inspire-indiana 394: Only Child
394: Only Child
Takahashi did not give up and sought other channels to voice his opinions, but each time the issue was suppressed before it could escalate.
At first, he thought it was at the behest of the Xiao family, but he gradually realized that there was also favoritism from above.
Thinking about it carefully, this makes sense.
If a member of the Xiao family dies in their country R, their country R will also side with their own people.
However, the tighter the Chinese media tried to cover it up, the more he wanted to seek justice for his senior Fujiwara.
Takahashi remained steadfast in this idea until one day he nearly got into a car accident while going out, which finally put an end to it.
Because of Fujiwara's situation, he was somewhat paranoid and felt that the car accident must have been a warning from the Xiao family.
Little did they know, it was just an accident.
The Xiao family has been very busy lately. After all, it's the end of the year, and they have many important things to do, so they don't have time to keep an eye on him.
The elders of the family, as well as the heads of each branch, have all come these past two days.
The Xiao family holds an annual closed-door meeting, which is attended only by the core elders of the Xiao family and Xiao Qingdai, the current head of the Xiao family.
This has never been a peaceful meeting; to put it bluntly, it's a meeting to discuss merits and demerits, and to reward or punish offenders.
However, the Xiao family has been doing very well under Xiao Qingdai's leadership over the years, and the elders have never had to worry about them, so they have nothing to say.
Before the meeting began, the group inquired about her health.
Although they had only been in the capital for two days, they had already heard about the recent events.
They didn't think there was anything wrong with what Xiao Qingdai did.
The Xiao family follows a primogeniture system, with the patriarch's first child always being the heir to the family's core power.
This doesn't discriminate between men and women. Xiao Qingdai was the first child of the previous family head, and her eldest son will be like her.
Now that Qingqing has been found, she is naturally the next successor.
As a family with a history of over a thousand years, the safety of the heir is naturally of paramount importance to the Xiao family.
Not to mention she was an only child.
This 'uniqueness' is not just any kind of uniqueness; it is the most unique of all.
The Xiao family selects its heirs by first considering whether the heir is a legitimate son or a son of a concubine, and then by considering the eldest son's age.
In other words, if something happens to Qingqing, the position of heir will pass over her younger siblings and fall to her eldest son, who is called the great-grandson.
But she was only four years old, hadn't even finished elementary school, let alone be a child.
In this case, the family could consider the other children of the head of the household, namely Qingqing's younger brother or sister, and let them inherit according to their age order.
Unfortunately, Xiao Qingdai only had one child.
Isn't this your lifeline?
If something happens to her, when it comes time for succession, the selection of a new heir within the family will be fraught with bloodshed, a scene that the elders do not want to see.
In this case, the nature of kidnapping their heirs is quite different.
Fujiwara died young and didn't suffer much pain. If he had died two days later, after the Xiao family's elders' meeting, he would have suffered ten times more pain than he did now, in order to serve as a warning to others.
Outsiders say that Xiao Qingdai's methods are vicious, but at this moment, several elders still feel that this way of dying is too easy for Fujiwara.
Xiao Qingdai simply sat to the side and listened.
For the past three days, she has hardly left the conference room except for eating and sleeping.
Like her, Old Master Fu went back to his old house for a few days because he had to attend the elders' meeting and the year-end performance review meeting.
All the regional business leaders have returned, but the meeting room in this house we're staying in can't fit all of them.
Before leaving, he asked around, but no one was willing to go back with him. Even Fu Huating, who used to be the best at pleasing him, wouldn't go with him.
Apart from Fu Xueji, the three children each had their own legitimate excuses, and he couldn't get them to leave.
But he didn't want to go back alone, so he approached Fu Sihuai with the idea of getting someone to go with him.
Fu Sihuai certainly didn't want to either; the company had given him a holiday, and he had only been back for two days.
Besides, my son and daughter are both here, so why would I want to go back to the old house?
Unable to resist the old man's threats, inducements, and persistent pleading, he had no choice but to go back with him.
When the old man returned this time, both the eldest and third branches of the family were overjoyed, thinking he was going to stay for an extended period.
Their dedication during this period has been unprecedented; they even personally handle tasks like adding tea and water.
In short, during the few days of meetings at the old house, Old Master Fu was well taken care of.
He could sense it himself, but he no longer felt anything.
He stayed in the old house for two days. Although everything was very well designed, he was getting old and his back ached after sitting for a long time.
All he wants to do now is go back quickly, take good care of his health, and then go to the Xiao family's house for a couple of meals.
Finally, as the old man had been hoping, the meeting came to an end.
Several elders of the Fu family settled in the old house, while Old Master Fu took Fu Sihuai back without stopping.
When they left, the people from the first and third branches of the family were outside. They heard the servants on the phone saying that the old man was leaving, so they rushed back, but it was too late.
Their expressions were absolutely awful.
At this time, it was rare for the first and third wives to stand on the same side, so it would be a lie to say they weren't angry.
“We’ve all been so good to Dad. Even if he likes that place a lot, he should at least stay there until after the New Year before going back.”
“Now the elders are all living in the old house. If they find out that he went to live in someone else’s house, the rest of the Fu family will definitely gossip about us and call us unfilial.”
The ancestral worship ceremony will be held in a couple of days, and the elders will stay until then at least before leaving.
The people in both houses instantly felt immense pressure.
Grandpa Fu didn't care about any of that; he was already home.
After drinking some herbal tea and resting for a while, I felt a bit better, so I went to visit the Xiao family across the street.
He wanted to see Qingqing, and also check what the Xiao family was having for lunch. He planned to order two dishes he liked from the kitchen, then find a comfortable place to sit and wait for the meal to start.
The Xiao family meeting also ended, and the elders came out of the meeting room.
The changes in the Xiao family last year and this year were so great that they were not in a hurry to leave and wandered around the courtyard.
The Third Elder didn't go with them; he separated from the other elders as soon as he left the house and went alone.
He happened to run into the butler on the way, who greeted him warmly.
"Third Elder, you're looking for Shuangjiang, aren't you? I just saw her there."
As he spoke, the butler raised his hand and pointed in a direction.
The Third Elder nodded and walked toward the place he pointed to.
Just then, Shuangjiang finished speaking with someone, turned around and saw him. Her expression changed slightly, and she walked over.
"Grandpa, have you finished your meeting?"
The Third Elder responded, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment before asking some ordinary questions.
Shuangjiang answered them one by one, and then said proactively, "Grandpa, please tell the family not to worry about me. The head of the family treats me very well. She can't be without someone by her side right now. I will go back if I have time."
The Third Elder gave her a long, quiet glance.
“You could use that excuse when Qingdai was unwell a couple of years ago, but now she looks much better and her complexion is rosy. I’ll talk to her later and ask her to give you a break. You’re not getting any younger, and it’s not good for you to stay unmarried forever…”