Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

What kind of talk is that?

The reprimand almost slipped out, but he swallowed it back down.

Looking at his son, who was always at odds with him, and seeing him standing there calmly carrying the lantern, Shang Yu suddenly felt that something about his son seemed to have changed.

He took an exquisite safety buckle from his sleeve and placed it on the table. "I picked this out for you at the night market. See if you like it?"

Shang Yu originally planned to give this peace buckle to his eldest son after returning home, but for some inexplicable reason, he took it out now.

Shang Jingming looked at the smooth and translucent peace buckle on the table, then smiled indifferently.

A carrot dangling from a donkey.

Honey mixed with arsenic.

Compared to utter ruthlessness, Shang Yu's ambiguous, seemingly nonexistent yet present nature was the true source of his past suffering.

He has received a more steadfast, open, fair, and broad protection, so how could he be misled by intermittent trickles?

"I appreciate your kindness, Father."

"May you live a peaceful and prosperous life, free from illness and worry. Your younger siblings may need it more than Jingming. Please give it to them, Father."

Shang Jingming, displaying the demeanor of an eldest son and elder brother, declined the safety buckle.

Shang Yu should have been pleased with his son's maturity, but for some reason, he felt a little lost.

"Jingming..."

He wanted to say something more, but three- or four-year-old Shang Suxue pointed at the lantern in Shang Jingming's hand, "Brother, fish, fish!"

Looking at Shang Yu's expression, Feng Jiqin stroked Shang Suxue's head and said, "These are your brother's fish. Suxue can't have them. After we leave the teahouse, Mother will buy Suxue a rabbit lantern, okay?"

The carp lantern that Shang Jingming was carrying was dazzling and really beautiful.

Shang Suxue stared longingly, somewhat reluctant to part, "Fish, beautiful fish."

Shang Yu looked at Shang Jingming with some difficulty: "Jingming, the lantern in your hand..."

Shang Jingming gripped the lantern handle tightly, about to refuse Shang Yu, when Shen Jiangliu snatched the lantern from Shang Jingming's hand.

Shang Jingming froze for a moment before releasing the lantern.

Shen Jiangliu, carrying a lantern, squatted down next to Shang Suxue with a smile. "Is the fish pretty?"

The little girl opened her big, watery eyes and exclaimed, "Beautiful!"

"Does Xue like it?"

The little girl nodded, happily reaching out to touch the carp lantern. "I like it."

"Do you want it?"

The little girl looked at her older brother, who was standing to the side, and said to him with pleading eyes, "I want it."

Feng Jiqin was about to thank Shang Suxue on her behalf.

Shen Jiangliu pulled the carp lantern back so the little girl wouldn't touch it. "I won't give it to you."

"This is a painting I made for your brother; there's no one for you."

Feng Jiqin: "..."

Shang Yu: "..."

Under Shang Suxue's big, watery eyes, Shen Jiangliu delivered the final blow with a smile, "Little girl, I'm going to teach you a lesson today."

Life is full of regrets; you can't always get what you want.

"Your brother has no obligation to give you everything."

He's more than ten years older than you, but he doesn't owe you anything.

Shang Suxue was only three or four years old; how could she understand any of this?

The little girl pouted and burst into tears with a "waa".

On the contrary, the two brothers, Shang Jingyan and Shang Jinghe, had burning faces and kept their heads down without saying a word.

Feng Jiqin picked up her daughter and hurriedly comforted her.

Shang Yu picked up the peace buckle on the table, seemingly lost in thought. He glanced deeply at Shang Jingming, then, disturbed by Shang Suxue's crying, he habitually joined in to comfort her.

Shen Jiangliu carried the carp lantern back as before, shoved the wooden handle into Shang Jingming's hand, and said, "What are you standing there for? Let's go, didn't we want to change to a private room?"

Shang Jingming's throat bobbed, unsure of what to say. He simply gripped the lantern in his hand and said silently, "Thank you."

Shen Jiangliu waved his hand dismissively.

It's a trivial matter; I just blurted it out casually. What difference does it make who I criticize?

With the atmosphere so chaotic, the waiter, who had been playing a supporting role for so long, bowed and prepared to quietly lead the two young masters out.

As the three of them stepped out of the private room, they bumped into two masked men standing side by side at the door.

The waiter was so startled that he almost fell to the ground.

Shen Jiangliu squinted at the masks on the two people's faces for a while: "Wearing such ugly masks to scare people, I could draw a better one with my feet."

Shang Jingming: "..." Why does this sound so familiar?

Shang Jingming stared intently at them. His keen senses as a martial artist made him feel that the aura, posture, and figure of the two masked men in front of him were somewhat familiar.

He silently reached behind him with one hand and quietly tugged at the back of Shen Jiangliu's shirt.

"what?"

"Who knows how long they've been standing there, or how much of your family gossip they've overheard?"

Shen Jiangliu concluded definitively, "He was suspicious and furtive; he wasn't a good person."

Jiang Jibai: "..."

Qin Ji: "..."

After spewing insults everywhere, Lord Shen finally managed to get his rant directed at his teacher and His Majesty.

To prevent his "senior brother" from continuing to recklessly court disaster, Shang Jingming loosened his shirt, made a fist with his right hand, pressed it to his lips, and coughed lightly. "Mr. Jiang, I didn't expect to meet you here. What a coincidence."

Shen Jiangliu's expression froze. He glanced at the two masked men again, mechanically stepped aside, and walked out, chuckling dryly, "Where did this Mr. Jiang come from? Jingming, you're really good at joking, hahaha."

Soon, a familiar voice came from behind him through his mask.

"What about the child of that distant, important relative whom Lord Shen has absolutely no connection with and whom he can't afford to offend?"

Shen Jiangliu glanced at Shang Jingming beside him.

Shang Jingming suddenly realized who this "child of a distant, important relative whom he had no connection with and could not afford to offend" was, and fell into deep silence.

"Words can bring disaster" is indeed a golden rule.

When people are determined to court disaster, even a god can't save them.

"My father's aunt's cousin was actually Lord Shen's mother's distant cousin."

Senior Uncle, this is all I can do to help you. Good luck to you.

Shen Jiangliu patted Shang Jingming on the shoulder and chuckled dryly at the two masked men, "My mother's distant cousin was actually the cousin of Commander Shang's father's aunt. If I hadn't had such a pleasant chat with Commander Shang this time, I wouldn't have discovered this kinship. It truly is a matter of destiny!"

Jiang Jibai looked at the two people in front of him and said calmly, "Didn't you say you wanted to change to a private room? We were thinking of changing too, shall we go together?"

...

The second update is here! In a race against time, the objective has actually been achieved!

Double updates tomorrow!

Flying kiss~