Part 5
The Third Prince’s face turned pale. He wanted to say harsh words but feared making things worse, so he could only put on a wronged expression, acting like an innocent person who had been deceived.
The Mu family head trembled even more, filled with regret: “Marshal, this whole thing… we really thought you were harmed by Ichi and feared the Zong family would fall into outsider hands, so we took the risk to reveal the truth. Who knew… we meant well. Can Marshal Zong, considering we did it for your own good, let us off this time?”
Zong Hao: “For my own good? Or is wanting to support your own son-in-law’s rise to power the truth?”
The Mu family head gritted his teeth and decided to play rogue. If he really went in, he wouldn’t be able to keep his position as family head.
“Marshal, this is truly just a misunderstanding. After all, who would have thought you would rather hand the Zong family head position to an outsider than to your own biological brothers? So how about we each take fifty lashes for this?”
This matter could be big or small; it could also just pass like this.
If Marshal Zong really wanted to protect them, just a joke to add some excitement to the Crown Prince’s engagement banquet would ensure no one pursued it.
Zong Hao looked at him quietly, finally speaking: “You are wrong.”
The Mu family head looked up: “Wrong? Which part is wrong? That Ichi isn’t an outsider?”
Zong Hao gave Zong’s father a dark look: “Biological brothers is wrong.”
As those casual words came out, Zong Hao saw Zong’s father’s shoulders tremble slightly before quickly returning to normal, but Zong Hao saw it.
So, he really knew he wasn’t Father’s biological son.
The Mu family head and the people present hadn’t reacted yet. Biological brothers is wrong? What was wrong? Was the biology wrong, or the brothers part wrong?
Under Zong’s father’s uneasy and restrained posture, Zong Hao spoke: “Because my so-called Second Brother, Third Brother, and Fourth Brother are not my father’s biological sons, but adopted. Since they harbored crooked thoughts for the family head position, they are naturally no different from outsiders.”
Zong Hao’s words left everyone stunned. Zong Ling, who had been standing there in a trance, happy his uncle was alive but uneasy his father had offended him, was completely dumbfounded when this huge rock dropped. Uncle… what is he saying? Not biological?
Father isn’t Uncle’s biological brother? Then he isn’t Uncle’s biological nephew either?
Zong’s father finally couldn’t help looking up: “Old, Old Five, what are you saying? How could Third Brother, Fourth Brother, and I not be biological? Don’t say that to scare me just because you’re angry. Second Brother knows he was wrong, okay? Second Brother apologizes to you, alright? Let’s talk about this when we get back. We can’t disturb Your Highness’s engagement banquet, right?”
Zong Hao looked at him quietly: “I gave you a chance, but obviously, you didn’t take it seriously, even thinking I didn’t know about this because I was young back then?”
“At first, I didn’t know. After Father passed away because of Sister’s incident, I accidentally saw your relationship with Father in the family genealogy, and then I knew.”
Zong’s father’s face was deathly pale. He suddenly looked up and shouted at Zong Hao: “Stop talking! Stop talking!”
Zong Hao cruelly shattered his fantasy: “In the Zong clan genealogy, Sister and Father are listed as father and daughter. She entered the Zong family genealogy, was recognized by the Zong family, and was my father’s true adopted daughter. While you three… are retainers.”
At the word “retainers,” everyone gasped. Good heavens, these three nominal Second, Third, and Fourth Masters of the Zong family who strutted around outside were actually just servants?
It was just that Old Master Zong was sentimental, and having raised them for so long, developed fatherly affection and didn’t expose all this.
From beginning to end, the actual heirs of the Zong family were only Marshal Zong and the late Eldest Miss Zong?
This explosive news stunned everyone present.
Mu Jiayi’s vision went black. He actually… got engaged to the son of a retainer?
He was merely the fiancé of a retainer’s son?
If this news got out, he would become the laughingstock of the entire Capital Star.
The more he showed off their love before, the crueler the truth became.
Unable to withstand the blow, Mu Jiayi rolled his eyes and fainted directly, taking a harder hit than Zong Ling, the person involved.
Zong Hao looked at Zong’s father, who was trembling all over, and said cruelly and coldly: “Before, thinking I was the only one left in the Zong family and you were my nominal brothers for so many years, I let it continue. But while I was away, the moment something happened, you intended to occupy the entire Zong family without any regard for brotherhood. So from start to finish, who is the outsider? You should have known long ago that you weren’t Father’s child, right? Let me guess when. Was it before Sister’s identity was exposed? Did you see the genealogy and see only Sister was formally written in? So you united with the other two to expose that news, intending to drive away an adopted daughter occupying a Zong family heir position, wanting to replace her?”
Zong’s father’s teeth chattered from fear, gritting them but unable to say a word.
Zong Hao: “Since you are retainers, as the family head, I have the right to decide your stay. From this moment on, you three are no longer members of the Zong family. You are removed from the Zong clan, stripped of the Zong surname, and returned to your original surnames. From now on, you have nothing to do with the Zong family, including the children you begot. As ordinary outsiders, overstepping authority and knowingly breaking the law is a serious crime. Ichi, apply for the highest-level arrest warrant. Take them away.”
Ichi immediately knelt on one knee: “Yes, Marshal!”
He stood up and waved his hand. Immediately, soldiers hidden in the dark stepped forward to suppress Zong’s father and the Mu family head.
The Mu family head was so frightened by Zong’s father’s miserable state that he dared not resist, fearing his own family head position might be directly stripped as well.
Good heavens, Marshal Zong really doesn’t care about years of brotherhood at all.
The Third Prince was also scared and looked at the Crown Prince: Big Brother, save me!
The Crown Prince rubbed his brow: “Take them away together first.”
The Third Prince wanted to speak but was glared at by the Crown Prince. In the end, he could only hang his head and be taken away.
After all, in front of so many people, Big Brother couldn’t show partiality even if he wanted to, right?
With the dust settled, everyone dared to breathe. They thought they came to attend the Crown Prince’s engagement banquet, but it ended up being a great purge of the Zong family?
Didn’t that mean only Marshal Zong was left in the Zong family now?
Just as everyone thought this was the end, Zong Hao slowly raised his head, faced everyone, and spoke: “Since everyone is gathered here, a rare opportunity, I will take this chance to announce something to you all.”
Everyone looked over in confusion: Are there more Zong family secrets to reveal?
Zong Hao spoke: “After I was heavily injured in my last campaign, the disappearance of Admiral Ning Zhanfeng under my command was not a defection related to betraying me. It was because I sent him to execute a classified mission. Because it was classified, no one knew, and he was innocently branded a traitor. So, taking this opportunity, I clear his name. Ning Zhanfeng’s Interstellar-wide wanted status is lifted immediately, and his position as Admiral is restored.”
His claim that he sent Ning Zhanfeng on a classified mission was naturally false, but after getting along for so long, he saw that Ning Zhanfeng was wrongly accused, and it was even related to the mastermind behind his heavy injury.
Since the mastermind could use this trick to frame him, why couldn’t he personally speak up to clarify and restore Ning Zhanfeng’s innocence?
As for evidence, him, the victim, speaking personally was the best evidence.
Ning Yunyi, who had his head lowered, raised it in disbelief upon hearing this sentence, his eyes instantly overflowing with an extremely bright light.
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