Ning Yuan suddenly smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Third Brother, don't you all really hope I'm still unmarried, so I can be of some use to the family?"
And it's incredibly useful?
The third brother is probably reminding her.
Ning Bingchao looked at her with a half-smile and shrugged: "Little sister, I didn't say that."
Ning Yuan stared at Ning Bingchao for a while and found that he looked quite like Bosco Wong, even his temperament was similar—a very sexy and roguish type.
But he's not annoying; on the contrary, he's the type of man who women love because he's a little bad, someone who only wants a one-night stand, and he's bad in a frank way.
"Then I'll trouble you to continue introducing my family to me, Third Brother." Ning Yuan nodded.
Ning Bingchao said with a smile, "In our family, my second brother has twins, a boy and a girl, in the great-grandchild generation. My eldest sister Man'an has no children, and my second sister Manfei has a daughter in Canada who just started elementary school this year."
He paused, then pushed a bowl of bird's nest soup in front of Ning Yuan, his smile deepening: "These are considered direct blood relatives. On the eldest branch of the family... your eldest uncle also has an adopted son, whom you should call Ning Bing'an, also known as 'Third Brother.'"
The two branches of the Ning family are closely related, and normally, the number of children in both branches is arranged by age.
However, because the second wife had broken ties with the family and moved out due to her grandmother's situation, they hadn't been in contact for quite some time.
After moving back, for some reason, the children of the two families are still ranked separately – which means Ning Yuan has two third brothers, one cousin, and one biological brother.
Ning Yuan noticed that Ning Bingchao specifically mentioned the adopted son of the eldest son's family, and a thought struck her: "This cousin Bing'an... was he adopted because our eldest uncle had no male heirs?"
In older, wealthy families, if a branch of the family lacked male heirs, they would indeed adopt a male heir, usually from their own brothers.
Given the Ning family's situation, the eldest brother, Ning Bingyu, would be the most suitable—he could inherit both branches of the family and rightfully become the heir.
but……
“Your third cousin Bing’an… is the child of your uncle’s favorite woman,” Ning Bingchao said with a smile, resting his chin on his hand.
Ning Yuan was taken aback, then gave an expression that said, "...An illegitimate child?"
She had heard that her aunt couldn't tolerate her husband keeping concubines outside the home in her early years, when the Hong Kong government was still enforcing the Qing Dynasty law—a man could have multiple concubines.
However, the eldest aunt of the Ning family, who was the first wife, resolutely refused to allow the concubine to enter the family. In the end, the family divorced, and the Ning family lost its matriarch. Only then did the old master bring her mother, the second wife of the Ning family, back.
But strangely, why didn't this concubine enter the house?
“Because this concubine died before she entered the family, and her child…” Ning Bingchao said with a half-smile.
He paused, then said mysteriously, "She's not my uncle's biological child either. She was born to him and another man, but my uncle dotes on Bing'an more than he does on my eldest sister. He raises her like his own son."
Ning Yuan was a little skeptical: "Are you sure they're not their biological children?"
DNA testing technology didn't exist yet at that time!
Ning Bingchao suddenly leaned close to her ear, put his arm around her shoulder, and said affectionately, "Because my uncle can't have children anymore, he's impotent!"
Ning Yuan didn't even bother to avoid this 'enthusiasm' and blurted out: "Pfft—!!!"
He spat out a mouthful of bird's nest.
Ning Yuan couldn't help coughing incessantly, hastily grabbing a handkerchief to cover her mouth as something got into her throat: "Cough cough cough cough!!!"
What the hell? How would a junior like him know that his uncle is impotent?! Who would go around telling the whole world that they're impotent? Does the whole family know?
And also, boss, this is only my first day back at the Ning family's old residence, and our first meeting. Is it appropriate for you to suddenly be so open and honest with me?
Ning Bingchao patted her back with a smile, as if he could completely read her mind—
"His aunt drugged him back then, so he's impotent. You have to keep this a secret. I bet only Grandpa, Mommy, Daddy, Big Brother, Big Sister, me, and you know about this. It's a family secret. Uncle doesn't know we know!"
Ning Yuan's expression was indescribable, and she very reluctantly stopped coughing: "..."
This?! This is supposed to be a "family secret"? This is clearly an open secret!
Is the current head of the Ning family unable to produce a son, and instead raising his mistress's and another man's son like a treasure?
This is hard to judge, really hard to judge...
Even her third brother, who stood before her with an air of nonchalance, completely unpredictable and seemingly unable to keep his mouth shut, left her utterly speechless.
Why did Ning Bingchao immediately bombard her with a bunch of gossip?
Ning Bingchao seemed quite pleased to see Ning Yuan's shocked expression, and continued to snap his fingers with a smile—
“If Bing’an weren’t without our Ning family blood, my eldest brother’s competitor wouldn’t be my eldest sister, but Bing’an.”
Ning Yuan looked at Ning Bingchao's expression, which seemed to say, "I'm going to tell you some big gossip," and remained silent for a moment before lowering her head to eat her bird's nest: "Mm."
She subtly stepped back, avoiding Ning Bingchao's overly enthusiastic approach.
Your entertainment industry is truly chaotic...
She was bombarded with so much explosive information as soon as she got back!
She ate something to calm her nerves.
Ning Bingchao smiled and pushed his portion of bird's nest in front of her: "Little sister, this is our family's basic information. Is there anything else you want to ask?"
Ning Yuan's face was filled with an indescribable expression: "That's all."
Although she had never met the fourth and fifth sons of the Ning family.
But compared to the old master, the eldest brother, and the second brother, Ning Laosan was like an oddball among the men of the Ning family.
But it must be said that his cynical personality is quite down-to-earth, making it hard to dislike him.
Ning Yuan couldn't help but look towards the entrance of the dining room, where the large mahogany door with its intricate carvings was tightly shut.
She lowered her voice, her tone complicated: "Are you sure you've gotten rid of all the servants? What if word gets out..."
"Don't worry, little sister, I've sent all the servants away, no one will hear." Ning Bingchao seemed to see through her thoughts and leaned back lazily in his chair.
He smiled helplessly, which made his charming eyes even more captivating: "It seems Mommy didn't want to scare you, so she didn't tell your little sister a lot of things. Tsk tsk, I guess I'll have to be the bad guy."
Ning Yuan remained silent. Yes, she could sense that her mother had a strong protective instinct towards her; otherwise, she wouldn't have gone all the way to the capital to teach "Comrade Xiao Ai" a lesson.
Even though she traveled all over the country doing small business, her mother still treated her like a child and didn't want her to face the mess that was the Ning family.
Ning Bingchao clutched his chest, adopting a serious expression: "So? Is there anything else you want to ask Third Brother? I promise to answer everything I know."
Ning Yuan took a deep breath: "Thank you, Third Brother. I really have nothing more to ask. I'll go back to my room now."
"Okay." Ning Bingchao shrugged and stood up. "Shall I take you upstairs?"
"No need, I can manage on my own." Ning Yuan refused without even thinking.
She didn't want him to feed her melons anymore; she was already a bit too full from eating melons all day.
She needs some time to process the massive amount of information she received today, so she's spending some time alone.
Ning Bingchao raised an eyebrow and gave an understanding smile: "Alright, then I won't bother you anymore. Mommy told me to stay at the old house this week and not to go out partying. She said she wants to spend more time with you. Come find me anytime if you need anything. My room is on the second floor. Let's have breakfast together tomorrow."
"Okay..." Ning Yuan's expression was indescribable.
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