In my memory, the Shao family in the capital city was like a huge castle with its gaping maw, filled with gloom and terror.
The young boy, dressed in tattered clothes, leaned against the cold iron wall. Blood dripping from his fingers spread into bright red flowers on the crystal-white ground, which was particularly glaring.
Yet he still gazed expectantly at the falling snowflakes with those gloomy eyes.
Snowflakes drifted down, like a white robe woven by the delicate hands of a fairy, draping the earth in a sacred garment.
The girl before him blinked her large, dark, grape-like eyes, her soft, delicate face smiling gently like an angel, illuminating his darkest world.
Her fair cheeks curved into a charming smile, her eyes holding a hint of amusement: "Who said you're a stinking rat from the gutter?"
He was slightly taken aback, but then he saw the girl's lips curl into a bright smile. She gently lifted his chin with her finger and said with a mischievous grin:
"I remember your name. How about starting today, you become my bodyguard? With me protecting you, no one will dare to bully you! If the Shao family dares to bully you, just say my name, and let's see who dares to mess with you!"
The tender voice was like heavenly music, gently rippling across the dark field of his heart.
At that moment, he felt as if he were seeing the most sacred little princess in the world.
She was holy, elegant, and pure, untouched by any worldly dust. He was afraid that even a glance at her would taint his most beloved and noble little princess.
So he immediately lowered his head in self-consciousness, biting his lip and saying, "You don't need to pity me, I don't need anyone's pity."
Yes, she is the most sacred princess of the Shao family, the apple of everyone's eye in the Shao family, and the Shao family wants nothing more than to hold her in their palms and cherish her.
But he was filthy and disgusting, like a stinking rat in a sewer or a cockroach under the gloom. How could he be worthy to stand beside her?
He doesn't deserve it at all.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, his tender chin was gently lifted by a pair of slender fingers.
He was met with the girl's innocent and radiant face: "The word 'sympathy' only applies to people weaker than me, but big brother, you're clearly older than me, how could you be weaker than me? Big brother, will you be my bodyguard?"
The girl's soft, sweet voice, tinged with a hint of coquetry, stirred his heart for the first time.
He couldn't help but look down at the girl in front of him, who was two years younger than him.
She was only five years old. Her small face was as soft and tender as jelly, and her crystal-clear eyes were like black pearls dropped by a mermaid. She had a high nose bridge and a cute little mouth. She was like an angel who had walked out of a painting, and could only be admired from afar.
For the first time in his life, his cold and hard heart had the thought of protecting her within it.
"Big brother, please~" she said coquettishly, shaking his dirty sleeve, her bright black eyes smiling like a little fox.
He intended to shake off the girl's hand, but unexpectedly said directly, "Okay..."
The trembling voice reached his ears, and even he himself was slightly taken aback.
As if unable to believe it, she had uttered words that her body should not have said.
"Great!" The girl's pretty face lit up with a smile, and she quickly slipped a note into his hand:
"Big brother, I'll be waiting for you at the Shao family tomorrow. You must come!"
As she finished speaking, the girl waved to him from afar as she ran. The snowflakes fell gently on her innocent world, like a crystal picture meticulously designed by the Creator, breathtakingly beautiful.
He gazed intently in the direction the girl had gone, his fingers unconsciously clenching the note tightly into his palm.
He clutched the note tightly, as if he were clutching the light shining into his heart.
It was so warm, so enchanting.
Ye Rong probably never imagined that after all these years, he would still hear the familiar word "stinky rat".
His deep black eyes held an unfathomable dark light, a gaze that seemed to pierce through time.
In the Ye family hall, Gu Momo's voice, like a thunderclap, resonated in everyone's ears, leaving the Ye family members feeling utterly shocked.
Ye Xichen, Ye Qingfeng, and Ye Wanjun had ashen faces, as if they were about to explode at any moment.
But then Li Zhanting strode up and blocked Gu Momo's path, his imposing aura pressing in: "The Shao family in the capital has a strict hierarchy and loves to reproduce. Back then, Old Master Shao had eight brothers, and they had a whole bunch of sons."
As he spoke, he looked at Ye Xichen with a sinister smile: "Master, if I'm not mistaken, you must be the eldest son of Shao Rongxin, the seventh master of the Shao family, right? Your bone structure is remarkably similar to that master's, and you even inherited the mole between your eyebrows."
Ye Xichen's fingers suddenly clenched, and a murderous aura seemed to be hidden between his brows.
Then Li Zhanting continued to look at the Third Master Ye Qingfeng: "Third Master, if I'm not mistaken, you should be the third son of the Fourth Master Shao Piao'ao of the Shao family. What you probably don't know is that your back view is almost exactly the same as that one!"
Ye Qingfeng's face immediately darkened, but then he saw Li Zhanting continue looking at Fourth Master Ye Wanjun:
"This Fourth Master goes without saying. The Dark Night Alliance's investigation revealed that you had undergone plastic surgery. Before the surgery, your face was almost seven or eight parts similar to the Second Master of the Shao family. Everyone, am I right?"
Ye Xichen, Ye Qingfeng, and Ye Wanjun all looked embarrassed. Only Ye Xichen said angrily, "Whether we are from the Shao family or not is irrelevant. Li Zhanting! Don't even think about changing the subject with Gu Momo!"
Gu Momo's eyes held a sly smile as she deliberately raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh? Are you afraid that the world will find out you're a bunch of cowards? Or are you afraid that if Zhan Ting and I find out your identities, we'll make you hand over your assets to Ye Meng?"
Upon hearing this, the Ye family members widened their eyes even more.
Ye Xichen, Ye Qingfeng, and Ye Wanjun slammed their hands on the table: "Gu Momo, shut up!"
As soon as they finished speaking, Li Zhanting stood in front of Gu Momo.
He put his hands in his pockets, his cold eyes gleaming with a chilling light: "When Momo and I were investigating the Shao family's records, we discovered something. The eldest patriarch of the Shao family had a son who married a lady from country L."
"The eldest patriarch of the Shao family has so many sons who got married, but only one of them married the Miss L. In addition, you allowed Ye Meng to live in your Ye family, so I dare to guess that Ye Meng's mother should be that Miss L?"
After saying that, he curled his lips into a wicked smile: "Of course, I'm just guessing. After all, there's no solid evidence for this."
But if he's right, then this is a very serious problem!
The inheritance rules of the Shao family are similar to the primogeniture system of ancient times.
If Ye Meng is the daughter of the eldest patriarch of the Shao family, then she is the only one in the entire Shao family who can inherit all of the family's assets.
So, perhaps this is why the elders and younger generations of the Ye family cannot tolerate Ye Meng.
Li Zhanting spoke slowly to everyone in the hall, but little did he know that Ye Meng outside the door had heard everything clearly.
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