"To this day, we both know the truth," the Lei family head said, looking coldly at the Wen family head. "The one truly coveting the treasure has never been me!"
"You also promised me back then that you hadn't seen any stones," the Wen family head replied, meeting the Lei family head's gaze. "That day, the secret of the Lu family obtaining that stone was leaked by one of your subordinates, leading to their demise. How else am I supposed to trust you?"
The Lei family head clenched his fist at his side. "I've already paid the price for what happened back then. All I want now is to take good care of Yaoyang."
"He's an adult; he doesn't need you, his uncle, to look after him, and his future achievements might not be beneath yours," the Wen family head said. "You'd do well to mind your own business."
"As long as your Wen family doesn't chase after my Lei family like a stray dog, I can mind my own business!" the Lei family head retorted, his eyes fixed on the Wen family head, a long-standing dissatisfaction evident. "I've been in the background for years. What more do you want from me? What are you trying to guard against?"
The Wen family head didn't answer, remaining silent for a moment before saying, "If you must recruit Yaoyang, I won't object."
"It's not about recruiting him; it's about giving him the confidence to live openly," the Lei family head corrected him.
The Wen family head shot him a dismissive glance and continued, "Then, at this auction, formally announce his identity and, in your name, hand over this treasure map to him, returning it to the Lu family."
Upon hearing this, the Lei family head hesitated slightly.
"What? Reluctant to part with the money?" the Wen family head sneered.
"This will push the danger onto him as well; he..." The Lei family head looked at the Wen family head, paused, and then his eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had realized something. "You want Yaoyang to be bait?"
The Wen family head neither answered nor denied.
"You are so cruel! So heartless!" The Lei family head's hands balled into fists, his entire body trembling with rage. "Yaoyang is the only life left from the entire Lu family. You intend to make the Lu family vanish from this world! Your Wen family has fought on battlefields for generations, using the silver armor and iron cavalry, swords and spears forged by the Lu family... Now, in this era of peace, your Wen family is discarding the useful tools, aren't you? 'When the birds are gone, the good bow is put away!' You are so cruel! So heartless!"
The Wen family head turned away, his eyes tightly shut to conceal a flicker of grief. When he opened them again, he had reverted to the seasoned Marshal Wen. "I am giving him an opportunity to avenge his family."
"You're sending him to his death!" the Lei family head slammed the table and berated him. "You're using his life as bait to catch your fish!"
"I guard the borders and protect the people with no selfish motives!" The Wen family head turned back to face the Lei family head. "You know that even if you adopted Gu Yaoyang or claimed him as your illegitimate son, he would still be ostracized by the Gu family's affairs, and could never live openly!"
"The Gu family's affairs were caused by you!" the Lei family head retorted. "I can completely fabricate a background for him!"
"Fabricated things never become truth! You can't round out one lie with ten thousand lies!" the Wen family head said. "Especially when the other party is Gu Yaoyang; he is far smarter than you imagine!"
The Lei family head offered no reply, his gaze heavy, his face etched with a profound sorrow.
"Gu Yaoyang is an adult. If you don't know how to choose, then give him the choice," the Wen family head said, taking a deep breath as he looked at the Lei family head. "If he refuses to bear this responsibility, I will never mention this matter again, and the Lu family's affairs will be buried with us in our graves!"
The Lei family head met the Wen family head's eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly said, "Do I even have a choice?"
Hearing the Lei family head's words, the Wen family head smiled. "Neither of us has a choice."
The choice, as always, was never in their hands.
Meanwhile, after Gu Yaoyang returned to his seat, he saw Xia Qingtian and Xia Qingyu returning.
"Can we talk alone?" Gu Yaoyang asked Xia Qingtian softly.
"Mhm." Xia Qingtian nodded, then shot Xia Qingyu a warning glance. Xia Qingyu, knowing she was in the wrong, stuck out her tongue.
Gu Yaoyang led Xia Qingtian to a side, glanced around, and then whispered in a voice only they could hear, "Master Lei just found me."
"He found you? Why?" Xia Qingtian tilted her head up to look at Gu Yaoyang.
"He knows my background," Gu Yaoyang said, his brows furrowed slightly.
"Your background!" Xia Qingtian blinked her eyes. The moment her gaze met Gu Yaoyang's, she suddenly seemed to realize something and asked, "It couldn't be... what I'm thinking, could it?"
"What are you thinking?" Gu Yaoyang asked.
Xia Qingtian looked left and right, ensuring no one was around, then stood on tiptoe and whispered in Gu Yaoyang's ear, "Are you... Master Lei's illegitimate son?"
Gu Yaoyang's mouth twitched, and then he looked at Xia Qingtian speechlessly. "I don't know whether to say your imagination is wild or restrained."
"Huh?" Xia Qingtian blinked and asked, "Did I guess too conservatively?"
"If my guess is correct..." Gu Yaoyang held Xia Qingtian's hand and wrote a character on her palm with his fingertip.
"You mean!" Xia Qingtian suppressed a tickle as she finished reading the character and gasped, clutching Gu Yaoyang's finger tightly.
"It's just my guess," Gu Yaoyang told Xia Qingtian.
"You are Mr. Gu, who knows everything, and you are never wrong," Xia Qingtian's nose felt a little sore. "But this time, I hope you are wrong."
Gu Yaoyang understood the tender concern in Xia Qingtian's words. He smiled slightly and pulled her into a hug. "Qingtian, with you by my side, nothing from the past can hurt me anymore."
Xia Qingtian hugged Gu Yaoyang's waist tightly, burying her face in his chest, her nostrils filled with his familiar scent. Such a gentle person... why did he have to endure such cruel treatment? Xia Qingtian couldn't understand. But she knew that no matter what, she would protect the person she held.
At the end of the corridor stood a father and daughter. The girl looked in Xia Qingtian's direction, her beautiful, emerald eyes filled with disgust and disdain. Beside her, a man with elegant silver hair, dressed in British style, also wore a slight smile, though his eyes held no warmth. "What a romantic scene, like the conclusion of every love drama."
"And also like the final, tender turning point before death in a tragedy," the girl whispered to the man beside her. "Father, if you want to kill them, just leave it to me. I'll do it cleanly."
"Xiva, our purpose here today is the treasure map. Let's focus on what's important," Xiang Xueyuan, who was also in disguise, glanced at Xiva, who was similarly disguised. "Let's return to our seats and see if there's anything you fancy. Buy it if you like it."
"Thank you, Father."