Stone was startled. Could it be that this old man had seen the children sent to the Crimson Forest? Although she was very uncertain, she composed herself and did not show the slightest hesitation: "Grandpa Huo, I am not a direct descendant of the Beth family. However, I would like to ask Grandpa Huo, what are the people of the Beth family supposed to be like?"
A glint of shrewdness flashed in the silver-haired old man's eyes, but he still smiled. "The Beth family... heh. Their direct descendants are all arrogant and conceited, while their collateral descendants are timid and incapable of achieving anything great. Little girl, which category do you belong to?"
Shi Tou frowned, about to speak, but Huo Xiaoxiao interrupted her.
"Grandpa, what are you doing? She's my friend, and she even helped me!" Huo Xiaoxiao protested, throwing herself at the silver-haired old man and shaking his arm vigorously. "Grandpa, you promised me before we left. You said that if I could become an apprentice magician, you would grant me one request!"
“But your request…” The silver-haired old man sighed, turned his head and glanced at the middle-aged man who had remained silent: “Huo Yi… she is still your sister after all.”
"Sister!" Huo Xiaoxiao abruptly shook off the silver-haired old man's hand. "She dares to call herself my sister? Humph, my mother died long ago. I'm her only daughter! I'm the only eldest daughter in the Huo family!"
The silver-haired old man frowned. Although he didn't verbally reprimand Huo Xiaoxiao, his expression clearly showed his displeasure: "Xiaoxiao, there are outsiders here!"
Stone felt a chill run down his spine. He immediately lowered his head, staring intently at the tips of his shoes, as if he had suddenly become interested in the patterns on them.
Huo Xiaoxiao pursed her lips. She turned to look at the stone, then stomped her foot hard: "Grandpa, you only have one son, Dad, but what about yourself? You said before that you also have brothers and sisters. Well then, Xiaoxiao wants to ask Grandpa, where are all your brothers and sisters now?"
"Xiaoxiao!" This time it was the middle-aged man who spoke. Shi Tou secretly glanced at him and realized that although the man was not particularly good-looking, he had a kind of imposing authority when he was angry: "How dare you say such a thing?"
“Dad, I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but!” Huo Xiaoxiao walked up to the middle-aged man and stared at him blankly. “That person is not my sister at all. I, Huo Xiaoxiao, don’t have a sister! And Dad, I also want to tell you that unless you kill me now, I will definitely get rid of her when I grow up and when I have the ability.”
“Dad, you’re not me, you don’t know this feeling. There are some people who are like sand in your eyes or thorns in your flesh. If you don’t find a way to get rid of them, you won’t be able to sleep peacefully at night.”
The middle-aged man was about to speak when the silver-haired old man waved his hand to interrupt him.
"Xiaoxiao, Grandpa will naturally keep his promise to you. By the way, where did you take Huo Yi? No matter what, she still has the blood of the Huo family flowing in her veins. Call her over first; she has the right to know what her future holds."
Huo Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, but finally went outside and asked the servants outside to bring Huo Yi over.
In the short time that Huo Xiaoxiao left, Shi Tou felt the indoor temperature suddenly rise several degrees, and he immediately broke out in a sweat.
After hesitating for a moment, Stone looked up and stared straight at the two of them. His lips moved slightly, and he said in an extremely soft voice, "I am not a member of the Beth family. I am an imposter." His voice was so soft that even Stone himself could not hear it.
But the silver-haired old man heard it. He suddenly smiled slightly, as if he had suddenly let go of something on his mind, and nodded slightly to the stone.
Shi Tou immediately breathed a sigh of relief; she knew she had made the right bet this time. In fact, she had realized she had made a mistake as soon as she saw the two people.
Originally in the Dwarf Kingdom, most dwarves had black hair and black eyes, or gray hair and gray eyes; in short, their hair and body were mostly dark-colored. But after leaving the Crimson Forest, Stone discovered that most humans had lighter-colored hair, such as Linda's brown hair and Nana's golden hair.
At that time, Shi Tou hadn't realized there was a problem because Lin Yao, Lin Qi, and Huo Xiaoxiao all had black hair. While Linda and Nana might be considered more like Caucasians from their previous life, Lin Yao and the others were more like mixed-race individuals of Caucasian and Asian descent. So far, Shi Tou had only seen one person who was relatively close to being a pure-blooded Asian.
That person was Huo Yi.
However, even Huo Yi, upon closer inspection, still has a slight Caucasian feel to her, suggesting that her ancestors were probably of mixed race.
But now, the two people in front of the stone, Huo Xiaoxiao's grandfather and father, look exactly like purebred East Asians.
Thinking of her own face, Stone knew she couldn't continue the story. Considering that Beth was clearly a Western surname, Stone knew that no one could possibly have descendants like her. Incidentally, she cursed Baozi again. Humph, if it weren't for that self-righteous, foolish Baozi, she wouldn't be in this limbo.
At that moment, a question that she had never thought about before suddenly came to mind.
Was the steamed bun's action unintentional or deliberate...?
"She's here." Huo Xiaoxiao's face was clearly angry, and her footsteps were very loud. "Grandpa, just say it already! The sooner you finish, the sooner I can send her away!"
Shi Tou turned his head and saw that the person following behind Huo Xiaoxiao was none other than Huo Yi, who looked timid.
"Grandpa, Dad." Huo Yi took a few steps forward cautiously, her voice soft and low. But before she could even open her mouth, Huo Xiaoxiao's slap landed on her face without hesitation.
"Smack!"
After a crisp slap, Huo Yi fell heavily to the ground: "Sister, you..." She supported herself with one hand on the ground and covered her face with the other, tears streaming down her face, her expression full of disbelief.
Shi Tou felt a pang of pity for Huo Yi, but when she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say. Yes, some people might say that even if Huo Yi was an illegitimate child, she was innocent. But had those people considered that if Huo Yi was innocent, what about Huo Xiaoxiao? Did she deserve it?
"Do you even know who you are?! Grandpa, Dad, and Sister? Who do you think you are? You were born of a slave, you are a slave, and your children will be slaves for generations to come!" Huo Xiaoxiao's eyes were practically spitting fire as she hurled insults without any restraint.
"Xiaoxiao, that's enough." The silver-haired old man spoke, and Huo Xiaoxiao had to suppress her displeasure no matter how great it was.
"Grandpa, my only request is to replace Huo Yi with Serena!" Although Huo Xiaoxiao no longer fought with Huo Yi, her words were resolute: "I only have this one request!"
The silver-haired old man looked at Huo Xiaoxiao deeply, pondered for a while, and then slowly spoke: "Xiaoxiao, do you think that Huo Yi's existence will block your way? Or do you feel that her existence threatens your status as the heir of your family? If so, then I can give you a guarantee that Huo Yi will never threaten you in the future."
"No!" Huo Xiaoxiao suddenly became agitated: "I don't care about the identity of the family heir! If it weren't for the fact that Huo Yi has that slave's blood in her veins, I wouldn't go against her!"
The silver-haired old man and the middle-aged man exchanged a glance. Shi Tou clearly saw the middle-aged man, who was Huo Xiaoxiao and Huo Yi's father, nod slightly. In an instant, Shi Tou felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
“Alright then, Xiaoxiao!” The silver-haired old man pondered for a moment, then stood up and walked to Huo Xiaoxiao. He bent down slightly and said with a serious expression, “I’m giving you two choices now.”
"First, Huo Yi is still Huo Yi, but I will give you a guarantee that no matter what she achieves in the future, she will not be able to threaten your status as the heir of the Huo family. Second, I agree to your request that Serena become Huo Yi, but I also have another request, that is, I will announce to the public that the new Huo Yi has the same right to inherit the Huo family as you."
"Choose one of the two, which one do you choose?"
Chapter 127 Raising livestock like livestock
After hearing these words, not only Huo Xiaoxiao, but even Shi Tou was stunned.
Damn, Grandpa Huo, are you really Huo Xiaoxiao's biological grandfather? Or...?
Shi Tou suddenly felt a chill and subconsciously reached up to touch her face. In her previous life, her ancestors for eight generations were all pure-blooded Asians, without a trace of mixed race. But what about this life? Shi Tou felt somewhat lost.
Steelhammer only told her that she was a human child, but he never described in detail what her mother looked like. However, it's possible that in the dwarves' minds, all humans look the same.
However, after carefully examining the faces of Huo Xiaoxiao's grandfather and father, a thought suddenly popped into Shi Tou's mind. What exactly was his relationship with the Huo family? Or rather, what was his relationship with the six major families of the East?
Grandpa Huo probably noticed the stone touching his face, and his gaze paused slightly, but he immediately looked at Huo Xiaoxiao: "Xiaoxiao, think it over carefully, I can give you a few days."
“It’s different now.” Upon hearing this, Huo Xiaoxiao, no longer in a daze, immediately said, “I don’t need to consider it anymore, I’ll choose the second option.”
The second possibility is that Shi Tou will become Huo Yi, and thus have the same inheritance rights as Huo Xiaoxiao...
Shi Tou sighed softly. She roughly understood Huo Xiaoxiao's thoughts; Huo Xiaoxiao truly loathed her half-sister. However, while she understood, Shi Tou didn't think Huo Xiaoxiao's actions were rational. Trading Huo Yi, a blood relative who posed no threat, for Shi Tou, someone she'd only known for a few months and who could potentially threaten her position, was definitely not a rational move.
"You really hate Huo Yi. Sigh!" Grandpa Huo gave Huo Xiaoxiao a deep look and sighed, "Alright. I respect your decision."
"But Grandpa, I still want to know, what will happen to Huo Yi?" Huo Xiaoxiao glanced at Huo Yi, who was too frightened to speak: "Will she...die?"
Grandpa Huo sat back in his chair, leaning back as if utterly exhausted: "She won't die, but she will no longer be a member of the Huo family, and she will no longer have a name or identity. From now on, she will become a special slave of our six great families, just like her mother."
When Grandpa Huo uttered the word "slave," Huo Yi visibly trembled, then collapsed to the ground: "Grandpa, I'm your granddaughter too! I don't want to be a slave!"
Shi Tou pursed her lips. Huo Yi's entire focus was now on the word "slave," and she seemed oblivious to the fact that Grandpa Huo was referring to "special slaves belonging to the six great families." But what exactly were these special slaves?
"Yun Tian, you handle the rest!" Grandpa Huo seemed truly exhausted, and slowly stood up. "Serena, oh no. You're Huo Yi now. Huo Yi. Come with me, I have something to tell you."
Shi Tou glanced at Huo Xiaoxiao, whose face was now filled with a look of satisfaction. She didn't notice Shi Tou's gaze at all, her eyes fixed on Huo Yi, who was slumped on the ground.
After hesitating for a moment, Shi Tou reached into his pocket, and only when his fingertips touched a ring that exuded a cool sensation did he feel a little more at ease.
After leaving Red Maple Garden with Grandpa Huo, Stone asked softly, "Where are we going?"
"Where we go isn't important. I just have some questions for you." Grandpa Huo said calmly, then turned and walked towards Zixin Garden, which was only separated from Hongfeng Garden by a wall. "Xiaoxiao told me that she has already given this place to you?"
Shi Tou nodded. Although Huo Xiaoxiao had instructed them to clean carefully, Zi Xin Yuan, though beautiful, always had a desolate feeling of lacking human presence, probably because no one had lived there for a long time. "Xiaoxiao said that cleaning the courtyard will take time, and I will move out of Hong Feng Yuan tomorrow."
Grandpa Huo walked to the middle of the courtyard. Unlike Red Maple Garden, Zixin Garden did not have any towering trees. Instead, there were pots of flowers placed around the courtyard. Now that it was spring, the garden looked quite refreshing.
"In the biographies of our ancient Eastern clan, the houses where people live are very particular. For example, only the elderly can live in the main house, the eldest son lives in the east wing, the second son lives in the west wing, and the daughters all live in the backyard." For some reason, Grandpa Huo did not ask Shi Tou about the purpose of his visit to the Huo family, but instead acted as if he was chatting with a younger generation.
Shi Tou appeared to be learning from the experience, but she became even more convinced that there were definitely other transmigrators in this world. However, if it was truly a record from the biographies of an ancient Eastern clan, then the transmigrators were very likely no longer alive.
"Do you have parents?" Grandpa Huo jumped to a different topic quickly: "Or rather, are your parents still alive?"
Stone hesitated for a moment: "Um, I'm an orphan." Steel Hammer Daddy and Fat Mommy were pasts that Stone dared not mention, so she decided that she would simply present herself as an orphan from now on.
"Your mother abandoned you?" Grandpa Huo asked, though it was a question, his tone was extremely certain: "Was it when you were just born?"
Stone looked up at Grandpa Huo in surprise: "Why do you say that?"
Grandpa Huo stared at the stone with a solemn expression for a while, then turned and went into the main room of Zixinyuan: "You come in too."
By this time, the sun had long since set, and there were no servants in Zixin Garden. The two of them had been fine in the courtyard, with the starlight making it easy to see objects within ten meters. However, once inside, the light dimmed instantly.
“Grandpa Huo, I have no designs on Xiaoxiao or the Huo family.” Shi Tou felt it was better to say some things directly: “I am an orphan who came to the capital to find my parents, but I was worried that the mercenary group would not take me to the capital because I am young and have no money, so I made up a lie. I have no ill intentions.”
"An orphan?" Grandpa Huo's tone was heavy. "Would you be interested in hearing a story from me?"
Can a stone say no?
And so, as night deepened, the bedtime story began...
"The Six Great Families of the East, doesn't that sound impressive? Actually, our Six Great Families of the East have only been around for a few hundred years. Compared to those great clans with histories of thousands or even tens of thousands of years, we are really nothing."
Baozi doesn't remember any of the six major families of the East, so it seems that Grandpa Huo's words are most likely true.
"However, on the one hand, we bear the mission of making our family prosper, and on the other hand, we must maintain the purity of our bloodline!"
In Grandpa Huo's stories, the six great families of the East are all a group of miserable children. The biggest difference between them and those great clans is probably their appearance, and they go to great lengths to maintain this unique appearance.
Arranged marriage is the most normal means. Regardless of whether you have someone you deeply love, or whether the person you end up spending your life with is your true love, such sacrifice is inevitable for the continuation of the family.
However, even so, the purity of bloodlines cannot always be guaranteed.
"You've seen what Xiaoxiao looks like. Do you think you look the same as her?"
"They're not twins, how could they look alike?" Stone couldn't help but start complaining, but of course she understood what Grandpa Huo meant, so she calmly shook her head.
“Yun Tian, oh, that’s my son, Xiao Xiao’s father. He is my only child, or rather, the only child I acknowledge.” A trace of pain flashed in Grandpa Huo’s eyes: “The six major families have been intermarrying for hundreds of years. You could say that we are all related by blood to some extent. When it came to Yun Tian’s generation, I first asked him to marry a daughter of the Qin family, but that girl later married a son of the Lin family.”
"Later, I arranged for him to marry a daughter of the Chu family, but unexpectedly, the girl died a few months before the wedding. The six major families already had few members, and Yun Tian was already in his twenties and still hadn't found a wife. Later, I unexpectedly learned that he had fallen in love with another girl, a girl from a prominent family."
So, they broke up the couple, huh?
"At that time, I really had no other choice, so I went to the Shui family to ask for a girl's hand in marriage. Actually, the Huo family's ancestral rule was that the Huo family should never marry into the Shui family. But for the sake of my descendants' future, I had no choice but to break the ancestral rule. Fortunately, Shui Bi became pregnant not long after she married into the family."
Shui Bi? Huo Xiaoxiao's mother?
"However, Shui Bi is not actually a pure-blooded descendant of the East, but rather of mixed race."
So, Huo Xiaoxiao is the one who is of mixed race?
“Mixed-race, I knew things were going to be bad the moment Xiaoxiao was born.”
Although Stone couldn't see Grandpa Huo's expression, he could still feel his sadness.
"Huo Yi is the child that I had with Yun Tian and a pure-blooded woman."
"Ah?!" Although Shi Tou immediately covered his mouth, his exclamation still escaped.
"The six major families knew from the beginning that they would face this situation sooner or later, so hundreds of years ago, those neglected collateral relatives, or children who had lost both parents or were born with disabilities, were all adopted by us and raised in one place. If a family member was unable to find a spouse, we would use those children as substitutes. We call these people special slaves."