Chapter 81 (62): Xuan Yuan Qingya – Please Be Harsher With Me; Lin Tian: ???
Shang Yan?
The moment this name was spoken, Lin Tian, Shang Chan, and Zhao Mengmeng all froze in place!
The main reason was simply that this surname was far too unusual…
The surname Shang traces back to the Shang Dynasty. After King Wen of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, the surviving members of the royal house took “Shang” as their family name. One could say it was among the most ancient of surnames.
Even up to the present, Shang is not a common surname. At least among the people Lin Tian knew, only Shang Chan bore it…
But that wasn’t the most crucial part. The real point was that Shang Chan, despite being the daughter of the Zhao family, strangely did not take the Zhao surname—instead she bore the surname Shang!
Lin Tian also happened to know that Shang Chan’s background was very likely tied to the Dragon Group, and now it turned out that the master of the Dragon Group just happened to be named Shang Yan…
If there wasn’t some deeper connection here, Lin Tian absolutely wouldn’t believe it!
【…Could Shang Chan actually be Shang Yan’s granddaughter or something? Could her mother perhaps be this Dragon Lord’s daughter—or at least a relative? …Also, wait—is Shang Yan even a man or a woman?】
Lin Tian secretly speculated in his heart.
Hearing his inner thoughts, Xuan Yuan Qingya quietly added,
“Shang Yan is an elderly man in his sixties or seventies. A few years ago, when the Star Group and the Dragon Group held a private meeting, I once saw him. He’s a very kind, amiable old gentleman.”
Lin Tian instantly understood.
Damn, this couldn’t be more obvious!
Shang Yan was, with high probability, Shang Chan’s grandfather…
Though he still didn’t know the exact details, the logic behind this was easy enough to piece together.
Zhao Dongyun and Shang Chan’s mother had met, and eventually Shang Chan was born. At the very beginning, she might not even have been called Shang Chan but rather Zhao Chan.
But Shang Chan’s mother clearly wasn’t an ordinary woman either—she was the daughter of the Dragon Group’s Dragon Lord. In terms of status, that put her in the same position as Xuan Yuan Qingya now.
This whole matter might have even involved some sort of forbidden romance—a daughter of a powerful hidden clan eloping with Zhao Dongyun or something along those lines…
In the end, Shang Chan’s mother was probably forcibly taken back to the Dragon Group by Shang Yan himself, which explained why Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng had never seen their mother since childhood.
However, if Shang Chan’s mother truly was the Dragon Lord’s daughter, and if she hadn’t passed away, why had she never once come back to see her two daughters after all these years?
That part didn’t really make sense…
【So, Shang Chan’s identity is far from simple… She was already the legitimate daughter of the Zhao Clan, and now she might even be the Dragon Lord’s granddaughter… Even if I can’t be sure whether this connection is absolutely true, the chance of them being related by blood is almost certain.】
【Tsk tsk… what a tangled mess of relationships. I wonder if members of the Dragon Group will show up at this Xuan Yuan family banquet. Jiang Yifeng was taken away by the Dragon Group—maybe he’ll return riding on their power… Sigh, this castle has really turned into a full-fledged battlefield.】
Lin Tian subconsciously analyzed and sighed inwardly, completely unaware that all three women could hear his every thought.
Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng exchanged glances, their eyes filled with excitement and joy, yet also tinged with unease.
They had never seen their mother since they were children, and now they had suddenly learned such crucial information…
As daughters, how could they not long to find their own mother?
However, if things truly were as Lin Tian’s inner voice suggested, then what kind of situation was their mother in, that she hadn’t come to see her daughters even once in over ten years?
And within the Zhao Clan, they had never once heard of the Dragon Group or this Shang Yan…
Could this mean that between the Zhao Clan and Shang Yan, there existed some sort of irreconcilable conflict?
The sisters’ minds ran wild, their expressions shifting from light to dark, all unsettled by both the information Xuan Yuan Qingya revealed and the secrets carried within Lin Tian’s thoughts.
After finishing, Xuan Yuan Qingya gave a faint smile and said,
“The Dragon Group and the Star Group have always maintained a relationship of non-interference… The Dragon Group’s main sphere of influence lies within Huaxia, while our Star Group’s strength is primarily abroad. Though there are occasional points of contact, we rarely interact much on a day-to-day basis.”
“This time, Jiang Yifeng used such underhanded tricks to plot against me, only for me to expose him. In the end, he was rescued by people from the Dragon Group. I imagine the Dragon Group will give us an explanation for this…”
“If you’re curious about the matter, then at the birthday banquet in a few days, you might just get the chance to see the Dragon Lord in person…”
These last words of Xuan Yuan Qingya were directed primarily at Shang Chan.
After all, although the matter had little to do with her, since it cost nothing to offer a bit of goodwill, Xuan Yuan Qingya didn’t mind doing so.
Still, she chose not to reveal too much—after all, the fact that she could hear Lin Tian’s inner voice was something she had no intention of letting others know.
What she didn’t realize, however, was that Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng could also hear Lin Tian’s thoughts…
Hearing Xuan Yuan Qingya’s words, Shang Chan gave a light smile and said,
“Although I was born into the Zhao Clan, which could barely be considered a great house, my sister and I have never really heard of or seen organizations like the Dragon Group and the Star Group… It feels rather strange, in a way.”
“If the chance arises, we would truly like to meet this Dragon Lord.”
Xuan Yuan Qingya gave a slight nod and said indifferently,
“The Dragon Group and Star Group stand on equal footing. Since the Dragon Lord personally rescued Jiang Yifeng, then he must, without fail, come to give the Xuan Yuan Family an explanation… Most likely, that will happen at the birthday banquet in a few days.”
The group chatted idly for a while longer, but did not delve deeper into this topic.
Shang Chan and Zhao Mengmeng, their minds thrown into turmoil by the matter of their mother’s identity, only wanted to return and carefully think things through—perhaps even dig up some information.
Thus, they stood and took their leave.
After all, Lin Tian wasn’t going anywhere, and what lay between them and him was not something that needed to be settled in haste…
Once the sisters departed, the room once again fell quiet, leaving only Lin Tian and Xuan Yuan Qingya.
Lin Tian thought inwardly, What is this, some kind of relay station? One leaves and two arrive, two leave and another comes in…