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墨書 Inktalez
"Have you really not believed it?"
The voice of Nameless echoed in Ouyang Zixin's mind. In the Millennium Ruins, the words "The Return of the Legitimate Daughter" had appeared before, and he knew that. Why was it that now he claimed not to believe it?
"Are you foolish? Even if it's true, you can't say you believe it."
"Why not?"
"Nameless, the Matriarch suddenly appearing—have you never thought about why? So many years have passed, and if she truly cared about my mother and me, she would have found a way to send word. But look at what she has done all these years."
"But didn't she say she was imprisoned?"
"True, that's what she said, but I always feel that one must be wary of others."
"Xin'er, Xin'er..." Bai Su called out to Ouyang Zixin several times before she responded, "What are you thinking about?"
Ouyang Zixin smiled lightly and said, "Mother, I wasn't thinking about anything."
Madam Bai was momentarily at a loss for words, her meaningful gaze fixed on Ouyang Zixin as if containing a thousand unspoken words.
Finally, the Matriarch sighed and said, "Whether you believe it or not, there are some things I should clarify with you in advance."
Now, members of the Bai Clan would increasingly appear in the Capital of the Departed Nation. If she guessed correctly, Bai Zhan would likely come in person. After all, in Bai Zhan's eyes, nothing was more important than truly controlling the power of the Bai Clan. Now that Bright White Stone was in the Capital of the Departed Nation and even Baike had emerged from the Millennium Ruins, his arrival was only a matter of time.
To contend with Bai Zhan, the best way was to prove that he had not allowed his daughter to inherit the title of Legitimate Daughter of the Bai Clan. The candidate for this role was naturally this granddaughter he was meeting for the first time.
“Matriarch, I will make Bai Zhan pay for what he did to my mother, but there is one thing I don't understand.” Ouyang Zixin quietly looked at the Matriarch, trying to discern something from her eyes. Unfortunately, the Matriarch was someone who had lived a long life; as they say, old ginger is spicier. This was indeed true. If she truly had no selfish motives and was wholeheartedly concerned for Bai Su and her daughter, then she was simply too skilled at disguising her intentions, to the point where Ouyang Zixin could see no flaws in her demeanor.
“Ask your question,” Madam Bai said, still looking at Ouyang Zixin with a loving expression, embodying the image of an elder willing to answer any questions from the younger generation.
“Isn't it true that regardless of who the Legitimate Daughter of the Bai Clan is, it ultimately falls to a man to become the clan leader? Bai Zhan is your biological son; why do you oppose him taking that position so strongly?” Ouyang Zixin voiced her doubts, and Bai Su beside her was taken aback as well. It seemed she had never seriously considered this question before. She turned to Madam Bai, hoping for a reasonable explanation.
This question sounded sharp; as a mother, who wouldn’t want their son to succeed? Yet Madam Bai responded as if it were the most ordinary question in the world, lightly laughing as she said, “He is my son, yes. But he is not as important as the overall development of the Bai Clan. This concerns the future burden of our family; his character does not suit being the clan leader.”
Indeed, Bai Zhan was ruthless and unscrupulous; he lacked the temperament required for a clan leader. This reasoning sounded quite reasonable.
However, Ouyang Zixin did not fully believe it. In her view, while the future of the family was important, wasn’t her own son important too? If Madam Bai had lost all maternal feelings towards Bai Zhan due to his years of imprisoning her, Ouyang Zixin might have believed that.
“Must the father of the Legitimate Daughter be the clan leader?”
“Not necessarily.”
“Then abolishing Bai Zhan’s position as clan leader and having Baike serve as the Legitimate Daughter—wouldn’t that conflict?”
“No, it wouldn’t conflict.”
Madam Bai seemed taken aback by Ouyang Zixin's directness in bringing up such a matter. Even when Bai Su was reluctant to take on the role of Legitimate Daughter of the Bai Clan back then, she never stated it so absolutely or pushed it away so cleanly. It appeared that this granddaughter of hers was not much like her daughter but rather more resolute and decisive like Ouyang Hao.
“Since it doesn’t conflict, why are you so adamant about not acknowledging Baike’s qualifications to become the Legitimate Daughter?” Ouyang Zixin smiled at Madam Bai and shrugged her shoulders, saying, “I have been away from the Bai Clan for many years with my mother; I don’t think I have any chance of being recognized as the Legitimate Daughter anymore. After all, I don’t even bear the surname Bai, Madam Bai.”
“Yes, Mother, Xin'er…” Bai Su chimed in from the side. If anyone didn’t want Ouyang Zixin to become the Legitimate Daughter, it would be her first. Initially unsure how to refuse or persuade her mother against it, she had never made things clear until now. Hearing her daughter bring this up gave her a sense of renewed hope.
Before Bai Su could finish speaking, Madam Bai shot her a glare as if upset with her lack of ambition and for not standing on her side.
Bai Su was immediately silenced by the Matriarch's glare, lowering her head to look at her hands, resembling a child who had done something wrong.
"Xin'er, your grandmother is doing this for you and your mother. Think about it, it's been so many years since you left the Bai Clan; it's time to return home, isn't it?" Madam Bai looked at Ouyang Zixin with the tenderness of a loving elder, not as sternly as she had with Bai Su. She gently advised, "Although a woman marries into her husband's family, if she lacks support from her own family, she can easily be bullied in her husband's household."
"My father treats my mother well; no one bullies us," Ouyang Zixin shook her head. Madam Bai's reasoning was sound in theory but did not reflect their current situation.
"Well, that's true for now, but what if..." Madam Bai was still not giving up.
"Matriarch, there is no 'what if.' I won't allow any 'what if' to happen."
At this point, if Ouyang Zixin could not see that Madam Bai had ulterior motives, then she truly had lived two lifetimes in vain. A cold smile crept into her heart; all those years of familial affection were false. In the end, people could not escape greed and the corruption of desire.
It was unexpected that after being imprisoned for so long, the Matriarch still hadn't come to terms with reality and was trying to impose her will on them.
"Why are you so stubborn!" Madam Bai was somewhat angry. In the Bai Clan, no younger generation dared to oppose her like this; they would always try to refute her words. Just moments ago, she had been suppressing her anger; otherwise, with someone like Ouyang Zixin, she would have exploded long ago.
"You can say I'm stubborn; that's just my nature. But don't worry, I will protect my mother well. Oh right, my father will also protect my mother. Anyone who wants to lay a hand on her better think twice..." Ouyang Zixin suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for her mother. Growing up in such a family, first persecuted by her brother and then being seen as an object of manipulation by her mother—it was truly remarkable that her mother could remain so kind and innocent.
"You!" Madam Bai's gaze towards Ouyang Zixin changed for a moment; she felt a flicker of fear. She was afraid that the image she had cultivated over the years would be seen through by this child in just one afternoon. Was Ouyang Zixin really just a child?
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