehe!”
In other words, it probably wasn’t quite as illustrious as she claimed, and she probably didn’t have much influence there.
The Medicine King Valley girl joined in. “Sister, don’t put it that way. If little sister’s parentage hadn’t been confirmed back then, she couldn’t exactly have acknowledged him recklessly.”
“The mothers of you and me are naturally pure and chaste, devoted to Father and faithful to him for life. But when I spoke with your mother yesterday, it seemed she had already remarried?”
“Could it be that she never intended to acknowledge him in the first place, for fear that exposing her past affair would anger her husband? Then, after discovering that your beauty was impossible to conceal—and learning that his property could be divided up—she finally came?”
“You!”
The Emei girl was so angry that her eyes reddened. She glared at the Medicine King Valley girl and sneered, “You certainly know how to accuse others of what you’ve done yourself. Isn’t the Medicine King Valley master’s younger sister the one who married long ago? I hear she even had a son and a daughter with that man.”
“What a fine example of purity and lifelong devotion. Being caught in the middle must make things rather difficult for your mother.”
The Wuji girl was practically ecstatic. The laughter in her eyes was impossible to conceal, though she pretended to mediate. “All right, all right. What’s the point of bringing all that up?”
“Father suffered a catastrophe back then and became a slave. It was only natural for your two mothers to seek their own way out.”
How could the other two stand by and watch her gloat? They both sneered in unison.
“Speaking of which, isn’t Elder Cui of the Wuji Sect already sixty-eight?”
“I heard his younger sister is only about ten years younger than he is. You’re seventeen this year, so your mother must have been over forty when she gave birth to you.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk! An old clam producing a pearl—a woman giving birth at such an advanced age. And you’re still this healthy and energetic. Your mother really is an extraordinary woman.”
It was obvious that this Wuji girl’s mother had been one of the mature married women Jiang Xun had stolen away back then.
How old was Jiang Xun himself? He was still a year short of forty, while her mother was already an old woman.
More than a decade ago, her mother had certainly still been well-preserved and possessed some lingering charm. But now, she was simply an elderly woman.
Though society was far more open-minded than it had once been, bringing it up was still humiliating for her.
The Wuji girl was furious. Once her temper flared, she sneered, “Yes, my mother is old. My maternal uncle is busy with sect affairs and has a family of his own, so naturally he can’t take care of everything.”
“Although my status isn’t low, my situation is awkward. Fortunately, we’ve never been short of money. Even if my mother has become useless to the sect, she can still make sure I’m dressed in gold and silver.”
“I used to think my uncle was simply broad-minded for tolerating the two of us living off him. Even when my aunt made cutting remarks, I let it go.”
“Who would have thought I’d only recently learn that Father had been sending us a generous living allowance at regular intervals ever since I was little, and had even arranged our education and future prospects? It seems that, despite being busy all these years, Father has still kept my mother and me in his thoughts.”
Among Jiang Xun’s children, aside from those who had already married, which one didn’t still yearn for him?
Just as they had done more than a decade or two ago, they were competing to prove who was truly the apple of his eye. The war had passed from their mothers down to their children.
How could the other two girls possibly tolerate that?
The Emei girl’s face filled with mocking amusement. “Indeed. After all, unlike a certain sect back then, our Emei Sect never stole the Flame Saint Cult’s cultivation manual and then collapsed into ruin after being punished. If even the daughter of one of the Wuji Sect’s ruling elders is having such a difficult time, then things really must be hard for you, Sister.”
“Unlike me. Over the years, the living expenses Father sent us were more than enough for my mother and me. We didn’t spend much, so we were able to save quite a considerable sum.”
You have money? You think I don’t?
In truth, for the illegitimate children of prominent families and major sects—provided Jiang Xun could remember them—Pei Liang had arranged for regular living allowances to be sent to them.
Compared with Jiang Xun, she was much more like a responsible father.
The Medicine King Valley girl looked troubled after hearing the other two talk.
Her mother had already married someone else. Naturally, no one would be tactless enough to send them a living allowance.
So she took out a bamboo flute and sighed. “I’m truly envious of you sisters, with Father thinking of you and supporting you from childhood. Unlike me, I have only this bamboo flute Father made with his own hands to keep me company.”
“But having those words from him is enough to make me content.”
On the bamboo flute, a single sentence was unmistakably carved:
[Presented to my beloved, XX.]
Those last two characters had to be her mother’s name.
The other two girls looked ready to explode. One of them impulsively rose to her feet and sneered, “You think you’re the only one with a token?”
As she spoke, she pulled out a jade rabbit. “This was given to my mother by Father when they pledged themselves to one another.”
The other girl took hers out as well. “I don’t know where you got the idea that my sister’s token is fake. Clearly, mine is the real jade rabbit.”
The girl from Medicine King Valley sprang to her feet too. “What a joke. You think you two are the only ones who have one? I have one too!”
With that, she slapped her own jade rabbit down on the table.
“...”
Once they came to their senses, the three of them fell silent for a long while. Then a passerby bumped into one of them.
“Why are you standing in the middle of the walkway? Showing off your rabbits? Who the hell doesn’t have one of those?”
This young hero had clearly been born to an unconventional mother and raised free-range.
The three girls sheepishly sat back down.
Meanwhile, Jiang Nian’s entire face had gone slack, like a bewildered muntjac. Of all the children, he was the one who looked most like Jiang Xun. If age were taken out of the equation, they were practically identical.
If Jiang Xun saw him looking this stupid, he would surely think Jiang Nian had ruined his father’s lifelong reputation.
But if Pei Liang saw him, she would surely find the sight wonderfully fresh.
Jiang Nian, however, was genuinely stunned. He stiffly turned around and looked at Jiang Yi, who was struggling not to laugh.
“Th-that thing really is something everyone has?”
Jiang Yi nodded, wearing an expression that said he should just accept reality. “Apparently, our father commissioned them all from the same jade craftsman.”
“According to an interview with that craftsman, all the jade rabbits even came from the same piece of stone. That’s why they’re so difficult to forge.”
“An interview?” Jiang Nian shouted, as if he had been scalded.
“Hey, it was in the adult edition of the Martial World Weekly. They don’t sell that one to children. You’ll be old enough to buy it from now on. When that section was first launched, the reporters and editors weren’t very imaginative and didn’t know how to dig up exciting material, so they relied entirely on stories about our father’s romantic history when he was young.”
“Dad was okay with that?”
“Of course he was. Otherwise, how do you think he made his fortune?”
The whole business ran on shamelessness.
Jiang Nian felt his head buzzing, and even his hand trembled as he ate.
He decided he needed some time to recover, so he didn’t dare ask Jiang Yi any more questions. He already had more information than he could digest.
But Jiang Yi mysteriously passed him a note. “Tomorrow, you can go to the old bookstore and look for these books and these issues of the newspaper. They should help you understand our father even better.”
Jiang Nian now understood why his mother had told him to find his father first and not go digging around blindly.
If he learned everything in advance, there was an eighty percent chance he wouldn’t come at all. He already wanted to leave.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something odd at another table.
A beautiful woman in a pink outer robe was sitting alone, occupying the entire table. She looked melancholy and showed no intention of sharing the table or chatting with anyone.
Jiang Nian initially assumed she was another sister like him, someone who had been shocked into silence after learning the truth. But then he noticed that every so often, she would look up toward a certain direction, her face filled with lovestruck yearning—only to quickly look away again, caught in a conflicted and tormented struggle.
Following her gaze, Jiang Nian saw a handsome young man sitting in a corner. He looked somewhat like Jiang Nian and was obviously another of Jiang Xun’s spawn.
He was looking at the girl in pink with an expression of utter heartbreak.
After a while, he could no longer restrain himself. He stood and walked over to her.
But the girl hurriedly rose and avoided him.
The young man was devastated. “Si-mei, why are you being so heartless? Even if—well, even if things have come to this, can’t you at least say a few words to me?”
Tears welled in the girl’s eyes. “Nian-ge, things have already come to this. Fate has toyed with us, but what would be the point?”
Jiang Nian’s expression, which had only just recovered, once again turned into that of a bewildered muntjac.
A terrible suspicion began to form in his heart. “Wh-what are they doing?”
Jiang Yi sighed and shook his head. “The two of them left home at the same time to search for their father. They met on the road, fell in love, and even agreed to get married.”
“But when they arrived here and explained why they’d come, they discovered that they were looking for the same father. Verifying their identities was just a formality to make sure no one was pretending to be someone else. In reality, they’d both been receiving living expenses from him for years, so there was no doubt about their blood relationship.”
“They’re biological siblings! What a tragedy~”
After saying that, Jiang Yi added, “Oh, and that guy’s also called Jiang Nian. He’s Jiang Nian the Second.”
Perhaps it was because the other man shared his name, or perhaps it was because Jiang Nian himself had felt a brief flutter of attraction toward Jiang Yi earlier.
Whatever the reason, seeing how miserable the two of them were sent a shiver throughout his body.
“So these days, young men and women in the martial world have to be careful even when they fall in love with each other?”
“Hey, you’ve got that exactly right,” Jiang Yi said. “Only people like you, whose mothers have already retired from the martial world, don’t know.”
“There’s an unwritten rule in the martial world nowadays. If a young man and woman hit it off, they shouldn’t rush into falling for each other. The first thing they have to do is go home and ask their mothers whether they know someone named Jiang Xun.”
“If your mother’s face changes dramatically, then no matter whose child you’ve claimed to be for the past decade or more, you’d better watch yourself.”
“This kind of romantic tragedy between siblings isn’t even the first of its kind.”
“I’ve even heard of two men who thought they were into men and didn’t care at all. But guess what happened?”
“They got caught in it too?” Jiang Nian cried.
His entire body went limp. Just how many lives had his father ruined in the martial world?
He forcibly tore his gaze away, only to hear the front door bang open.
Several exhausted young men and women entered. The moment they came in, they began grabbing food and eating like starving ghosts.
“What happened to them? How could they go hungry here?” Jiang Nian asked.
“They got into a fight and were punished with community service.”
“Back in the day, our father got caught once. Several female heroes who happened to be there learned of one another’s existence and have held grudges ever since. Their children naturally don’t get along either.”
Jiang Nian looked incredulous. “He only got caught once?”
“Hey, it was an accident. If the Flame Saint Cult hadn’t come to provoke everyone back then, exposing the affair between the former Emei Sect Leader and our father during the ensuing fight, all those female heroes wouldn’t have become consumed by jealousy. With his abilities, this whole mess wouldn’t exist otherwise.”
Dad, what kind of legendary scumbag are you?
“With those talents, couldn’t he have done anything else? Why trick women everywhere?” Jiang Nian muttered. “He’s so good at keeping secrets that it’s a waste he didn’t become a spy.”
Jiang Yi merely smiled without saying anything. Jiang Nian did not yet understand what that smile meant.
Seeing how ravenously those people were eating, Jiang Nian asked, “What were they doing?”
“Probably modeling clothes or working as sales promoters. The residents of ‘Tadpoles Looking for Daddy’ are in high demand for odd jobs. People even pay top dollar to hire them every day.”
After all, the place was full of handsome men and beautiful women.
Jiang Nian asked, “What happens once someone’s biological relationship is confirmed?”
Jiang Yi shrugged. “What else? They get a share of the money, their names are added to the will, those who need to go to school are enrolled, those who want to work are given jobs, and those who want to go home aren’t stopped.”
Jiang Nian was somewhat disappointed. “Then… where is Father?”
Jiang Yi smiled. “You’re in luck this time. On the first and fifteenth of every month, Father comes to have dinner with us. We get to see him and talk for a while. That’ll be tomorrow night.”
“But compared to Father, everyone likes President Pei more.”
Sure enough, no one went out the next day. From early morning onward, Jiang Nian saw nearly everyone meticulously dressing up.
Some were carefully applying makeup, while others picked out the brightest and newest clothes they owned. The hotel was already filled with extraordinarily handsome men and beautiful women, but now it seemed to be glowing.
People passing by on the street would glance into the lobby at the exquisitely dressed men and women moving back and forth. Some of them forgot to keep walking, while others crashed straight into lampposts.
A few even cried and pleaded with the guards, demanding that the “Tadpoles Looking for Daddy” Hotel open its doors to the public. They were willing to pay any price for a room—even if they had to sleep in the toilet.
After being refused, they tried another route and desperately applied for jobs. Unfortunately, every employee here had been personally appointed by the Zhan Yue Company after passing a rigorous selection process.
Unable to get close to the beauties they coveted, the onlookers could only bite their handkerchiefs in frustration from outside. Then they saw a group of people swagger into the hotel.
Not only were they not stopped, they were even greeted with obsequious enthusiasm all along the way.
The others were understandable. Most of them bore some resemblance to one another and were clearly siblings of the beauties inside the hotel.
But the woman leading them was absolutely intolerable.
She wore a radiant smile and looked utterly pleased with herself, as if the emperor were inspecting his harem—
No, wait. Since the development of industry, the people’s consciousness had gradually awakened, and imperial authority had steadily declined. The laws had been revised again and again. Even the emperor could no longer keep a vast harem like he used to.
Who else could live as freely as this wretched woman?
She kept a whole estate full of beauties, then raised another brood here. She openly helped people raise their sons and daughters. Was it not obvious what she was after?
That’s right. It was Pei Liang, President of the Zhan Yue Company.
There was no denying that this woman had made enormous contributions to society, but what she did was enough to make anyone green with envy.
Situ Zhuo, leader of the Flame Saint Cult, whose beauty was unrivaled throughout the martial world, was rumored to be her lover. Han Weiliu of the Banished Immortal Sect did not merely have rumors surrounding him—he was openly her lover.
Jiang Xun, the seductive and notorious beauty famous across the land, was her kept man. The Four Great Constables of the Six Doors were rumored to have ambiguous relationships with her. Bailixiang, the Thief Saint, was said to have offered himself to her as a bed companion. And the only male courtesan in Jiangnan’s history had served only one customer in his entire career: her.
Thank heavens she was not a man. If she were, the “Tadpoles Looking for Daddy” Hotel would not have been founded for Jiang Xun.
This shameless woman had lived a life of debauchery and even refused to spare the children of her own subordinates. Seeing the smug delight on her face made everyone wonder why they could not be her instead.
Pei Liang was naturally delighted. All these years of raising Jiang Xun’s sons and daughters had finally paid off.
At first, she had only done it out of humanitarian concern. She had been afraid that the children would find themselves in an awkward position and be bullied, so she locked Jiang Xun in a room and questioned him for three whole days and nights.
She had recorded the names of every heroine he had ever slept with that he could remember. Even if a few had been overlooked, there could not be many.
Then, relying on that list, she had conducted secret investigations. If a woman had given birth to a child on her own, Pei Liang deposited living expenses into her account every month. If the surrounding circumstances were harsh and harmful to the child’s development, she sent people to infiltrate the area and provide covert assistance.
If a woman had concealed the affair and chosen to marry someone else, Pei Liang did not interfere any further.
Sure enough, all those years of hard work had not been wasted.
These lively, beautiful men and women were in no way inferior to the trainees employed by entertainment agencies in the future. Pei Liang had originally thought that such benefits would be impossible in ancient times, but an unintentional act had somehow brought her a harvest beyond her wildest dreams.
By the time they entered the lobby, the people living there had already been waiting for them for quite a while.
Jiang Nian stood at the edge of the crowd, watching the group approach from a distance. He could barely contain his excitement.
The person leading them was President Pei, whom he often saw in the newspapers. It was said that she was now approaching forty, yet she looked no more than twenty.
Her smile was warm and her manner gentle. Strangely, most of the brothers and sisters around her did not rush forward to greet their biological father when they saw him.
Instead, even more of them crowded around President Pei and acted spoiled with her. Jiang Yi, who seemed quite mature to Jiang Nian, was no exception.
Beside President Pei stood a man of unparalleled beauty and charm. His expression was somewhat gloomy, however, and he showed no warmth toward the enthusiastic boys and girls pressing forward and calling out, “President Pei! President Pei!” in their soft, youthful voices.
There was another person whom Jiang Nian could not take his eyes off.
Looking at him was like looking at himself twenty years in the future. Although they had never met, the bond of blood drew Jiang Nian toward him deeply.
He must have loved his children. A rather smug smile remained on his face the entire time, and every now and then he glanced at the dark-faced man beside him, as if deliberately showing off.
Pei Liang was like a cat lover arriving at a nest full of kittens. Grinning from ear to ear, she was ushered into the dining hall by a crowd of beautiful men and women.
Jiang Nian pulled Jiang Yi back from his excitement. “Does Father get this grand a reception every time he comes to eat with you?”
Jiang Yi looked puzzled. Then he followed Jiang Nian’s gaze and realized that he was referring to the people who had arrived with President Pei.
They were all wearing the uniforms of the Zhan Yue Company, making them look like a group of bodyguards.
Jiang Yi rolled his eyes. “Have you ever seen someone bring this many outsiders to a family dinner? The three of them are peerless martial artists. Who would they be afraid of ambushing them?”
Jiang Nian stared blankly. “Then… those people are—”
“Yes. They’re all our brothers and sisters.”
There were already several dozen of them by a rough count—not including the ones outside, or those who might still have yet to be found.
The emperors of old, who had possessed three palaces and six harems yet still failed to produce more than a handful of heirs, would have wept with envy if they had seen this.
“But why are they wearing the uniforms of the Zhan Yue Company?”
“They want to follow President Pei, of course!” Jiang Yi said, his face full of longing. “My abilities aren’t good enough yet. Once my identity has been verified, I’ll definitely attend the Zhan Yue Academy for further training. Then I’ll try to get hired by the Zhan Yue Company.”
“I beg your pardon,” Jiang Nian said. “How incredible must the Zhan Yue Company’s benefits be for you to envy it so much?”
“It isn’t about the benefits.” Jiang Yi gave him a look that said he was too young to understand. “Though of course, the benefits are certainly enviable.”
“But the most important thing is being able to follow President Pei. That alone is a blessing beyond compare. You’ll never have to worry about your future again.”
“Just look at our father. He used to be a slave sold to someone else, yet look how glorious his life is now. Even before he was freed from slavery, President Pei had already helped him clean up his messes and raise his children. Where could you find an employer like that? Not to mention, the Zhan Yue Company is the biggest ship in the world. Anyone with sense would want to board it.”
“Our father is heartless. He ignored us for so many years. Now that he’s finally of some use, he can serve as a link to help us take a shortcut and get close to President Pei. Otherwise, who would even bother with him?”
That was certainly a clear-eyed assessment.
But Jiang Nian had already blown his top. “He wasn’t the one paying the living expenses?”
Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow. “If not, why would you assume that a scumbag who fathered so many illegitimate children would possess even the slightest sense of responsibility?”
“It was only after he was freed from slavery and established the Jiang Corporation that the living expenses began coming out of the Jiang family’s accounts. Before that, for more than ten years, every penny had been paid by the Zhan Yue Company.”
Jiang Nian finally understood why the three young women had been trying to outdo one another earlier, and why Jiang Yi had said that newcomers were too inexperienced. Once they grew older, they would realize how foolish what they were doing now had been.
Damn it, they were showing off one another’s achievements to prove that a completely irredeemable scumbag cared about them. Anyone who knew what their biological father was really like would never do something so ridiculous.
In other words, most of the people present had essentially been raised by President Pei. This was especially true of those whose mothers had been unable to survive on their own and had given birth out of wedlock. If President Pei had not protected them, how could they have grown up happy and privileged?
Jiang Nian found it difficult to accept. After the banquet, they found an opportunity to approach Jiang Xun.
They had originally intended to use the Jade Rabbit token to prove their identity, but the thought of carrying that embarrassing thing around made them change their mind. Instead, they simply asked, “My mother’s name was Gao Yinglan. She was from XX County in XX City. Do you remember her?”
Jiang Nian had not really expected an answer.
But Jiang Xun nodded. He even sighed emotionally. “Of course I remember. How could I forget?”
“Your mother was the last woman I was with before I turned over a new leaf.”
Jiang Nian was somewhat moved. Could it be that their mother really had been different from the others? Otherwise, why would their biological father have lost interest in women after her?
But then Mr. Han let out a quiet laugh, his voice filled with undisguised mockery.
Jiang Nian’s face instantly flushed crimson. They looked pitifully toward their biological father, only to find Jiang Xun glaring back with a dark expression. For a moment, the two of them seemed ready to start fighting, sparks flying between them.
President Pei, who was seated between them, caught sight of Jiang Nian. A look of amazement flashed through her eyes, and she hurriedly said, “Good child, don’t be sad. We all know who you are.”
“Really?” Jiang Nian’s eyes grew misty.
President Pei was a legendary figure throughout Great Qi, and Jiang Nian had always admired her deeply. Now that they had learned that all these people had been raised by her, it was only natural that they felt an even stronger sense of affection and reverence toward her.
Those few words from President Pei made Jiang Nian feel as though they had finally found a ray of hope.
Pei Liang’s heart was burning as well. This child looked almost exactly like Jiang Xun had in his youth.
But their personalities were completely different. So shy and innocent, with a pair of dewy, almond-shaped eyes, they resembled a tender little fawn that made people ache to protect them.
Compared with the scumbag Jiang Xun, Jiang Nian’s sweetness created a sharp and striking contrast. It was extraordinarily refreshing.
Jiang Nian looked at her expectantly. “Why does everyone know who I am?”
Pei Liang was still trying to figure out how to phrase her answer when Jiang Xun, their biological father, unexpectedly blurted out, “After your mother and I went our separate ways, my Jiang family was destroyed, and I ended up becoming a slave who sold his body.”
Jiang Nian had already realized that their biological father was a terrible person, but hearing this still made them sigh inwardly.
They had barely begun to feel sorry for him when Mr. Han exposed him without mercy.
“What? Are you trying to bring up how A-Liang reported you to the imperial court and caused the downfall of your Jiang family, so people will pity you?”
“After all these years, you still have a habit of taking things that were never other people’s fault and using them to play the victim. You really have no shame.”
Jiang Xun shot back, “I’ll admit it when it concerns something else. But in this matter, wasn’t it her order that made me seduce Madam Hu, who was then the wife of Elder Hu, and obtain the crucial information that allowed the Wangqiu Sect to be brought down? Didn’t that lead to the destruction of my entire family?”
“She will owe me for this forever.”
Jiang Nian was completely dumbfounded. In just those few brief exchanges, had they really heard that many shocking secrets?
Who, exactly, had destroyed their biological father’s family?
Their mother had once been married to a man who was executed for a crime and divorced from her by law. If they remembered correctly, his surname had been Hu.
And whom had their biological father said he had been ordered to seduce?
Jiang Nian, who had just been thinking that it was a pity Jiang Xun had not become a spy with secrets like these, now felt as though they had been struck by lightning.
