Chapter 306 - 303: Meeting the Old Ancestor
Shen Changchuan frowned slightly,
listening intently to his mother, Han Yue’Er, without interrupting.
Because as his mother spoke,
he, too, felt that something was amiss,
though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Han Yue’Er continued in a low, hushed voice:
"Several years ago, after his birth mother died, Shen Chong killed the First Wife’s servants who were monitoring him at the temple. He left a message, saying that in three years, he would return to the Shen Family Mansion to demand justice."
"You’ve probably heard about this. After all, it caused a huge uproar at the time, and nearly everyone in Tian Nan City knew about it."
"Back then, I just treated it as a bit of drama. I was even secretly pleased that the First Wife had stumbled into such a huge mess, but I never looked into it too deeply..."
"But after your reputation also started causing an uproar in the Shen Family Mansion over a year ago, I realized something was wrong... Do you know why?"
Han Yue’Er paused for effect, not revealing the answer directly. Instead, she looked at Shen Changchuan and asked him.
At his mother Han Yue’Er’s question,
a flash of insight struck Shen Changchuan’s mind, and he suddenly grasped something.
He couldn’t help but blurt out:
"You’re right, it is wrong!"
"Shen Chong killed the First Wife’s servants. You could say this was a massive slap in the face to her."
"For a shameful affair like being publicly humiliated... anyone normal would do everything possible to suppress the news and stop it from spreading!"
"And with the First Wife’s background and power, forbidding any discussion of it would have been laughably easy. Even the Second Wife wouldn’t have dared to say much!"
A glint flashed in Shen Changchuan’s eyes; he had seized upon the key point.
The logic was simple.
Unless the First Wife no longer cared about her reputation, she would have certainly ordered everyone to stop talking about it.
She would have confined the news to a small circle.
And she had the power to do so.
However,
the result was that the scandal spread like wildfire throughout the city in no time at all!
Behind this,
there must have been another force pushing things along,
a force that remained hidden beneath the surface, yet was even more powerful than the First Wife!
"So, the root of all this... is it Shen Fuxing?"
Although he had guessed the general situation,
Shen Changchuan’s expression still darkened.
"It has to be him; there’s no doubt."
Han Yue’Er sighed.
At first, she too had found this conclusion hard to believe.
But as her investigation went deeper,
she had no choice but to believe
that the man who seemed to be just coasting through life, waiting to die—the man with an abysmal reputation—had secretly pushed his own flesh and blood onto the knife’s edge.
"I investigated this secretly before. After Shen Chong’s escape several years ago, the First Wife did indeed give an order to keep it quiet. But before long, the matter was known all over the city, and the damage was irreversible..."
"Within the high walls of the Shen Family Mansion, the only one capable of something like this... is your father."
"It was true for Shen Chong’s situation, and it was true when you were suddenly thrust into the spotlight!"
Han Yue’Er’s voice
had grown cold.
Her eyes revealed her fury toward that man.
No one would have ever imagined
that the weakling who was easy to bully in the eyes of outsiders—a freeloader who became Clan Leader by marrying into wealth, a henpecked waste of space—was secretly capable of such grand schemes!
But so what?
Whether Shen Fuxing was a waste of space or not had little to do with Han Yue’Er.
Although she had borne him a son,
Han Yue’Er actually had very little affection for Shen Fuxing.
Shen Fuxing had hundreds of women in his rear courtyard; she was just one of the unremarkable ones among them.
Back then, she had only schemed her way into the Shen Family Mansion because of her father.
In the years that followed, she rarely ever saw him.
What feelings could there be?
In comparison,
Shen Changchuan was the only son she had ever borne, the one she had poured half a lifetime of effort into raising!
That mother-son bond was far greater than any bond between husband and wife!
For him to secretly plot against her son,
how could Han Yue’Er not be enraged?!
"But why would he do this?"
Although he had figured out who was behind it,
Shen Changchuan still couldn’t wrap his head around it.
Even if they were sons of concubines,
they were still his own children, weren’t they?
To target his own sons like this,
an act that could even be considered plotting murder... what exactly was Shen Fuxing’s goal?
"About that, I’m not very clear either."
"But regardless, if you meet with him later, you must be as careful and wary as possible..."
"I understand, Mother."
Shen Changchuan nodded
and spoke solemnly.
...
After bidding farewell to his mother, Han Yue’Er,
Shen Changchuan went directly to see the Shen Family Ancestor.
"Greetings, Ancestor!"
Deep within the Spirit Mountain occupied by the Shen Family, inside an Immortal Family courtyard brimming with Spiritual Qi,
Shen Changchuan cupped his fist in salute to the old man before him.
"No need for formalities."
The Shen Family Ancestor waved his hand.
His gaze then swept up and down Shen Changchuan, as if trying to see through to every secret hidden within him.
After a long moment,
the Shen Family Ancestor finally let out a long sigh.
"I regret it."
His voice was laced with a palpable sense of regret.
"In this generation, the Shen Family has produced two peerless prodigies, the likes of which are seen only once every several hundred, or even a thousand, years."
"As a result, one has become a mortal enemy of the family, locked in a life-and-death struggle. The other has joined a different Sect, and his relationship with the family has become like that of a stranger."
"All of this is due to my poor management of the family!"
The Shen Family Ancestor lamented, a tangible weariness appearing on his ancient face.
His thin figure seemed somewhat desolate at that moment.
He couldn’t help but feel this way.
Whether it was Shen Chong
or the Shen Changchuan standing before him,
based on their accomplishments, they were the most outstanding family descendants he had seen in his several hundred years of life!
Bar none!
And yet,
these peerless Demons—geniuses whose appearance should have been cause for the family to celebrate with gongs and drums—
were instead growing more and more distant from the family itself!
The matter of Shen Chong,
could still be explained away. He could say it was because he was too lenient, allowing the younger generation to act recklessly. The specific blame couldn’t be pinned on him, as he hadn’t involved himself in worldly affairs for many years.
But as for Shen Changchuan’s case,
there was no one else to blame.
Back then,
it was he who had personally decided to reject Shen Tingchu’s proposal to include Shen Changchuan in the "seed program,"
’giving up’ on him and arranging for him to join the Dragon Cloud Sect!
’I’m getting old.
My judgment has grown old and muddled too!’
At that moment,
the Shen Family Ancestor couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.
Especially when he recalled the rumors about Shen Changchuan’s strength and combat record,
his heart ached with even greater regret!
However,
the Shen Family Ancestor was, after all, a being who had lived for several hundred years. He had seen his share of great storms.
Thus, he quickly suppressed the thoughts in his mind.
"Enough. It’s useless to speak of regrets now."
Shaking his head slightly,
the Shen Family Ancestor cast the many thoughts from his mind.