CHAPTER 686: CHAPTER 617: RECONCILING ACCOUNTS

The winter nights of the S Continent come early, and the chill gradually deepens.

Yan Yueqing was drawn into the warm main hall by her mother, Jiang Yu, instantly enveloped by a serene and heavy warmth.

Outside the giant floor-to-ceiling windows, the virtual seascape quietly faded away, reverting to the dark silhouette of mountains in the night, with only the distant "Yue Que" main building complex flowing with the cold glow of moonlight, outlining the majesty of a dormant giant beast.

Jiang Yu didn’t sit down immediately but instead walked toward a sidewall where an intelligent wine cabinet was embedded.

She tapped her fingers a few times on the light screen, the internal mechanical arm operated silently, and after a moment, a drink with verdant green tea soup supporting unfurling crimson tea leaves, settled in a crystal-clear cup, was steadily delivered—it was exactly the "Cold Mountain Ice Extraction" from Yan Yueqing’s memory.

"Warm yourself first." Jiang Yu’s voice carried a trace of barely perceptible tension as she tucked the cup into her daughter’s slightly cool hands.

She herself picked up another glass of darker, specially-made concoction and drank a large gulp, as if needing that unique spiciness to suppress her turbulent emotions.

Yan Yueqing sat down as told, sinking into the broad, soft velvet sofa.

In the fireplace, olive wood burned, emitting soft crackling sounds, and the jumping golden-red flames illuminated her cool profile while dispelling the fatigue from her long flight. Jiang Ming silently walked over and added another thick piece of olive wood to the fireplace; the dry wood met the fire, exploding into a burst of brighter sparks, intensifying the warmth.

"Dad, Mom." Yan Yueqing cradled the warm cup, her fingertips rubbing along the delicate textures of the glass wall, her gaze sweeping across her parents’ faces, unable to conceal their concern and deeper worry.

This long-lost scene of a family of three peacefully sitting around the fireplace; the last time was six years ago, when she left the Jiang Family with ten billion in funds to "test the waters" in Hua Country. The fire in the fireplace was just as warm, and the tea just as fragrant, only that it lacked the heavy heart-stopping, life-and-death separation that followed.

"These years..." Yan Yueqing’s voice was soft, carrying a ripple of recollecting past events, "too much has happened."

Jiang Yu sat down on the single-seat opposite her, her spine straight like a spear. The majesty of a Family Head was hard to completely set down even before her closest daughter, but deep in her eyes lingered fatigue and heavy worry.

She looked into her daughter’s calm eyes, as if to confirm that the person in front of her had truly, completely returned.

"Yes, we should talk properly." Jiang Yu spoke, her voice low and clear, each word seemed to untangle the heavy past, "Those years when your soul was separated from your body and occupied by that impostor... your dad and I almost thought..."

Her voice choked for a moment, Jiang Ming timely reached out, his broad and warm palm covering her tense shoulder, conveying silent support.

Jiang Yu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her surging emotions, her gaze becoming sharp as a knife again.

"At that time, I unilaterally severed all connections with you and the Yan Family in Hua Country. On one hand, it was despair, thinking you really... on the other hand, it was to confuse the enemy! How could certain people within the family not know such a big flaw as my daughter being replaced?"

"They?"

Jiang Yu took a deep breath: "Let’s talk about the Jiang Family first. In the Jiang Family, women reign supreme, and the position of Family Head is passed down strictly. As my only daughter, you are the sole heir to the next Family Head. And Jiang Ke, my younger sister, your little aunt..."

Hearing this name, Yan Yueqing fell silent, the memories of two lifetimes intertwining and surging in her mind.

She clearly remembered in her past life, the little aunt Jiang Ke, who was full of laughter and care within the family. She also remembered the "kindness" that Jiang Ke displayed in this life when she was still naive and oblivious.

She never had even the slightest intention to compete with Jiang Ke for the position of Family Head of the Jiang Family.

In front of that colossus with its strict hierarchy and millennia of heritage, she knew her own weight well. She longed for freedom, loathed restraint, and was only resistant to that supreme authority from a distance. She even openly declared her relinquishment of inheritance, wishing only to be a carefree Little Princess of the Yan Family when she was younger and more ignorant of the world.

With Jiang Ke’s power, tactics, and scheming that she had cultivated over the years in the Jiang Family, she had long been the undisputed choice as the next Family Head, favored by her mother as the successor.

Why?

Why does she have to ruthlessly eliminate me?

The meticulously planned explosion in the past life that buried Su Zihu and almost buried her too?

This life, seizing the chance to deliver the fatal blow when she was pregnant and at her most vulnerable?

Trap after trap, deadlock after deadlock.

Jiang Ke seemed to have planted countless bottomless pits on her life’s path, vowing not to stop until she was completely buried.

This obsession, this cruelty, far exceeded the power struggle itself and seemed more like a deep-seated... hatred? Or perhaps some deeper madness she still couldn’t comprehend?

The olive wood in the fireplace crackled and exploded again, as sparks flew.

She watched the leaping flames, the glassy color of her eyes reflecting the flickering firelight, as well as an unspeakably complex emotion.

After a long time, she finally spoke slowly, her voice carrying a trace of deep confusion and incomprehension, as if asking her parents, also like asking herself:

"I can’t understand why she has to put me to death so relentlessly?"

Jiang Yu said, "Perhaps, it has to do with the secret letter."

"Secret letter?"

"When the Jiang Family passes down the Family Head, the previous Family Head would explain some hidden inheritance in case the Family Head dies unexpectedly, breaking the inheritance. The Family Head will also privately select a person to store a secret letter until it is handed over before the new Family Head takes office. Your grandmother suddenly passed away back then, and the person she selected..."

"Jiang Ke?" Yan Yueqing’s fingertips unconsciously traced the cup wall, leaving a faint water mark.

"Yes." Jiang Yu’s voice carried a hint of hoarseness and fatigue, "I suspect she might have peeked at the content of the secret letter, realizing your existence would affect her in the future."

Yan Yueqing frowned, "What content, when my grandmother passed, wasn’t I only seven years old?"

A seven-year-old child, what threat could she pose?

Jiang Yu took a deep breath, "The content of the secret letter was—starting from me, within three generations of Family Heads, the entire Jiang Family must return to Hua Country."

Return to Hua Country?

Jiang Yu continued, "Your dad, Jiang Ming, gave up his identity with the Yan Family in Hua Country for love, ’faked death,’ and came back with me under an alias, which in itself stirred the nerves of many old folks."

"And you grew up in Hua Country. For the past twenty years, within the family, questions about whether the Young Master is close to the family or can lead the family have never stopped..."

"Especially the faction led by Second Elder, Jiang Wei, they firmly believe that for the past century, the foundation of the Jiang Family has been deeply rooted overseas and must not return to Hua Country. And your existence, your growth trajectory, is precisely my most crucial arrangement and symbol to push the family back to Hua Country! Therefore, they see you as a thorn in their side!"