Chu Yang told Chu Feiling his plan the next morning.
Chu Feiling was initially worried that the revealing of Chu Yang's original ident.i.ty would invite unnecessary troubles, or even lead others to take the opportunity to strike him down. Thus Chu Yang's suggestion struck a chord with him. After discussing with his wife, they came up with a scheme: They would claim that both of them had unintentionally found the pure Purple Jade Essence when they traveled the Middle Three Heavens, and it was there that they discovered their son.
The family discussed peacefully for some time. Upon settling this matter, all of them felt that they had taken a load off their minds.
"Father, you don't look quite good," it was only now then Chu Yang saw Chu Feiling's pale face and red eyes.
"Alas, it's a long story," Chu Feiling responded vaguely. How could he tell his son about what happened last night?
Yang Ruolan's face reddened. She snuck a glance at Chu Feiling, ashamed.
How could she not know that Chu Feiling was deprived of that right during his prime years? And for eighteen years till today, he had never disgraced himself.
He was a responsible and good man, a rare occurrence in the Nine Heavens.
This was sufficient to make him worth anyone's admiration, without mentioning his level of cultivation, accomplishments, or wit.
She thought: If it's that important… I don't mind.
As she thought about it more, her face became even redder.
Chu Yang saw his parents bashfulness and gave a smile and winked. He said cheekily, "I know… I know…"
Chu Feiling and Yang Ruolan slapped Chu Yang at the same time and said in unison, "What the f**k do you know!"
Chu Yang's knees buckled.
At this moment, the doctor whom Chu Xiongcheng had invited arrived.
The Old Master had been coming over multiple times a day to visit Chu Yang. He was clearly concerned about Chu Yang.
They had already invited more than ten doctors. Every one of them was known as a 'divine doctor' in the region but produced few results. All the 'divine doctors' had come there with ambition, but left with their heads hung low. Gradually, Chu Yang's parents lost hope.
After another doctor left helplessly, the Old Master stayed. Before speaking, he first let out a sigh.
He was worried about the Chu clan's inheritance. This was a big issue!
In the past, only the eldest child of the family received the inheritance. This was to prevent the siblings in the family from fighting.
But there was a problem for Chu Feiling's generation. Chu Feiling, the eldest son of the Old Chu Master, was also the most skilled and the fittest to inherit the position of clan master. But 19 years ago he had strangely lost his son and did not bear any more children.
At that time, if Chu Feiling were to take over the position of clan master, the Chu clan would lose its inheritance.
Moreover, Chu Feiling had been depressed ever since he lost his son. He had devoted himself to either searching for his son or comforting his wife, and had little heart for managing the household affairs.
Helpless, the Old Master requested that Chu Feilong take the position of the clan master.
The Old Master never expected Chu Feilong to have wits comparable to that of Chu Feiling. In addition to Chu Feilong's own merits, he was able to manage the Chu clan well. Under his leaders.h.i.+p, the clan even flourished.
Such situation caused the Old Master Chu to grumble in his heart.
Throughout the years, Chu Feilong's status in the clan was already more or less established. This was until Chu Feiling unexpectedly found his son…
Amidst the ecstasy, Old Master Chu started thinking about the dilemma that faced him.
He saw how his grandson, upon waking up, bickered with his uncle and still unexpectedly gained the upper hand. The Old Master began to rethink things deeply.
This individual is not easy to please. If Chu Feilong inherits the t.i.tle, he will definitely stir up trouble within the clan.
So the Old Master decided to bestow the clan's inheritance by the siblings' seniority..
Just as this thought arose, news came in that the cultivation of his grandson had gone to waste.
The Old Master was again at a loss.
It was a roller coaster ride of emotions. His heart was pulled through rapid ups and downs. It was simply too unbearable for him. He was lucky he didn't have cardiovascular disease. A heart attack would need to be added to the long list of his troubles.
With a tinge of hope, he had been seeking out divine doctors to treat his grandson so that he could be fully cured.
He didn't expect all the doctors to be so useless.
The Old Master's heart was overwhelmed.
He shook his head and sighed. He then sat down to give Chu Yang some words of comfort.
How eloquent was Chu Yang? With just a few sentences, the Old Master was unknowingly lured. Squinting his eyes and stroking his beard, the Old Master felt that he really liked his grandson. He was clever, strategic and sly. Once cured, he would have so much potential.
Where to find a clan inheritor of his kind? Despite being impressed, his face was stone, "Knock it off, you small creature! You only know how to manipulate me!"
With admiration, Chu Yang threw up his hands and said helplessly, "Look, if I'm speaking to ordinary people, I'm afraid that they will be already mesmerized. Only you, grandpa, have such sagacity! With only a glance you realised I was flattering you. I feel a bit defeated. How many wise men are there in the Nine Heavens? And how many of them are deceived? You, grandpa, would definitely not be deceived! With your bright eyes, acute mind and sprightliness, you have seen through all my tricks. When conversing with such a clever grandpa, flattery certainly doesn't work. In the future, I will have no choice but to say the truth."
The Old Master straightened his back. Squinting his eyes and stroking his beard, he gave a low laugh and said modestly, "Of course, how can I be flattered so easily by a few words from you, you little punk?"
"Grandpa you are so wise. I am also quite intelligent, but I haven't met any other people as powerful as you that are also as clear-headed as you." Chu Yang said genuinely.
"You're right. How can I be compared with mere earthlings?" The Old Master crossed his legs complacently.
As Chu Yang threw compliment after compliment at the Old Master, who accepted them all, Yang Ruolan and Chu Feiling sat dumbfounded watching them. They felt gooseb.u.mps creeping all over their bodies. It was as if they had been infected with malaria. Their bodies grew hot and cold.
They watched the shameless couple of grandpa and grandson in disbelief. The only thing they felt was that they were about to pa.s.s out.
Their father, who had always been serious and would burst into a rage once sucked up to, was now taking the bootlicking so well.
And their son! Normally so well-behaved, a son who seemed so upright was now bootlicking so eloquently. He did so with such a sincere and honest face.
The couple felt that the world was getting more difficult to understand.
When Chu Yang's mouth was about to dry up, the Old Master finally stood up. It was as if he was treading on air. He said, "Hahaha… Good grandson, you're such an understanding child. Grandpa will come to chat with you when I have the time." Then, as if he was riding on a cloud, he waltzed away.
He thought: Looks like the issue of inheritance… there's still some time to think about it.
Chu Yang wiped some sweat away and said, "How great! The Old Master's endurance level is so high. If I bootlick ordinary people, I think that they would already be flushed within a third of the time it took me just now. His face didn't even redden a bit."
Yang Ruolan and Chu Feiling stared at each other. Like two ducks stupefied by thunder, they did not utter a word.
In the afternoon, the Chu clan came to wors.h.i.+p their ancestors. Led by Chu Xiongcheng, everyone prostrated themselves three times and bowed down nine times. Then Chu Yang went forward to bow and burn incense.
The whole process was solemn.
This was a declaration that the eldest grandson of the Chu clan had finally returned!
Chu Yang's face was grim. He muttered to himself: "My surname had been Chu for 19 years, yet I officially became a member of the Chu clan today."
The Old Master Chu Xiongcheng the publicly declared, "I hereby announce to the world that Chu Yang is officially recognised as the eldest grandson of the Chu clan. From today onwards, Chu Yang's monthly allowance will be allocated in accordance with the specifications given by the direct line of descent. He will receive two blue crystals and fifty white crystals every month, as well as 25kg of silver and 1kg of gold daily."
No one was against the decision.
Even Chu Feilong, who had been spurred by Chu Yang into vomiting blood earlier that day, seemed to have completely come back to normal. The smile and warm, graceful look he gave Chu Yang also set off a genial atmosphere, as if nothing had happened and he was his favourite nephew.
Even the shrewd Chu Yang could not help but feel intimidated by the sudden change in Chu Feilong's att.i.tude.
Sure enough, Chu Feilong's shrewdness could not be underestimated. Having born that kind of humiliation, he still behaved as if nothing had happened! This type of hypocrites is the hardest to deal with.
Then it was time to greet the family elders. Everyone had a red packet in their hands. Chu Feilong pa.s.sed over a red packet and laughed candidly. Naturally, Chu Yang also received it respectfully, genially, and reverently. This scene led everyone in the hall to claim in unison: "The Chu clan is really harmonious."
Only the Old Master Chu Xiongcheng, the Chu Feiyan couple and the Chu Feiling couple were deeply anxious. This uncle and nephew pair would definitely cause the entire Chu trouble if they didn't manage their relations well…
As Chu Yang greeted Chu Feiyan, Chu Feiyan pa.s.sed an atypically heavy red packet to Chu Yang. Chu Yang looked up and saw a needy face that was distorted with anxiety.
This face was very familiar…
Chu Yang's heart flickered. He greeted his fourth uncle with a slight smile and said nothing.
Relieved, Chu Feiyan patted on Chu Yang's shoulder with a great laugh, "You're such a good, strong nephew. Look at how talented, well-mannered and handsome you are. You're an absolute crackpot haha. My strong nephew, I'll go look for you later and we can grab some drinks."
Chu Yang agreed with a smile.
Everyone's jaws dropped: Chu Feiyan was the doormat of the entire clan. He always looked like everyone owed him something. Since when did he become so enthusiastic? Such praise for Chu Yang almost made him blossom into a different person.
Chu Feilong glanced at Chu Feiyan with unintentional deliberation.
Then Chu Yang's brothers came up to greet him. The first who came up was Chu Tenghu. After looking at Chu Yang for a long while, he finally said, "Big brother!"
"Please stand up," Chu Yang said boldly and unhurriedly.
Chu Tenghu smiled mildly and stood to one side.
Chu Yang thought to himself: He's like his father, also a smiling tiger. But his skills are a bit low.