Extra Scene - New Year at the Ancestral House

On New Year morning, snow fell from a bright grey sky. Snowflakes gently floated down, landing on the courtyard of the Old House — the Ancestral Estate of the old and Ancient linage of Zhao Family. everything was white.

Little Zhao YuShi was leaning his elbows on the window, peering outside at the falling snow. He was fascinated.

Behind, Zhao JingShi sat with the rest of the family at the breakfast table, his eyes only for his son. He was full of a special feeling of content : His little son was only a few years old, where had he seen this sight before? This year might be the first time Little YuShi could remember snow.

The night before, they, father and son, stayed overnight at the ancestral house to accompany the elders — Zhao JingShi's grandparents. His own parents and Zhao JingShen's wife and parents also accompanied them. On this day, there was a rare lively scene at the breakfast table.

The Old Man was in a good mood. He served himself some porridge and his eyes fell on YuShi to the side. "Little Boy, come to the breakfast table." His voice was gruff as he said it, with some warmth but also disapproval.

Zhao JingShi glanced and saw the complications in the Old Man's eyes when he looked at YuShi.

His son was excellent, a proper heir for the family, but had one flaw the Old Man, attached to the old traditions, could not accept.

At the window, YuShi leaned forward to see better and did not obey. He leaned out until his nose touched the cold glass. "Wow!"

Zhao JingShi's lips twitched up: His son also had mixed feelings for this grandfather too. "YuShi," he called, least his grandfather tried to discipline Zhao JingShi's own son. "Come here to eat."

Little YuShi straightened immediately but his eyes clung to the winter scene outside. He was reluctant.

"Come over," Zhao JingShi urged. "Dad will take you out to play in the snow later."

"Really?" The little boy's body shone with eagerness. "Ok Dad, you promised!"

"Zhao family men do not say what they don't mean," the old man grumbled unnecessarily. "Your father will not tell lies to you."

The Old Lady quickly poked the Old Man in the arm. "You! Why don't you keep out of their father-son business. Who asked you? It is New Year's Day, can't you be nice to the boy?"

The old man grumbled, his lips hanging down.

Zhao YuShi pretended he couldn't hear and tried to climb the chair next to Zhao JingShi.

Zhao JingShi was sorry for his son. He plucked the boy up and lifted him onto his own lap. "Sit with me." He wrapped his arms around his small, few years old son and tried not to squeeze him too much. He was so full of love and gratitude for this child, he pampered him every day. Only at this ancestral house would his son face injustice and for that, he the father was guilty. "I will feed you today."

His son snuggled into his arms immediately. He laughed up at Zhao JingShi, his little almond shaped eyes clear and bright. The small scolding just now was immediately forgotten. "Okay! Dad feed me!"

They both looked over at the table filled with food. "What does the Little Guy want?"

The others at the table quietly watched as Zhao YuShi in his father's arms, happily listed everything he wanted and his father fetched the dishes and served the little ancestor himself.

The old man again broke the silence. "You spoil him too much."

In the Old Man's opinion, where was there a man who fetched and served a little child like this? How could this kind of trait exist in the man who controlled the entire Zhao Family Enterprises. Zhao JingShi was raised by the Old Man himself to focus on his work, to be a traditional man who worked outside and left the child raising to women. Everything else should be second to the family and the company.

Where did his teachings go wrong?

How could the Old Man watch idly while Zhao JingShi, who had the world beneath his feet and who should be majestic, fork a piece of chicken and personally send it to his son's mouth?

Moreover, in a few years that son would inherit all their Zhao Family property and enterprises. Over-pampering like this was bad for character.

He couldn't scold the child but he could scold the father! "You are not even married!"

The little one was startled and glanced at him. Zhao JingShi whom he was talking to ignored him and reached for another dish his son liked.

When the Little Guy's eyes fell on the Old Man, for no particular reason, he was more enraged. "If you were married to the boy's mother for even a day, I can accept it but you were never married and just brought him back. We cannot even say he is a child of an outside room because you don't have an outside room."

Zhao JingShi dropped his utensils. The temperature in the room also dropped several degrees despite the excellent heating in the house.

But who was this old man? Before Zhao JingShi, he was the head of the entire enterprise and he was still the Old Head of the family. Zhao JingShi was his descendant and could not have an aura that beat him, only competed with him. He continued to say:

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"If it is an outside room, I can accept it because we know what the boy's mother looks like and her character. But you," he pointed at Zhao JingShi, "you brought him back just like that with no mother behind him."

If it weren't for multiple DNA testing the Old Man secretly ordered when the child was brought back, he would even doubt the child belonged to them. But with Zhao YuShi resembling Zhao JingShi ninety-five percent as he grew older, who would not believe they were father and son?

"My son's mother would never be an outside room," Zhao JingShi, this hateful young man, said coldly.

What does this mean? Isn't it that the woman was not even worthy to be an outside mistress? The old man was so enraged he felt his heart speed increasing. "You rascal!"

"Alright!" The Old Lady at his side was also enraged. "You old man, what are you scolding the younger ones for? You're ruining the auspicious day with your outdated nattering."

The Old Man looked at the woman who accompanied him through more than half his life and deflated at once. He could compete with his grandson but never this Old Woman. He knew his boundaries.

He took a sip of porridge and looked down into the little boy's confused eyes. "What are you waiting for? Eat." Such a young child could not understand all his words but his tone and his anger had scared the little guy. The boy was staring in shock, his little grey eyes wide and his mouth slightly opened.

Zhao JingShi hugged the child tightly, blocking his son's face with his arm. He rubbed the little ancestor's hair.

The Old Man snorted and continued with his food.

Later, Zhao JingShi squatted outside, watching his son play in the snow. His child was bundled into so many layers by Zhao JingShi himself, that he looked like a little fluff ball rolling around.

Little YuShi grabbed clumps of new, white snow powder from the ground and jumped, sprinkling it in the air. He laughed as the powder came down over him and bent to do it again.

Zhao JingShi stayed close, enjoy his son's laughter and watching his happy face.

For this child, Zhao JingShi tried to be both mother and father to him, even going so far as to take the child into work everyday. His reasoning was simple: If the child was not in front of him twenty-four hours a day, how could he be assured that he was taking good care of this baby for the baby's mother?

The boy's mother couldn't do it. Only he could do it.

Zhao YuShi started gathering snow from the yard. "Dad! Help make a snowman!"

"Alright," Zhao JingShi walked over to help.

When the snow was piled high, eighty percent done by Zhao JingShi, his son suddenly stopped and turned to him.

"Dad, is 'to marry' important?"

Zhao JingShi looked down seriously at his little son. The boy couldn't understand any of what the old man said, but he could still understand the gist of it. Zhao JingShi squatted down to a posture of 'Son, Dad is going to teach you' and took the boy's hands, drawing him closer.

This little guy might not understand anything he said today, but it was never to early to teach children: "Son. 'To marry' is very important. But the person you marry to is the most important."

"What is 'to marry'?"

"Like your aunt and uncle," he explained, referencing his cousin Zhao JingSen and JingShen's wife. "Like your grandpa and grandma. A man and woman love each other so much they want to stay together for years and years and years."

Little YuShi's eyes became larger and larger while he considered for a few minutes. Zhao JingShi remained patiently squatting and admired his smart child's cute features twisting and turning in thought. This son inherited all of his father's best physical features — which was his whole face — and also his mother's almond shaped, long-lashed eyes. He was proud of this son and was lucky to get to raise him well.

"Will I get married too?"

Zhao JingShi: "......"

Little child, you can't just marry anybody.

Zhao JingShi: "You can only marry one person so you have to be very careful when marrying."

"I see," the child lowered his eyes to think. When he raised his eyelids again, his eyes were full of brightness, "I can marry someone like my Mom!"

"Okay," Zhao JingShi laughed.

"Dad, you miss my mom so much. Why didn't you marry my mom?"

If marriage was important, and he cherished this son to high heavens, why did he not marry his son's mother?

Zhao JingShi tugged the confused little guy closer and hugged his little round body into his arms. He didn't dare to look into his son's eyes.

He could only confess, "Son, Dad is sorry to you. Dad isn't good."

Zhao YuShi, who had been coddled by his old father for all of his life, felt sad for his Dad. He stretched his short arms out and hugged his Dad back. "Dad is alright. Dad has me."

The Old Man stood at the window, his hands folded behind his stern and straight back. His eyes fixed on the father and son outside.

The child's laughter floated into the room, accompanied by his father's deeper one. The child was lying on his father's back and they ran back and forth, playing in the snow.

The Old Man sighed.

Of course he was proud of his great-grandson. Little YuShi was the eldest great-grandchild. He was smart and already had shadows of the kind of strength and intelligence necessary to lead their Family Empire.

The child was quick-witted and lively. Sometimes too serious which was to be expected for a child Zhao JingShi raised.

But the old man had a stone in his heart... it was the child's unknown mother. How could he be comfortable without knowing where the other half of their future heir's character and lineage came from? It was not a matter of one little boy and his parents, but a matter of Family Legacy. Little Zhao YuShi was this family's future, carrying the whole three thousand years of linage on his back.

Zhao JingShi... the Old Man sighed. That child JingShi was raised strictly and seriously since he was small. He was taught to be cold and calculating, to put his whole self towards the power of the Family Empire as befitting the future Family Patriarch.

"Where did it go wrong?"

— About the time he brought home a son.

"You Old Fart," the Old Lady walked beside him and sat down. "Why are you sighing at the child again?"

"Alright, I was wrong today!" The Old Man admitted. Still, he scolded, pointing out the window. "That Zhao JingShi, who does he take after? Everyday he guards his son against us. Can I not be angry?"

For as long as the boy had been alive, Zhao JingShi have never let him visit their Old Man and Old Lady alone. They had never once seen Zhao YuShi without Zhao JingShi present. "Am I going to eat the child?"

The Old Lady shook her head. "Old fashioned old man. You always talk about the child's mother in front of him. JingShi holds the child in the palm of his hand. Will he not be angry?

The Old Man turned away, his cheeks swelling. "It's his mistake. He played with an unknown woman outside and brought back a child as his heir. Where is the woman? Alright, he doesn't want to bring her home — but what is her name? Who are her family? Who does our Little YuShi belong to?"

Next to the Old Man, the Old Lady shook her head. Deep in her heart she agreed with his thoughts, but Little YuShi was so cute that she only felt sorry for him having no mother.

"Enough. These days, you can't tell young people what to do. JingShi doesn't want to speak of the child's mother. Isn't it enough he has an heir already. Why are you worrying? At most he will get married in the future."

"Bah!" The Old Man squinted at the Old Lady, his heart full of worry.

The child's laughter floated loudly in the room again.

The Old Man's voice was full of roughness with a little pity, "Then Little YuShi will only be bullied in the future. That Zhao JingShi raised his child to be a soft persimmon." A stepmother for a precious heir like YuShi was not good for the child. "It is best he has his own mother."