The vicious female supporting role is posted in the opposite direction by the cub

In a secluded mountain range in S continent, a thin veil of mist lingers year-round.

As the last rays of the setting sun sank below the inky blue horizon, the colossal behemoth lurking at the heart of the mountains—the Jiang family's main residence, "Jade Palace"—slowly opened its eyes, like a sleeping ancient beast.

The night, thick as ink, spilled over the layered, upturned eaves of the "Jade Palace," adorned with gilded dragon-head ornaments. The next moment, the glazed tiles covering the vast complex lit up one after another. These were not ordinary lights, but nano-sized self-luminous materials, saturated with sunlight during the day, now radiating a warm, gentle moonlight, illuminating the entire mountain range like a fairyland. The flowing light meandered between the tiles, outlining ancient and mysterious cloud patterns, like a jade dragon coiled atop the mountain.

This building has long transcended the concept of a "mansion".

Its outer layer is not cold cement or steel, but a smart water curtain wall that can automatically adjust its light transmittance with the rise and fall of the tide.

A slightly salty mountain breeze swept by, causing ripples to spread across the water. At the center of the ripples, intricate and elaborate Chinese auspicious cloud patterns emerged, a perfect blend of technology and ancient charm.

The main hall's towering dome is composed of 3,600 individually controllable glazed skylights.

During the day, it serves as a light-filled passageway; at night, the skylight silently slides open, instantly transforming into a boundless open-air viewing platform.

What's even more breathtaking is that the inside of the dome is inlaid with the most advanced holographic projection system.

With a flick of the user's fingertip, billions of stars unfold overhead, a vast galaxy where constellations shift and change—this is not a fabricated starry sky, but a precisely replicated star map of Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, existing only in distant memories. Standing beneath it is like stepping into a thousand-year-old dream.

The handrails of each corridor are cool to the touch, a perfect fusion of deep-sea jade and high-strength carbon fiber. They retain the natural warmth and smoothness of jade while possessing terrifying strength capable of withstanding missile impacts. The seemingly rustic potted dwarf pines on the terrace are actually genetically modified "millennial pines," with miniature air purifiers and humidity regulators wrapped around their gnarled roots. Even the crisp fragrance emitted by the pine needles can be precisely controlled according to the indoor environment.

The chandelier hanging from the center of the main hall's coffered ceiling is not an ordinary chandelier, but a string of artificially cultivated, perfectly round and translucent luminous pearls. Each pearl is embedded with a microchip, and its light can change into different rhythms of brightness and darkness according to the rhythm of the banquet and the mood of the guests, concealing technology in luxurious details.

The most breathtaking feature is undoubtedly the main passageway connecting the various floors – the "Cloud Staircase." This massive, curved escalator, which runs through the main body of the building, has each step meticulously cut and polished from a single piece of warm jade. Stepping barefoot on it, warmth rises from the soles of your feet. The cold jade handrails on both sides of the escalator are smooth and delicate. When someone approaches, an extremely thin holographic light screen silently pops up from the side of the handrail, translating different languages ​​in real time and scrolling encrypted internal news.

The holographic technology at Xiaoluling has left netizens mesmerized, with many exclaiming that technology is changing the world.

Little did they know, in some hidden corner, there was a huge family that had already used these technologies to the highest level!
But the deeper level at the end of the escalator lies the true core of this island...

The inner courtyard of the Jiang family.

Only the head of the Jiang family and a very small number of core members are allowed to live here.

The mountain wind was biting, but upon entering the inner courtyard, the interior was transformed by a high-tech screen into a cliffside coastline.

Jiang Yu loves the seaside, but unfortunately, she spends most of her time at home dealing with affairs and cannot go to the seaside often, so her observation deck is always projected as a virtual coastline.

A salty, fishy breeze from the sea ruffled a few loose strands of brown hair near Jiang Yu's temples. She stood there alone, her brows furrowed, lost in thought.

A cashmere shawl was gently draped over her shoulders, and Jiang Ming appeared silently beside her, his broad, warm hands, with a soothing strength, resting firmly on his wife's tense back.

"Nervous?" His voice was deep and gentle, as steady as a rock. "Xiao Xing's plane will land in less than three hours. Judging from your expression, it's like you're about to take up a sword and go to war."

Jiang Yu turned around, grasped her husband's wrist, and said in a steady but undeniably cold voice, "What's the difference between this and going to war? Jiang Ke, that woman has been missing for five whole years, neither alive nor dead."

With a flick of her finger, the coastal scenery instantly transformed back into a real mountain range.

Jiang Yu pointed calmly into the depths of the misty mountains, "Back then, in order to seize power, she dared to collude with the infamous S organization and ruthlessly murder her own niece. Now, she still holds half of the family head's seal, lurking in the shadows like a venomous snake—" A calm analysis leaked between her teeth, "Zihu... the five years of peace that she bought with her life are probably coming to an end."

Jiang Ming held his wife's hand in his palm, trying to transfer his strength: "The 'Heavenly Net' defense system left by Zi Hu covers the entire archipelago. Even a strange bird flying in will trigger an alarm and lock on. Moreover, Jiang Ke's remnants from back then have long been wiped out by us. She is now truly alone and helpless."

"A lone hand?" Jiang Yu shook her head. "Have you forgotten what she's holding? It's the patriarch's seal, capable of mobilizing the 'Shadow Guards' passed down through generations of the Jiang family, who only obey the seal's command. That half-seal, I'm afraid..."

She sighed: "She disappeared for the past five years. Either she's really dead, or... she's waiting. Waiting for Xiaoxing to come back. Waiting for her only, greatest threat—my daughter—to step into this carefully woven net."

Meanwhile, at an altitude of 10,000 meters, a luxury passenger plane was smoothly passing through the clouds, flying towards S Continent International Airport.

The Jiang family has a private jet, but she didn't want to attract too much attention by returning, and she was even more afraid that Jiang Ke's remnants might sabotage her trip, so Yan Yueqing chose a more common mode of transportation.

Inside first class, she closed the documents in her hand, shut her eyes, and rubbed her throbbing temples with her fingertips.

The man sitting next to me, blond and blue-eyed, dressed to an almost flamboyant degree, took off his sunglasses at just the right moment, revealing a pair of blue eyes as cold as the ice of the North Sea.

His gaze, filled with undisguised admiration and curiosity, was fixed on Yan Yueqing's aloof and stunning profile.

“Melancholic beauties are always particularly captivating.” The man spoke in fluent Chinese with a slight foreign accent, his tone carrying a deliberate languor and confidence.

He pushed a gold-embossed business card towards me with his long, slender fingers. The diamond badge embedded in one corner of the card gleamed dazzlingly under the cabin lights. “Keynes Lowell. Beautiful lady, you may call me… ‘The Prince of the North Sea’.”

He deliberately emphasized the last few words, conveying a sense of superiority.

Yan Yueqing didn't even lift her eyelids, as if the other person was just a wisp of air: "Sorry, not interested." (End of Chapter)