Besides, the scholar-officials all knew that these rites and laws were established by people—specifically, their predecessors—to restrict "people." They weren’t truly unchangeable; it was just that no one wanted or was willing to change them.

Nowadays, as long as something could save the nation, it was considered a good law or a usable person. They and Dayan were on the same boat. If Dayan sank, they wouldn’t survive long in the water either.

As the system recounted the tragic chaos of the troubled times—cannibalism, children exchanged for food, the ravages of war and banditry—the once lively banquet atmosphere grew increasingly somber.

Of course, this gloom only affected those who could hear the inner thoughts. Those who couldn’t were happily indulging in the Yu family’s new-style delicacies.

It was said to be stir-fried dishes, and they were truly fragrant—especially that braised pork, reportedly made from the meat of lowly pigs.

As they ate, some noticed the people around them inexplicably laughing one moment and then wrinkling their noses in disdain the next.

Now, they had even started silently shedding tears. Were they crying from how delicious the food was?

The atmosphere around them also felt off, as if the sky were about to collapse.

This heavy mood only began to lift when the final course of after-dinner fruit was served.

"Sweet!"

"So sweet!"

"Delicious!"

Yue Fuguang listened to the intermittent praise around her. Even Emperor Mingxi and the Crown Prince at her table were nodding in satisfaction as they ate, their expressions no different from the others.

「These people are already so pleased by such simple treats. If they knew there were even sweeter fruits they hadn’t tasted, they’d probably lose sleep over it.」

【Exactly! Just the varieties we know of number in the thousands. Take grapes alone—there are dozens of types. If our master didn’t dislike overly sweet ones, I wouldn’t have brought this sweet-and-sour variety.】

Well, now the grape-eaters suddenly found their mouths filled not just with sweetness but also their own sour envy!

There were even sweeter grapes? The Immortal Lord didn’t like them, but we do!

As ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‍they ate the fruit, their minds buzzed with thoughts: ‘To taste even one divine fruit in this lifetime is enough… enough… But what does an even sweeter fruit taste like? Could it rival honey?’

"Put it down! That’s mine!" A chubby seven- or eight-year-old boy tugged at another child beside him, his pudgy fingers trying to pry the fruit from the other’s mouth.

"Spit it out right now! That’s my fruit—you can’t eat it!"

The other boy, similarly aged but thinner, stayed silent, pressing his lips tightly together while his cheeks bulged from rapid chewing.

Their commotion immediately drew the crowd’s attention.

Seeing it was just two children fighting over food, most dismissed it as typical unruly behavior for boys their age. They smiled indulgently, leaving it to their elders to discipline them later.

But the chubby boy ignored the onlookers, fixated on the idea that someone had taken what was his.

"Everything here belongs to my family! You, an outsider, have no right to eat it. Spit it out now!"

At this point, Yue Fuguang decided it was time to intervene. She deliberately asked her system, 「Little Pearl, whose child is that brat? So ill-mannered! How does my fruit suddenly belong to his family?」

【Master, that little fatty actually shares some blood with you.】

「A relative? He’s only my relative if I acknowledge him. Otherwise, no one gets to claim me!」

Yue Fuguang’s tone was icy, her gaze flickering toward the tables where the Yu clan’s elders sat.

Their expressions had been a spectacle—shifting from shock to delight in the span of a teacup’s time after hearing her inner thoughts at the banquet’s start.

After observing Emperor Mingxi and the high-ranking officials’ reactions, they’d gradually accepted their grandnephew’s "story" about an immortal descending to the mortal world for trials.

They also understood why the main branch had insisted on adding her to the family registry so quickly. With such a figure, why wait until the New Year?

They couldn’t help but admire the main branch’s restraint. If this little immortal had been in their family, they’d have inked her name into the registry overnight, darkness be damned.

After enjoying two rounds of drama, they hadn’t expected their own children to cause a scene at the banquet’s end.

Especially Yu Qi of the sixth branch—this was his grandson and grandnephew. Their behavior was beyond embarrassing.

Hearing Yue Fuguang’s words, Yu Qi—the eldest and highest-ranking in the Yu family—turned as dark as a burnt pot. Furious but flanked by Yu Qingyu and other uncles, he could only suppress his rage.

Knowing he stood no chance against her despite his seniority, he stewed in silence.

Annoyed, he waved for his eldest grandson, Yu Zhangping, to fetch the misbehaving brats before they humiliated him further.

Yu Zhangping, unaware of the inner thoughts, didn’t understand his grandfather’s anger. It was just a childish squabble, and the other boy was his cousin’s child.

Why such fury?

He strode over, grabbed both boys by the scruff, and hauled them away.

【Master, see that young man carrying the kids? By lineage, he’s your uncle. The two brats are your cousin and your maternal cousin.】

「That little troublemaker seems in dire need of discipline.」

【Discipline? He’s a full-blown scourge. In a few years, once he turns twelve, he becomes a girl’s nightmare.

In the future, he’ll torment sixty-two girls aged ten to twenty. Only eleven will survive his cruelty.

These survivors will spend the rest of their lives with one goal: killing him.

Murdering Yu Zhui becomes their sole reason to live.】

「My Yu family has such a monster? And no one stopped him? Where were the clan elders—dead?」

【Not dead. Your grandfather’s branch didn’t know at first. The other branches knew but turned a blind eye because Yu Qi’s status shielded him, and the victims were commoners’ daughters—beneath their concern.

It wasn’t until he killed another girl, and her family refused hush money, taking it to the authorities, that Yu Qi intervened, even dragging your grandfather’s name into it.

Only then did your grandfather and father learn of Yu Zhui’s atrocities.

Your grandfather demanded strict legal punishment, sparking a feud between the sixth branch and your main branch.

This planted the seeds for your family’s downfall.

Did you think Yu Ningrou and Yu Ningrong—those two ambitious, clueless married women and their husbands—could’ve seized your main branch’s assets and deceived your grandfather without inside help?

Or that your father, Yu Zhongchun, would walk into a trap, followed by your brothers rushing to save him one after another?

Even as Dayan teetered on collapse, your Yu family had five court officials. Toppling your main branch’s mighty tree required internal rot.】

"So, the mole and the traitor you mentioned are the Sixth Branch that will feud with my family in the future? Or are you saying that old man Yu Qi and his descendants are all involved?"