Part 2
“Yes, and it was broadcast live. Mu Jiayi’s face didn’t look great at the time, but he forced himself to act magnanimous, saying that the dead should be respected and that he didn’t mind, which earned him a wave of fame. But by the same token, many who watched the stream now know that you were Zong Ling’s sweetheart before the engagement. People have started digging into your past. I’m worried… that the matter of your pregnancy out of wedlock will be brought up.”
Although the matter had been kept quiet back then, many noble families knew about Ning Yunyi’s pregnancy. Not to mention a child had appeared later, and combined with Ning Yunyi dropping out of school, people outside were saying he had carried a bastard.
Ning Yunyi seemed to think of something. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly laughed. “Don’t worry, no one will say anything. Even if someone wants to, there are others who won’t want it spread.”
“Huh? Why? Mu Jiayi treated you like that. Now that he has such a good opportunity, why would he let go of a chance to blacken your reputation?”
This was what Ning Yunfeng was worried about. He didn’t want his brother and the cub to suffer any more harm, even if it was just verbal.
Ning Yunyi said, “The fact that Mu Jiayi and Zong Ling could make a comeback this time means they’ve likely joined the Crown Prince’s camp. Although Zong Ling was kicked out of the Zong family, he was raised as a noble and is still useful. Plus, having fallen from grace, he would definitely seize any chance to climb back up. To them, the Crown Prince is a ‘wise lord.’ The whole thing with Little Lehman being ‘saved’ by them on the Prince’s orders was nothing more than a way to restore their status, create a persona, and gain fans to serve the Crown Prince in the future.”
Once their fan count reached a certain level, combined with the Crown Prince’s power, a meteoric rise was not out of the question.
The two already had a fan base and noble backgrounds. The Zong family hadn’t publicly announced Zong Ling’s removal from the registry. Before Marshal Zong’s return was made public, this was a golden opportunity. This was why the Crown Prince chose them.
High-status noble families wouldn’t stoop to such things, and the Crown Prince looked down on those of low status, thinking they gained fans too slowly.
Now, these two had topicality and a connection to Marshal Zong. Even if Zong Ling was currently removed from the registry, in the Crown Prince’s eyes, if Marshal Zong… were destined to die later, it would still be easy for the Crown Prince to support Zong Ling’s rise. He would only need to suppress the so-called ‘family retainers.’
Ning Yunfeng asked, “Will Mu Jiayi really not say anything?”
Ning Yunyi shook his head. “In Mu Jiayi’s eyes, Ning Yunyi is already dead, including the child he had. Since they’re both dead, there’s no need for him to gain anything by dragging a dead person’s name through the mud. Most importantly, he wants to hide this matter more than we do because… he might be the culprit who schemed to get me pregnant with the cub in the first place.”
Ning Yunfeng stood up abruptly. “What? It was him? Little brother, you remembered?”
Ning Yunyi shook his head. “No.”
The original owner hadn’t retained that part of his memory due to the trauma. But based on Ji Hao’s actions at the time and Mu Jiayi’s impatient scheming, combined with the fact that Mu Jiayi suddenly got involved with Zong Ling at that exact time, he had his suspicions.
Ning Yunyi explained his analysis to Ning Yunfeng. As Ning Yunfeng listened, his fists clenched, and his face turned ashen. “If I find out it was him, I’ll beat him until he can’t take care of himself.”
For the past few years, they hadn’t dared to mention that incident to Ning Yunyi for fear of further traumatizing him. Now that his brother had returned… he seemed to have moved past it.
While he was relieved, he couldn’t help but feel sad. His brother had once had a bright future, and it had all been ruined.
Ning Yunyi continued, “This is just my suspicion. However, many noble families knew about my child back then but suppressed the news. Clearly, someone was working behind the scenes. It’s highly likely someone didn’t want it known. Now, Mu Jiayi… most likely still doesn’t dare to let anyone find out.”
When Ning Yunyi learned that Marshal Zong was a shifter, he had also had some suspicions. But on second thought, it didn’t seem right. Setting aside the fact that the fur and eye colors were different, if it really were him, the original owner might have forgotten due to trauma, but Marshal Zong wasn’t heavily injured years ago. Could he have forgotten?
If it were him, he wouldn’t have acted as if nothing had happened. Once Marshal Zong investigated, it would be impossible to hide.
For Mu Jiayi to want to hide it, either the other person’s status was someone he couldn’t afford to offend—meaning exposure would lead back to him—so he had to keep quiet; or… this matter really did have something to do with Marshal Zong.
Marshal Zong’s shifter form was a cat. Fur and eye colors differed, but the species was the same. It was possible that the cub’s biological father belonged to Marshal Zong’s mother’s lineage.
Ning Yunyi had this theory, but he didn’t plan to ask Marshal Zong. He couldn’t exactly walk up and ask if any of his elders or peers had black cat genes.
If he asked that, Marshal Zong would look at the kitten and likely figure it out. Then it wouldn’t be a secret anymore.
But Ning Yunyi didn’t want this person to know and fight him for the cub.
It was fine that the other party didn’t know now, but once they knew and held a high status, they would never allow their offspring to be left outside. It would be fine if Ning Yunyi could compete with them, but if he couldn’t, would they really have to fight to the death?
That would only break their current stable life and traumatize the little guy. Besides, he didn’t care who the so-called biological father was. It was better if he never found out in this lifetime.
He would still investigate. If it was confirmed to be Mu Jiayi, then another mark would be added to the blood debt. If it wasn’t certain, the fact that Mu Jiayi caused the original owner’s death was enough to forfeit his life.
Either way, he would have to pay with his life. Mu Jiayi would die sooner or later.
On the other side, in a completely enclosed castle hall, a pool had been dug in one corner with running water. Several exceptionally fat and large fish swam back and forth, but they looked incredibly dull.
A man in a long robe sat by the pond, looking at the fish. No matter how he looked at them, they seemed like freaks. They weren’t at all like the slender and agile fish in the Ancient Blue Star Encyclopedia; one of these was half as long as he was tall.
The man finally grew disgusted and poured the bionic fish feed from his bowl into the water.
A man in armor and a mask walked in from behind and knelt on one knee. “Master, your subordinate has returned.”
The man kept his back to the other, watching the fat fish scramble for food. His emotions were unreadable. “Did you find them?”
The newcomer shook his head. “…Your subordinate is incompetent. Those from the Shifter Alliance have vanished. Since the last time they were rescued, there has been no trace.”
“Is that so? Did you find the person who rescued them?” The man suddenly reached out and grabbed a fish by its tail. The beast felt the danger and began to thrash. In the next moment, a surge of mental power was funneled into its body. The fish immediately stopped moving. As the mental power continued to flow, the beast’s body slowly shrank, only to snap back to its original size in the next instant.
The man threw the fish back into the water in disgust. This ordinary beast couldn’t withstand the powerful mental power and had already turned belly-up. A servant hiding in the shadows immediately stepped forward to quietly and systematically fish out the dead creature that had displeased his master.
The kneeling man swallowed hard, cold sweat dripping beneath his mask. “Re-reporting to Master, we haven’t found them yet.”
“Is there any movement from that Mr. Bai? Is he the expert?”
“It shouldn’t be him. He hasn’t gone out much lately. Your subordinate has been keeping people stationed around the Ning residence. As soon as he comes out, we’ll know.”
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thanks for the chapter!