Before Shi Tou could agree to go with Huo Xiaoxiao, Han San brought Han Shiyi to their door.
“Miss Shi, Shiyi has already told me some things,” Han San said bluntly as soon as he saw Shitou.
Shi Tou glared at Han Shiyi, scaring her so much that she immediately hid behind Han San: "Cough cough, I don't understand what you mean."
"Hehe, Miss Shi, you're joking. May I have a proper talk with you?" Han San's face was always smiling, but that smile never reached his eyes: "I would like to see Miss Huo."
Shi Tou didn't object to this. She knew she wasn't very good at handling interpersonal relationships, while Huo Xiaoxiao was incredibly shrewd, making her a better choice than herself.
"I never expected that Young Master Han San would actually come to visit." Although Huo Xiaoxiao was nominally expelled from the Huo family, anyone with a discerning eye knew that she would not be the one to suffer if she left the Huo family! Considering Huo Xiaoxiao's age and the current state of the Huo family, even Han San couldn't help but look at Huo Xiaoxiao with new respect.
What do you mean by that? So shrewd and capable that she can stab someone in the back and still look pitiful and innocent. Tsk tsk, and the Huo family is her own clan!
"Miss Huo, you flatter me. I'm here to seek cooperation." Although Han San had a reputation for womanizing, he knew very well which women he could mess with and which he couldn't. Huo Xiaoxiao was beautiful, but he absolutely didn't have the guts to flirt with her. Not only that, he had to act like a dutiful grandson, lest Huo Xiaoxiao get angry.
Ahem, everyone says the eleventh young lady of the Han family is fierce and ruthless. But who knows that the eldest young lady of the Huo family is the real ruthless one who eats people alive?
Well, a dog that bites doesn't bark!
"Cooperation? That's funny. I really can't see what I could possibly want to cooperate with you, Young Master Han. Hmm. Could it be that you've taken a fancy to my god-sister? Oh, I was referring to this Miss Shi."
Shi Tou had initially thought this matter had nothing to do with her, so she leisurely sipped her tea and ate her snacks. Unexpectedly, Huo Xiaoxiao suddenly brought her up, and on such an indecent topic no less. So, without hesitation, she spat it out. She was currently sitting next to Huo Xiaoxiao, opposite Han San.
Looking at Han San's handsome face, covered in a mixture of tea and snack crumbs, Shi Tou suddenly felt that he was actually quite unethical. *Ahem* Of course, much better than Huo Xiaoxiao.
"Oh, I was just joking, of course. I didn't expect you to take it so seriously, Miss Shi. How about this? If you two hit it off, I might as well be the matchmaker. I remember you told me yesterday that you had a good impression of Young Master Han." Huo Xiaoxiao smiled and looked at Han San, only to see his handsome face turn as black as the bottom of a pot.
Stone tilted her head, trying to recall what she had said yesterday. Once she remembered, she was speechless. Taking things out of context—that's the worst!
"Brother..." After all, Han Shiyi was Han San's own sister. Trembling, she handed him a handkerchief. Han Shiyi finally couldn't hold back anymore and covered her mouth to giggle.
Han San wiped his face hard with a handkerchief, looking as if he wanted to rub his own skin off.
"Young Master Han, what are your thoughts on this marriage proposal I've mentioned?" To everyone's surprise, Huo Xiaoxiao still wouldn't let Han San off the hook, and actually emphasized it again.
Shi Tou reached out and pinched Huo Xiaoxiao's arm hard: "Hey, god-sister, aren't you my god-sister? Logically speaking, shouldn't the older sister get married before the younger sister? Do you have someone you're interested in?"
Actually, because Shi Tou had practiced time magic, her biological age was actually a bit older than Huo Xiaoxiao's. However, Huo Xiaoxiao was of mixed race, so she looked slightly older than Shi Tou. Moreover, she was used to being the older sister and didn't want Shi Tou to be superior to her at all.
"Don't say that. Your sister isn't planning on getting married, so I wouldn't dare interfere with your good fortune." Huo Xiaoxiao smiled slightly. "I think Young Master Han is quite nice. You definitely don't have any objections, right?"
You're kidding me!
Stone gritted his teeth fiercely: "Sorry, I'm not planning on getting married either, just like you!"
"Oh?" Huo Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow: "I'm not getting married because I want to have a son-in-law marry into my family, so you also..."
This was something Shi Tou hadn't expected. In fact, she didn't value family ties too much. After all, how many families in her previous life had only one daughter, yet she still got married, didn't she? In her eyes, the concept of inheritance was utterly meaningless.
"Well, actually, that's what I think too."
Han San had already wiped his face clean and looked at Shi Tou with a strange expression upon hearing this. He was no exception to Huo Xiaoxiao's opinion; everyone knew that Huo Xiaoxiao's biological mother was the eldest daughter of the Shui family, and in the Shui family, the direct descendants were all adopted sons-in-law.
"Oh, that's a pity." Huo Xiaoxiao sighed, but then her eyes lit up: "Young Master Han, I remember the Han family has a large number of people, doesn't it?"
Is there even a question?
Han San was about to nod in agreement when he suddenly realized something: "Although the Han family has many members, my parents only have me as their son, so I can't be a live-in son-in-law."
"Tch!" Huo Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes.
Shi Tou pinched Huo Xiaoxiao again: "I said, can we talk about serious matters?!"
"Isn't this the important thing? Carrying on the family line is absolutely the important thing!"
Looking at Huo Xiaoxiao's righteous and indignant face, Shi Tou really wanted to spray her with his period. It's such a waste that you're not a madam; otherwise, with this kind of business, wouldn't you be raking in customers?
"Ahem, I also think we should talk about the real things." Fortunately, Han San wasn't as crazy as Huo Xiaoxiao. Shi Tou once again felt that although this guy didn't look like much, he was still very manly when it mattered.
"Young Master Han, please speak." Stone's lackey poured him a cup of tea, which made Han San, who was about to speak, stare blankly.
After a moment of silence, Han San spoke again: "The death of the Third Prince was indeed unexpected. His Majesty the King's attitude is unclear, but the Queen is determined to take revenge. However, the problem is that with the Third Prince dead, the Queen has lost all hope. Those who originally supported her have all turned against her. I believe Miss Huo has already received this news, hasn't she?"
"Yes, but only a small number of people have turned against us; most are still in a wait-and-see mode."
Han San nodded: "Yes. The problem is that I don't think those people will necessarily side with us even if they defect."
"Us?" Huo Xiaoxiao gave a meaningful smile. "What do you mean by 'us'?"
"Miss Huo, are you still going to play dumb? The Qin family and the Lin family formed an alliance, but they're helping the Queen. Now that the Queen has lost the Third Prince, do you really think they still support her?" Although Han San felt that Huo Xiaoxiao was deliberately feigning ignorance, he had no choice at this point.
Unlike the direct descendants of other families, the Han family has many members, including many elites. Although he is a direct descendant, he is not the eldest son, nor is his talent the most outstanding. In addition, he has a rather unreliable father. It can be said that he was never the heir of the Han family, and he didn't even qualify as a candidate.
Therefore, unlike other legitimate sons, Han San pretended to be unambitious from a young age, because only in this way could he avoid being seen as a threat in the large Han family. After all, large families tend to have more internal conflicts.
However, precisely because of his usual behavior, he is now completely ignored when trying to form alliances. There's nothing he can do; his past actions have deeply ingrained his reputation. No one will trust a playboy who only knows how to philander.
"Oh, so the Qin and Lin families are helping the Queen!" Huo Xiaoxiao exclaimed with a look of sudden realization. Han San, however, found this utterly infuriating!
"Miss Huo, do you want to continue playing games? Let me put it this way, the Qin and Lin families don't really want to help the Queen. Although the Queen is the Qin family patriarch's biological daughter, the Qin family patriarch isn't without his own sons. For a married daughter, to jeopardize the future of the entire family, do you really think Qin Zhen has such great fatherly love?"
Qin Zhen is the current head of the Qin family and also the maternal grandfather of the body in which the stone resides.
Huo Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment: "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"What I want to say is that the Qin and Lin families harbor nothing but treasonous intentions!"
Stone stared wide-eyed in surprise. To be honest, she really hadn't noticed.
"Is that so? That makes sense. The Third Prince has been frail and sickly since childhood. He has no talent, no ability, and no connections. You could say that apart from being the King and Queen's biological son, he is nothing." Huo Xiaoxiao said calmly, glancing at Shi Tou as she spoke: "Sister-in-law, what do you think?"
Yuanfang, what do you think...?
Stone was speechless. What did she think? She felt she couldn't stand anyone!
"Sister, you're not trying to say that they're just using the emperor to command the nobles, are you?" Shi Tou rolled his eyes and asked.
Huo Xiaoxiao was taken aback, carefully considering what he said. She looked at Shi Tou with unprecedented admiration: "Tsk tsk, little sister, I never knew you had any brains."
That's a lot...
Shi Tou wiped away a bead of cold sweat; she decided to take it as a compliment.
"Ahem, I'm telling you, stop praising each other, okay? Anyone can see through that!" Han San was truly at his wit's end. He now seriously suspected that the two sisters were deliberately playing him for a fool: "Ever since His Majesty the King has become powerful enough, he has begun to drastically reduce the influence of the six great families of the East. If this continues, I'm afraid that in less than a hundred years, our foundation will be uprooted!"
"It can't be that exaggerated, can it?" Huo Xiaoxiao finally became serious, looking at Han San with surprise: "The six major families of the East have been entrenched for hundreds of years, and their influence is spread to every corner of the Luoming Empire. How could they be uprooted?"
Han San revealed a mocking smile: "Is that so? Then please, Miss Huo, recall the Yi family from back then, the Yi family of Princess Irene, the Goddess of Magic!"
Shi Tou's heart tightened, and she subconsciously looked at Han Shiyi. Han Shiyi winked at her, clearly indicating that she hadn't told Han San everything, but Shi Tou felt that this matter probably couldn't be kept secret for long.
"The Yi family..." Huo Xiaoxiao was lost in memories. Unlike Shi Tou and Han San, she was designated as the heir of the Huo family from a young age and naturally received an elite education. She was also very familiar with the history of the Dongfang family.
"In today's Fallen Empire, people only know that there are six great families in the East, but how many people still remember that there was once a Yi family? Even if they know about the Goddess of Magic, Irene, they may not remember that behind her was the Yi family, which once held absolute power in the Fallen Empire?"
Huo Xiaoxiao listened attentively to Han San's words. Hearing his question, she hesitated for a moment before speaking, "That's different, isn't it? The Yi family was very powerful back then, but they were ultimately just a family. And... of course, the reasons why the Yi family was destroyed are..."
"It's still treason." Han San spoke with a nonchalant expression, as if he were discussing the recent weather: "The royal family cannot tolerate families that wield too much power. Moreover, the six great families of the East today are far more terrifying than the Yi family of yesteryear!"
"Whether or not it can be tolerated is not up to His Majesty the King to decide alone," Huo Xiaoxiao said with a hint of disapproval.
"Really? Look at the Han family now!" Han San said with a sneer, "The Han family is the last of the six great families in the East, but even so, the Han family is still an ancient family. Look at them now, the direct descendants are fighting over the family property, and the collateral descendants are playing cat and dog fighting. Let me put it this way, I think the Han family will collapse in less than a year."
Having said that, Huo Xiaoxiao's face finally turned serious. For the first time, she realized that Han San wasn't as useless as the rumors suggested: "You did see and hear clearly."
"Heh, maybe that's what they mean by 'the bystander sees more of the game'!" Han San turned to look at Han Shiyi: "Right now, I only want to protect my mother and sister. As for everyone else... hmph, let them die!"
"Same here, I don't want to get involved in the Huo family's affairs anymore. But you said the Han family will collapse within a year, isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?" Huo Xiaoxiao frowned, clearly still not quite believing it.
"The Han family is the first to suffer, and the Huo family will probably be next." Seeing Huo Xiaoxiao's face change instantly, Han San patiently explained, "The Lin family has probably already sensed something, otherwise they wouldn't be sticking so closely to the Qin family. Among the six major families, apart from the Lin and Han families, the Huo family is the weakest. It was fine before because the Shui family was helping them, but now, because of what happened to you, Miss Huo, the Huo family has almost completely broken ties with the Shui family. Think about it, what do you think the Huo family will do next?"
The Huo family patriarch has practically become useless. The current head of the Huo family is Huo Xiaoxiao's father, but he has ambition without the corresponding ability. Otherwise, the Huo family patriarch wouldn't have devoted himself so wholeheartedly to teaching Huo Xiaoxiao.
It's important to understand that for an ancient family, the abilities of the previous generation aren't the most crucial factor; the most crucial factor is the next generation. The Huo family only had one legitimate daughter, Huo Xiaoxiao. After Huo Xiaoxiao passed away, only Huo Yi, born out of wedlock, remained.
"Hmph, isn't there Huo Yi too!" Huo Xiaoxiao smiled coldly. Isn't this exactly what that man wanted?
"Huo Yi? Heh, is that really Huo Yi?" Han San smiled as he looked at Shi Tou. "Although I'm not familiar with Huo Yi, I know that the Huo Yi of two years ago was quite capable, since he was able to independently build Ironforge. As for this Huo Yi now..."
"The head of the Huo family thinks highly of Huo Yi."
Han San's smile widened: "Really? If it were the old Huo Yi, I don't think she would be suitable to be the head of the family. A person may have the ability to start a business, but not the patience to maintain it; she may have the ability to create divine artifacts, but not the talent to build an empire. To put it simply, the original Huo Yi would have lived a very good life with someone protecting her. She wouldn't cause too much trouble and would occasionally give people some surprises, but she really wasn't suitable to be a leader."
Stone nodded vigorously upon hearing this; those words were so apt!
"And what about Huo Yi now?" Huo Xiaoxiao asked, her interest piqued.
"The current ones?" Han San sneered. "Stingy, lacking in courage and ability, ambitious but useless!"
Although Huo Xiaoxiao didn't want to admit that she was happy, the smile on her lips betrayed her feelings: "That makes some sense."
"To put it simply, unless the head of the Huo family quickly produces an heir, otherwise... but considering the timeframe, even if he were to produce one right now, it would probably be too late."
Huo Xiaoxiao frowned: "First the Han family, then the Huo family, and then what?"
“The Chu family,” Han San said without hesitation. “The Chu family has fewer people than the Huo family, and their lifespan is generally shorter. Genius? Hmph, no matter how fierce a lion is, it’s still just dinner when faced with 100,000 rats. I’m afraid His Majesty doesn’t need to worry about the Chu family. Given their situation, they won’t have an heir for many years.”
The Chu family is unlike other families. Although the Huo family has few direct descendants, they still have collateral relatives. A family like the Chu family, even counting relatives beyond ten generations, would not have more than ten people in total.
"But the Qin and Shui families shouldn't be in danger for now, right? The Lin family now has the Qin family as their backer. They should be able to maintain their strength," Huo Xiaoxiao murmured to herself, looking down.
Unexpectedly, Han San scoffed at this statement: "What about the Yi family? Do you really think the Qin, Shui, and Lin families combined can surpass the Yi family of yesteryear? Besides, the Qin and Shui families aren't even on the same side, and the Lin family? Hmph. The Qin family treats the Lin family as a vassal; they're not equals at all. And isn't the Lin family using the Qin family in return? Do you really think they'll cooperate seamlessly?"
"Actually, if you put it that way, His Majesty the King isn't entirely useless, is he?" Stone suddenly interjected. "He feels that the power of the six major families in the East has already influenced him, and he'll try every means to get rid of us. He's not stupid, is he?"
In an instant, Han San, Huo Xiaoxiao, and even Han Shiyi, who had been sitting to the side as a background character, all looked at Shi Tou with expressions that said, "You're an idiot!" and said in unison, "Who said His Majesty the King is stupid?"
o(╯□╰)o
Stone looked at them with a bewildered expression: "The king isn't stupid, why are you plotting a rebellion?"
Han San opened his mouth, looking reluctant. Huo Xiaoxiao, however, was blunt: "Are you stupid? Who told you the Dongfang family wanted to rebel because the king was stupid? Do you really think they were doing it for the people?"
"Isn't that right?" Stone was even more embarrassed. She had always thought that it was because of the king's tyranny that the six great families of the East had spoken up for the people.
"Are you crazy? If the king were stupid, who would be so foolish as to plot a rebellion? Wouldn't it be better to just make him a puppet?" Huo Xiaoxiao couldn't help but reach out and slap Shi Tou's head hard. "Use your brain! Why do the Qin and Lin families support the queen and promote the third prince? The third prince is a complete waste! But being a waste is good, isn't it? If a waste becomes king, then all the power will fall into the hands of the Qin and Lin families!"
Bingo!
Stone finally understood. His Majesty the King was doing a great job, but it was precisely because of his superior abilities that his subordinates were plotting a rebellion. Think back to historical dramas from his past life. Which founding emperor didn't speak up for the people? Of course, history is written by them; the truth remains unknown.
Cough cough, historical dramas are a killer!
"I think my assessment of you just now was absolutely right." Han San looked at Shi Tou, his lips twitching. "You really are suited to be a freeloader who lives off others."
Stone gritted his teeth fiercely, his face dark.