13.3 – Wasn"t this the position that the protagonist gong occupied?
translator: xiin
editor: alamerysl
A total of three people were sent to investigate, two men and one woman; one was a beastman, one a sub-beastman, and a nurturer. The woman was the nurturer; she was stunned for a moment before hurrying forward to help lift up Xue Ling who had fallen by their side. Xue Ling had thrown up blood, his head had just been hit by the gla.s.s just now, his face showed faint traces of a big palm print from being slapped and he looked pitiful all over, his eyes blank as his forehead wrinkled from the pain. It made others really feel pity for him.
The woman saw his appearance, and her chest heaved in anger. She spoke in an angry tone, "I think there"s no need to do a survey. He"s already been beaten up like this, how could such a family be suitable for a nurturer to live in?!"
Hao Yuanliang hadn"t expected that his one hit would have sent the other person flying. Although he was really angry, his strength was not that great. Now that he had gathered his wits about him, he was naturally not happy about the three people who had broken into his house.
“Who are you guys? Breaking into private property without permission!”
The frowning beastman showed him their credentials. “h.e.l.lo, we are staff from the Nurturer Protection a.s.sociation. After hearing what Master Helan had to say, we have come to investigate and confirm whether or not you are suited to be his guardian."
Hao Yuanliang hadn"t thought that Xue Ling was serious. In his opinion, family affairs should be dealt with at home. Finding outsiders was simply working against their interests while living off them, and deliberately corrupting his reputation. “Fine then, you"re from the Nurturer Protection a.s.sociation, right~ Take this waste of money away, then. It"ll be just like I, Hao Yuanliang, never had a son like him. Since you want to threaten me by breaking off all ties, heh, did you think that people outside don’t know what you are? Your spiritual strength and fertility value aren"t even as good as your little brother"s. You waste, if you want to get lost, then get lost. Seeing you p.i.s.ses me off!"
Although the Nurturer Protection Act existed in this world, very few people truly understood what was written in the law. Once Xue Ling really dissolved the father and son relationship between him and Hao Yuanliang, all of his information would be transferred from the Hao family to his new guardian. After that, he would have the right to accuse Hao Yuanliang of not supporting and raising him properly. As long as there was sufficient evidence, he could even pull Hao Yuanliang down from his present position and send him to prison using the fact that he had abused a nurturer.
But Hao Yuanliang didn’t know anything about this. He really thought that these three were people who Xue Ling had made use of in order to frighten him. He even put on his official airs and basically didn"t concern himself about what these three people thought of him and the Hao family. He felt that today"s matter was all Xue Ling"s fault, and as long as he spread word of that outside, it would solidify the fact that Xue Ling was in the wrong. It was always the child who was wrong; as a father, everything he did was correct.
More accurately speaking, Hao Yuanliang basically regarded Helan Jiuyun as an object that belonged to him. It was up to him to decide how to beat and scold the other party, and it was completely unrelated to outsiders.
Unfortunately, others did not feel that way. Now that he had spoken such arrogant words, the people from the Nurturer Protection a.s.sociation all sneered. They had been recording these events ever since they came through the door, and the materials would be used for the subsequent evaluations. Now that Hao Yuanliang had spoken such things, the matter of Xue Ling breaking off all ties with him was basically no longer in question.
His stepmother more or less understood that these people were civil servants. She softened her expression and spoke to Xue Ling, "Jiuyun, don’t be angry with your father. He was really angered by what you did. How could you push your little brother down the stairs? That was too overboard." The meaning underlying this sentence was that the cause of this incident was Xue Ling, and Hao Yuanliang could not be blamed for it.
The protagonist standing beside them looked innocent as he added, "Exactly, elder brother, I know that you don"t like me, but I really never expected you to treat me like this."
Xue Ling was being supported. He had thrown up a mouthful of blood, and he no longer had his usual arrogant appearance. His gaze had genuinely begun to turn empty and numb, and it seemed as though he no longer wanted to see the two people in front of him in this life time ever again. "You can call me a waste of money, say that I"m useless, humiliate me, and speak ill of me to outsiders, but the only thing you can never do is speak ill of my mother. She was the most amazing Sculptor, and she is not the fool that you guys named her. She gave up her job for me, and that represents her love. It doesn"t mean that she had a problem with her brain. You can say whatever you want about me, but don"t make fun of my mother!" He raised his head in determination, his eyes were red, but he refrained from crying; his voice became firmer and steadier as he spoke. "Joking about her death is even less acceptable!"
“For all these years, I endured no matter what you said about me. Why do you have to bring up my mother? Could it be that what she suffered wasn"t enough?" He was questioning the two parental figures present. "Did you teach him to speak like that? Where did everything you eat, wear, and live come from? Wasn"t it all obtained with my mother"s life? But you guys still treat her like this!"
Although they were unclear about what exactly was going on in this family, the three investigators had been successfully drawn to Xue Ling"s side by these remarks.
As far as pretending to be pitiful went, Xue Ling’s position was definitely higher than those two people who were now pretending to be pitiful and innocent. After all, he had enough capital to be pitied, and his method of speaking out for his loved ones made others feel sorry for him from the bottom of their hearts.
In addition, the amount of information contained in his words was even more abundant, and could sway others to stand on his side.
The younger woman and the sub-beastman who had come forward helped Xue Ling stand up. He wiped the blood from his mouth and continued, "Since these three investigators are here today, we"ll have them serve as our witness. From today on, I have broken off all father-son ties with Hao Yuanliang, and from now on, we will have nothing to do with each other. I don’t want anything from this house. I just want you to return my mother’s legacy to me. She was going to give me a pendant when I become an adult; that was the last thing that my mother left for me, and I want it back in my hands."
Hao Yuanliang was beset by a sudden about of anger that affected his mind, he was now really eager to throw him out. He rushed into the study and took out the box that contained the pendant, throwing it towards Xue Ling immediately. "That"s the piece of junk that your mother left behind. Take it and get lost! Don"t let me see you again!"
The beastman went up to receive the box, and it hit his palm with surprising force. If it had hit Xue Ling again, perhaps he would have received another wound. The beastman"s expression was ugly as he looked at Hao Yuanling and said, "Now that we have all reached an agreement, we will bring Master Helan back with us. Mister Hao should take care. We will definitely see you again."
Hao Yuanliang scolded them again on the spot and told them to get the h.e.l.l out of his house.
The protagonist had hidden himself away from the beginning to the end. Although he had spoken out a few words in the middle, he mostly tried to keep his head down. It was not a good thing for him to have received such a large amount of information after as soon as he left the hospital. In fact, he was still a little confused, and didn"t understand why things had reached this stage today.
The elder brother he saw today seemed to be rather different from the person he recalled from his memories who acted in a petty way.
Of course, he did not know that his greatest golden finger had already been taken away by Xue Ling. He was still thinking about how to continue living in this world in the future, and was completely unaware that his future had already been thoroughly changed.
Xue Ling was brought out of Hao family"s house by the three investigators. They took him straight to the hospital, and only after he had gone through a round of check-ups and his wounds were dressed did they feel relieved. One of them summarized the situation, and then went back to report it.
The nurturer was left behind to take care of Xue Ling. She took Xue Ling"s hand and comforted him, “Don’t be sad. Getting away from a family like that is a good thing." After the blood on Xue Ling’s face was washed away, the woman could see his face clearly, and found that he was very good-looking, but it was hidden because of his style and att.i.tude as his hair was long enough to cover his eyes, and his clothing and movements were all very low-key. "A nurturer that is as good looking as you, will definitely be liked by many people. We will find the best guardian for you.”
Xue Ling held the pendant he had just gotten back in his hand, and his eyes were somewhat dull. It seemed as though he was recalling some memories related to the pendant, and there was a delay before he focused his attention back on her. He asked, "May I not have a guardian? I"ve taken care of myself for so many years now, I can manage very well."
He had originally planned to take that golden finger with him and leave that family first, then figure out the rest later, but after getting out of that house so easily, he was now faced with another problem. He would have to live in a stranger"s house, and the freedom he had just grasped back from Hao Yuanliang"s hands would once again land in somebody"s else hands very soon. This was not what Xue Ling wanted, but these were the roles that he had to obey for this world.
The world’s nurturers were only considered adult after they reached 20 years old. Xue Ling was still two years away from adulthood, which meant that he would have to hand over most of his freedom to another person for two years. It didn"t feel good no matter how he thought about it.
“Sorry.” Listening to his tone, it seemed that he did not intend to garner sympathy and was merely telling her about how he had pa.s.sed his days before. The woman"s eyes were slightly red as he held onto Xue Ling"s hand and continued, "This is the law. We also have no way to change it. Relax, we are very humane, and in order to ensure that you will no longer be harmed by the Hao family, we will take ident.i.ty and status into account when we select your guardian and choose somebody with a high status who can open up opportunities for you."
“What kind of things are considered when guardians are being evaluated?"
“Generally, they will start from your parents. In a situation like yours, your father"s side will not be considered, and we"ll find someone from your mother"s network."
“But my mother has been dead for a long time,” Xue Ling pursed his lips.
The woman was both distressed and helpless. She held both of Xue Ling"s hands in hers and said, "Before a suitable guardian is found, I"ll be taking care of you while you stay at the a.s.sociation. If you can, you can tell me about your mother and how you have been treated in that family. We will help you seek justice."
Xue Ling looked up at her. The woman"s gaze held encouragement; although she appeared to be quite young, she was actually much older than Xue Ling. She stretched out her hand and rubbed Xue Ling’s head. “Although our organization is not very valued, we have powerful backers~ You can relax and hand everything over to us. I promise we will obtain justice for you!"
Xue Ling pressed his lips together. He was quiet for a long time before finally opening his mouth to slowly tell the woman about what had happened over those years of fighting a battle of wits against the Hao family. By the time he finished, it had already turned dark outside, and the woman was so angry that she couldn’t eat dinner. After feeding Xue Ling, she told him to have a good rest, turned around and went out to write a report.
If all the things Xue Ling said were true, then the two adults in this family should really be pulled down and shot. Even then, it wouldn"t be enough!
Where on earth did a lovely little nurturer offend them, to deserve being treated like that?
It was also this report that helped Xue Ling win sympathy and favor from the Nurturer Protection a.s.sociation. Such a smart and brave young nurturer made them all sigh at the unfair fates. After the entire group learned about Xue Ling"s situation, they became even more committed to helping Xue Ling find a big ** guardian.
Have children in the family? Reject! What if the child bullied the little nurturer?!
Married? Reject! The child"s current situation required long-term care. What if the new family couldn"t offer enough care, and repeated the tragedy?!
After careful consideration, and evaluating the realities and various needs of all kinds of families, one family finally emerged as the clear victor amongst the choices. Only, the people in the Protection a.s.sociation felt that this family"s conditions were likely too good, and did not know if they would be willing to adopt or not. They had originally thought that it would take some time after the news was sent out to receive a reply, but unexpectedly they had already received a reply from that Lord"s house on the second day.
Since it was a child of their former comrades-in-arms, there was no problem with acting as a guardian for a period of time. The Marshal"s Palace was not short on resources, and the housekeeper who had answered the letter also expressed that they would definitely take good care of their new Young Master.
Everyone was very satisfied with the high position and weight of power of the Marshal"s Palace, and that momentum that seemed to say that n.o.body other than the Marshal himself would dare to make trouble with them. It was the most suitable place for that child to go; he was about to reach adulthood, and was fully capable of taking care of himself under the condition that he was given loving care and a bright future. Most people also considered his future prospects to be the more vital point.
Using the Marshal"s Palace as a stepping stone, the child would definitely have a good future, and they could truly rest a.s.sured.
When Xue Ling received the notice, the Marshal"s Palace had already prepared everything he would need for his new life. The housekeeper of the Marshal"s Palace even contacted him personally, stating their regrets that the Marshal would be in a meeting tomorrow and would be unable to pick him up, but that his personal guard would be sent over instead to pick him up. They hoped that Xue Ling wouldn"t mind too much, as the Marshal liked him very much and hoped he would feel welcome.
Xue Ling blinked. Internally, he wondered about why the t.i.tle of "personal guard" sounded so familiar to him… Wasn"t this the position that the protagonist gong occupied during this period of time?