Shang Yanfei walked into the room with a smile on his face.
Xiaodie hurriedly bowed, but Shang Xinci sat by the table, not moving, not even her pupils shifting.
Shang Yanfei also sat down at the table, his voice extremely soft and gentle: "Xinci, how are you feeling now?"
Shang Xinci was not a willful girl. She stood up, stepped back a few paces, and gave a slight bow: "Patriarch of the Shang family, please do not worry too much. I merely fainted due to excessive emotional agitation. I have recovered now. My eyes and ears are clear, there is nothing wrong."
Shang Yanfei quickly waved his hand: "Hehehe, Xinci, it's good that you are alright. Sit down, let's talk sitting down."
She only addressed him as the Patriarch of the Shang family. This deliberate distant tone stung his heart.
Shang Xinci sat down again. Xiaodie snapped to her senses and poured tea for Shang Yanfei.
"Tell me, how have you been all these years?" Shang Yanfei gazed tenderly at Shang Xinci.
"I've been getting by alright." Shang Xinci's answer was brief; she clearly did not want to talk in depth.
Instead, it was Xiaodie who complained: "Miss has been ostracized by the clan since she was young. After the Madam passed away, they became even more aggressive and tried to annex our family's property. It's too despicable. Master, you must stand up for Miss!"
"Xiaodie, mind your tea pouring." Shang Xinci shot Xiaodie a glare.
Xiaodie immediately shut her mouth and stopped talking.
Shang Yanfei had been brushed off, but he didn't mind at all. Instead, a deeper feeling of pity welled up in his heart.
He smiled: "By the way, how did you get here? It's a very long journey from the Zhang family to this place."
"Master, you almost lost Miss. Our journey was a narrow escape from death. Out of the thousands in the trade caravan, only the four of us remained. We were lucky to meet the two lords, Heitu and Baiyun, for help. Otherwise..." Xiaodie couldn't hold it in anymore and blurted out.
"Xiaodie!" Shang Xinci gave Xiaodie a harsh glare.
Xiaodie had no choice but to close her mouth again.
Shang Yanfei committed the names "Heitu" and "Baiyun" to memory while smiling: "You will live here from now on. It is very safe here. You can take a walk in the courtyard or stroll down the streets in your spare time. You just arrived and are not familiar with the place; you might easily get lost. I will assign a maid to you. She knows the environment here well. I will take my leave now. Cultivate well."
Shang Yanfei could see that Shang Xinci still needed time to adjust herself.
Right now, she needed space and time to adapt.
"Master is so kind. Even though he is the patriarch of the Shang family, he is so gentle. Miss, after all, he is your biological father..." Xiaodie advised, watching Shang Yanfei's departing back.
"I know. I understood Mother's good intentions the moment I saw him for the first time. Ah... before she died, she told me to come to Shang Mountain, but she didn't say why outright. Because she couldn't be sure if he would acknowledge me as his daughter... Although he has acknowledged me now, my heart is not at ease. All this came too suddenly..."
"Miss, no matter what, no matter where you go, Xiaodie will be by your side." Xiaodie sat at the table, grabbed Shang Xinci's hand, and gave her encouragement.
"Mm." Shang Xinci nodded, touched, and placed her other hand on Xiaodie's.
"Of course, it would be even better if Miss could stay. Just think! This is the Shang family! My god! Wealth and glory are within easy reach, Miss! The Zhang family is not even worthy of shining the shoes of the Shang family, Miss!" Xiaodie made a funny face and shouted.
"You..." Shang Xinci was both exasperated and amused, feeling helpless towards Xiaodie.
Xiaodie giggled. Her laughter gradually infected Shang Xinci, dispelling some of the gloom in her heart.
Shang Yanfei walked out of the house, and the smile on his face immediately vanished.
He wore a black robe, his hair was blood-red, his face was handsome, and his eyes flashed with a chilling light. His habit of tightly pressing his lips together revealed his resolute and bold character.
This was Shang Yanfei, the patriarch of the Shang family of this generation!
He was ruthless. To secure his position as patriarch, he had driven two brothers and one sister to suicide.
He was decisive in killing. Shortly after taking office, a remote mountain stronghold, believing the emperor was far away, attacked the Shang family's trade caravan. He overrode all objections, invested heavily in an expedition, and massacred every single person in the stronghold, young and old. He killed all the captured prisoners who begged for mercy, piling their heads into a small hill to be laid before the family elders who had initially opposed the expedition.
He had a strong grip on power. Since taking office, he consolidated his authority, promoted his confidants, and suppressed his opponents. He immediately established over a dozen outside elders. In just three years, his voice was the only one left in the entire upper echelon of the Shang family.
He had exceptional foresight and business acumen. During his reign, the scale of the Shang family's trade caravans had more than tripled. Over a hundred families expressed their submission to the Shang family, forming a huge, hidden force.
He employed people based on their merits, making no exceptions even for his own children. Originally, there were fifteen heirs to the Shang family's young master position. After he took office, he directly reduced the number by a third.
Even more remarkably, he was gifted by heaven, possessing a Grade A aptitude. While managing the clan, his own cultivation also continuously improved, competing closely with the clan's development, which invited envy and hatred.
This was the real Shang Yanfei, the man standing at the pinnacle of the mortal world in the Southern Border.
"Your subordinate greets the Patriarch." A teenage Gu Master bowed to him.
"Tian Lan, from today onwards, you must serve Miss Xinci with all your heart and strength. Understand?" Shang Yanfei said coldly.
"Your subordinate understands." The girl nodded.