Master Zheng clenched his fists.

He resisted the urge to smash his little fist into Qing Pi’s face.

He feared that Qing Shisan wouldn’t be able to take the punch.

After all, it was a punch backed by a whole thirty-four points of Muscle Strength!

Besides, Qing Shisan’s appearance made Zheng Xiu sense that something was off.

It wasn’t because he had managed to approach him without a sound.

Qing Shisan had a shady past and was now doing dirty work on the sly; it was no surprise he had such skills.

What Zheng Xiu found strange was why Qing Shisan would be standing guard at the Zheng Family’s gate.

Years ago, to help Qing Shisan settle down, Master Zheng had magnanimously given him a small residence with a courtyard.

A thought surfaced.

’Did something happen to the Zheng Family?’

All these changes and oddities made Zheng Xiu feel that something was wrong. He grew a little anxious.

At that moment, Zheng Xiu decided to make a move that might just tarnish his pristine reputation.

...

Qing Shisan was on stakeout duty tonight, loyal and dedicated as ever.

In the dead of night, a child appeared before the Zheng Clan gate.

Qing Shisan silently smoked his long-stemmed pipe in the darkness, not wanting to bother with or pay any mind to a child.

But when the child had paced back and forth in front of the Zheng Clan gate for the forty-eighth time, Qing Shisan couldn’t take it anymore.

It was just too strange.

So, Qing Shisan made his grand entrance.

But just as his nerves tensed and he rested his pipe on the other’s shoulder, preparing to ask a few questions...

The child whipped his head around and said to him in a piping, childish voice:

"I’m looking for my daddy!"

Qing Shisan froze.

About the time it takes to drink two cups of tea later.

The main hall of the Zheng Clan residence was brightly lit.

A piece of calligraphy in Master Zheng’s own hand—the words "Upright and Noble"—was framed in gold and hung in the most conspicuous spot.

The Patriarch’s throne, which belonged to Master Zheng, was now empty.

The four "Golden Fruits" of Heaven on Earth, famous throughout the city, were dressed in magnificent silk robes of different colors. They sat in their respective seats, varying degrees of shock on their faces as they stared fixedly at the boy in the center of the hall, who was yawning out of boredom.

"Uncle Shisan, is what you said... true?"

Zizi’s delicate little mouth formed a perfect "O" and remained open for a long time. If someone were standing in front of her, they could even see the quivering pink uvula inside, a testament to the extent of her shock.

"It’s Brother Shisan!" Qing Shisan frowned, correcting Zizi’s slip of the tongue again in displeasure. He then covered his face and let out a long sigh. "To be honest, I didn’t believe it at first. I wouldn’t have believed it if you beat me to death. But he and the Master... they look too much alike!"

Pingping trembled, equally astonished. "He does look like him! But I don’t believe the Master would do such a thing!"

"I don’t believe it!" Lily exclaimed in shock.

Bobo calmly pursed her lips. "The resemblance is strong. One has to believe it."

A lazy, bewitching voice drifted down from the rafters. "It’s not strange. He’s a man, after all. If he doesn’t eat or even crave you four Golden Fruits, he must have other... hobbies. Hee hee hee! What cat doesn’t sneak a taste of cream? What man doesn’t have a wandering eye? The Master... he’s a man of flesh and blood, too!"

’Who the hell is ruining my reputation?’

Zheng Xiu, who had been sitting restlessly amidst the gossip from Zizi, Lily, Pingping, and Bobo, looked up woodenly at the sound of the voice. He saw a bewitching, buxom young madam sitting with her legs crossed on a ceiling beam, looking down with great interest.

The proper matron, Ji Hong’ou.

Qing Pi nodded along beside them, saying it made sense, that it wasn’t strange, perfectly normal, and who could say otherwise.

Zheng Xiu mentally noted each of their reactions.

’When the day comes that I drop the act, I’ll call a spade a spade. No one’s getting away. There will be a reckoning.’

DONG DONG DONG!

The sound of footsteps rang out.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Pei Gaoya, dressed in a cook’s uniform, politely knocked on the doorframe from outside and called out loudly, "Another flock of Ravens just flew by. They fly by every single day. That son-of-a-bitch ’Ye Weiyang’ has definitely set its sights on the Zheng family. I’m telling you, when is this ever gonna end? We haven’t been home in three days! You all know my old lady is as fierce as a tigress. Three days without... you know... I’m thinking something bad’s gonna happen!"

Pei Gaoya scratched his bald head with a simple, honest look, a worried expression on his face.

After muttering to himself for a bit, he finally noticed the strange way everyone in the room was staring at him. Puzzled, Pei Gaoya retorted, "What are you all looking at me like that for? And speaking of which, who’s this dopey kid? How’d he wander in here?"

Zheng Xiu was furious.

The boy flicked his sleeves dramatically and strode, step by step, toward the empty Patriarch’s throne of the Zheng Family.

Under the shocked and bewildered gazes of everyone in the room, the boy leaped high into the air and plopped down onto the seat.

’I’m done pretending. I’m laying my cards on the table!’

"My father is Zheng Xiu!"

THUD! Pei Gaoya’s head tilted to the side and slammed into the door pillar, leaving a small dent. He was utterly dumbfounded.

"SNAP! Pingping!"

Zheng Xiu snapped his fingers. "Make tea!"

The boy’s arrogant yet perfectly natural air of wealth made everyone in the room vaguely see the shadow of the old Master in that seat.

Pingping opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, she obediently went to make the tea.

"Hmph."

The boy snorted coldly. Amidst the room’s stunned, silent, and eerie atmosphere, he emulated the Master’s old, refined way of drinking tea—blowing away the leaves, taking a sip, and setting down the cup without a sound.

As grand as the Master of old.

As particular as the Master.

As composed as the Master.

Every move, every frown, and every smile of the boy’s bore the Master’s shadow.

Qing Shisan had still held some doubts, but when the young master sat down on that throne, he was convinced.

’He’s his own flesh and blood!’

’They’re practically identical! Blood is thicker than water!’

Still, he looked up at Ji Hong’ou on the beam.

Ji Hong’ou’s gaze left the young master. She met Qing Shisan’s eyes, first shaking her head slowly, then giving a nod.

Qing Shisan made an "OK" sign, a secret code the Master had taught him that meant "Understood."

"Zizi, Dad said you have the most skillful hands. You give me a shoulder rub."

Zizi’s expression soured with displeasure. Unseen by anyone, five points of faint white light covered her fingertips inside her sleeve. Zizi gritted her teeth. "No one knows if this is true or not. You say Master Zheng is your father, and that makes it so? I, for one, don’t believe it! Besides, I already swore a solemn oath to Heaven that I would only ever give shoulder rubs to the Master in this lifetime!"

The boy calmly closed his eyes, took a sip of his warm tea, and said slowly, "Still want to be a stepmother?"

Zizi’s reaction was the quickest. She froze for a second, then her face lit up. "Ah! Your mother is dead?"

PFFT!

Zheng Xiu sprayed out a mouthful of warm tea.

’You’re the youngest, so I can’t blame you. Your mind works fast, I can’t blame you for that either. But if you don’t know how to talk, then just talk less!’

Zizi quickly started giving the boy a shoulder rub.

"Didn’t you say you swore a solemn oath?" the boy asked in return.

Zizi replied shyly, "Young Master, I swore a solemn oath that if I were to give anyone else a shoulder rub, I would marry no one but Master Zheng in this lifetime!"

Zheng Xiu: "..."

’I’ve fallen into a trap.’

Qing Shisan’s eyes widened.

Pingping proactively raised her hand and said meekly, "Young Master, would you like to hear the Ji Zither? Pingping is very good at playing it."

"How sensible. No wonder Daddy always praises you in front of me," the young master complimented.

Not to be outdone, Lily naturally closed her eyes and began to hum a sweet, delicate tune.

Standing to the side, Bobo—also known as Jing Xuemei—who had been silent from the very beginning, let out a soft sigh.

She didn’t like to compete, to snatch, or even to speak.

Seeing this chaotic scene, the gloomy atmosphere in the room seemed to have dissipated somewhat after the young master’s arrival. Bobo couldn’t help but smile, silently drawing a long flute from her sleeve as its melodious sound began to fill the air.

After the young master’s arrival, the four "Golden Flowers" began to play instruments and sing, each showing off their skills.

Zheng Xiu gradually sank into his role of ’I am my own son.’

He had successfully integrated into this big family.

It was strange, and the generational hierarchy was once again a mess, but those were minor details.

"Qing Pi."

With that one word, Zheng Xiu sent a tremor through Qing Shisan.

This was a private nickname between him and Master Zheng.

In the past, only the Master knew this nickname. Qing Shisan had once smilingly asked what the title meant, and Master Zheng had clapped him on the shoulder and said it was a name bestowed only upon the person he trusted most. At that time, Qing Shisan had felt the weight on his shoulders.

Qing Shisan was finally convinced. The person before him was the Master’s illegitimate son. Although he didn’t know who the mother was, who cared? As long as he was of the Zheng Clan’s bloodline, that was enough.

"My father said that if anything ever happened to him, I would be the one in charge of the Zheng Family."

In the shadows, Ji Hong’ou was secretly astonished by the boy’s methods. She couldn’t imagine how such a smooth, natural aura of a nouveau riche tycoon could be so perfectly displayed by a mere boy. Although Ji Hong’ou still harbored some doubts, she chose to remain silent for now, watching from the rafters to see how things would unfold.

"Tell me, what has happened since Daddy’s... incident?"

Having successfully integrated himself as he wished, Zheng Xiu immediately sat up straight and asked for the information he most desperately wanted.

He wanted to know what, exactly, had changed after the butterfly effect took place.

What Zheng Xiu was most relieved about now was that after a few probing questions, he found the people he had personally trained were still the same, with no changes.

The personalities of the four "Golden Flowers" were also as he remembered: Zizi was clever and lively, Pingping was accommodating and sensible, Lily was competitive and long-legged, and Bobo was aloof and skilled with her flute.

Qing Shisan then recounted, from beginning to end, everything that had happened after Zheng Xiu’s imprisonment.

When "Ye Weiyang" and "Night Guard" were mentioned, Zheng Xiu took special note but didn’t ask any questions, deciding to hear out Qing Shisan’s report first.

Finally.

"What! Why didn’t you say so sooner! Take me to see the Second Lady, quickly!"

The last thing Qing Shisan had mentioned was: Zheng Erniang was sick.

Gravely ill.