Even though Cheng Qinghe was immediately expelled from the household after marriage, the shadow of the royal family still looms over the Shendu Cheng family.
Even when people occasionally mention the matter, they mostly only refer to Cheng Qinghe by name, using terms like "Ji Nu" for Cheng Jinyang, and avoiding any mention of Xie Guyan altogether.
If unavoidable, they simply refer to her as "that person."
The reason, of course, is Xie Guyan's identity and her connection to the Sima family, especially the late Emperor and the current Emperor.
Now that Cheng Qinghe and Xie Guyan have passed away, and Cheng Jinyang seems to have no connection to the royal family, that's why the Xing family proposed this marriage.
But the Xing family doesn't know, and even the Cheng family doesn't know, that Cheng Jinyang was directly brought to the door by Princess Nankang!
Who would believe he has no ties to the royal family?
In case Cheng Jinyang has indeed had excessively close contact with Princess Nankang, if this were suddenly discovered by the Hejian Xing family, it might lead to Xing Yuanzhi directly divorcing him and publicly announcing the severance of family ties, thereby betraying the Cheng family.
Given the Cheng family's willingness to ruthlessly deal with Cheng Qinghe, their own member, they certainly wouldn't trust the Xing family in this matter.
Therefore, it's absolutely impossible for the family to arrange marriage for Cheng Jinyang at this stage!
Cheng Yuexian even suspects that the family might offer the best neurosphere development project to completely transform Cheng Jinyang in a closed development environment for six months to a year, simultaneously filtering and cooling down all his social relationships, cutting off any necessary ties, making him a "clean" member of the Cheng family, just like those aristocratic children who grew up in the family.
Since he's returning to the family, he must naturally obey the family's arrangements and decisions, prioritizing the family's interests.
As for Xing Yuanzhi... indeed, the Shendu Cheng family does have its own difficulties in this regard, and they do feel sorry for her.
Thinking this way, Cheng Yuexian smiled and approached to comfort Xing Yuanzhi, hinting that her own family also had unavoidable reasons, not looking down on the Hejian Xing family.
Then she heard Xing Yuanzhi laugh and say, "Granduncle, it's okay. Jinyang and I truly love each other, and the opposition from the Shendu Cheng family can't stop us."
Cheng Yuexian immediately stopped in her tracks. She thought of consoling her friend, but it turned out that her friend felt perfectly fine and didn't need her comfort at all.
"Ah!" Xing Shumin continued to shake his head, feeling that Xing Yuanzhi was indeed too naive in this regard.
In the past, it might have been understandable, but now that Cheng Jinyang has performed exceptionally well in the assessment, many prestigious families have noticed.
How could the Shendu Cheng family possibly let him go?
However, he hadn't been straightforward enough to point out the truth here and make Xing Yuanzhi feel despondent, so he was about to leave with her.
Then, he saw Cheng Jinyang and Cheng Yizhou turning the corner of the opposite corridor and coming over.
"I said it's just inviting her as a guest here!" Cheng Yizhou said impatiently, "We'll release her after the ancestor worship is over! Don't take us for fools. Where would we dare to confine her?"
"Can you represent the Shendu Cheng family?" Cheng Jinyang, who had just won praise from the whole audience, was a bit arrogant and immediately questioned without reservation.
"I am the son of the patriarch. How can I not represent the Shendu Cheng family!" Cheng Yizhou immediately became furious.
"Then put it in writing." Cheng Jinyang frowned, "Write a document!"
"My words are my document!" Cheng Yizhou roared, "Wait until you see my father, then ask him yourself!"
"That won't be necessary..." Cheng Jinyang smirked, then saw Xing Yuanzhi gracefully approaching, smiling and asking, "Jinyang, is everything settled?"
"Settled." Cheng Jinyang also smiled in response, taking out half of an ID card from his pocket, with the clear character "Cheng" printed on it.
Family ID card, linked to the family's database and accounts, it's the "identity card" and "electronic wallet" of aristocratic descendants.
From today onwards, he would no longer be a destitute commoner, but a scion of the Shendu Cheng family.
"Okay then," Xing Yuanzhi adjusted her hair and smiled, "So, are you planning to stay here a bit longer, or?"
Cheng Jinyang immediately understood and casually replied, "Well, I'm feeling a bit tired. Anyway, the matters concerning joining the clan here are almost settled. Let's go back and rest for a bit, shall we?"
"Great!" Hearing his understanding response, Xing Yuanzhi was extremely happy.
She took out a tissue from her pocket, wiped his sleeve, then affectionately linked her arm with his and said, "Granduncle, Jinyang and I are going back first! I'll bring him to visit the clan later."
On Xing Shumin's side, he was stunned:
He failed to propose to Cheng's family, but it turned out Xing Yuanzhi had already taken him down quietly?
Cheng Yizhou and Cheng Yuexian were also dumbfounded:
Wait, you're already part of our Shendu Cheng family, how could you just be taken away by the Xing family with a single word from them?
"Wait!" Seeing the couple about to leave, Cheng Yizhou hurried over, "We still need to see the clan leader!"
"Today I am overly tired. Now, I have to meet with the family patriarch, fearing that my etiquette and words may not be appropriate." Cheng Jinyang said with a straight face, "Brother Yizhou, let me go back and rest for the night. Tomorrow, I will bathe, burn incense, change clothes, and wear a proper hat before coming to visit again, to show sincerity."
Cheng Yizhou: ???
Although it sounds very much in line with aristocratic etiquette, this guy is clearly making excuses, isn't he?!
However, Cheng Jinyang didn't wait for him to continue blocking.
With the cooperation of Xing Yuanzhi's light body technique, the two of them disappeared from his sight in the blink of an eye, leaving him wondering where they had run off to.
Cheng Yizhou was dumbfounded, looking incredulously at Elder Xing Shumin.
Xing Shumin snorted coldly, feeling secretly pleased, and with his hands behind his back, he walked away.
After witnessing the whole process from behind, Cheng Yuexian fell into a completely speechless state:
Well, just after the clan leader rejected the marriage proposal from the Xing family, he turned around and ran off with the little phoenix from the Xing family. Isn't this blatantly slapping the clan leader's face in front of Elder Xing Shumin who came to propose?
Cheng Yuexian could even imagine how dark Clan Leader Cheng Qingxin's face would become after Cheng Yizhou reported back.
I guess the furniture in the hall will suffer.
But my cousin Cheng Jinyang, he's really like Uncle Cheng Qinghe, both willing to risk everything for love, even willing to abandon the family like worn-out shoes.
She suddenly felt a little lost, feeling that such a sincere and passionate person like her cousin...
Actually isn't bad.
Successfully sneaking out of the Cheng family's territory and taking a taxi back to their home in Wujiang Town, Cheng Jinyang finally breathed a sigh of relief:
"Ah Zhi." He asked somewhat puzzled, "Why did you hurry to take me away?"
"If we don't leave, you'll be locked up by the family, okay?" Xing Yuanzhi said impatiently, "I worked hard to get you out, and you repay me with just this 'Ah Zhi'?"
"Ah, sorry." Cheng Jinyang originally wanted to ask why the family wanted to lock him up.
He suddenly thought of his imprisoned sister Xinnan, and fell silent immediately.
Indeed, he harbored a huge secret, needing to sleep with trusted Ah Zhi every night to feel secure.
If he were forced to stay overnight by the family and ended up pulling someone from the clan into his dreams, it would be a disaster.
Speaking of which, would Sister Xinnan be okay? She's a royal princess, and Cheng Yizhou said he wouldn't detain her for too long, but...
Seeing his distracted look, Xing Yuanzhi sneered, "Are you worrying about your cousin again?"
So Ah Zhi still didn't know that Sister Xinnan is actually Sister Xingnan, and that we're not blood-related...
Cheng Jinyang was about to speak, but his survival instinct made him keep quiet.
Intuition told him that if Ah Zhi found out, it would lead to some very unpleasant consequences.
It's better to delay as much as possible.
"Yes," Cheng Jinyang said frankly, "After all, she's the one who brought me to the Shendu Cheng family. I would feel guilty if she were punished by the family because of that."
"What's so hard to bear about this?" Xing Yuanzhi gave him a disdainful look.
"You really stole the spotlight today! At just eighteen, you're already at the ninth grade middle realm, and you even displayed the Wind and Thunder Fish-Dragon Sword Formation in front of all the prominent families. Your reputation has spread throughout Jiankang City, and in the past few hours, the Xing Family's Intelligence Network has received over a thousand orders for information about you, all intercepted by the Shendu Cheng Family."
"In other words, the treatment you're receiving now is only enjoyed by core members of the Cheng Family. So, how could they easily offend you or shift their anger to your cousin? That would damage their goodwill towards you and drive a wedge between you and your family, right?"
"Don't worry. You leaving the family temporarily won't cause any trouble, and neither will your cousin. For core members of the family, this level of freedom is guaranteed."
Xing Yuanzhi's analysis was spot on, but the more Cheng Jinyang listened, the more uneasy he felt because the premise of this analysis was wrong!
Cheng Xinnan wasn't actually his distant cousin; she was Her Highness, the Princess of Nankang!
He had pretended not to know earlier, so even if he tried to make up an excuse now, saying he "suddenly remembered" would seem too fake.
He could only remain silent, wondering how to subtly hint at the truth without exposing his lie to Ah Zhi.