"What are you saying? Someone among the Feng clan wants to harm a child who's only five? Who's so heartless!"
"For wealth and profit, what's the life of a child worth! Feng Shuitu doesn't yet know that the so-called family he's been supporting and helping is already plotting against him to take over his estate."
Clatter—from Feng Shuitu's table came the shattering sound of a wine glass hitting the floor. He was sitting with his back to the main table, and now he could no longer hold back. Though his hand still kept the shape of holding a cup, it was already empty.
A small patch of liquor had spilled at his feet, and the clear, sharp fragrance of the wine slowly rose to his nostrils, calling back the last shred of his reason.
When he first heard that mysterious voice, he had already downed several cups of wine. Initially, he thought it was just the alcohol going to his head. But when his nephew from the He family noticed his strange behavior and whispered an explanation to him, he finally understood where the voice came from.
Before he could even finish toasting three full cups to celebrate his three children's improving health, he heard that divine artifact person stated that his precious son wouldn't live past eight years old, and that the clansmen he trusted and relied upon were actually plotting to seize his family business!
Feng Shuitu's plump, steamed-bun-like face flushed red with rage. His chest heaved unevenly as he gasped and wheezed, twitching tremors running through him. Anyone watching might have thought he was silently weeping.
"When are those people planning to make their move, and what means will they use against him?"
She had heard plenty about families fighting over inheritance, both in modern times and here in this ancient world. Even in her own family, her father's brothers and sisters had put on quite a show of family dramatics trying to get more from their old man.
That was also why she stopped living with her grandparents once she turned eighteen—it was just too aggravating.
There was no shortage of those who devoured entire family fortunes, but the last time she'd heard of someone forcing a scheme without any natural opening was the Wu Yong family.
"They're moving tonight. Feng Shuitu is considered a wealthy man in this area. His alliance with He Qisha forced those people to advance their originally slow and careful plan."
"What's He Qisha got to do with this?"
Indeed, He Qisha's hand paused mid-reach for a dish. Silently, he thought to himself, what does this have to do with me?
"Master, have you forgotten? In the original timeline, He Qisha's grave would already be overgrown. By the eighth year of the Yuan Kang era, the Seven Swords Manor would have fallen into his younger brother's hands.
That brother, colluding with Panshan and Youtan to overthrow the Dayan dynasty, bled dry the local gentry and wealthy households within the Seven Swords Manor's sphere of influence. He would never have paid any attention to someone like Feng Shuitu.
So, back then, Feng Shuitu didn't manage to latch onto such a powerful patron as the Seven Swords Manor. The Feng clan only made their move against him in the autumn of that year."
"So they're afraid He Qisha will get involved, and now they're moving against Feng Shuitu tonight, taking advantage of He Qisha's original plan to leave the manor tomorrow?"
"Exactly. Feng Shuitu's uncle and cousin were already planning to give him one of their own children when he couldn't father any heirs.
Feng Shuitu refused. Later, both his wife and a concubine became pregnant. If he hadn't kept such a close watch, those people would have already struck against the pregnant women long before."
Feng Shuitu silently wiped his sweat. So that's it, he thought. No wonder so many strange things happened at home back when his wife and concubine were expecting. One day the food wasn't clean, the next day the ground was slippery, and on a trip to the garden to admire the flowers, they ran into a venomous snake.
Back then, he had thought it was just the women in the rear courtyard scheming out of jealousy, and he had even dealt with a few of the more troublesome ones.
Now it seemed that those who had moved against his wife and Concubine Fang were not only his concubines but also his uncles!
At this thought, Feng Shuitu’s hands paused in their work. Several of his concubines had been gifts from them, and the women he had punished in previous years all seemed to share that origin.
He remembered what the younger uncle and the cousin uncle had said to him back then… oh, it was something about broadening the family line!
It was his own stupidity. He had been too shallow in his thinking. He had assumed it was all about rivalry and favor among the women, but only today did he realize it was about the men vying for his wealth. Those women were just pawns!
「Feng Shuitu didn’t notice anything unusual? What an idiot!」Someone like this, even if He Qisha won him over, wouldn’t be of much use!
He Qisha also realized this and shot a subtle, apologetic glance at Yue Fuguang.
【He thought it was just a household feud among wives and concubines. Since he had already fathered two daughters, both of whom were frail in health, they hadn’t bothered to harm the girls.
After the birth of He’s second daughter, there were no more pregnancies in Feng Shuitu’s household for several consecutive years. This only made the He family more convinced that his estate would eventually belong to their sons.】
「Are the years of no pregnancy due to Feng Shuitu’s own health problems, or was someone pulling strings? Didn’t they ever bring up the matter of adopting an heir?」
【Master, it’s true that Feng Shuitu’s heavy drinking in his early years damaged his health, making it hard for him to father children. But later he followed the doctor’s advice to recover, drank less, and eventually had his eldest and second daughters.】
Feng Shuitu nodded vigorously. No wonder the Artifact Sage knew everything—he truly was a god. Wasn’t it precisely for the sake of having children that he had given up his beloved drink back then?
Otherwise, where would Yujie and Zhujie be?
【However, later Feng Shuitu’s cousins repeatedly tried to lead him astray. At first, they sought to lure him into a gambling addiction, plotting to take his family fortune directly through a rigged table.
But unfortunately for them, Feng Shuitu only had a love for wine. He had no interest in gambling. Instead, the cousins who tried to tempt him ended up falling into gambling themselves. Some, who once had comfortable families, eventually lost everything and became poor.】
「It’s the taste of their own medicine, isn’t it?」
Feng Shuitu kept nodding furiously. The Young Master was right—what else could you call it but reaping what you sow?
His younger uncle’s eldest son turned into a gambling addict, sneaking out all the family valuables to stake bets. Those were fine heirlooms left by their grandfather!
And the cousin uncle’s family fared even worse. They were already less well-off than the younger uncle’s household. His favorite youngest son became addicted to gambling just like the eldest cousin, but with no valuables to steal at home, he started swiping his wife’s dowry instead.
Feng Shuitu silently spat. Serves them right!
【After paying such a heavy price, these people still refused to give up. They tried again to tempt Feng Shuitu into drinking, ruining the health he had barely rebuilt.
Thus, for four or five consecutive years, no children were born. Partly due to his own failing health, but also because several concubines were secretly drinking contraceptive potions.】
Feng Shuitu clenched his teeth. He didn’t need to think twice about which ones they were.
【During those years, they worked to destroy his health while pressuring him with the clan’s need for an heir. Their goal was to force him to adopt a son from among the clan members.】
But while it was said to be adopting from among the clan members, it actually meant taking a son from the closest families—the younger uncle's or the paternal cousin's household.
"Those two families really know how to play their cards!"
Still, no matter how good their tactics, when matched against an equally capable ally, they were bound to become rivals.
These two families had originally been cooperating, but a dispute arose over whose child should be adopted, nearly causing their alliance to fall apart.