The ancestral land of the Yangdi Chu family is located in Maqun Street. It is said that it was originally Sun Wu who established a horse ranch here, hence the name.
[T/N: Maqun (马群) in English literary means 'horse herd'.]
Compared to the Shendu Cheng clan's ancestral land, which is composed of layers of pavilions and buildings, although the interior of the Yangdi Chu family is similar, there are still some differences in decorative details:
The former likes to decorate the welcoming hall with long swords and battle axes, symbolizing the kinetic lethality of iron shooting algorithm. The latter consists of various metal crystals, displayed in high stools or decorative cabinets, resembling a dazzling mineral museum.
Familial culture.
"What's this?" Xing Yuanzhi looked at the yellow crystal in the glass cabinet, its shiny luster naturally appealing to women.
"It's a gem-grade pure rhombic iron ore," Chu Qingqing replied, "Isn't it beautiful? It's almost impossible to find such perfect single crystals in nature, only with our metal manipulation ability can we create them."
Xing Yuanzhi didn't say anything, but her expression showed some liking.
"If you like it, Yuanzhi, I can make one for you after this mission is over," Chu Qingqing said with a smile, "This size of gem, it'll take about three days."
"Sorry for the trouble..." Xing Yuanzhi said politely.
"It's nothing," Chu Qingqing flashed a charming smile, "Although it's a highly-priced rare mineral outside, for the Yangdi Chu family, it's just a byproduct of our practicing abilities. Typically, we only give it to well-connected aristocrats as a symbol of friendship."
Cheng Jinyang, standing by, looked around with his hands behind his back, prompting Chu Qingqing to lean over and ask:
"Brother Jinyang, do you have any favorite gemstones? I can make something for you too."
"What's this?" Cheng Jinyang picked up a transparent bead from the nearby table and asked.
"This," Chu Qingqing paused, "is probably a glass bead. Perhaps it was left behind by children playing marbles in the tribe..."
"Can it be used for crafting?" Cheng Jinyang asked casually.
"...No."
"Glass beads contain no metallic components," Xing Yuanzhi whispered beside him.
"Right," Cheng Jinyang nodded, "without metal, it's impossible."
Chu Qingqing: ...
Although what was said is correct and the tone of the other person is not malicious, why is there a subtle feeling of being looked down upon?
"By the way, how about I make you a flying sword?" She smiled again. "With Cheng family's Universal Gravitation ability, don't you guys like flying swords?"
"Alright, thank you for your kind offer, Miss Qingqing," Cheng Jinyang politely thanked.
The three of them passed through the welcoming corridor and arrived at the reception room of the Chu family's residence.
"Today, neither my father nor my brother are on the family estate, so I'll briefly introduce the situation," Chu Qingqing said as she spread out some papers on the coffee table and picked up a pen. She began sketching a family tree on the paper:
"The current head of the family is my father."
She wrote the character "Chu" on the paper, labeled "My Father" next to it, and then wrote the character "Xie" next to it, labeled "My Mother".
"My Mother is from the Fufeng Xie clan. There is absolutely no possibility of any suspicion between these two individuals. Because the my father is the clan leader and has the sole authority over family matters. If he were to lead the clan to join Wuchang, there would be no need for such deceitful tactics."
Then, below her father's name, she wrote down two other names.
"My eldest brother, Chu You'an, currently the Sanqi Changshi, responsible for educational affairs within the family. My second brother, Chu Xifu, is not adept at practical matters, and is currently idle, indulging in leisurely conversations."
'Sanqi Changshi' translates to 'Imperial Consultant.' In this era, it's a nominal title used to elevate the status of aristocratic offspring, similar to positions like 'Corporate Culture Department,' etc.
Chu Qingqing's eldest brother holds this title to pave the way for inheriting a title and position in the future. His actual responsibilities include overseeing educational affairs within the family. Essentially, it's similar to the position held by cousin Cheng Yuexian within the Shendu Cheng family.
Considering that such affairs are usually quite leisurely and basically do not involve leaving the ancestral land or political matters, the suspicion against the eldest brother is relatively small.
As for the second brother, the so-called 'not good at practical matters,' 'indulging in leisurely conversations,' which means 'having no job' and 'spending all day online boasting and chatting in the aristocratic circle,' the possibility of him being stamped with the mind steel seal has indeed increased significantly.
Cheng Jinyang pondered for a moment, then saw Chu Qingqing writing and marking her own name next to her two brothers.
"I suppose I don't need to introduce myself, do I? Actually, when it comes down to it, suspicion falls heavily on me, as I have no blood relation with my parents or my two elder brothers."
She said calmly, brushing aside the hair that fell to her forehead. "Although I have absolutely no memory of betraying the family, there is a possibility of having been implanted with hidden ideological imprints. If there are further investigations and analyses to be conducted, please make sure to take my information into consideration."
Cheng Jinyang and Xing Yuanzhi exchanged a glance but remained silent.
"Except for our family branch, there's the eldest uncle's branch. Currently, most of the daily family affairs are managed by them, including production and operation activities such as metal mining, smelting, and processing."
Chu Qingqing also wrote the character 'Chu' next to her father, indicating 'eldest uncle'.
"It's not good to say this, but considering the responsibility attribution of the metal hydrogen factory, Uncle's side seems to have a greater suspicion."
Cheng Jinyang nodded, indicating that he completely understood her meaning.
In this era, family members often have clearly defined roles within the different branches.
For example, in the Shendu Cheng family, the clan leader Cheng Qingxin's branch is involved in politics, the second elder Cheng Qingyuan's branch is responsible for scientific research, and the third elder Cheng Qingping's branch manages the family affairs, specifically the military mercenary business of the Tian Luo department.
So, if there's any issue within the Tian Luo, the third elder's branch would likely be under the most suspicion.
Metal smelting and processing are pretty much the daily family affairs of the Yangdi Chu family. Naturally, the technical information for extracting and transporting metal hydrogen is also in the hands of her uncle's lineage.
"Uncle Chu Mouyuan is ambitious and rose to the rank of Commandant of the Tuen Mun Regiment, responsible for the armored production lines of the military industry. If he sided with Wuchang, it's likely that the entire Shenwu Army's vehicles would need reinspection," Chu Qingqing said with a smile. "So, I don't think he's highly suspicious."
"Cousin Chu Xisheng, holding a position in the county government of Yuzhang Commandery, also overseeing the family's mining and smelting operations there, just returned to Jiankang City last month, seeking career advancement."
Chu Qingqing wrote her cousin's name below her uncle's, then casually drew a few circles.
Hmm, meaning 'prime suspect.' Cheng Jinyang instantly understood.
"Another cousin, Chu Debiao, also comes from a humble background like me. He was adopted into the main branch under our eldest uncle's name around the same time as me."
Chu Qingqing wrote Chu Debiao's name in the eldest uncle's lineage, to the right of Chu Xisheng. Then she circled the name 'Chu Debiao'.
"At present, like me, he spends his time in the clan school strengthening his foundation and hasn't participated in any specific affairs."
Descendants from prestigious families start receiving education on supernatural abilities theory in the clan's school from the age of six. As for the later-admitted children from humble backgrounds, they are undoubtedly lacking in this aspect from birth. Therefore, upon returning to the family, they must spend additional time to compensate for the basics.
The later the admission, the more knowledge deficit, requiring more time for remediation. Essentially, this means they shouldn't expect to leave the clan's school classrooms for the first few years.
As for someone like Cheng Jinyang, who hadn't been studying anthropology for long but displayed rare talents and was unorthodoxly admitted by the family department, that's an outlier and not the norm for commoners.
The three carefully examined the pedigree chart in Chu Qingqing's hands.
In other words, the potential turncoat could be from the eldest uncle Chu Mouyuan's lineage (especially her two cousins), as well as from the clan leader Chu Jiye's lineage (Chu Qingqing's two brothers).
"Since you're more suspicious of your eldest uncle's side, let's start investigating with your two male cousins first."
Cheng Jinyang said after thinking for a moment.
"No, let's start with my two brothers instead," Chu Qingqing said with a smile.