Feng Xinya took less than two minutes to flip through and digest the over fifty pages of information within the file, to the Xue head's incredulity. As soon as he had finished, he passed over the files to Xue Yang to read over them himself, while he waited for him to finish.
He had nothing to say regarding the information. It had nothing to do with him, and frankly, it changed nothing he had planned.
The Xue family drama went way back to the current head's father, Xue Yang's grandfather. The Xue family had always been known to be the top family for the past century, but Feng Xinya was inwardly wondering how such incompetent leaders could possibly uphold that title for so long. For example, they couldn't even defend themselves from the schemes of others.
In the case of the Xue old master, he had similarly been set up and drugged by an opposing A Country large family, the Lin family. But, unlike the current head, he wasn't henpecked by his wife, so he ended up having more than one illegitimate child from that same mistress that he'd soon brought in after finding out she was pregnant with his child.
Actually, he had ended up falling for her and thus his wife, who only had one daughter, was pushed back and never had the chance to birth an heir of her own. Yes, in the end, the current head was actually the illegitimate son, while the aunt was the legitimate daughter.
Even this was not foreseen by Feng Xinya. Of course, it only caused him to raise a brow in slight surprise but it didn't change anything in the end. The aunt hadn't been given the position as the head of the house not because she was a woman, but because the old head favored his mistress and her children over his wife's daughter. Furthermore, it's not as if the current head was incompetent.
With this newfound information, it was too late for the aunt to take over the Xue family and she didn't have any children of her own. This was most likely why she resorted to another way to retaliate against the Xue family.
The aunt's motive differed from Feng Xinya's initial speculation in that she was probably just trying to enact a petty vengeance against the current head by having him experience the same thing she had in the cruelest way possible--to have him appoint his own illegitimate son as the head while the capable legitimate heir was still alive and kicking. It was just a bonus that the legitimate heir had to suffer such grievances in order to make the current head feel even more remorse.
Well, it definitely made him feel remorseful, but she hadn't considered Xue Yang's lack of ambition. The fact that he wouldn't fight for the position meant that it was easier for the Xue head to accept the results.
The irony of the whole situation was too strong that Feng Xinya couldn't hide the hint of disdain towards such trifles within this small Xue family.
Actually, the special forces could have attempted to arrest the aunt with the charges of collaborating with the organization as her name was recorded in the book that Feng Xinya had used to gauge Xue Yang's memories. It was just that her connection to the Xue family couldn't be disregarded and if the current head wasn't aware or fully convinced of her involvement, he had enough power to save or protect her. Even more importantly was that the power behind her was more than she let on.
As the only legitimate daughter of the old madam, she was given full support from her maternal family, which was the second most powerful family in A Country, the Qiu family.
While the Xue Family had control over the military even though they weren't soldiers, the Qiu family consisted of the soldiers within the military.
This meant that the aunt had more than just her Xue name to back her, but also the Qiu family. As a part of the military, no matter how powerful the special forces were, they couldn't easily strike at someone with the backing of both military families.
It didn't help that the Qiu family held a grudge against the former and current Xue head due to the former's infidelity. So, without the Xue head's help against the Qiu family, taking in the aunt would be troublesome. But the aunt's identity as the legitimate daughter and the head's identity as the illegitimate son truly was migraine-inducing.
The greatest worry of the higher-ups was that the Xue family's reputation would take a few hits. As for why the Qiu family had never revealed the fact that the current Xue head was an illegitimate son, it was precisely in order to have a hold over them in the future. If the Xue head truly acted against his older half-sister, then the Qiu family would most likely slander him for framing the only legitimate Xue daughter "unjustly."
As for the undercover and underground forces that were given to her by the Qiu family, the special forces had already taken care of them in the time it took for Feng Xinya and Xue Yang to arrive at A Country.
They just needed to take care of the aunt and the Qiu family. But that would make it seem as if the special forces were exclusively under the Xue family rather than the country because instead of dealing with a single individual they would be dealing with another large family that could compete with the Xue family in another few years, creating dissension and suspicion within the country's military that the Xue family was using the military to knock down their competitors.
Well, not that Feng Xinya cared about such things. He was only responsible for Xue Yang's safety--no one else's. All he had to do was relay the information he'd just received to his superiors then await the next set of orders.
So, while Xue Yang was almost done with the file, Feng Xinya quickly stepped out to inform them.
The call went through at the second ring, "Report."
"Xue will cooperate," These three words were enough for the current situation. He would fax the files when they returned to his manor. All his superior needed to know was if they'd be supported by the Xue family--in other words, the Xue head was willing to receive a blow to his reputation for the sake of his son's safety.
A short moment of silence followed, "Alright. Be wary of Xue Bai, the illegitimate son, and his mother, Qiu Shui. They have some connection to the aunt, so I doubt they are as harmless as they seem."
The superior had yet to find out that the aunt and the current head were only half-siblings, but he did know of the aunt's connection with the Qiu family because the Xue family had only released news that the current Xue head had received the Xue family, the eldest daughter received the Qiu family's support as well as a large portion of the shares owned by the Xue family, while the other two younger children received some shares and subsidies to other companies.
From an outsider's point of view, nothing seemed to be particularly wrong. Actually, to the current head, there wasn't anything particularly wrong with how his father had handled the distribution of his wealth. His elder half-sister had been compensated with plenty of shares that rivalled his own and she had the backing of the Qiu family that he didn't. He had to make do with the Xue family, which he had no real complaints about as he still maintained its superior position at the top of the world on his own.
Feng Xinya inconspicuously glanced at the dimly lit turn of the hallway before curling one corner of his lips upward, "I know."
When he hung up, he acted as if he didn't notice anything amiss as he leisurely returned his phone into his pocket and reentered the living room.
Walking back to his spot on the couch, Xue Yang was already done with the file as it remained closed on his lap in his hands.
His jade eyes stared straight ahead unfeelingly towards his parents across from him as they struck up a casual conversation, only answering to some questions occasionally and otherwise listening in silence.
Seeing as Feng Xinya had returned, Xue Yang's mother immediately requested for the head butler to refill their cups with tea.
"Back then, White Silver Needle was your favorite," she reminisced as she recalled her little angel smiling over a cup of sweet white tea and generously offering her one in a show of filial piety.
"En," Xue Yang didn't deny it, as he had a liking towards sweet things when he was four.
Feng Xinya's brow lifted thoughtfully as he considered buying more sweet confections for his little kitten on their way back to the manor. While he himself held no interest towards these things, if it made Yang happy then there was no loss in doing so.
"Yes, young master also loved tres leches cake and always requested the head chef to bake some, but madam refused to let him eat it too often as it wasn't good to overindulge," the head butler chuckled as he poured the hot tea into the cups. By this time, the temperature wasn't too hot or too cold to be consumed.
Xue Yang frowned, and Feng Xinya could tell that the teen cared little for the past they were speaking of. After all, he was and could no longer be the same little kid he used to be, nor did he want to be.
To his parents, however, he'd always be the four-year old Xue Yang who was full of gentleness and smiles. Even if he was currently only filled with bitter feelings towards them, they could never bring themselves to dislike him or blame him. That's why the Xue head didn't hesitate to throw away his face to help protect his son.
He had already failed him once. There was no way he'd allow Xue Yang to get hurt again.
Noticing their son's slight frown, the couple and the butler no longer spoke of the years they had spent with him. In the end, there was only an awkward silence before the Xue head started inquiring the special force's next course of action.
"What are your plans for the Qiu family and elder sister?"
Feng Xinya's voice was deep and left no room for objection, "Suppression."
Feng Xinya knew that the Xue head had a rather favorable impression of his other son, so he didn't bother trying to warn him about their wariness over him--after all he was only twelve, so the head was less inclined to believe that his son would be able to do anything too drastic.
However, Feng Xinya never took age into consideration since in his own world vampires existed, and even humans from the fresh age of ten could begin enlisting into the army to fight in the war.
As for the special forces, they preferred to be prepared for anything. Even if the head was the one who gave them the job to protect Xue Yang, he had told them to do whatever was necessary and to protect him from all dangers--even the ones that he himself was unaware of.
The reason they were so wary of the illegitimate son was due to the fact that he was clearly capable of cognitive thought, so he had a high chance of being fully aware of his mother's schemes.
"And after that?" The Xue head wasn't naïve enough to believe that his son would be able to live carefreely just because his sister and the Qiu family were no longer a threat. He had many enemies that would attempt to use Xue Yang against him.
With a cold smirk, Feng Xinya didn't elaborate, "Don't worry about it."
Besides, the only thing the Xue head needed to know was how the special forces intended to take care of the Qiu family.
As for anything after that, it had nothing to do with him because Xue Yang had him, Feng Xinya.
ooof, info dump. Imma just say this arc is almost done because i don't want to write too much more on all this legitimate/illegitimate shiiiet AND the struggles between high-tier familes.
We just need some smut before the end ;3